FAQ – Jute fabric

Q: what’s the best way to remove fibers from the jute surface?

ONE ANSWER:
One of our sample stitchers recently submitted this suggestion and I think it’s so good I need to pass it on. After gluing the edges of the piece, she uses 2″ wide clear shipping  tape across the width, front and back, row by row, and it does pick up most of the loose fibers. Some, of course, remain but they do come off during the first few times of stitching. Where fibers collect between warp and weft, she uses a fingernail to pull them off.

Do you have any suggestions to add? I would love to hear from you on how you approach a stitching project.

FAQ – Custom Colors

CAN I GET MY OWN COLORS FOR THE KIT?

This question has previously been answered under FAQ in the top menu bar but here it is again for those who missed it:

SDA cross-point is unique in ready-made kits for stitching business: I offer you the possibility for custom colors. I can change any color on most designs and we state on the pattern page on the website if custom colors are available. In truth, I can change colors on all of the designs but some would require a great deal of work on my part so cannot be done with a simple $25.00 charge for custom colors. If you are interested in custom colorizing a pattern, please contact us. In either case, you need to send a physical sample of the colors you want, either a snip of fabric, a piece of thread, a DMC color number, a photo if the colors are true. I cannot assume the correct color from a telephone or email description. And, remember custom orders are not returnable as stated on our Policies page so I want to be absolutely sure the colors are as expected before we ship. For more information, please refer to the Custom Services page on the website.

Not sure which pattern to use?

Over the past 15 years I have received many requests for color changes, most often for pillows to blend with existing upholstery, but also for rugs to fit a specific color scheme. If you are not sure how to go about changing the colors, I can help by providing either sample threads or actual print-outs of the pattern of your choice. Not sure which pattern will blend with your upholstery? send me a photo or, better yet, an actual fabric sample, and I will suggest patterns in the cross-point collection that will be suitable companions.

cross-point recipe

a favorite FISH SOUP recipe

Recently my sister and husband returned from a visit to Sweden and raved about a fish soup they enjoyed while there. Each time the soup showed up on a menu, they ordered. Turns out there were as many variations as we found for ‘tiramisu’ while traveling through northern Italy several years ago. My Mother-in-Law also had her version of fish soup, often served on Fridays. Here is my version, adapted from Mrs. Anderson as well as others I have come across. I adore this soup. Adding a green salad with cucumber, radish, scallions or red onion and good crusty bread creates a whole meal. You can follow with your favorite desert, pudding or pie.

cross-point Red color schemes

RED COLORS FOR WINTER STITCHING

From the many tones and hues of reds in the landscape, from flowers and fruit, from sunsets to fires, red is the color of life itself. In interiors, for me, red stands for “warmth” – no matter how gray or white it is outside, using red inside instantly creates a cozy and cheerful feeling and a splash of red, as in a stitched pillow, can reinvent a room and create a warm, enveloping scheme for the winter months.

I added a page to Color Schemes for Winter Reds. They range from warm to cool colors, from brick and scarlet to garnet and ruby, from burgundy to raspberry and plum. To read the full article with photos of stitched cross-point™ pillows, please visit the Color Schemes page at http://sdacrosspoint.wordpress.com

cross-point Autumn/Early Winter stitching – spice colors

COLORS FOR AUTUMN/WINTER STITCHING

PART III – SPICE COLORS

As October progresses to November and December, our thoughts turn to holidays. Thanksgiving, being one of the major holidays in the USA, is our day of giving thanks for all the bounty nature gave us during the growing season. It is a time for traditional celebrating and family gatherings. Who does not enjoy the scent of cinnamon, allspice, ginger, honey and cream? Or turkey and pumpkin pies baking in the oven? Our kitchens are filled with these aromas that create warm memories for future days and years.

At cross-point we offer an entire collection of color related patterns in warm spice colors that, combined with cream and oatmeal, can be stitched and used all winter long to create a comforting interior color scheme. As with other patterns in the cross-point™ collection, we offer custom colors on any one of our designs. If you like these spice colors but want to use them in another pattern, please contact us.Patterns shown above
top row, left to right:
Morocco Stripe color 04, Balouch pillow and insert color 06;
2nd row, left to right:
Bergama color 05 (Balouch in back), Anatolia color 04 and Topkapi color 07 in back;
bottom row:
at left, Balouch 06 Long Border on chair back & seat, Balouch Insert 06 pillow;
at right: Small Tabriz & Tabriz Back Pillow color 04

cross-point Autumn/Early Winter stitching – Grape pattern

GRAPE with LEAF BORDER

a quintessential autumn pattern from cross-point™

Celebrated in song, national symbols, historic textiles, engravings and heraldic shields, grapes are the very essence of Autumn across most of our known world.

The top photo, dated 1946, at left is from my Transylvanian family album. Mama is the proud holder of a huge bunch of  grapes. Our Opa was a vintner so the harvest was always a big deal, celebrated not only by the adults but us children. After the grapes were gathered, fires were made, meat roasted, and everyone enjoyed grapes or wine, music, good food,  and lots of conversation, games, teasing and laughter. It was the year before the Iron Curtain came down over Romania and with it, the end of our grape harvests. In 1947 we left for Austria.

