In one of the classes I have taken from a professional, Eileen Bennett (of Sampler House) said the best stitchers she encounters are self-taught, and not necessarily members of a guild or group. These stitchers, she said, sit and home and teach themselves techniques, practicing and improving their skills. Maybe this is you? Or maybe you'd like to learn new techniques.

While there's nothing wrong with "just" cross stitching (come visit me and my walls sometime to see what I mean), there comes a day when you're ready to stretch your wings. Just like any relationship, you and your needle have to move forward to keep things interesting and challenging.

I have to admit, there are many needle arts I haven't yet attempted, but there are some I'd like to try. Brazillian Embroidery and Stump Work are beautiful, but both techniques scare me just a little. I have two wonderful books on Stump Work, and leaf through them from time to time, trying to work up to that day when I actually try something. I don't know how to crochet or tat, and although I've been instructed a few times by a capable friend, knitting escapes me. I can't sew my way out of (or into) a paper bag, and quilting is something I appreciate tremendously, but have been hesitant to try on any grand scale.

There are those projects we all undertake, not having looked too closely at the picture or instructions, that offer up some unexpected challenge: "Hey, I didn't know there were queen stitches on this piece?!" "What? That's pulled work on there?" "Oh, no, that's over one!"

What do you do? There's that urge to quickly pack everything up, put the project away, because, "The cake is burning." "I have another project I should be working on." Or, "I'll come back to this later." Don't do that! Take a deep breath; you can do it. Believing in your ability is the first step to learning a new technique or stitch. When non-stitchers come over and "ooh" and "aah" over my completed pieces ("How on Earth do you do that?"), I tell them anyone who can follow directions, count and hold a needle can do what I do (probably better than I do!)

How lucky we are now to have such good instructions from our designers. If you look at old hardanger patterns, you'll see they're not really patterns at all -- they're photographs of finished pieces which a stitcher was supposed to just copy by looking at the photograph. If you're working off of a "newer" pattern, say one published in the last 10 or 15 years, chances are there are directions included in your chart or book. When you get to that tricky stitch, put your needlework down, and read the instructions. I sometimes read the instructions several times (or out loud! Ha ha!) before I pick up my fabric and needle again. If there are pictures that go along with the instructions, really study those -- often, I find the pictures are more helpful than the text.

While I'm reading directions, I often picture in my mind how the stitch will form. (I've heard that if basketball players spend half an hour visualizing making baskets before playing basketball, they do a better job making baskets.) If you really understand a stitch before you start stitching, things will go more smoothly (you won't have to spend a lot of time looking back and forth from your fabric to the directions.)

Sometimes, too, you can refer to the photograph of the chart on the front for how a stitch should look when it's completed. Remember, that the only rules in needlework are the ones you impose on yourself. If you make a mistake, or construct a stitch differently than the directions dictate, are you going to rip it out or leave it in and be happy with how you've done it? (I rarely rip -- I know I won't live to be 300 years old, so I don't want to waste a lot of time ripping.)

Lucky us -- there are a lot of good books which can teach us new techniques. Sampler House, Earth Threads, Linda Driskell, the Nordic Needle and others have wonderful books that guide you through stitches step by step. There are also some magazines which seem to do a good job of explaining stitches in detail. A few which come to my mind are the Needleworker (which features a new stitch every issue in great detail), Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, and Fine Lines (which does a nice job explaining finishing and embellishing techniques like making tassels.)

You also may have charts in your collection with nice stitch diagrams -- I think Just Nan and Cross N Patch do a particularly nice job of diagramming different stitches. Be familiar with the charts you have -- you may use a chart to help you through a difficult stitch on another design.

When I come across a new stitch or technique, I rarely practice it. Hundreds of years from now, historians will wonder what stroke of genius inspired me to stitch something completely backwards! Little will they know, it's because I didn't practice my stitch before applying it. Ha ha! But you could certainly save little pieces of fabric to practice stitches on. Make a little baggie of scraps of fabric, leftover fibers, and ready needles for practicing. You could also include in this little practice kit a small magnifying glass (to look at pictures on charts or your own work), graph paper for sketching out a stitch before you try it, and a small stitch reference book like the one put out recently by Earth Threads.

There are also places to look online for help with stitches. If you go to Kathy Dyer's site and look on this page: http://www.dnai.com/~kdyer/stitches.html you'll find half a dozen or so sites that offer stitch diagrams for you to look at, print off, or download. There's also a CD now called "The Proper Stitch" by Darlene O'Steen (from a book of the same name published in 1994). The CD features instructions for working stitches, diagrams that can be printed, how the BACK of the stitch should look, and more! According to a product review I read about this CD, you can zoom in and out on the stitches, too. I DO NOT carry this product, but you can order it by calling 919.387.0630 with your credit card. If you get Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, it was reviewed in Vol. 16 recently.

Really, I think the key to teaching yourself something new at home is confidence in your ability. Think back to when you were trying other techniques for the first time, like the first time you stitched on linen, or the first time you made a French Knot. That might have been a little scary. But now you don't think twice about what you know how to do. I think that once you get into the instructions and your piece, you'll become so interested that you'll forget to be scared. I finished Embellishments by Emie Bishop this summer, and although I had very little hardanger background, I found that once I got started on all of the cutting, wrapping and winding, I couldn't put my project down, and finished the entire bottom half in a weekend. I really was disappointed when it was over.

I've heard it said that we should continue to challenge our minds lest they become stagnant. Do things like take an alternate route home from work or put your pants on with the *other* leg first (try this, it's hard!) Challenge your mind and your fingers by teaching yourself something new.

The bewitching hour is almost here, and there are some Almond Joy bars and Tootsie Rolls calling my name. Boo!

© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com