AAAARRRGGGHHH!!

[harvester]

Ok im working on counted cross stitch. trying to learn how to do this. its fun, entertaining, cant find much use for it except everyone does leave me alone while im working on it..lol..
But, seems every time i put it down and come back to it ive miscounted somewhere and its thrown the whole thing off! this is happening to me over and over and its getting so frustrating. Ive just been filling in the blanks so to speak instead of taking out stitches. Im sure the whole thing will look smeared in the end.lol.
Is it really supposed to be this difficult?

[pcrowder]

It can be...I've had the same problems, harvester, and I finally just gave up and do stamped cross stitch instead. One thing I've found is that if you can photocopy your pattern and blow it up to a larger size, that sometimes that will help you see the stitches on the pattern better, so you can tell where you left off. Also, with the photocopying, you can also use a yellow "hilighter" to mark off the rows you've already done on the copied pattern, and if you have to leave for awhile, you can even mark off the stitches on the particular row that you've already stitched, without ruining the original pattern, so you can see instantly where to start back up.
Hope this helps a little!

[harvester]

well i figgured that one out, by the time i assumed i was never going to do this particular pattern ever again in all my life i just use a pencil i hold in my lap and mark off the pattern as i go. i thought this would help but for some reason im still making mistakes. If i trash this one completely im just going to go back to embroidery i guess. I could try the stamped cross stitch and maybe that would be better for me.
thanks for the input, i was hoping it wasnt just me and i was missing something here.

[cwatson]

This may be a little late for you but I used to have the same problem, especially when working on 28 count or smaller patterns. My sister bought me a magnifying ruler that slides over your pattern and magnifies it while also marking the area you are currently working on. It has a back arm that holds it over your pattern. I know I am not going a good job of describing it but it works great. She got it at Hobby Lobby here. I would have quit if it were not for that wonderful gift from her ;)

[harvester]

well i planned ahead, im 70% blind in my left eye and last i checked i had 5% deteriation in my right eye and my glasses arent cutting it these days, time for a checkup. but i had bout a headset magnifier that has two different lenses on it. it works good and keeps my hands free. seeing isnt the problem i think im just getting lost on the pattern even tho im marking off what ive done on the pattern. I just took out 48 stitches yesterday cuz for some reason i cant figgure out i was off by two stitches. so i decided to go work in a different area for a while then ill come back to it and again try to figgure out why things arent working in that problem area. it is very frustrating. ill finish this project, but if it doesnt get better and i dont figgure out what im doing wrong ill not do the counted cross stitch anymore.

[cwatson]

I hear ya. I have been working on one for my DSD that was supposed to be done for Christmas and we are headed into Easter and it is still not done. The pattern is encircled with a gold braid that is really 4 shades of gold and some how I kept getting off one somewhere and my braid moved over one. Of course I did not notice it until I was counting over to another part and realized I was off a stitch. I finally put it up in my sewing/crafts room and I see it when ever I go to retrieve something but have just not been able to get myself to pick it up again yet. Maybe tomorrow :-/

[Pudlmom]

I used to do a lot of it in my 20's and some in my 30's, but now that I am past 45, I find it much more difficult. I keep thinking I'm going to buy one of those Mag Eyes.

[pcrowder]

One thing I did was take the pattern to a place (like Kinkos) where you could blow it up pretty big. I had them blow it up to where each square was something like 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch, and then I just used a highlighter yellow marker to mark when I finished each row. Oh yeah - I also had them make me an EXTRA copy of the pattern just in case I wanted to use it again. And yes, counted xs CAN be that difficult! That's why I gave up and just do the stamped xs...MUCH easier on these over-50 eyes! ;)

[LoiDreams]

I am not sure where you are losing you place. Are you losing you place on the pattern or the fabric? If it's the fabric , I make little Xs in a single thread every 10th row vertically and horizontally for the whole pattern, before I start the fun. I you are losing your place on the pattern paper, I use a sticky note under the last block I worked with an arrow pointing to the last stitch.

Hope this helps. I'm new here although I have been lurking for about a year.

[Estrie]

I hate counted cross-stitch! LOL. I used to do it, but I have switched to regular old decorative embroidery. I just can't see good enough for cross stitch.
I just had my first tatting lesson on Tuesday. I think I will get to where I can do that without even looking, lol. That will be good.

Get a really good light and mark your pattern as you go.

[mtwildflower]

I used to do the counted cross stitch when I was younger too and then it got harder. Discovered that I was losing my place all the time because one eye sees higher than the other. I have to work to make them focus and am used to doing that ( my eye doc wants to add the correction to my lenses, but I won't let her.) In fact, I am so used to doing it that when she tries to make me see double during the eye exam, she has to jack up the settings as high as they go because my eyes just naturally bring everything into focus. I actually have to stop them from trying to focus and just let them see double.

Anyway, it's a common kind of deal. Maybe it's something to ask your doc about as well....and if it's the case, you can have prisim added to your glasses to make it less work to focus. I am thinking I will get a pair of glasses with the correction for my sewing and close up work and then keep the others for the regular stuff.