Even though it was the end of an era for us, today grapes are grown on sun drenched hillsides for table and a large variety of wines  – from Australia to Europe and the Americas.

Our cross-point Grape with Leaf Border pattern, available as a pillow and long table runner, exemplifies this rich tradition. Pillows are perfect for sofas and large chairs while the runner is the ideal table center piece, especially during the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.top row, left to right:
Grape with Leaf Border color 01, 02, 03;
middle row: color 04, 05, 06, and 07 at far right;
bottom the NEW Grape with Leaf Table Runner 41″ long by 15″ wide, available in all stock colors shown above.

For more color schemes for stitching now, please visit Color Schemes – Autumn/Early Winter.

cross-point Autumn/Early Winter stitching – Classic Colors

CLASSIC COLORS FOR AUTUMN STITCHING

PART II – CLASSIC  COLOR COMBINATIONS

Following the riot of colors of October and early November in nature , our woodland begins to turn to warm browns, golden ocher and a few remaining peaches and oranges of understory leaves persistently hanging on. More subdued than earlier color explosions, the remaining hues and tints, infused by the warming rays of the late afternoon sun, are nevertheless a rich and reassuring presence before all color turns somber and winter begins.

For those who prefer these more classic colors, cross-point offers stitching patterns in traditional combinations of hunter green, brass, bronze, grayed olive greens, burnt peach, copper, oatmeal, tea leaf, hickory grayed brown and other softer tones.Patterns shown above
top row, left to right:
Anatolia color 02, Basilica color 01, Kilim color 02;
row 2 at right:
Tulip and Tulip Border color 05, Kilim color 02 stool top (same as Small Kilim 02 back pillow);
bottom row:
at left Anatolia color 02 shown as custom upholstery on chair with matching pillow, and
Berber Stripe color 01, Tulip 05 shown with companion Honeycomb color 02;
All of these patterns are available in multiple size options, from pillows to rugs. Please visit the website for more information, and, remember, we offer the option of custom colors on all cross-point patterns.

See more Autumn and Early Winter color schemes for stitching on the blog menu.

cross-point Autumn/Early Winter stitching – Bright Colors

CHEERFUL COLORS FOR AUTUMN STITCHING

Autumn here in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a special time – a riot of colors – from scarlet and deep reds to gold, yellow, chartreuse, deep green, rust, brown, orange, all seen against a true blue clear sky. At cross-point™ we memorialize this fleeting moment with a collection of color related patterns for pillows, rugs, runners and coverlets. They are available in many different sizes. Please visit the cross-point website for more information on individual patterns.

PART I – CHEERFUL  COLORS

I added three groupings of color related patterns to Color Schemes that I hope will inspire you to pull together coordinated colors for stitching to create a warm and cheerful interior during the many gray months of late fall and winter. These bright colors will chase away any gloomy thoughts and feelings. Read more here..

Bright red, dark red, topaz, gold, teal, yellow, honey, dark green

Bright red, dark red, true blue, grass green, topaz, straw, maize, ink

Light red, paprika, loden green, gold, olive, straw, chartreuse

Part II coming up – woodland colors of golden browns, brass, copper, hunter green, hickory and black browns, khaki accents, sand and tan.

cross-point Anniversary Sale

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF
CROSS-POINT.COM

to celebrate with us – get 20% off on all cross-point kits from October 15th to November 15th!

It is utterly amazing how quickly the last 15 years have gone by. During those years I added 20 or more new patterns, innumerable new colorways, new sizes to existing patterns, and a number of upholstery designs. This year alone, I redesigned the cross-point™ website (after a year of online tutorials and local college courses to learn Dreamweaver!), added a blog, a business Facebook page, and set up a quarterly e-newsletter. Our new shopping cart with PayPal – still the safest service available for credit card processing – makes it easy and convenient to order one of our kits.

cross-point New Pattern: Morocco Stripe coverlet

NEW PATTERN:
MOROCCO STRIPE COVERLET

Morocco Stripe Coverlet in 05 in colors

I added a new pattern size to the extensive Morocco Stripe collection page on the website today. The Morocco Stripe Coverlet is available in all 8 existing colorways as well as custom colors.

At 23 1/2″ wide by 10″ high (60 x 25 cm), it is a perfect size for drop leaf  table tops, small chest tops, and is an ideal size for protecting arms of sofas and upholstered chairs. Two coverlets (one for each arm) can be added to either end of a piece of plain fabric which would be tucked in under the chair seat to keep the two arm protectors in place. For a sofa, I would add plain fabric that can be tucked down as well to hold the coverlet in place.
Please visit the website to see all available color options, and, all cross-pointkits are also available in custom colors. Shown below, left to right: coverlet on armchair, on drop leaf table top, and on sofa arm.