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Handy

Handy

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Jun 17, 2005
Posts
787
Location
Manitoba, Canada
Hello, although I've posted a few times already I thought I should probably introduce myself properly.

My name is Sandra and I own a frame shop in Manitoba, Canada with 2 friends /business partners.

Our primary business is custom framing and we have a "crosss Stitch corner". Two of us are avid stitchers and we also believe that having the supplies generates a lot of framing business for us in the needlework area.

We've been open for 10 years. There are 3 other B&M frame shops in town. One we get along with really well, the other two...... well, we don't!!

I'm married to a Fire Fighter and we have to boys - 6 & 11 yrs old.

In my spare time (what the heck is THAT!!!???) I am a cross stitch designer. I've tried to make a link to my website below if anyone is interested in looking (and IF it works... I'm new at this UBB stuff.... I may have to post a few times to get it right.

I'm looking forward to meeting so many of you, and learning what I can, as well as hopefully I will be able to share any info I might have.

You seem to be a pretty fun group, which I'm glad to take part in!

Right now we are researching which is the best CMC (see my other post) so I'm hoping that all you who have them might shed some light for us.

oh! and one other thing - usually on boards such as this I've noticed that once you've visited a topic it is highlighted in a different color so you know "where you've been". This board doesn't seem to do that and I can't see anything about it in the "faq" file.
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thanks!
Handy
 
me again - just trying to fix my signature and make my little picture show up!
 
Welcome!!!

I am also a cross stitcher....that sounds a little ummm........well never mind!
So I just had to check out your site, very nice!

Elsa
 
SEEM to be a pretty fun group? Sandra, we ARE a pretty fun group. Thanks for joining in, I think you will be a welcome addition to this club.

I had a friend who used to do cross stitch. He was a huge fellow, used to play football. His hands where as big as my car, yet he would spend hours stitching away on these dainty little embroidery things. Had a lot of fun teasing him, from a safe distance.

John
 
Thanks Elsa! I imagine that a lot of the framers (particularly the women) here are probably some sort of stitchers also! The best part is being able to frame our projects so they look amazing!!!

LOL!!

John, we have only a few male stitchers - and it's too bad. I've teased DH a few times about trying it (he's a real MANLY man) and there is no way in He** that he'll ever try it. To be honest, I can't imagine his big sausage finger hands ever being delicate enough to pull it off!! LOL!!

thanks for the welcomes!
 
sandra if you go to your website you can just cut and paste the url ( i think that is the term, i'm new at this too) out of the address box into the space wher you enter your site on your profile. does that make sense? did i explain it right?
i am new to this site too my name is sarah soon to be in st louis we have one girl 3 months she is the light of my life.
if anyone has noticed my typosw, lack of capitals and punctuation it is because she is usually in my lap when i am typing. and i am usually in a hurry to get on to the next thing it's like ocd or something so my comments are usually brief and vague i will always reply to a ? if i see it
 
Originally posted by Handy:
I imagine that a lot of the framers (particularly the women) here are probably some sort of stitchers also!
Click to expand...
Ooooooo, not me! When I pick up a needle, I feel like I'm all thumbs! My boys think if it can't be glued, stapled or duct taped, Mama don't do it! (outside of the frame shop, of course...)

My Mother was a world class seamstress and designer (in my eyes anyway.) Remember the fringed jackets of the 60's? We couldn't afford one, so I saved up for the material, fringe, and a shirt pattern, and she made me one. I thought I was so cool.

Been through the "framing with little kids in my lap" stage and now my boys are 23 and 18 - marriage and college coming up for these this summer and fall.

Don't feel like you have to answer every question. When I do that, I often find that I wish I'd just listened a while... ;)

Betty
 
I'm not a needleworker either, Betty, in addition to all thumbs, I can't seem to keep the thread from tying itself in knots. I'd rather be outdoors anyway.

John, you may be interested to know that all of my male needleworkers were pilots.
 
Cross stitch was how I started out in framing. Now I don't have much time to do it! How does the cross stitch corner work out? I have contemplated this for a while, have vendors lined up, just not sure of the viability with lots of things offered at the BB's and walmarts of the world.

Let me know what you think

Elaine

p.s. welcome to the grumble
 
I'm another female non stitcher person.

I can stitch down what needs to be stitched in the store but I don't enjoy it.

Jo said she'd rather be outdoors...well me too!

Welcome to TG Sandra.
 
I did one piece of cross stitch about 22 years ago. At that time, it made up a significant portion of our framing, and I thought I should know a little about it.

My wife was in the hospital for nine weeks following a horrific back injury. We were childless and dogless, so I spent a lot of evenings sitting with her and I had some time on my hands (so to speak.)

I used the enlarger in my photo darkroom (anybody remember darkrooms?) to project an image on some graph paper. It was my store logo and hours, which I stitched and then framed.

