Hi, just chatting

Anonymous_1

Sorry I assumed free talk meant talk about anything.
I'm not exactly sure what it's allowed and what isn't yet, so please forgive me.

Just looking to make friends and share.
Thank you testknit for your friends request, and for your kind message.
I'm sorry I can't chat through here,  but I'm also on Telegram.
I can't link either it seems, a lot of restrictions here but I'm learning.

Thank you for letting me know of the Bounty section, sadly I've not many coins to offer anyone yet, so will wait until I have more.
Heritage charts by Karen Carter are hard to come by, there is only one here unless I am missing something in the search.
I will keep trying

I'd love to hear what everyone is doing and your favourite crafts etc.
My is cross stitching, I've been doing so for only a short time but I am loving it.
It's also relaxing, I have a awful medical condition and stitching helps when the pain becomes too much.
I'd love to hear about all of you, your hobbies and interests.
I'm also bedridden, so the Internet is really my only access to the world and so many different countries here.
I'd.love to hear stories and interests regarding your culture and traditions.

If you feel like chatting I'd love to hear from you.

Anonymous_1

I have managed to gather some coins ?
I've placed my first bounty! I do hope someone out there can help!
I've had a good look around and joined the stitching group you are in testknit. I've said hello there I do hope I'm doing this correctly.
I also read all through the rules of the forum, the wording is a little harsh but precise.
I can respect that, no dilly dally, just straight to the point ?
I've had a rummage through patterns and repaint.
I love repaints most, no need to print, they load straight to SAGA and away I go. I see it is available here since Google took it down, i was going to upload it but its already available.
It's difficult with patterns too, a lot of what I have is already available! It will be difficult to gain coins if I've nothing to share, this website is vast and I only cross stitch so I don't, at this time, have much to offer.

I will take your advice testknit on the knitting. The two needles just confuse me and I've no one to teach me. My mother taught me to crochet as a child, but sadly she passed away. She was a wonderful seamstress and she loved to paint also.
I've always enjoyed sewing, but had to learn cross stitch on myself which was a learning curve!
My first piece I used all 6 strands and then complained I didn't have enough thread to complete it. ;P
I have learned much since then and thankfully my sewing is better and neater!

Well, it is nearing bedtime, I've just took my medication for the night, it makes me sleepy so I take at bedtime instead of day or I'll be napping all day and not stitching!

God bless and goodnight to all ? (in the same time zone that is!)

Anonymous_1

Hello everyone, so happy to hear from you.
It's been a busy couple of days, so haven't been in mood for chatting.
I was at the hospital yesterday, I'm not well and been told the medicine is not helping as much as they thought it would.
I am okay with the news, I can still do my stitching which i love, watch film or program that interest me and listen to music.
I am lucky, compared to some other poor souls who don't have any of those things and even less. No matter how bad I feel, it's the ones that feel worse my heart goes out to.
As long as I can craft I am happy!
After getting to the hospital I am so tired, I slept most of yesterday.
Today the pain is at 10 and I've had to take my morphine which just makes me more tired. So today I haven't been able to sew again,  but I've been resting and the pain is slowly lessening.
Tomorrow is not planned.
I take the day as it comes and do what my body allows me to do. No point in arguing with it, my mind is willing and eager to start the day, sadly it's in a body that does not work so good!
So the day is what it is, no plans! Just take it as it comes.
I am hoping to continue on with my project. I have some lovely patterns I really want to stitch, but no! I must finish one before I begin another or I will start others and more! Lmao.

TK, I use SAGA a lot. I bought it when it was still available at Google Play, but I needed an update patch for it, so had to download it again.
For me it is ideal and why? Well ill explain.
There is no printing involved. There are many people who don't own printers so having SAGA means you can simply follow your chart on your phone or tablet. Even on the PC with a emulator such as Nox or Bluestacks.
No more paper everywhere!
You can mark off what you have done in any colour you wish.
You can select just one symbol and sew all the stitches that use that symbol, ideal for larger projects.
You can temporarily remove the backstitch so you can see all the crosses underneath.
It allows you to export the thread list for shopping if you need any or to top up the ones you have.
It has a bunch of features, some I don't use.
Such as being able to keep track of the hours you stitch for, or how much you have managed in a week or month and how many stitches you did in that time.
There's so much to SAGA and its so simple to use.
It only took me half hour to learn the basics. Other features come with video tutorials should you need them.

