So you've probably noticed that, as much as you love stitching, sometimes when you're done and try to get up.... you can't!  Everything hurts, won't move, or both!  While some of this may be due to age or physical conditioning, a lot of it can be eased by simply moving more often. 

Here are a few tips and suggestions to get you started....

First of all SIT PROPERLY!  Use a small pillow or other support at your back, if your chair DN have a built in support.  If you're short (like me), try a small stool to raise your feet off the floor, so your legs are bent at 90 degrees, and the circulation isn't cut off by furniture digging into the backs of your thighs or knees.

Make sure your light is adjusted so that it shines where you are working, without you leaning over to see better.  Same for a magnifier (even the great one we carry) - always move the light / magnifier to YOU, don't you move to them. 

Now that you're comfortable - get up, LOL.  Every hour (at least), stand up and stretch.  I know you only have a few more stitches to do to finish that section (wink), but they'll still be there after you stretch, so get up when the time is up, not when you're done stitching!

Here are some ways to remind yourself it's time to move:
     - If you watch TV while you stitch, use that as a timer.  Whenever the program changes, you change position.  Just remember if you're watching a movie, or something quite long, to use a commercial break about half-way through to do your stretching.

     - If you listen to the radio while you stitch, listen for the news (on the hour), or the time announcement, and get up every hour or so.  If you listen to music, stretch every time you get up to change the CD.

     - Or do what I do, and get a kitchen timer.  Set it for an hour, and when it goes off, get up!

Be sure to take any physical ailments you might have into consideration, and ask your doctor for stretches that might be safer for you... but here are a few stretches that I use that are as easy as 1-2-3: 

ONE: Stand up with your feet slightly apart, and stretch your arms over your head, holding one wrist, then the other, as you SLIGHTLY turn and lean forward to stretch your back muscles.  Keep your arms in front of your ears, and do not lean back.

TWO: With your arms hanging loosely by your sides, relax your shoulders and gently circle your head, or slowly tilt your head side to side (ears towards your shoulders) - SLOWLY and GENTLY are the key words here, you don't want to pull any muscles! 

THREE: I find that I can ease my hands by stretching them as wide as I can for the count of 10, then making a fist for the count of 10 (not a tight fist, more of a folded fist, you don't want to add stress or pain, you're trying to remove it).  Repeat this 3-5 times, depending on how stiff your hands are.  FYI, this also works great first thing in the morning, if you're like me and have some stiffness in your fingers when you wake up. 

Funnily enough, it's the wide stretch that seems to do the most good, rather than the closed fist.  I have also read of this exercise being done by stretching, then folding your fingers half-way down (to the top of your palm), then stretching and folding your fingers down to the bottom of your palm (do not make a fist).  Try both ways and see which works best for you.  I have one finger that won't bend (no pain, fortunately), but a slight curl is the best it will do... these hand stretches really help.

And I hope this helps you... disclaimer time - I am not a doctor... these are just some things I have found that helped me over the years.  As I mentioned earlier, if you have any physical issues check with your doctor before trying these.  Do them slowly and gently, and stop at the first sign of discomfort... and happy stitching!

Last month I mentioned I would explain a LOOP STARTS to you, and if you've  never tried this before, I think it will become a favorite! This is a way to begin stitching with NO tail - what could be better than that?  It works best with even numbers of strands, so if you're working with 2 strands (2X), 4 strands (4X), or even 6 strands (6X), this is the method for you!

Begin by cutting a length of thread TWICE AS LONG as you would normally use - so if you like an 18" floss length for stitching, cut a 36" length.  Remove half the number of strands of threads you want to stitch with from the length. So, for example, if you want to stitch with 2 strands (2X), remove ONE strand from the extra long length you just cut.

Fold the separated strand(s) in half, so the raw ends are together (you will now have double the strands to stitch with).  Feed the RAW ENDS through the eye of the needle - the fold in the floss will form a loop at the tail end of the floss.

Come up from the back of the fabric in your starting position, but leave 2-3" of floss on the wrong side of the fabric.  Go back down in the second stitching position (forming a 1/2 stitch, / ), and thread the needle through the loop at the end of the length of floss.  NOW gently tighten the floss - and your thread is anchored in place, with NO tail!

Here's a pic for those of you who are more visual learners (wink):

This is an especially useful way to begin a thread when you're doing lettering, which can be quite thin and hard to hide tails in!  That's it for this month... happy stitching!

Most stitchers are good with hiding starting tails, they either use a LOOP START (come back next month, and we'll cover this quick trick for anchoring with NO tail), or they run under a few stitches of a previous row, or they stitch over the first few stitches of a new length of floss.

Here's another way to begin - and this is actually a technique borrowed from Hardanger!  Use what is called a 'waste knot'.  To begin, tie a knot at the tail end of a new length of floss...

