Question for Cross-Stitchers

[gothick]

I know there's a couple of cross-stitchers on my flist. Any ideas as to a good Christmas present for my stepmum -- a fairly accomplished cross-stitcher? (She makes and sells her own patterns -- this is not a plug, I just want to give you some idea of her level!)

Anything unusual either kit- or gadget-wise that she may not have come across would be cool -- or just a link to a pattern site where I could browse for something appropriate? What are all the kool kidz stitching now?

Thanks!

ETA: Having looked around myself a bit, I just tripped over Subversive Cross Stitch, which is very funky, and -- fairly amazingly for a cross stitch site -- might just be bordering on Not Work Safe at some uptight places, so be warned! Probably not good for my stepmum, but if I were a cross stitcher, I might be tempted :)

Comments

[gothick-matt.livejournal.com]

Oooh -- one question! What the heck's the difference between a 14 Count Aida and a 27 Count Evenweave? You know me, I don't do technical *bats eyelashes*...

[shereenb.livejournal.com]

It's been a while since I cross stitched, but I think aida is the fabric with evenly spaced holes in it, whereas the holes are much less obvious on evenweave.

aida

evenweave

[ruthj.livejournal.com]

A lot of experienced stitchers I know tend to prefer evenweave. I notice the kits your stepmum sells are available in both formats.

I suspect for Michael Powell kits it doesn't really matter cos the stitches cover most of the fabric.

If all else fails and you get the wrong sort it will be very easy for your stepmum to swap the fabric anyway.

Hope this helps!

[gothick-matt.livejournal.com]

Thank you, yes, I hadn't figured out that she could just swap the fabric for something in her own supplies. I'll default to evenweave, ta.

[jow-n-chris.livejournal.com]

Think everyone's answered this for you, yup 27count Evenweave gives you a better finish if you like using it. The Michael Powell kit I've done was on 14count as my sister didn't know what she was buying years ago... I suspect she'd be getting the ones on Evenweave for me now :)

[gothick-matt.livejournal.com]

Cool, ta :)