My name is Bette and I am addicted to cross stitching. I've tried many other crafts but nothing comes close to giving me the satisfaction that cross stitching does. Like most of you, I have tons of stash. So much so that I will be selling it here and on ebay over the next few months. So keep your eyes peeled. You never know what goodies will be popping up.
I've lived here in the Phoenix area for almost 18 years now. I have one wonderful husband and three great kids. Oh, and I can't forget about my furbabies. Currently we have two dogs, Rosie and Annie, and one demonic cat named Squeak. I've worked in the cross stitch industry for almost 17 years now. I'm currently working at my third shop, having worked at 2 others which have closed. Sad to say, most of the shops in the Phoenix area are closed now. When I moved here, there must have been 6-8 shops in the area. Now there is just one on the west side where I work and 2 on the east side.
I started cross stitching 32 years ago. I was a new bride when Dave & I went to visit a friend of his from work. I was intrigued by a piece hanging on the wall and thought it was needlepoint. The wife told me it was cross stitch and offered to teach me. I wasn't interested at the time but several years later some friends at church decided I needed to learn. See, one of the gals was pregnant and the group wanted to make her a baby quilt. Her best friend taught me so I could stitch a square for the quilt. I shudder to think of that square. I actually had one line going in the opposite direction from all the others. But no one said anything about it so of course I didn't either. The woman we were making the quilt for offered to teach me to stitch. Well, I couldn't say no because she knew I didn't know how (or she didn't realize I had already been taught by her friend), so I actually learned to stitch twice!
Fast forward 2 years. I was now pregnant with my first child. We had moved about an hour's drive away but still kept in touch with our old friends. Then one day, my best friend called and asked if she could come over. She and another gal from the group came over and, lo and behold, they had made a quilt for me very similar to the one we had made for the other woman. And ironically, the square she made was the exact same square I had made for her quilt. Except hers was a lot better done than mine was. I have long since lost touch with my friends there (in fact, sadly, my best friend has since passed on from breast cancer) but I will always cherish that quilt. And, no, my son doesn't have it. It's mine and always will be.
So there you have it. My cross stitch history in a nutshell. Hopefully you'll learn more about me through my blog.
1 comment:
Post a Comment