Step ONE: push your needle down through the FACE of your fabric, well away from where you intend to stitch.  You want the knot to be on the face of your stitching, and at least 4-6" away from your starting position, so you have a good length of floss to work with later on (NOTE: you need enough length to thread through a needle and run under AFTER you stitch). 

Step TWO: bring the needle up from the BACK of the fabric in the starting position, and just begin working - remember the tail is pulled off to one side and anchored by that knot, so you don't have to worry about stitching over it.  When you reach the end of the current stitching length, run the tail under as you would normally end off.  (NOTE: you could also use this method to 'hold' your tail in place while you stitch over it!  Anchor the floss w/in a couple inches of your starting point, and in the direction you will be stitching.  Stitch over the tail on the back of the fabric as usual - just snip the waste knot off after once you've worked a few stitches, so the tail is anchored, but the knot isn't making a lump in your stitching.  This is a great method for those who find it awkward to hold tails, or are having slight hand problems).

NOW, Step THREE: go back to that knot holding the beginning of the length of floss out of the way.  Lift the knot off the fabric slightly, and cut it off (you're 'wasting' it, get it, LOL, that's why it's called a 'waste knot').  On the back of the fabric, pull the floss you just cut to the back, and thread it through a needle (now you see why it's important to leave a long enough length!).  Run the tail under your stitching, and there you have it, both ends are now tacked down.

This method does use a bit more floss than simply stitching over the starting thread, but when you get good at it you can actually use the knot to anchor the floss where you can stitch over it, and just cut the knot off when you get to it, and keep on stitching!!

Here are some other starting tail tips - it's important to anchor beginning tails well, so don't be afraid to run the starting tail under several stitches.  If possible, I anchor my tails under 4-6 stitches, and if I don't have that many I weave the tail around 2-3 (laying my stitches side by side, not on top of each other - you don't want a bump!).  Actually, if I'm using a single strand of floss (say for backstitching), I generally run my thread under some stitches, then loop it around part of a stitch just before the spot I plan to begin working - that way the thinner thread is less likely to pull out on me.  This method is also handy for delicate flosses - like blending filaments!

OK, that's all well and good for starting, but how can you end neatly and securely?  First of all, always run the tail AWAY from the edge of the stitched area - especially if there is open fabric showing at the edges.  This is even more important when working on light colored fabrics with dark floss.  Trust me, those wee bits will show up like a sore thumb when the piece is framed, if they aren't dealt with properly!

If the piece is going to take some abuse (for example, stitching on a sweatshirt or tablecloth or topper), it's a good idea to run the tail in 2 directions - so run under 3-4 stitches, the turn in an L or even a U, and run under 3-4 more stitches.  This ensures that the tails will stand up to a little abuse - such as the twisting and pulling of being washed.  I actually like this technique so much I use it even on regular needlework - tails that are too short, or not run under properly, may pull out even during the gentle washing/pressing before framing!

While this next tip isn't exactly about tails, it is about floss showing through fabric... and that's carry threads.  YOU know what I mean, those little lines of floss sneaking across the back of the fabric from one letter to another on the text of a design (for example).  These too will show through light fabric, ESPECIALLY if the thread is dark.  Though it takes a bit more time and effort, it looks much better to end the floss on each letter, and start it new on the next letter - this is where a LOOP START is a great help, as I mentioned last month.  Can you tell that tails and carry threads are a pet peeve of mine, LOL?

My final thought for today is that once those tails are securely run under and anchored in place, pull the remaining floss length away from the fabric, and clip the floss as close to the fabric as you can get w/o damaging your stitching.  DO NOT leave little tufts of tail hanging out - and especially near unstitched fabric areas, as they WILL come back to haunt you when the piece is framed (and they show through the fabric, ruining the nice clean edges of your design).

Happy stitching!

S0 a QUARTER STITCH is literally 1/4 of a full stitch - just one of the 4 arms of an X, worked from the corner indicated by the symbol on your pattern, into the centre of the stitch.  Unfortunately, this does not always provide the best coverage.  For example if you have a line of quarter stitches all together, as shown in the graph to the left below (which includes backstitching), they would look similar to the example on the right, when stitched:

As you can see, there's a LOT of fabric showing with this type of stitch.  Now one way to remedy that is to increase the number of strands being used.  More floss equals better coverage, which is one of the reasons I just LOVE using 3 strands of floss (3X) in my designs...  However, if you do a THREE-QUARTER stitch, rather than a quarter stitch, you get the kind of coverage shown below:

Quite a difference isn't there?  Well, let me share the best way to do a 3/4 stitch, LOL, as there is a great 'trick'.  Make a HALF-STITCH in the direction of the 2 diagonal symbols on the graph, then work the quarter stitch from the remaining corner, OVER the half-stitch, into the centre, like this:

The best reason for doing this is that it anchors the stitch, so if you have backstitching, none of the stitching will slip out from under the backstitched edges and blur your outlines.  That's it for this month... happy stitching!