Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Confessions of a multi-cultural loving stitch fiend

I'm not Catholic but I recognize the benefits of confessing your sins. Well, okay, maybe not horrible sins..but  obsessions. I don't really know whether obsessions are sins or not--I'll leave that determination to someone else.

But I do have a confession to make; I'm not only addicted to cross stitch but also to cross stitching blogs.  Of course, that can  remain unsaid since I've started one, but let me be more specific. I  absolutely adore my English speaking cross stitch blogs but I am fascinated with non-English speaking ones. I started off by perusing those beautifully chic French ones then found numerous German blogs. Inevitably that lead me to the stylistic Scandinavian stitching blogs. Since then I have found Japanese, Turkish and now Russian!  I am soooo in my happy place!

As an additional bonus some of them even give away free charts!  Be still my beating heart! And to add even more bliss to my over-flowing Yankee heart many of them include sayings in their native language! Now, I know I can translate these pages into English, but really, where's the fun in that?!!! I love trying to figure out what the script means based on the images of the design!  I even fancy I might be able to learn another language through cross stitch. Er...on second thought, maybe I don't quite have enough free time to do that!

I also love to see if I can navigate my way through these blogs. I actually do pretty well and sometimes I even pick up a few words or two as I travel through the internet world. Interestingly, I am struck by the fact that we as stitchers-- and as people: no matter where we call home, have so much in common.

It is a small world after all!

No new projects to share with you today, but I'll post a finish of an old project. It's a design by Crossed Wing Collection. I must have completed it sometime in the late 1980's. (no fair trying to guess my age--let's just say I'm younger than Tupperware but older than the World Wide Web.) I finished it in a crystal box purchased from Anne Brinkley Designs. Is that company still around?


That's if for now. Happy stitching!

Brightest Blessings!

Beth B.

6 comments:

  1. Hello

    just joined your lovely blog.

    I am a Just Nan fan too and I love the crown design you've stitched.

    I love looking at foreign needlework blogs too because they often have very different styles of needlework to us.
    Your little bird in the crystal box is lovely.
    Happy stitching.

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  2. Hi Milly!

    Welcome to my little corner of the internet. So happy you found my blog!

    Just Nan is one of my favorite designers. I especially love her small designs!

    It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who loves foreign stitching blogs!

    Brightest Blessings,
    Beth B.

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  3. I haven’t touched cross-stitching since I was a kid, but I love looking at all kinds of foreign craft blogs—there are so many wonderfully talented people out there, it’d be a shame to miss out because of the language! And I love the different designs they use.

    Some quilters and costumers often write out their descriptions in English and their native language, which is very cool, since you can get a good idea for some basic terms in the other language.

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    1. Hi Rae!
      I love just looking at the pictures. and since I'm naturally a visual learner, I can glean a lot of information without even knowing how to read the language.

      It's so nice to see the ideas and inspiration of people from other parts of the globe. I would love to traverse the Earth, but rather than sight-see the "traditional" way I would like to meet and interact with crafters!

      Thank you for reading my blog. I promise I will get in some quilting!

      Best wishes,

      Beth B.

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  4. Hi Beth! I love your joyful spirit and enthusiasm. Welcome to the cross stitch blog o'sphere! I hope you continue to be inspired.

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  5. Hello!

    Thank you for the warm welcome. Cross stitchers are such congenial people!

    I hope I can be an inspiration just as your blog has inspired me!

    Brightest Blessings!

    Beth B.

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