Customer Spotlight - Ann Hewitt from Vinton, VA

Enjoy the interview and the fabulous photos chosen especially to share with you. Please comment after reading the interview - the featured stitcher will be thrilled to know you took the time to admire and comment on their craft.

Tell us something unusual about yourself. I am 69 going on 70 too fast. I have had a very good life, happy childhood and great husband and family. I have been able to make my dream come true, being a Walt Disney cast member. I work part time at the Disney Store near my home and every year I visit Walt Disney World with my daughter and this is truly a dream come true.

How long have you been stitching and how did you start. I have been stitching 41 years, starting with needlepoint and then self taught cross stitch.

Why did you select the pieces you did to share with us? The Pentagon (Inez M. Long) was the last military assignment my husband had in the Army. I stitched this especially for him. The lighthouses collage (Howard Koslow) is the largest piece that I have made and it took me several years working on and off to complete. I am now just about to complete "Cat and Mouse" (ANNE MORTIMER). I just have a small area to finish in the lower left corner. At my age the colors have been challenging. We have 4 cats and this reminds me of "Mickey" as seen in chair with my cross stitching.

Do you have a favorite designer or style that you prefer? Lesley Anne Ivory's cat designs are my favorite. Her pictures of cats are very detailed and contain a lot of varies designs with the cat. I prefer 14 ct Aida because of my eyes. I love florals especially Hydrangeas.

Is there anything you wish would change in the cross stitch industry? At this moment I cannot think of anything that I would recommend to the industry. I would like to see more local needlework shops because they have classes and activities for stitchers in their area. My area does not have this luxury.

How often do you stitch and where in the house do you do it? I try to stitch a hour or more each day. My recliner/rocking chair is the living room is my favorite place unless a cat has taken up residence and then I move to the other side of the room where I keep duplicate stitching supplies and a good light.

Are you embarrassed to admit to friends and family how much stash you have on hand? My family does not realize how much I have, and yes, they would be surprised to see my stash in plastic bins and an old trunk. I have been thinning out some of my stash as I know I will not live long enough to finish all I would like to do. My problem is that I am always seeing something new that I want to do.

Do you have a favorite quote? "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything".

Do you have anything else to share? Yes, my own question - What do you do with your finished projects...do you frame them, give them as gifts or store them for framing another time?
ANSWER: I frame my finished project if I have a place for it and it has a special meaning. I have given some small pieces to family.

Thank you Ann!! Please post comments/questions for Ann!

Customer Spotlight - Sue Pollock

Welcome to the first in an on-going series where I will be featuring my customers. Cobweb Corner Customer Spotlight will highlight a different customer on each post. My cross stitch customers are very passionate about their craft and I'm so excited to give them the opportunity to share their work with you.

Enjoy the interview and the fabulous photos chosen especially to share with you. Please comment after reading the interview - the featured stitcher will be thrilled to know you took the time to admire and comment on their craft.

Customer Spotlight with Sue Pollock, Kernersville, NC

Tell us something unusual about yourself. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary about me; just a normal, run of the mill homemaker, wife, mother, and grandmother.

How long have you been stitching and how did you start? I started stitching at the age of 15 so I’ve been stitching approximately 41 years. I found a set of two 8x10 embroidery/appliqué projects at the Sears and Roebuck store and thought they would make a nice present for my parents. I continued dabbling with all types of needlework until my sister-in-law taught me the art of counted cross-stitch a year later. I’ve been addicted ever since! By the way, those first embroidered pieces are now hanging in my master bath!

Why did you select the pieces you did to share with us? I wouldn’t consider Suko (John Clayton Elegance Series) the most difficult piece I’ve ever stitched, but she is my first “human” with such lifelike features. I stitched the Fishing Trawlers (Fiona Jude) for my husband. He was born and reared on the east coast of North Carolina so they remind him of home. The Antique Floral (published by Leisure Arts) was a Christmas present for my daughter and my first attempt at a floral piece. I thoroughly enjoyed the intricacies of the color shading as the flowers seemed to blossom on the fabric.

Do you have a favorite designer or style that you prefer? I have many favorite designers, but lately, I find myself drawn to John Clayton, Margaret Sherry, Valerie Pfeiffer, and Crossed Wing Collections. I never shy away from the huge projects and I love a challenge of the more detailed projects. The “squished” or fractional stitches these designers use really bring their designs to life on an Evenweave fabric.

