7 Months of Projects | Crafter's Log: Bumper Edition

[@karenvann]

Sarah Homfrey has a bunch of great needle point videos on KZbin. I learned a lot.

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Great recommendation, thank you!

[@LindasheesStitches]

Your dresses look brilliant! This may be a summary of several months of progress but you seem to be up to so many crafts ! I really like the channels you shared as well..I find myself not having enough time in the day to admire all the wonderful things but one can try !! Enjoy your trip!!

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Oh same, same, there are too many people making way too many amazing things to keep up with! It's fun to try, but I'm pretty sure it would take at least 72 more hours in each day to keep up with all my faves. We had a brilliant holiday, thank you :D

[@sherryzimmerman9220]

Loved Loved Loved your cruise wear last year and can’t wait to see this year in action on the deck and dance floor…..BON Voyage My Dears!

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Thank you Sherry, we had a fantastic time, Dave's gone on record and said it was his favourite holiday ever so that's some high praise! We certainly did spend some time on that dance floor, some of it quite wobbly as we had a rough sea during the silent disco! Great times, gutted to be back home 😅

[@StitchingDowntheRabbitHole]

And the Tubie award for best intro by a Multi in 2024 goes to.....! gawd I love you.

[@KatieMakesStuff]

BEST. INTRO. EVER. Love!

[@lemonbalmmel]

I got covid I October and spent the last 10 days on a ventilator and then having the craziest hallucinations in icu. Thank you for saying its taking you a while to get back into things. I'm only just starting to catch up on YT. Today I washed my cross stitch WIPs.

[@plannertimewithpaige]

I love your channel I literally ran across it yesterday and I'm totally hooked om your energy and your love for dabbling into multiple different crafts ❤

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Aw thank you! Welcome to the channel! I'm definitely a natural dabbler, variety is the spice of life and all that (and also we live in a small town so it keeps me occupied 😅). Which crafts do you get up to?

[@lorettalowe5096]

Really enjoyed the variety of projects you shared. I too, am a multi-crafter.

[@sharonstroud8075]

Love the poncho! Enjoy your trip!

[@jjcrochets]

Your predicted reaction was spot on😂 Lovely video🤍

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Haha, yeah sorry I'm a bit of a lurker rather than a commenter. What a creep 😂

[@solarwinds-]

I love the intro, ha ha ha. So funny, the knitted starship Enterprise was hilarious and cute. (I'm a big Star Trek fan since the Picard series started.) And the Marie needle minders and ear rings were a scream, what a creative mind she has. I love your channel. I hope you can put in some footage of your vacation. Have a great time and stay safe!!!

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

We had the BEST time thank you, although I did return home to find I was in trouble for surprising Marie like that ;) I'm sure I'll find opportunities to add some cruise photos somewhere...

[@maryannjohnson5410]

Love the video, especially the intro! Sorry that you got Covid in the first place and that it knocked you out so hard. I gave up on both years of the Peppermint Purple Blackwork Sal that I tried. And my Discworld project is not as far along as yours. Nice job with all the projects! Hope you are having an amazing time and look forward to hearing all about it.

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Genuinely very glad to hear I'm not the furthest behind on the Discworld MAL, lol! I actually ended up making a last-second change to the plan and took that Peppermint Purple one away with us...sadly the amount I got done on it was underwhelming. But still, the motivation remains now we're back! :D p.s. oh you WILL hear all about it, haha

[@maryannjohnson5410]

Looking forward to hearing about it and I hope you aren't suffering to much with the post vacation blues

[@RogueMamaStitcher1]

Thank you, Michelle, for your lovely shout-out! 😍 I got a lot of new subscribers recently , so thanks!🙏🏼 Those speckled socks are so cool! I love that autumn 🍂 full coverage you're working on! It's magical.

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Happy to hear it's going well! I don't comment much these days because socialling is hard, but I always enjoy a creepy lurk on your videos for what that's worth 😂

[@Frogglin]

First of all, I have all the blushes, thank you! Some lovely words to hear :) Secondly, yes I think weaving is a very good idea (enable enable) and thirdly - that purple dress is everything! It's spectacular, it's perfect and I love it on you!

