Rods, Hoops, Qnaps... Oh My!

For designs with specialty stitches, hardanger, and needlepoint... You will want to use hoops, scroll rods, stretcher bars, or qsnaps.

STITCHING IN HAND:
Some stitchers prefer to stitch without hoops, scroll rods, or qsnaps. This is referred to stitching 'in hand." If you can keep even tension while stitching, this may be an option for you. Your stitches should not distort or change how the fabric looks (i.e. “puckering” the fabric, or opening up the holes at the corners of the stitches). When stitching in hand, you can stitch in a sewing motion (think running stitch) -- from front to back to front in one movement of your needle. The only time you’d need to go to the backside is when you begin or end a thread. Of course, you could also use the “stitck & stab” method -- pulling your needle up from the back and pushing it straight down toward the back. This requires you to move one hand from the front to the back to pull the needle through and vice versa.

HOOPS:
Hoops come in many sizes. They’re usually round or oval, but I’ve seen some that are sort of rectangular in shape. They can be made of wood, plastic, or metal. Hoops will have an outside ring and an inside ring. Depending on your viewpoint, you can put the smaller hoop underneath the fabric and place the larger hoop on top directly over the smaller hoop. (or vice versa) Then, you push the larger hoop down over the smaller one and it will give you a good tension for your fabric. Some put the smaller hoop on top in order to keep the front side of the fabric clean. I have always put the larger hoop on top. On the metal hoops, there is a spring-like mechanism and it automatically tightens itself when pushed over the smaller hoop. The bad thing about metal hoops is that they rust over time. On wood and plastic hoops, there is usually a little screw and you will need to tighten this once you put the two hoops together. I use this kind. To avoid deep wrinkles and stains in the fabric, always remove the hoop each time you are finished working on the design.

Q-SNAPS:
Qsnaps remind me of lightweight PVC pipe. A minimum of four pieces of plastic tubing is snapped together to form a square or rectangle. The fabric is placed over the square and then a plastic clamp snaps over the fabric. Qsnaps come in a variety of sizes in order to make the frame the perfect size for your stitching project. I have a small 8” set that I haven’t used yet, so I can’t comment on how well they work. Some stitchers think they’re great!

SCROLL RODS or FRAMES:
Scroll rods and frame consist of two side bars -- which determine the height of your work area -- and two dowels (also called rods) for the top and bottom of the frame -- which determine width of your work area. Fabric is secured to the rods and rolled so the desired working area is showing and then secured with the knobs or wing nuts to hold the fabric tight. Fabric can be attached to scroll rods in a variety of ways: 1) Fabric is basted to a fabric “tape” attached to the rods 2) “No Stitch” Velcro system 3) Split dowels where fabric is placed between each half of the dowel. No basting required with this either. To use scroll rods, attach the fabric to the top dowel first. Roll the top of the fabric to the desired position and place the side bars onto the dowels and tighten with the knobs or wing nuts to hold fabric securely in the top dowel. Next, attach the fabric to bottom dowel and roll fabric around bottom dowel until it’s taught. Slip the side bars onto the bottom dowel and secure knobs or wing nuts. If you roll the fabric so that the wrong side is facing outwards on the dowels, it keeps the fabric clean while stitching.

FLOOR STANDS & LAP STANDS:
Floor stands and lap stands allow you to stitch without having to hold the frame, hoop, or qsnaps, etc. There are many on the market! It’s always best to determine how and where it’ll be used and then do some research as to which one is right for you. If you have a chance to try one out at an LNS or a friend’s house, that’s even better! Some companies that offer stands:

K's Creations
Gripit Plus, Inc.
American Dream Products
Artisan Design, Inc.
Hearthside Craftworks

STRETCHER BARS:
Stretcher bars come in various length and width sizes. They fit together and make a frame for your needlework. Stretcher bars should be about an inch or so smaller than your fabric size to enable you to attach the fabric over the outer edges of the stretcher bars. To do this, you place your fabric on top of the stretcher bar, with the fabric overhanging the edge of the bars. Then use a stapler or tacks and secure the fabric evenly across the top of the stretcher bar. Next, gently stretch your fabric taut across the bottom edge of the stretcher bars and attach in the same way. Repeat for the two remaining sides, keeping the fabric tension even.

How Times Have Changed

“What are some of the things you remember growing up (candy, fashion, electronics, etc.)?

Growing up, we weren’t stressed out by being in every activity under the sun – and we knew how to use our imagination to find “things to do” without getting into trouble. We played outside, rode bikes, and camped in the backyard by making our own tents out of blankets. We built tree houses out of scrap wood and bent nails that we straightened.

Atari was the hottest video game system on the market. My Dad was pretty proud of himself to be able to buy one for us, which I’m sure wasn’t an easy task. We were happy with the rudimentary graphics!

