Your Cross Stitch is Done, Now What?

 

It’s been a couple of months since you’ve started the exciting journey of starting your first, second or maybe even tenth cross stitch project. It has been a wonderful therapeutic journey from start to finish, from seeing the stitch start from a simple x to a glorious masterpiece of art.

Then the question strikes you. Now what do I do with it? Most cross stitchers would just send their work of art to the frame dealer and with a little mental prayer that they don’t screw it up, the cross stitch would be framed and ready to be hang. I have to admit I’ve been hanging all my completed works. I even have a wall dedicated only for my cross stitches.

Still there are other things you might want to consider doing. Here are 7 of my fun and unique ideas about what you can do after you have completed your project. Do take note that all ideas are dependent on the size of your patterns.

1. Make a quilt.

Make small little patterns and sew them all together on a large piece of blanket, making a beautiful patchwork of cross stitch patterns.

2. Make a table cloth.

Floral or border cross stitch designs are great for table runners. Forget about buying a commercial table cloth. Show off to your guests by making one of your own!

3. Coasters

Another favorite for guests are coasters. Cross stitch at least 6 patterns of the same theme and add lace around them to transform them into little girly coasters or simply use no-fray Aida to have ready made coasters after you are done stitching them.

4. Cushion covers

Although there are plenty of ready made stitch-able cushion covers, you don’t have to use that to make great cross stitch cushions. If you have plain cushion covers in hand, you can simply sew your cross stitch designs on them.

5. Wallpaper border

This is an interesting one. You can cross stitch floral designs or alphabets on long strips of Aida and then glue it around a plain wall to liven up your baby’s room. It’s an alternative to putting up wallpaper and definitely would be something your baby would love to touch when he starts experimenting on textures.

6. Pencil case or purse

This is not a hard project to do. All you need is stitch on a bigger piece of Aida and only half of it so that when you later fold it, the design is nicely centered on one half. Of course this is entirely up to you. You can even arrange it that there are two designs at both sides. Then simple sew up the corners and add a zipper to the top. And you’ve got yourself a nice hand made purse or pencil case!

7. Head band

If you have a small rectangle cross stitch pattern done, consider making it into a head band. You only need to attach a short piece of elastic band to connect your cross stitch ends. And then it’s perfect to hold your hair back!

Get more great ideas with our stitch-able crafts at The Art of Stitch.

 

About the Author

Hamidah Gul is a freelance published writer whose works in fiction have been published both in print and electronically.

She also runs The Art of Stitch, an online needlecraft store with a Cross Stitch Blog.

Tossing The Box - Writing Beyond Your Usual Subject

Been thinking that maybe it's time to spread your writing wings a bit and pen something new? More specifically, you may be thinking about writing an article or several articles about a topic that is totally outside your usual subject area.

If you are, then Congratulations! This is a phase of the natural evolutionary process that writers experience ... it simply means that you're moving forward in your work. Writing articles about different subjects is an effective way of gaining even more exposure for yourself and your business.

Besides, marketing with articles doesn't limit you to being an authority on only one topic. All you need to do choose a new subject area in which to focus your writing.

Sure, you can always hit the Search Engines and reap the return of hot keywords up for grabs ... or, you can pick a topic off the top of your head ... maybe something you heard on the news... some new-age subject or relatively obscure concept about which you can write, provided you can research it well enough to do a credible article.

Or, you can stick with what you know.

Huh? But you're chomping at the bit to expand your writing into different areas. How is writing more about what you know going to offer a new challenge or more exposure for you?

As writers, we sometimes develop tunnel vision. In other words, we can't see the actual forest for the proverbial trees. Writing what you know isn't necessarily writing about the same subject.

That is, unless you only know that one topic about which you've been writing articles.

Lucky for you... you're a walking encyclopedia!

Sure you are, take a stroll through your own variegated alphabet of personal interests, those beyond your professional and/or career knowledge. You'll be surprised to realize that there are several subjects for which you already have the knowledge and expertise to produce incredible articles.

A airplanes - antiques - aquariums - art - autos
B ballet - baseball - birds - boating - building
C camping - cats - coins - cooking - crafts
D dancing - dating - decorating - dining - dolls
E ecology - eclipses - electronics - environment -ethics
F fencing - fishing - fitness - folksongs - figure-skating
G gardening - genealogy - golf - graphics - gymnastics
H hardware - history - hobbyhorses, hockey, hunting
I imaging - inns - insects - inspiration - investing
J java script - jazz - jewelry - jogging - jujitsu
K kayaking - keyboards - kids - kiting - knitting
L languages- lanterns - lapidary - laptops - lithography
M magic - martial arts - movies - museums - music
N nature - nightclubs - nostalgia - numerology - nuts
O occasions - ornaments - organization - outdoors - outfits
P painting - pets - picnics - photography - puzzles
Q quartz - quatrains - quiches - quilting - quotes
R racing - racquetball - recipes - retirement - robotics
S snorkeling - skiing - software - stenciling - swimming
T theatre - toys - trading cards - travel - trucks
U UFO's - umpiring - unicycles - urbanism - utilities
V vacations - vases - veterans - videos - vineyards
W wallpapering - waltzes - weight-lifting - wines - woodworking
X xenophobia - xylophone - x-ray astronomy
Y yachting - yard designs - yoga - yo-yo's - yodeling
Z zip files - zodiac - zoos - zoom lenses

It's okay if you don't see one of your particular interests or hobbies in the above list. In fact, that's even better.

Now, this is where you get to carve out your niche for writing articles. The hobbies and interests listed aren't meant to limit you, they're meant to inspire you!

Airplanes for A may not have struck a cord with you, but now auto's that's a different story. You've been into classic cars for as long as you can remember. There's your niche!

If the b in ballet stands for boring as far as you're concerned, consider what it means to you in building. Yes, you, the one who's always sporting a carpenter's apron and hammer every Saturday. Another niche nailed down!

Moving right along to the letter C, scratch the cats-coins-and-crafts and that's your category. Camping is one of your passions. And when it comes to cooking you grill a mean steak, if you do say so yourself. But wait... that comes under G for grilling. How about combining it with outdoors from O and recipes from R? Looks like you've cooked up your own niche article ideas in Outdoors + Grilling + Recipes = Savory Campsite Cuisine. You could do an entire series of articles on that topic!

As a writer, it's essential to remain genuine in order to be effective. Writing about what you know and on subjects about which you are truly passionate is one of the best ways to distinguish yourself. It's the feeling that comes through naturally as you write about certain topics, which is apparent to the reader and reflects you as an authority.

While research is indeed a part of writing, it does have its place. Hours invested in research will never replace what is written from within. If a subject is not in your heart, it will never be in your head ... and certainly not in your writing.

Call it old-school or back-to-basics, but being genuine is what separates real writers from those who are merely content generators. Unplug for a while to rediscover your own true interests and passions, but keep a pen and paper handy. A breath of creative fresh air breeds countless intriguing ideas... you can rely on your collective notes and inspirations when you return to your keyboard. Rest assured ... they will serve your writing well!

(c) 2006, Davis Virtual Assistance.

About the Author

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