Bargain kits
When I was looking for some needlework to do last summer, I decided that giving counted cross stitch another try would be fun. I had tried it a decade or so ago, and was not really that excited about All The Counting. Off I went to one of my local craft shops to look through their patterns. Counted Cross Stitch must not be as popular right now (at least in our area) as it has been in past times, because usually the main offerings for needleworking are in kit form. I wasn’t sure I wanted to put a large investment of time and money into it, so I looked through the clearance sale bin and found a kit for a Victorian Palm for under $5.
I marked the center lines and started stitching. The kit worked up nicely, certainly better than I’d expected from a small cheap kit. Eventually I will get around to framing it in a pleasing frame (rather than the plastic frame it came with. The tacky plastic frame). The picture included with the kit, and my start of the piece:
And the finished result:
If you are unsure whether you will like needlework, but want to try it, Janlynn Corporation offers free needlecraft kits. Two notes: there is a postage cost (appears to be approx $7) and the offer is limited to online USA customers. :( Which is good for those of us in the US, but not-so-exciting for those of us elsewhere. The selection varies, and supplies of each kit are limited, but there is almost always something I see that I think “hm, well maybe this time I’ll go ahead and order one!”
Free Patterns Online offers a LOT of free charts. There are some teeny tiny charts perfect for beginners or for those things you just want a little touch of stitching on.
Happy Stitching!
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POSTED IN: Companies, Counted Cross Stitch, Freebies, Work Finished
4 opinions for Bargain kits
Ternezia
Apr 18, 2006 at 11:27 am
The new layout makes the site look much better than before :) Is it public already?
Some of those free Janlynn kits are quite decent. I like the “Grandfather Frost”, although would have more pleasure stitching it if I decide I am working just on a portrait of an old man.
As for the “US only”, well, if we look at things from another perspective, US is not an international market that is obliged to enable people from all over the world access to its products. Although many would kinda see it this way, including many US businesses that are trying to build an image of not national, but “world” market. In practice this is not so. Local, let it be local. I am sure EU has enough to offer to its citizens, too :)
Deb
Apr 18, 2006 at 12:49 pm
The colors are so much nicer aren’t they! :) The site went ‘live’ this morning
(http://www.b5media.com/welcome-tangled-thread/)
I hope to stumble upon some great deal offers in other countries to share with readers too. A person can only justify a certain amount of surfing the web per day though, heh ;)
Barb
Apr 18, 2006 at 8:19 pm
What a fun site! I love that photo of you and your baby looks so much like his dad at that age! I have done a lot of counted cross stitch in the past but I am scrapbooking now. Good Luck with this venture!
Deb
Apr 19, 2006 at 7:37 am
The little ones slay us with their cuteness, don’t they. hehe
I love scrapbooking too, and all sorts of crafts. I can imagine trying to write blogs on all of them at the same time, and that’s enough to give a girl the heebie jeebies! Thanks for the good wishes. This is a fun thing to do, and works nicely around my daily routines.
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