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

All from the heart, you know I love your videos! Happy to report the dress performed admirably although I did wear it to a silent disco which was maybe a bad (read: sweaty) call. Got complimented by the waiter on dress to impress night though! 😎 (that loom you suggested a bit ago is on the Christmas list, we'll see how that goes)

[@AModNamedMel]

Yay for a longer video and for honey moons! Hope you had a wonderful time 💜💜💜

[@darklittlepeople]

hi michelle! 👋firstly, i hope you are having / had a great cruise! secondly, your video made me super happy - i think it's partly because you mention all the mistakes and restarts, partly because how eclectic your crafting is, all very relatable. i also just love your personality, dang it! (not complaining) i really need to look into that emotional support chicken, presto! L.O.L., as in lots of love 🤓💗

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

We had an amazing time thank you! I'm currently in the "being home is bad and I immediately want to book another holiday but they're too expensive" stage, although it should pass by the end of this week 😅 Dunno about you but mistakes and restarts are very much an everyday part of my crafting life, so it seems silly to try and edit them away or avoid mentioning them. I want newbies at things to know it's ok if they mess things up, you can still end up with a great project in the end. Speaking of, I started my chicken on the cruise and definitely made a mess of that in parts already...I blame the all-inclusive cocktails.

[@moongriffin55555]

Over in the USA canvas work is definitely mostly called needlepoint. May be called different things depending on where you are? I had an equally hard time finding good info on it online/KZbin. What I've noticed here in USA is that there tend to be dedicated needlepoint stores, with there big selling point being painted canvas. I'm not sure how common these stores are in the UK? When I branched out from cross stitch to needlepoint I found a really helpful book in my local library titled "The Needlepoint Book". It does a pretty good job of giving a crash corse in the subject and also about 2/3 of it are just different stitches you can use beyond the traditional tent stitch/continental/basket weave. In regards to mono vs interlock, I suspect mono is kind of the default? It's single strands woven with nothing securing the junctions, so it's often recommend to be worked on a frame to prevent warping. Interlock has an additional thread that secures each junction, so it should be a bit more stable, and less prone to unraveling. Sounds like you accidentally got canvas that might actually work out better for you!

[@StitchingDowntheRabbitHole]

hello moongriffin55555! Agree with all you said vis a vis needlepoint/canvaswork/tapestry (but don't let a tapestry weaver hear you call it tapestry 🤯 lol). Your book is serving you well! I consider the three tent stitches (half cross, continental & basket weave) to be all the stitches I need LOL. I gave up embroidery & crewel for a reason LOL. I agree there is a decided deficit on KZbin with needlepoint content.... As a KZbin creator in another "community" with a small following when I returned to stitching after a long absence and my first obsessions was needlepoint, I naturally turned to KZbin for some community fix. Huh. Aside from designers, LNPs, tutorials.... there's just not much to binge on. No fellow Pointers. My theory is 1) it's a MUCH smaller niche of stitchers, mainly due to expense of painted canvasses, wools/silks, plus paying people to finish, which is a huge thing. I've been "finishing" whatever I make myself since... cough cough 1975, and I don't think I'll stop LOL. And 2) they're all on instagram. My search for a needlepoint community led me to "flosstube" so that's why I'm now also doing CCXS, not to mention Tunisian crochet, converting charts in needlepoint books to cross stitch (😯) and, stop please stop LOL. Someday I may set aside my other KZbin channel, which is admittedly being ignored because who has time?, and just start "Stitching Down the Rabbit Hole". If you want to truly see some inspiration / eye candy / possibilities for just buying canvas and jumping in... look on ebay, Amazon and other sites for needle point books by Kaffe Fasset, Beth Russell, Jill Gordon, Glorafilia, or Erica Wilson. Yum. Sorry MG + lots of five's to hi-jack your comment section, and to you Michelle , and to but I just had tah. LOL. Best wishes. xoxoxo

[@moongriffin55555]

@@StitchingDowntheRabbitHole thanks for the tips! Im also in the camp of, I'm finishing this myself be cause the alternative is how much $$$!? Second hand seems like a good way to save money on projects. I found two awesome painted canvas this month at a crafting thrift store for a fraction of the price I would have paid at a Local Needlepoint Shop.

[@bethmegansmith4642]

I am in reading this book at the moment on my Kindle . I love Errol he is super cute .I rmember your cogs hahahahah wow !

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Yeah that project has been dragging on for......quite some time! I am determined, though! I will not be defeated!