Is there anything you wish would change in the cross stitch industry? I would love to see more of the UK designs/designers available here in the US at a more reasonable cost. I also love Cobweb Corner’s “rare and collectible” section; you can usually find such great selections of many OOP publications! Just because a design has some age to it, it hasn’t necessarily lost its character!

How often do you stitch and where in the house do you do it? I stitch every day, if only for 30 minutes. It is my only mode of true relaxation. I have to be busy at all times and with my stitching, I’m not only busy but productive as most of my projects are given as gifts or stitched for charity. I have a small corner in our den specifically set up for my stitching supplies. My husband purchased both my chair and my light with my stitching habit in mind. However, since that time, he has attempted to invade the area several times because he sees how comfortable I am, but he’s yet to succeed!

Are you embarrassed to admit to friends and family how much stash you have on hand? When my family and friends see my two stash closets, I give the excuse that I use it for RAKs (Random Act of Kindness) and other gifts. They seem to buy my reasoning; therefore, it eases my embarrassment!

Do you have a favorite Quote? Not really but my catch phrase is “I’ll do it tomorrow!” I’ve said this since I was a child and evidently so much so my Mom once threatened to have it engraved on my headstone when I died. She did purchase a paper weight and had that engraved for me with the phrase. I can’t say that I really procrastinate completing the important stuff; it’s just that I might have better things to do at the present, and if I do, well....now you know what I’ll say.

Anything else you would like to share? I only have a suggestion to all stitchers; share your tips and techniques freely with others, especially new stitchers. Since becoming associated with Yahoo groups, I’ve heard more fantastic tips on how to make my stitching more professional in appearance such as railroading my stitches, or making it easier to begin a thread, such as using the loop method. I knew never to use a knot so that wasn’t an issue, but the loop method is GREAT! Cross-stitch is an art to be shared with others. So many of these little nuggets of wisdom would have helped me tremendously if I had only heard about them sooner in my stitching life!

Thank you Sue!! Please post comments/questions for Sue!

Finding ways to Craft through Pain

In previous posts I introduced my friend Pam, an avid and extremely talented crafter who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis (see my intro post on Pam here).

This post focuses on one of the ways Pam has been able to continue her intricate bead work and cross stitch. Since her hands, especially her thumbs, are an area that cause some of the most intense pain for her, you can imagine that hours of detailed, fine work is difficult and sometimes impossible.

Pam has told me that the only option at this point in time to alleviate much of the pain in her thumbs is to have surgery that would, in essence fuse the thumb into one position. Obviously this is a last resort as the surgery would not be reversible.

Pam performs daily hand exericises to maintain strength and flexibility. In addition, to support and protect her painful thumb joints Pam wears hand splints pretty much 24 hours a day.

What's fascinating is that she has worked very closely with her hand therapist to create a set of splints that allow her to perform different tasks with more ease. She has one set she wears to bed, others for everyday tasks and a special custom set for her intricate crafting. This special set has made all the difference in allowing her to continue with the hobbies she loves so much - lucky for us because her work is beautiful.

I don't have all of the facts, but I'm sure Pam will chime in and set me straight. Here are the pictures of her braces:

The blue splint keeps her left thumb in a set position that is perfect for allowing her to hold her frame and basically form the 'OK' sign with her thumb and first finger. This allows her to grasp items between those two fingers, while at the same time reducing the amount of pain in the thumb joint by eliminating the movement of the thumb. This splint helps support the thumb in the proper position.

The splints on the right hand had to be smaller because the larger splint did not allow her to grasp the needle without poking into the fabric. Pam needed more flexibility for the right hand in order to stitch. These smaller splints give her the flexibility she needs while still providing much-needed support.

The right-hand splint on the far left picture was designed by Pam with the help of her therapist. It allows more support than the smaller splint (oval eight). The smaller oval eight splint is readily available and are inexpensive. The larger splint was custom made making it more expensive but gave Pam the ability to customize it to her specific needs.

If you have questions for Pam, or if you would like to comment on your own experiences of crafting with arthritis, please use the comments and tell us your story.