SBQOTW Entry

Post imported from Raspberry World.

Today I'm answering the Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week.

Besides framing, what other ways do you finish your cross-stitch pieces?

I have always been a big fan of functional art. That's what drew me to other activities in the past, like wheel-thrown pottery. It's also one thing that turned me off about cross stitch for a long time. When I was first stitching, as a young teenager, I had no idea you could do anything but frame your pieces.

When I got back into cross stitching earlier this year (having been inspired by my friend Renee), I was pleasantly surprised to find options I hadn't really known about as a young stitcher. Tablecloths and hand towels with aida insets were my first projects. In Germany, there's a wonderful selection of high-quality table linens intended for needlework. I bought several of these cloths before I moved back to the US, so they should keep me going for a while. I'm still working on my first one:



When I returned to the US, I found that although there weren't many tablecloths available, there were a lot of functional ways to finish cross stitch pieces. One of my favorites for small pieces is an acrylic trivet. I have made several of these and I'll post a picture next week. I am still working on two for myself, which I hope to finish by the end of the year.

I also found acrylic coasters for very small pieces. I'll post pictures of those later, too. (I'm sure you can all guess why I don't want to post pictures of any of these things right before Christmas...)

I even found a little snow globe with a place to insert a small piece of needlework. How cute that would be with a snowman in it! It's not exactly practical, but it's not just framing, either. Maybe I'll try that one next year.