Stitcher's Five: Firsts

1. What was your first finished stitched piece?
I think it was a stamped piece for my aunt. She still has it hanging although for some reason it is deteriorating. Probably all those years of using a woodstove.
2. What was the first piece you used beads on?
I’m pretty sure it was the piece I did for my college roommate’s wedding (1992). I don’t remember the pattern, but it had the “the greatest of these is love” quote and pink, green and pearl-colored beads, back before Mill Hill beads were ubiquitous.
3. What was the first piece you used blends on?
The first piece I really remember using blends on was my cousin’s wedding sampler (1994). That one was a kit, and the only thing I remember about the kit was that the sampler on the cover had the couple getting married in the same place as my cousin (the Alvirne Chapel in Hudson, NH). There were so many blended needles and color changes that I couldn’t work on that one without swearing. It’s the origin of the “stitch bitch” nickname.
4. What was the first piece you used specialty stitches on? I have no recollection. Maybe the sunflower smalls class I took with Lauren Sauer at Spirit of Cross-stitch? I did do crewel before I did cross-stitch, so they are only specialty stitches insofar as they are done on counted fabric.
5. What was the first piece you stitched on evenweave or linen as opposed to aida? The first counted cross-stitch piece I did was on evenweave (1989).