A few months later, I changed my hours.

In the past few years, I've probably framed ten cross-stitches per year. It used to be more like ten each week.

Welcome, Sandra. I think you'll find us a random, but congenial bunch of hooligans.
 
Welcome, Handy!

As for doing any kind of needlework, I am with Betty and the others.

I just framed two counted cross-stitch pieces for a male customer. He started doing needlework when he was a young boy--he is very masculine and a BIG BOY now. He said if Rosie Greer could get by doing it, so could he.

Rosie Greer: 1932 -
A former New York Giant and Los Angeles Rams football player in the 1960s, Rosie enjoyed crocheting.(Corning Leader,NY) In 1973 he published, Rosey Greer's Needlepoint for Men.

Don't you just love it! :cool:
 
I am a rather large (6'3" 235#) cross stitcher of the male type. Started years ago when our son was in the hospital and I got bored during visiting hours. The bug bit me big time. I too started framing my own pieces and now do many fabric pieces commercially. Still do stitch, but only while watching sporting events on tv. I watch alot of them now that we made the jump to high def TV. I get yelled at less when I'm watching a game and am still somewhat productive. I always thought about having a Cross Stitch corner for the business, but zoning regulations stop that from happening. Welcome to The Grumble Sandra P!
 
Welcome Sandra!
Another cross stitcher here. I started framing the stuff in '82 and got the bug immediately. The first piece I stitched, I designed for my mom's kitchen. It repeated a floral motif of her wallpaper. I framed it with a wrapped fabric liner and (oak!) frame and the old wallpaper is now long gone, but the piece still hangs in her kitchen over the mug rack and looks very nice. I always did like that ols wallpaper *sigh*

I am still trying to find a way to cross stitch and ride my bike at the same time, but I take always projects along on camping trips.

I enjoyed your site; it's nice to see all that creativity!

Ron, you could have unframed that xc of yours, picked out the old hours and stitched in new ones!
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Truly, it's nice to hear of you fellas who are secure enough in your masculinity to cross stitch!

edie the nimblefingered goddess
 
Welcome to the G Sandra!

I am no longer a stitcher myself. I bet it has been 10 years since I took on a project. I am quite a collector of books and all that fun hand dyed floss though. Used to be a day would not go by without me working on something. Sometimes I miss it, especially when I take a piece on for framing. I'm glad I am familiar with the fabric and such as it helps when framing.

My mother was an amazing seamstress and taught me everything I know. I no longer sew either actually. Although that is not totally true as I am working on recovering my sofa/ottoman, which of course has turned into quite a project. I can never do it the simple way.

Anyway, welcome to the Grumble, you will find us a groovy bunch......
 
Sandra,
Welcome from a fellow 'Grumbler'. DeAnne my wife loves cross stich also. I will show her your site this evening, nice job by the way. Remember to have fun with us on 'TG' and feel free to chime in anytime..
Danny :cool:
 
Handy,

Welcome to the Grumble! This was very good of you to post a formal introduction - Indeed this is a great forum, and you will get a great deal of information out of it!

Originally posted by Handy:
...I'm married to a Fire Fighter and we have to boys - 6 & 11 yrs old...
Click to expand...
You'll have to seriously look at the Firefighter nutcrackers that we sell in our shop! Our shopping cart is "Canada friendly" btw. :D

...In my spare time (what the heck is THAT!!!???) I am a cross stitch designer. I've tried to make a link to my website below if anyone is interested in looking (and IF it works...
Click to expand...
One of our early employees designed a bird for a Cross-stitched mat in a PPFA framing competition. This was her second Counted Thread mat design that eventually led to her creating her own business, Crossed Wing Collection

All the best!

John
 
Rosie Greer was the keynote speaker at the first PPFA convention I ever attended, back in the late 70's.
:cool: Rick
 
Rick,

I believe that Rosie might have been the keynote speaker at the 1981 PPFA Convention in New Orleans. What I recall, was that he had his pieces in the most miserable, dirty frames that you could possibly imagine.
shrug.gif


John
 
John- I think this was in Chicago. I've never been to New Orleans. I don't remember much about what he said or showed. I think it was more of a gung-ho pep talk type of speech.
:cool: Rick
 
Hi Sandra,
Welcome to the Grumble!!!!!! Lots of nice people here and they are all very helpful...I use to love to do counted cross stitch...Last piece I did was a Christmas present for my parents in '85...it was a family tree in verse form...with a scroll type with lots of flowers...one of these days, I am going to reframe it...its in one of those awful oak frames.
Sherry
 
Elaine,

like I mentioned earlier, I think that the best thing about having the XS corner is that it gives stitchers confidence that we know what we are doing when it comes to framing needlework.

