Stitcher’s Excitement
13 September 2005 18:53 round robins, exchanges, & gifts, wipsLots of pictures today! 
First off, when I got home from school today I peeked into my mailbox and lo and behold… my needleroll exchange was there! I was mildly surprised to get it so soon. Although our official post date was yesterday, my partner mailed it late last week and despite the fact that it came to Germany from Canada, it only took five days to get here! The needleroll I received was self-designed and stitched by Christine V. and I think it is absolutely lovely!
I must take a moment to mention here that if the needleroll she sent me is a typical-sized needleroll at approximately 7 ½ inches long, the one that I made for my person is about 5 times too big! Hubby remarked that he hopes that my partner has a lot of needles! 
So that was my first exciting bit of news, now for my second!
Today I finished all of the cross stitching on “Passing Admirers!” YEAH! Mini Happy Dance!
After lamenting the other day how I hadn’t had much of a chance to work on “Passing Admirers” lately, on Sunday I decided to put my Halloween exchange aside and spend some quality time with it.
I got about half of the underskirt done on Sunday while I stayed up very late and watched the finals of the U.S. Open. I found it difficult to concentrate when things got exciting during the third set, as I was really cheering for Andre. (For those of you who don’t know, I play tennis and have been a HUGE Agassi fan ever since he had hair!)
I worked some more on the underskirt yesterday and finished up this afternoon. I am so pleased with myself… now for the backstitching and beading. I hope the backstitching won’t take too long and there is only a little bit of beading… I think in total I have to add something like 10 beads.
Oh, and a small question: Since this is my first time beading, should I do it before or after the backstitching or work it into the backstitch flow? Also, I normally use a hoop, but is it better to stitch in hand when adding beads?
That’s it for today! Now off to do my homework. 
13 September 2005 at 22:19
Always backstitch first. I would wash and iron the piece, then I’d put on the beads. I wouldn’t use a hoop, since you’ll have already washed and ironed it. (Beads sometimes break during the washing and ironing process.)
Other tips:
Use a beading needle or #28 (I prefer the latter because it’s shorter).
You can attach beads several ways: use half stitches; use a full cross stitch (two strands of floss), stitch the first leg through the bead and for the second, let the bead “split” the floss (one piece on one side of the bead and the second on the other); or using a full cross stitch, but go through the bead both times. With the full crosses, the former will lay diagonally, and the latter will lay vertically.
More than you asked for, but I hope it helps.
13 September 2005 at 23:35
That’s a lovely needleroll! I’ll try to remember to leave a comment for Christine, as well.
Passing Admirers is looking great. You’re in the home stretch now. Keep it up!
14 September 2005 at 02:12
How exciting to be the first to receive your exchange. It’s really pretty and I’m sure yours will be wonderful too. Good luck with your beading. I can’t wait to see the finished piece as it is really nice now.
14 September 2005 at 03:56
Finally the SBE exchange…actually I was very anxious to see the 1st needleroll exchange. Simply beautiful Renee (from Christine V). So lucky.
14 September 2005 at 08:07
Your needleroll is a beauty! Wow!
And congratulations on finishing the cross-stitching on Passing Admirers. It’s very impressive.
Like Anna, I usually add the beads after all the rest…
14 September 2005 at 15:04
I love Passing Admirers! It’s so pretty.
15 September 2005 at 17:33
The needleroll you received is lovely! Christine did a great job! And your Passing Admirers is very pretty, too!