My favourite lap stand hoop

I am so happy!  Now I can finish this WIP.  It’s been packed away for ages;  I lost the graph and just found it yesterday.  So now I can make a start on all the back stitching.

Looking a little bit creased and rumpled from being packed away for so long, but it’ll all come out in the wash – literally!  When it’s finished I’ll swish it through some warm water and gentle shampoo, rinse, roll it in a towel to squeeze out the water and then iron dry face down on a fluffy towel.

Cross stitching accessories

These are my necessities for cross stitching bar the needle.  Scissors, floss, needle threader and two items which may be unfamiliar.  The little dark blue plastic box contains a sponge.  I run the thread through the damp sponge to keep it flat so it doesn’t twist as I embroider.  Does anyone else do this?  Also my pink floss card winder.  Each card can hold one full skein of floss.

Plastic boxes for holding embroidery floss cards

I have been reading some cross stitching blogs and it is interesting to see how different people store their supplies.  This is pretty much my whole collection of DMC thread, which doesn’t take up much room at all.    In addition, I have a box of unused skeins of DMC floss plus two containers of other brands, so it all easily fits into one drawer.

When I’m done stitching, I roll my cross stitch in a towel and store in a clear plastic tote; everything else fits into my little case in the top photo.