I think that knowing that we sell it, we do it, and we frame and hang the samples from it on our walls makes them more comfortable to bring their own framing to us.

As for how profitable it is in itself.... not much. Thank goodness we are primarily framing! LOL!! It's a fairly seasonal item, and the industry is in a bit of slump right now. We do frame a LOT of needlework. At least 15 to 30 pieces a month.
 
Ron, I applaude your efforts to at least try stitching! We try to get our male partner to try it, but it's never happened. He DOES appreciate what it is though. Over the years he's picked up a little knowledge from listening to us talk to the customers.

Edie, if you figure out how to ride that bike while you stitch be sure to let me know! I love to ride my bike and it sure would be great to kill two birds with one stone! LOL!! But what about the saying "never run with scissors"?? I think that bike riding might be even worse!! "Don't RIDE with scissors"???

John, I'm going to check out your nut crackers! Crossed Wing is a very popular name in the XS industry. THey do some beautiful bird designs. There is one in particular with snowmen I think - I really like that one!

Sherry, you should see some of the frames I put my first pieces in!! YIKES!! LOL!! I've reframed most of them now though. I think that if I were ever to get out of the framing business I would miss it the most because I wouldn't be able to frame my own things anymore! I'm addicted to good framing! LOL!

Wally, I love it when men stitch! We have a few faithful male stitchers and it's always fun to talk to them to see what projects they are working on. Most of them are a little shy though, so we take it easy on them so we don't scare them away! LOL!

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, and also thanks to those who checked out my website and commented! I'm still fairly new at it (only 6 years) so it's always nice to hear feedback.

I think I'm going to really like it here....
 
You'll have to seriously look at the Firefighter nutcrackers that we sell in our shop! Our shopping cart is "Canada friendly" btw.
Click to expand...
I'm gonna have to move this whole thread to the Classified Ads forum now.
 
Handy sorry to be late but welcome from another shop that is both a custom framer and cross stitch supplier. We have been in business for over 18 years and have had both all the while. However i do most of the framing and Marie( my wife does the cross stitching) I have tried my hand at it but I am very slow. I have however designed a few charts of local interest.

When Marie and I use to go to the INRG/SEYG markets in Charlotte i used to attend all the classes that DIDN"T require the use of a needle. That meant mostly Lecture classes ,history ,product and handling and finishing classes. It gave me a great deal of knowledge of how to frame them. If you check My "BUDDY's picture galler" in the design segment of TFG you'll notice that 9/10 of my models are needleart. It is how we got started and what we are known most for in this area. However I have been a member of PPFA as a chapter president and have certified and recertified since then as well as being a participant of TFG for some years as well.

I found that framing Needle art especially Cross stitching has developed my matting techniques and design more than standard framing since cross stitching often has very blank backgrounds and can use some decorations.
Charles BUDDY Drago CPF ®
Needles and Knots
Chalmette,La. 70043
 
You are absolutely right Buddy, XS can be very inspring to frame.

I've got a section of "cool framing" in my yahoo photo album -

http://photos.yahoo.com/handie_99

I've put a lot of hand carved mats to show. I enjoy carving the mats by hand, but my fingers ache afterwards from all the pressure you have to use.

I'll have to check out the design section - hadn't realized there was one - thanks for the heads up!
 
Aw, don' be tuff on him, Ron, he only mentioned it in passing... kind of like my mentioning all the art supplies we have... you know.
 
Ellen I for one wouldn't be tough on Ron or anyone else who did cross stitching of their own chooseing. I tried it and the pieces I attempted seemed to take forever. I can design charts but don't ask me to use a needle ( that is Marie "NEEDLES" I am "KNOTS" in more than one way.LOL)

But Handy when we first started in business Marie and some times with my company would go to the local grade shcools and teach the kids to stitch. It never failed the Boys were always very hesitant but when a boy did stitch of his own chooseing he normally was one of Marie's Better students. I think it was something to do with the fact that Girls stitched because it was what was expected of them but a boy could take a bit of abuse if he did, so when he did really get in to it,it was something he really wanted to excell at and normally did.

I on the other would love to excell and can tell you a lot about the subject but my manual dexterity leves a lot to be desired. That is why I have an OPPOSITE ,MARIE.LOL
BUDDY
PS Handy I notice you have a sort of pensiant for drawing DRAGONS . So does my Art Major daughter ,Gina. Drago means DRAGON in Italian.
If ever I find a photo of the mats I cut for that Teresa Wentsler "The Castel" I'd love to show you. I cut a triple mated rectangle with domed top and btms. in which the hand carved dragon's head was scrolled in the dome opening at the top and his tail at the bottom both in triplicate matting.
 
Yes, I do have a fondness for dragons. I have another design that I'm waiting for word of acceptance on. I hope it makes it! LOL!!

I'd love to see a pic of your mat - it sounds really neat!
 
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