Sticky Board FAIL and stitch update

About 9 years ago my daughter started a cross stitch of a unicorn out of a teaching book. She got about half-way through it and gave up so I finished it. I used one of those sticky boards and put it in a frame and hung it in the hallway bathroom since the walls in there are blue. Then I pretty much forgot about it. On the 17th I had to use that bathroom (I usually use the one connected to my bedroom) and noticed the cross stitch on my way out. I realized it was very dirty so I took it down.

Those sticky boards say that the stitching is easily removable so it can be repositioned, even years later. They LIE. When I started gently pulling on the fabric, I realized quickly that the sticky board was coming apart and half of it was stuck to the fabric. When you look at the edge of a sticky board you see a couple layers. The top layer is white (this has the glue on it) and sometimes the bottom layer is also white but without glue, the middle layer is brown like cardboard. The top layer and half the middle were peeling away from the bottom layer and was completely stuck to the back of the fabric.

Luckily this piece was done on Aida with DMC floss, so I didn't have to worry about fading, bleeding or anything and could scrub the fabric itself a bit harder than I would dare do on an evenweave or linen.

I spent 45 minutes or so peeling off as much as I could and took pictures of what was left after that: (I didn't think to take pictures when I started, was too focused on getting it off)

This is what the right side looked like after I peeled as much off as I could.

This is almost the whole piece. That bit of brown on the left side of the picture continues in a straight line for the entire length of the side.

This is a close up of the cardboard fused to the stitching.

Upon seeing this I panicked, remembering that I had placed my niece's birth sampler on a sticky board because a book I had read from a well known stitching author said sticky boards are okay.

She was WRONG.

I thought maybe this only happened because it was hung in the bathroom in an unsealed frame. To be sure I went and got the birth announcement and took it out of the frame. Sure enough the board did the same thing, only not the entire board. Just a small line down either side of the piece and luckily it came off fairly easily. My guess is that it wasn't worse because it hadn't been framed for as long. I was able to get it off fairly easily and the piece now lays flat in my completed drawer until I can afford to have it professionally framed. I would have been devastated if that piece had been ruined. It is a mirabilia done on hand-dyed fabric with beads and crystal treasures.

The unicorn has been soaking in water ever since. I managed to get almost all of it off, but there are a few spots of white that just will not come off and does show through when I hold the fabric up. These spots are mostly not on the areas that are stitched.

I will not use sticky boards again because they fuse to the fabric fairly quickly.

In better news, a stitching update!

Here is an update of where I was on Quaker Welcome as of Feb 9, 2011.

More Stitching!

At the doctor's office yesterday I got some more stitching done while I was waiting. So here is a new update picture.

Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood

Dusty, I am hoping Bridgette will want to stitch when she gets older. I'm trying to help that happen by letting her help me stitch sometimes. I put the needle in and she pulls it through. She has a blast doing it. I have some pictures of her helping me stitch her birth announcement, Crescent Dreams by Miribilia in 2009. She also helped me with Blackwork Winter by Tam's Creations so I put her initials as well as my own within the sampler as stitchers. Here are some of the pics, you can see the rest here.








Thank you everyone for the comments and your opinions on replying to comments, I really appreciate it.

Stitching At Last and a Question

I did some stitching Sunday night. I worked on Quaker Welcome by The Stitcherhood. Here are some pictures.

Bridgette holding Quaker Welcome

Quaker Welcome, I added the bits on the right

I would have gotten more stitching done but I had a cute little helper. My niece kept wanting to help me stitch, which is cute but it does not amount to much actual help. LOL

But I did manage to stitch finally! YAY!

Now I have a question. I do read every comment that comes through on my blog but I am never sure how to respond to them. I have responded by posting reply comments in the comment section, but I'm not sure anyone sees them. Would it be better to reply using email as other bloggers do, or posts that reply to comments, or just comment on my own posts in reply? I don't want to annoy people by sending unwanted email thanking them for reading and commenting on my ramblings, but I also don't want people to think I do not read them or appreciate them (because I definitely do both!). So please, let me know what you think is the best way to reply to comments.