[@bethmegansmith4642]

@@TheGiddyStitcher 🤣😂🤣

[@skaerup]

Speaking of old projects, I started a Winnie the Pooh xstitch project when I was pregnant with my son - I’m a little more than half way now, and he just turned 15 😂😅

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

This makes me feel so much better you have no idea 😅

[@Catmumcraftseverything]

I still need to get my grubby little mits on some discworld patterns. But at least now, it's narrowed down to 3

[@MidnightSunPonyPal]

I know the canvas work you showed as Bargello embroidery!

[@moongriffin55555]

@@MidnightSunPonyPal yes! As far as I know, bargello is a subset of needlepoint/canvas work with more specific stitches. @gettheetothestitchery has a video with her trying out bargello that I enjoyed.

[@MidnightSunPonyPal]

@@moongriffin55555 That's the video that I recognised it from! It inspired me and I've ended up doing a couple of Bargello projects!

[@solarwinds-]

On the "canvas work" thing, I think it depends on where you're from. We call it Needlepoint over here.

[@conniegarvie]

Most patterns which require a certain percentage of stretch, have a way of testing the stretch on the pattern envelope.

[@ShaunaMckiernan]

This was awesome. Could you explain what black work is

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Hi! Thanks for watching, sorry for the delayed answer. But blackwork is just another type of embroidery, mostly done with backstitch or double running stitch, I really enjoy it and find it very relaxing. I did make a video on it here but fair warning that was a long time ago when I was still quite new, so it might be a bit awkward 😅 kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6ncq6qGpq2Ieq8

[@conniegarvie]

I'd love to believe that I'm not the only one who has a (stuffed) Emotional Support Chicken! Mine used to belong to my mom before she died in 2020 from Alzheimer's! I have always loved the image of God, from the Psalms, as a Mother hen who gathers her chick's under her wings. I have hen images in my home! My E. S. Chicken's name is Billina, after Dorothy's hen from Kansas which ends up in OZ with Dorothy.

[@SiobhanJohnson]

Shane's blue chicken? Stardew chicken?

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Excellent guesses! But no, this one is a bit more personal. Already started and I'm looking forward to showing her off soon! :D

[@solarwinds-]

Inner Lock canvas is thinner than Mono-Canvas. Mono Canvas is thicker and more expensive than Inner Lock canvas and will give your project a more polished expensive look than Inner Lock, in my opinion. I would go with the Mono Canvas for sure.

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

Ok so your comment sounds knowledgeable and is in favour of switching, there's at least one other comment that sounds knowledgeable but thinks interlock will be great, so I still have no idea haha. Will give it a go and see, and keep shopping for a good place to get the mono canvas for when it all inevitably goes wrong. Thank you for the advice on the difference!

[@livclarke6463]

is there a link to the discord? i'd like to join

[@victoriawhyte-bp8gr]

Your message could not be delivered. This is usually because you don't share a server with the recipient or the recipient is only accepting direct messages from friends. This is what it says and I'm unsure what this means lol

[@nimuenorth6295]

That online shops rarely list the amount of stretch is absolutely annoying. Even more annoying when you sent them an email and they come back with the material composition that was already part of the listing. Not helpful.🙄 But it isn’t terribly hard to test in person, if you can shop locally. Lay out a ruler or tape measure, grab your smooth but unstretched fabric 10cm apart. If you can stretch that part up to 17cm and it bounces back to its original dimension when you let go, you have 70% stretch. If you get to 15cm, it’s 50%, 20cm means 100% stretch. The bouncing back part is important, because you can overstretch knits to where they don’t recover and are just a sad, baggy mess. Hope that helps in the future. And velvet of any kind, including velveteen and velours, is notorious for marks from folding, pinning, stitching. That’s definitely not you, but the fabric. Pinning or clipping within the seam allowance and hoping to avoid the seam ripper is about the best you can do. But people who remark on these things on such a gorgeous dress are sad and way too close anyway. 😉

[@victoriawhyte-bp8gr]

Hey I'm trying to join the discord do you need to be a paid member or something I've sent a friend request my pic is stitch hugging as I've never used it before and it won't let me comment lol

[@TheGiddyStitcher]

I see you in there! Not sure if you figured it out or not already but I will ping you and maybe it'll help in some way lol

[@victoriawhyte-bp8gr]

​@TheGiddyStitcher Your message could not be delivered. This is usually because you don't share a server with the recipient or the recipient is only accepting direct messages from friends. That's what it keeps saying if I try to comment in any chats