Sunday, June 26, 2011

Perfect Weekend








My perfect weekend began on Friday afternoon with the UPS man delivering three boxes from Amy's. Yes, three boxes. The first box had the last lesson for the Creche, &More canvas Happy Halloween with stitch guide by Amy Bunger and Melissa Shirley's Thanksgiving house. The second box had my new K's Creation Metal Floor Stand, and the third box had the arm attachment for larger canvases. I put my stand together that night and immediately feel in love with it. It makes stitching so much easier for me. I do not have the pain in shoulder the way I did with the System 4 and I can adjust the length of the arm to bring the canvas as close as I want when I stitch. I switched from the System 4 for a few reasons. My shoulder being the main reason and also the fact that when working on larger canvases they would slide out of the clamp after awhile. I was spending more time putting the canvas back into the clamp then stitching.


Saturday was a really special day. Denise was so excited to meet Sharon G, who she totally adores, and I was just thrilled that she was getting this opportunity to finally meet Sharon. As Denise said in her post, Sharon is just a wonderful person. I was shocked to find that the stitch guide for our piece, which measures 6 by 6 was 25 pages. Sharon writes a spectacular stitch guide. Every detail of the stitching of the canvas is full explained, her diagrams are large and very easy to understand and read. She went over every area of the canvas so that when we left we were all confident that we understood and knew exactly how to finish stitching the piece. Karen, the owner of The Nimble Needle, is such a warm and friendly person. She made us feel right at home and could not have been nicer. I was so happy that Denise finally got to meet Sharon. We had a wonderful time and look forward to taking another class from Sharon. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class given by Sharon, please take it you will be so happy that you did.


Today was a good day because I got to see Jake. Jen and Jake came by after his swimming lesson (he was the best student in the class) and stayed for breakfast. Nana Day Care is officially over until September and so I now get to enjoy the big guy. Jake now weighs 28 pounds and is 33 inches tall.


My next needlepoint adventure is on July 9, when Karen and I go to Ruth's for a class with Julia Snyder. This will be my last adventure until November when we go to Amy's. I will be having surgery on July 14 for my rotator cuff. I have all my small projects ready to stitch until I can go back to my bigger pieces. The surgeon told me that I could start stitching three days after surgery. I hope he is right.


The belt is one of my small projects. It is almost done and I hope to get it in for finishing before my surgery.


Linda

EDITORIAL UPDATE (from Denise)

I want to clarify on behalf of Linda that the System 4 stand did not cause her shoulder problems; these existed & were exacerbated this past year. The new K's stand currently makes stitching easier for her because of how she can position it. A floor stand is a personal choice. Linda & I have both used System 4's for years, and both the K's & the System 4 are excellent stands. The K's stand is supposed to work especially well on large canvases, and we are all looking forward to Linda being able to work on some of her large projects, such as her Nativity Creche after her successful surgery. I will keep you all posted. D

11 comments:

RobinG said...

Dear Linda,
There I was, happily reading your blog as I always do, when a sentence simply leapt out at me: you traded in your System 4 stand for the K's, resulting in elimination of shoulder pain! I've just sold my old stand with an eye to buying a System 4 precisely because I, too, have suffered from endless rotator cuff problems and it seemed that the System 4 would help. If you wouldn't mind, could you elaborate on your reasons for switching to the K's? Many many thanks. RobinG in Indiana

ChitownStitcher said...

I am also anxious to hear how your system4 affected your shoulder. I use one all the time. I had rotator cuff surgery in Dec 09 and couldn't wait to get back to stitching. I do find I often have to support my left arm or my shoulder gets achy. Good luck with your surgery. Nancy ( who is leaving Memphis tomorrow after a cooking with Amy class-what a blast!!)

Melinda said...

Hi, Linda - Love your snazzy belt! Very cute! The stand looks great and has obviously been put to good use already. That's wonderful that it has not put a strain on your shoulder. We'll have to compare notes when mine arrives. So happy to hear that you and Denise enjoyed the class with SharonG!

Denise & Linda said...

Hi Robin and Nancy.
The Systen 4 did not cause my rotator problem. I just found it made stitching difficult for me. I could not position the stand so that my arm would not bothersome when I stitched. I had no problem with the System 4 before I had a problem with my shoulder.
I find that K's stand is working for me that does not mean that it would be right for you. A stand is a personal item and you have to find the perfect fit for you. The thing I like about the K's stand is that you can lengthen or shorten the arm to adjust to you. I have not had any neck or shoulder pain since using the K's stand. It works for me right now.
Someday I might go back to the System 4 but right now I am very happy with the K's
Linda

Diane Gasior said...

Linda, which daylight lamp do you have on your Kay's stand? It doesn't look like the table clamp one. It appears to go through the hole.

Denise & Linda said...

Hi Diane,

It is a Daylight Slimline light. It did come with a clamp but I have never used it. I had an attachment for my System 4 and it slide right in and the same for the K's stand. It is the best light I have had.
Linda

Diane Gasior said...

Hi Linda, I have one more question about your decision to change stands. I have a system 4 and although I don't dislike it, I agree with you that it doesn't come close enough and the teeth on the the side adjustment for the clamp I think slips alot. The one thing I love about it is the ability to swivel from front and back of frame for weaving threads. I know that you have to adjust the Kay frame to do this. Do you find you miss this feature of your system 4? Diane

Kelly Clark said...

Linda- Giant Hugs & goodluck with your surgery and the new stand!!!
I really appreciate your support of my new blog! Take care dear!

Denise & Linda said...

Hi Diane,
Yes, I miss not being able to just flip over my canvas.
I am getting use to loosening the knob to turn the canvas.
I love the Sysfem 4 but feel that right now the K's stand works better for me.
Linda

Anne Bloom said...

I have a System 4 (actually 3 of them) and I have added the curved arm that comes with the lap stand to my floor stand and that brings my needlepoint right in front og my face! It makes a huge difference!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Can you post a photo of the K's Creation attachment for larger canvas work?
Thanks,
Marilyn