I’ve pulled out some of my cross stitch again. Â Right now with childcare I have a part time girl here who sleeps much better if I stay in the living room with her. Â That VERY much limits what I can do over nap time. Â I’m bound and determined to be a little bit productive so I pulled out my cross stitch for times when I need to sit with her. Â I don’t need to sit with her everyday, just on days when she wakes up too soon. Â So on those days, I’ve grabbed my cross stitch, sat in my chair and worked…and then she’s fallen back to sleep. Â It works wonderfully.
This is what I’ve been doing working on….
I stitched these last year over the winter. Â With the suggestion of a blog reader, I had Hubby cut some thrift store frames down to size. Â The frames had been done and the stitching had been done but the lacing, not done. Â So I laced them….
I’ve not done this a lot before so was a little nervous. Â In the end I felt really good about it.
I didn’t want the ugly back to be seen so I picked up a roll of brown paper at Wal-Mart. Â I cut them to the backing size.
Now they are all nice and pretty and these two are ready to hang…See?
These are all Lizzie Kate designs. Â I have several of them. Â These two are entirely finished. Â I have two more that I hope to finish over the next couple weeks as time allows. Â Then I’ll need to start stitching again. Â My goal is to have a wall of Lizzie Kate designs in my bathroom. Â As I’m starting to finish them I am starting to get nervous about hanging them. Â I hate hanging things. Â Hubby will start in on the “we have to pound a nail into a stud” theory and then I’m crabby as it is not centered then. Â I’ll want things to hang even and no matter what I do, they aren’t even. Â It never turns out how I envisioned whenever we hang things. Â UGH.
We’ll see…maybe this time it will all work out. Â For now, I’m going to try to concentrate on the stitching and framing.
Oh My! How cute…it causes me to have the Itch to Stitch ….which I have not done in years.
You can hang these small stirchery pictures with a sewing machine needle in sheetrock. No stud necessary
The pictures are lovely. To hang them, try monkey/gorilla hooks. They are marvelous and work very well.
What about those COMMAND hooks? They might work.
Don’t try the Command hooks! I learned the hard way that they damage painted drywall. Took the paint and the paper layer off the Sheetrock when I removed one in my sewing room. The best way to hang them is with a straight pin. Leaves such a tiny mark that you never see it when you take it out. For heavier things, just use two, about an inch apart.
How about hanging a couple of different sized shelves, then you can lean the picture frames on them and arrange them as you please. Hubby can find the studs and you can add the framed crossstitch willy-nilly, then you’ll both be happy. Just an idea…
Beautiful!
These frames do not look very heavy. Have you thought of Command 3M hangers? If you follow directions they should work fine.
Take that brown paper, cut to the size of the frames, arrange them on the wall until the studs and your centering preferences are in sync! Lovely all, I used to adore her stuff, but then I stopped stitching and started knitting.
I LOVE the command strips. I wouldn’t use the hook – just the strips. One attaches to the frame and the other to the wall and then they attach to each other. I’ve used them for years and and never had one bit of trouble. You have to read the instructions and remove them properly. (There’s a loose flap of strip at the bottom and you pull it straight down and it gently lifts the entire strip from the wall). I use the hooks too but the strips are all you need for a lightweight project.
These won’t be heavy. Try this item: Floreat. No stud needed. You have some nail length to hold dry wall and the picture hanger pressing against the wall. Hang those up while hubby is working. :-)
Small cross stitch framed pictures with no glass are very light and do not require a stud to hold them. I use small nails and have never had a problem with my framed pictures falling. Arrange you collection on the floor the way you want them on the wall. Using paper trace around you picture. Stick it on the wall in the place you want your picture. If you change your mind just rearrange the paper until you are pleased. And then all you have to do is hang the real picture in place of the paper placeholder! You and your girls will have those beautiful cross stitch pictures hung in no time! Miriam in Texas
Jo, my husband used to be the same way, and still is about some larger items. For many items (picture frames, seasonal, or holiday items) we now use needles. Sharps work great. Tap the needle in at an angle and you’ll be fine. We even hang a light 36″ x 48″ Christmas quilt with needles. The holes are so small you won’t even notice them if you take down or move an item and they’re easily covered when you repaint.
This is one of the better things I found about hanging pictures.
http://www.wikihow.com/Arrange-Pictures-on-a-Wall
Have Fun!
I love these—love the quote…..so true….There is a joy in being happy with what you have….I am going to try the brown paper next time I hang several things together–I never get it right the first time…
I second the Floreat hangers (also OOK hangers, which I think are identical) or the idea of a narrow picture rail type shelf–I like being able to rearrange things. I’m installing a STAS rail system in my dining room so I can put different pictures up for different seasons and holidays. It’s pricy, but once it’s up I can change it whenever I want, and the pictures won’t stick out quite as much as a shelf (the space is narrow already).
I hang almost everything on flathead straight pins. They only make a tiny hole in the wall and will hold some pretty heavy pictures, clocks, small mirrors, etc.. If I’m worried about one, I put two in side by side. Still only tiny holes and when you get ready to move the picture, I’ll bet your husband can’t tell where the pin holes are once you’ve taken it down.
3M has these plastic Velcro strips that work amazing!! No studs to find and in my experiences they’ve come off perfect!
I also recommend the Command strips. I use them all the time and haven’t had any trouble removing them. Use a coupon and get them at JoAnn’s.
Nice job, Jo! I haven’t heard of lacing the back. I will have to look into that.
Hi Jo! I can not wait to see that wall finished with the cross stitches from Lizzie Kate as I love her designs. When you lace your pieces, what is in-between the two layers, that is peaking out between the lacing? I have been trying to find a good way to hang my pieces as the foam board idea just does not work in some frames with glass. Thanks!
It’s matting board from the frames that Hubby has been cutting down. It works really well.