SAGA has a sister called Paradise. This is a little more complicated but there is more you can do with it.
It also has a PDF convertor but I haven't used this so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness.

When I stitch I have a small table attached to my wheelchair and on that table is a makeshift stand I built myself (before I got too poorly).
I use a roller frame from Elbesse to attach my work on and  from there I have a mobile phone holder with SAGA loaded on to it so I have everything to hand
I love my little set up. I will never have the patience to do a BAP or HAED, I prefer a more challenging design.
To sit and do only crosses all day would bore me to tears. Lmao
I like designs with different stitches and I've recently learnt how to do some hardanger.

If you can improve on the design of SAGA TK I would love to see what you and your fiancé  come up with, as eventually it may cease to work on later versions of Android and there's no plans from the developers to work on it further.
I have no idea how to do such things, I dabbled a little in Python and Basic some years ago, and I did some graphic designing in my youth, but I'm no good at much else!
I lost my passion for computing and went into animal care.
I adore all animals, even reptiles and insects. I believe they all have their own place in the world and every one of them  is a wonder.
Before I got poorly I worked with a team of vets. I'm not a vet myself but I assisted in the care of all kinds of animals.
I do miss the work terribly.and I did want to train to become a vet but sadly life dealt me a different set of cards.
I am thankful that I got the chance to do something which I loved, if only for a short time.

Well, hark at me, going on like this!
When I start chatting I don't know when to stop!
I will leave you to get back to your day or evening
It's night here, so good night and God bless.

TestKnit

Hi Anon! So lovely to hear from you :)

I'm sad to hear you've been in pain. I hope God graces you with some less painful days! Chronic Illnesses can be such frustrating things :( I think it's admirable how resilient you are, I know you've probably been dealing with it for a while but it mustn't be easy to face each day with such acceptance and humor.

I also loved hearing about your stitching setup — it sounds cozy, especially how you adapted everything around your wheelchair. You clearly have a talent not only for crafts but also for making solutions work for you. The fact that you can carry it around with you too is really clever! I might have to make a setup like that for my grandma (well, my fiance's grandma, but at this point she's mine as well, right?) she's recently been told to use one and she's very unhappy with it. She's 92! And has been busy and on her feet all her life. She loves making stuff as well, but she can't really move around much.

Thank you for explaining how SAGA works and what features you find useful! It's sad that they're not maintaining it, it sounds so useful? I can't see why they wouldn't keep it up, unless the code was starting to become 'spaguetti' and was no longer practical to not just, start over.

I didn’t know you had worked in animal care before — that must have been such a rewarding (and at times challenging!) experience. I don't really like insects but I respect their place in the world. I'm really scared of them though. However, when I was younger I wanted to be a horse vet, as I grew up around them and still love them. In Argentina, cows and horses have a special place in our heart. Have you heard of Gauchos before? It's still very much relevant here. But, I got too into architecture and had to choose which path to follow.

Talking about Architecture, I'm currently in Uni, working on a project for that class! Arquitechture is fun because it's one of the more creative courses, a bit of a breather in between all the numbers LOL. It's gotten a lot warmer here, I think we'll have an early spring! I'm very excited as I miss the sunshine. Is it turning spring where you are too?

God bless!

Anonymous_1

Hello to you both. Lovely to hear from you.
Celiamerula, I have added you as friend, I hope I did so correctly, the site is still quite overwhelming.

There are so many sticky threads here, perhaps a help section especially for new members would be helpful?
All posts could then be in one place and free talk wouldn't look so overwhelming!

I noticed their are posts especially for countries, example French, Italian etc..
I use a translator as I like to talk to everyone not just English speakers but I'm not native to those countries.
Are English speakers only allowed in their own group?

It's seems an odd way to make friends, I have pen pals from different countries and we simply use a translation to help us understand each other.
It's not always accurate but we get by!
I'd love to see photos of your respective countries.
I have a pen pal in Australia who sends me photos of Kangaroos and other native life and scenery. It's a joy to receive such things.
I'm not high enough to PM yet sadly but hope you will join us here for a chat.

