Feeling crafty, I ordered a cross-stitch pattern and material. The pattern is a bit folky and I thought it looked like fun. A train station at Christmas time. I have not cross-stitched in years, but used to love it when I was a kid. I have always cross-stitched on aida cloth in the past and found it relaxing. This pattern, however, called for 30 count linen. Ok. So I ordered the supplies and, after they arrived, I sat down to begin.

But where to begin? 30 count linen does not have noticable holes like aida cloth. It is a much more tightly woven material. How on earth do I even count these holes! I had to google it. Ok, now I knew to count every other hole (if one can even call these holes) and stitch my crosses. I started in. Had to take my glasses off. Had to REALLY concentrate. Oh my! What have I gotten myself into! This was suppposed to be fun but now I had a headache.

After getting into the project, I got used to the material but needed to be under a good light source to work comfortably. For cross-stitching projects, I would not recommend linen to beginners. It would be way to frustrating. I would not recommend it to older persons or people with poor eyes either. While I like the look of the linen, I just do not enjoy working that small. I had also purchased 28 count linen. To tell the truth, there is really no significant difference between the 30 count and 28 count linen. Small is small. If I had seen the material before purchasing it on-line, I may have had second thoughts from the start. But by ordering things on-line, it is extremely hard to see exactly what one is in for. Of course, I could always use the materical for embroidery. We shall see…

As always, Happy Crafting!