Remote control TV’s and VCR’s came into being. We had 3 channels on the TV to watch – my parents still only watch 3 channels, as do I. TV shows I watched growing up: ALF, Bosom Buddies, Diff'rent Strokes, The Dukes of Hazzard, Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Knots Landing, Dallas, MacGyver, Miami Vice, Night Court, Who's The Boss. We also watched reruns of MASH, Happy Days, and I Love Lucy.

Microwaves were new. I remember my parents trying to figure out how to use one... trying recipes out of the cookbook that came with every one... exploding an egg all over the inside because they didn’t know you had to poke a hole in the shell. LOL

I learned to type on a manual typewriter. By the time I finished high school, electric typewriters were the norm. Computers were becoming more and more popular. On holidays from school, students were allowed to “check out” and take home computers. I would drag an entire system home on the bus every chance I could get. Instant messaging was done on the computer – an early version of email. There was no internet.

My first car had an 8-track player, cost $300, and was 11 years old. My Dad actually had 8-track tapes! LPs and cassettes were popular. There was no such thing as MP3s or music downloading. We spent time in front of the radio and taped music from there onto cassettes.

There was no caller ID, answering machines, or call waiting. The telephone was only used when you absolutely had to. My parents still don’t like talking on the phone, let alone leaving a message on voicemail. If it weren’t for caller ID, I wouldn’t know they call.

Big hair was all the rage. Bobbie socks with high heels and short skirts. Polo shirts, stirrup pants (Glad those for the most part are gone!), parachute pants, and paint-splattered jean jackets were just some of the fashions. Oh, and let’s not forget the Michael Jackson glove and red jacket!

Ladies & Gents... Welcome to the Powder Puff Game!

For anyone who doesn't know what a powder puff game is... It's a football game between girls. This one in particular is played during homecoming week. Three of my nieces are freshmen this year. One participated in the powder puff game. Actually, she was one of the quarterbacks. Go team, Go... Go... Go! Isn't that a rough-looking bunch?

Unfortunately, the freshmen team lost to the junior team.... 28 to 42. Maybe next year, girls! You played a good game.

Field Trip!

As you may or may not know, I am enrolled in Intro to Ecology at the college this semester. It really is quite interesting! I still don’t know how I did on our first test (taken last week) since the instructor doesn’t have them all graded yet. Inquiring minds want to know! To be truthful, I’ll be happy if I get a C. I think a lot of students in my class are hoping to do that well! Anyway...

Our instructor likes us to pretend that we’re ecological scientists. As one of our lab assignments, we took a trek out to the re-created prairie on the college campus. When the college was built (many, many moons ago), several acres of land was planted with prairie grasses and plants indigenous to this area. Our assignment was to plot off 1x1 yard sections of prairie and identify the percentage of each plant in the section. We had to document six plots. Keep in mind prairie is at least 6 foot tall!

I did make an observation to the younger members of my group. I asked them to imagine having to drive through those tall prairie grasses in a covered wagon. Tough going, indeed!

There we were in our groups of 3 – pushing our way through dry, crunchy, potentially tick infested grassland. Kicking grass and taking notes. Being a country girl it really didn’t bother me all that much. I would’ve liked advance notice since I was wearing my work clothes while trompsing through the wilderness. I also have allergies, too, so I would’ve taken something to avoid sniffling through the rest of the evening. I must say that I did find it amusing listening to comments from other women who were not used to the “great outdoors”. Couldn’t see them through the thicket, but could hear them. LOL We even had one guy yelling out “Marco!” Then there’d be a chorus of “Polo!” My group managed to finish first… we didn’t mess around… we got right in there, did our thing, and got out. Yay for us because that meant we got to leave class early too! Woo Hoo.

10/25/50 Project Challenge

I’m taking a deep breath and jumping right in! Oh what have I done? I just committed myself to the 10/25/50 Project Challenge. Actually, I committed myself to the 10 project challenge, since my projects are BAPs with little ones in between. Heaven knows I need to go on a stash diet, and I have plenty of To-Do’s in my stash.

Purpose of the Challenge: to reduce the amount of patterns not stitched, and stash not used.

The Rules:
1. Have fun reducing my stash.

2. There is no time limit.

3. Thou shall not purchase any new patterns until 10 projects have been stitched. Pattern size does not matter.

4. Exemptions. Remember, the goal of this challenge is to reduce stash so too many exemptions will sabotage these efforts.

My exemptions are:
Gifts, gift cards, trades, RAKs.
Floss and Fabric (i.e supplies) for projects stitched during challenge do not count.

5. The official start date of this challenge was Sept 1, 2006.

Ready! On your mark! Get set! Go!

UPDATE: I finished the Project Challenge on Feb 7, 2007!! All my projects can be seen HERE.