So craft wise, I prefer cross stitch, though I can crochet also
I don't know how to knit. I'd love to learn but I'm one of those people that need guided visual instruction!
I did want to join a local knitting group but I took too ill and the group has moved now anyway and there's nothing else local to me.
The town seems to have gone made on leisure centres, restaurants  and beauty salons!  I'd love a local craft shop but it seems people round here aren't so crafty!

Before I took poorly I used to love to cycle. I'd go everywhere on my bike. Sadly now I can't do that and I sold my bike.
Now I've traded 2 wheels for 4 as I use a wheel chair now.
I haven't had that long. Its a manual one and so difficult to use.
Perhaps I save up for a motorised one but they very expensive.

So, I do think ive rattled away long enough. I don't want you all thinking goodness does she ever shut up, lmao!
I do hope more will join this little chat thread. I'd love to meet more of you.

For now tata and God bless :$

Anonymous_1

Hello to all,

I'm sorry I haven't spoken for a while.
I had to be admitted to hosptial for a short time.
Remember the kidney stone?
It had caused an infection and some damage inside.
I'll need surgery, but the infection need to go first.

I'm okay though, not much pain more like a dull throbbing in my side, it's manageable but I am used to pain.
I have a condition that tricks the brain into thinking I'm in pain all the time, healthy cells being attacked by my own system.
It is silly to think the human body can do some strange things like that!
There is no cure, just pain management and try to keep moving.
Some day hard, other not so bad, bad days I just want to sleep.
Pain makes so tired.

But that is me, what about all of you.
TK that Architecture you are studying, it's okay?
You enjoy it?
You are very clever! I don't have a talent like yours or the eye for such work. I would do well being the one on the demolishing than the building!

What is everyone up to?
Stitching,.knitting, crochet, painting?.... I'd love to.hear about your hobbies, what you enjoy to do and relax.
Stitching for me is relaxing, helps focus my mind and keep the pain away a little.
I'd love to see pictures of your work, or perhaps a project that is next on the list

Today I.started Chrsitmas Stitching. I usually start around this.time, weather gets colder, night time comes sooner and weather is cold and wet. I stay indoor, I don't like cold anymore than I like the hot sun! It been a hot summer, I will.be glad for cooler weather.

I love winter as no one expects to see you out much, I can wrap myself up by the fire with a mug of coco and a nice warm blanket.
I'll read and sew through the days, the hours pass quickly.

I do hope you will share your thoughts for the day.
Any worry, stressful things, happy things, or perhaps sad things you want to chat about, sometimes a problem shared is a problem halved.

I wish you all well.

TestKnit

You're honestly quite right about the sticky thread situation! Free talk is a very frequented place in the forum, and it's often the first place newcomers interact. It would be helpful to condense it into something smaller. I might suggest it to the mods and see what they think!

English speakers are not restricted to groups! Those are for people wanting to speak a different language, actually. I should know, as I'm from Argentina and speak spanish as a first language :) The thing is, if everyone in free chat were to chat in their own language, this would soon turn into chaos! Think about this: The site is made by chinese people, the majority of users are English speakers, you have a good chunk of Russian, French and Spanish speakers... oh my! So, we have our own insular communities here to speak natively. They're also useful to get the best advice on local yarn shops too! hahaha

Penpals are lovely! I used to have many, but sadly, I have no time to write letters... thank god for the internet! I can see why you keep good friends, you're a good writer! I don't think you rattle on, as pleasant conversation is always interesting :)

Knitting, I promise, is very easy and there are thousands of tutorials! If you're interested, try searching for continental and english styles, how to knit stitch and purl stitch. Those are the two major styles of knitting and refer to how you hold the yarn in your hand, and the knit and purl stitch are the building blocks to every other type of stitch. Personally, I use english style. It's not as fast as continental apparently, but I could never figure out how to hold the yarn that way!

God Bless friend!

Anonymous_1

Hi hollyhobby, love that username.
Some people think up some lovely ones, a fellow stitcher told me to use something anonymous, as a joke I took that word!
We had a laugh over it.
I'm not sure if you'll remember my friend her name was Mystique, I think that's how she spelt it.
She was also a moderator here many years ago, and it was she who introduced me to here.
We met by chance in a sewing chat group and we became friends there.
I love friends like that, always happy to help and speak kindly to strangers they just met.
I asked her if she will come back here but sadly she's long forgot her sign up password and the email she used.
I to enjoy hearing of what people are up to, hobby or otherwise.
One lady I write to tells me of her shopping adventures! And how it took her hours to track down her favourite chocolate!

