I’d Like More Cross Stitch Friends.
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Looking for a hobby that can help you make more friends? You may be surprised that you can make many friends through cross stitch. Most people don’t realize they can make new cross stitch friends quite easily, but they can if they’ll just make the effort. What’s also nice about meeting friends who enjoy cross stitch is that you’ll not only have a great time, you’ll also get to stitch some great patterns as well.
First, you can investigate whether there is a local stitching club. The best way to find this information is to ask at your local craft or needlework store. Many stores hold courses and club meetings on-site, and they are the best places to advertise clubs. If there is no local club, then consider starting one yourself!
This will require more thought and planning than you may at first realize, but will reward you many times over. Do not cut any corners here. You’ll have to decide where you will meet (think: good lighting, comfortable chairs, refreshment facilities, car parking, and so on) and whether you wish to focus on cross stitch or whether you should include other embroidery or craftwork too. Finding a meeting time that suits most people is one of the biggest decisions.
Of course, the list of things you need to think about doesn’t stop there. You’ll want to decide if the members will pay a fee, what kind of policies and rules you’ll have, and what your goal for the club will be. If this seems a little overwhelming, wait until you have a couple of members and then talk about it as a group. Together, you can decide the goal of the cross stitch club. But as you decide your goal, keep in mind that friendship is the main attraction of belonging to the club. As you’re stitching, you’ll be able to chat. Having a great time and making friends is what the club is all about.
After thinking through what’s involved, you may feel like the process of starting a club is a bit more than you’re willing to handle. In that case, you can try something a little more low-key. Simply ask a few of the people you know who like to cross stitch to come to your house for a fun stitching-party. If you have friends who don’t know how to cross stitch, you can teach them. You may find that your informal gathering soon turns into a regular club meeting.
So much for the locals… Let’s move on to making new cross stitch friends elsewhere.
The most obvious way to cast the net of friendship is to seek out penpals. There are many stitching websites that have a penpal section, and many popular magazines contain find-a-penpal pages. This is wonderful way of making cross stitch friends from all over the world, and you may have the opportunity of exchanging small projects if you so wish. It’s often helpful to discuss your stitching projects — you can motivate each other to finish those tricky pieces you’ve been putting off.
The internet has many penpal sites too, although in my view, it’s worthwhile taking time to ensure that the site you’re engaging with is a good one. Never add your postal address or telephone number to their database. Your email address will suffice for the first exchanges with a new friend, and you can give her or him more contact details when you are sure that the person is genuine. You may prefer to have an e-pal, as opposed to a snail mail friend.
Communicating by email is useful where you want to have spontaneous, informal exchanges. Letter-writing can be more formal, and the friendship travels more slowly, but you also have the opportunity to send the occasional gift, and receiving a letter has that special magic that an email can never replace.
There are a number of e-groups on the internet that combine email and snail mail to promote friendship and cross stitch worldwide. One such group is run by Yahoo, called XStitchpals. Members exchange cross stitched cards every month, with a different theme for each month. They also chat on a forum, support each other with stitching and non-stitching issues and may email each other individually if they wish. The friendships developed are very real, despite the fact that the members live so far from each other. This may well be the way forward for stitching friendship.
As you can see, several options exist when it comes to finding cross stitch friends. With just a little effort, you quickly can have several friends who share your passion for cross stitch. And hey, a great place to get started on your search is right here in the forums at Patterns Patch cross stitch club.
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