We talk about all kinds of things from the silly to the serious.
After all a problem shared, is a problem halved even though we can only read and take in what is wrong, it's just good to know that a person isn't alone in the world and that others understand and can offer advice, guidance or just a virtual hug.
I have met two online friends in person, one from Germany and one from America.
I love learning about people's cultures and what things are different here as to there home countries.
I hope others will join our chat here and perhaps talk about their day or what's on your mind.

Anonymous_1

Hi StitchFairy, what a lovely username.
I understand what you mean, I like many crafts but my first joy is alway cross stitching.
I haven't been a stitcher long but I'm.glad I found my love for it.
I just wish I started earlier in life, so many lovely things to stitch, I née more arms!
I have seen the other website to this one by chance more than anything.
I've been navigating around the forum seeing how everything works and must have clicked a link to the site!
I will look into it more, time hasn't been on my side today.
I ordered myself some pretty fabric from a lovely Etsy seller.
I needed a custom size of hand dyed aida and after a lovely chat she has dispatched me a pretty piece.
I've such a gorgeous pattern I would love to stitch, but I am not the quickest, so by the time it arrives I will probably still being my current project.
I've been so tired today and my eyes are sore and runny, that sadly I haven't picked up the needle.
I was afraid I'd count wrong or use the wrong colour,.tiredness and.cross stitch are not friends!

Thank you StitchFairy for your kind message, it's so lovely to meet you.
Testknit,.I hope you are well and you are having a.gpod day.

Take care everyone. TTFN

Elopy

Cross stitching is such a lovely craft—like painting with thread, but without the mess! I started dabbling in it a little later in life myself, and let me tell you, there’s something so calming about those tiny little X’s coming together to make a picture. It’s like a gentle meditation, but with way more glittery floss and fewer “om” chants. ?

As for me, I’m a bit of a crochet fan—I love making little blankets and hats for my grandbabies, and of course, there’s always a project or two going that involves my favorite furry helpers supervising from the sidelines. And between you and me, sometimes I just like to sit and knit with a cup of tea and watch old movies, pretending I’m in a black-and-white classic.

It’s wonderful you’re enjoying cross stitch! Keep at it, dear—the more you do, the more your stitches will look like magic. And if you ever want to swap stories or tips, I’m all ears (and thumbs, apparently). Happy stitching!

TestKnit

Hi love! I'm happy you accepted my friend request!
Annie might have removed your post because one of the rules here is to keep threads on topic. Don't worry, I don't think they remove this thread as it is a new topic to talk about.
This is a link to the forun rules fot you:

Forum Rules and Regulations.
https://www.pindiy.com/forum.php ... &fromuid=470264
(Source: PinDIY.com)

blind links to other sites are not allowed because they can be dangerous! They can lead to websites with trackers, or other types of malware. It's fine to link posts on PinDIY though!

As for my favorite craft... I'm a knitter through and through! It helps me concentrate on lectures, as I am an engineering student who has trouble focusing if I don't have anything on my hands. I also like sewing, but my machine broke a year ago and I can't find anyone to repair it!
I've never tried cross stitching, but I might try it sometime... I don't think I have the patience for it though! XD

celiamerula

Hi there!  Always glad to meet another cross-stitcher.

StitchFairy

Nice to meet you @Anonymous_1

I am a avid cross stitcher. I have tried my hand at knitting and crochet, but it didn't bring me joy like cross stitch and embroidery do. I am from the US.

It takes a bit to learn the navigation here, but it is one of my favorite sites on the internet!

There is a group here for Cross Stitch Chatter https://www.pindiy.com/group-384-1.html

ALso there is another forum that you can get to by clicking the Pinebk tab on the navigation bar at the top. The one that has : Forum - Groups - Space - iBooks -Bind Wallet - Pinebk.
In this forum you can chat about all kinds of things and earn more PIN and then transfer to PinDIY.

Hollyhobby

Welcome here!

Free talk should be free talk, and just about anything. Sometimes it's just fun reading such posts, not only for crafts.
In te past there were more of those threads, the last time it's more about the site or patterns.
I love to read more about other people, what's keeping them busy.
I work fulltime, my greatest hobby is crochet (looking for patterns)