It seems there are too many articles on Needle ‘n Thread about framing up embroidery for stitching. I talk about it practically every time I start a project!

Today it’s time for something different. Why not write about taking an embroidery project off the frame?

I know what you’re thinking.

Hey, Mary! Pssst. Mary! You know, most people don’t do this until after the embroidery is finished!

Right? Isn’t that what you’re thinking?

Well, no worries!

This piece IS finished!

Oh, I do so love starting and stopping and starting over again! It’s my favorite pastime.

But, sarcasm aside, it had to be done, and better to do it now than any farther down the road. You may be wondering why it had to be done, and I will tell you:

I already talked about cutting the fabric down to fit in a slate frame that was already too small for the piece. I knew I wasn’t getting the proper tension in the frame, but I couldn’t increase the tension or adjust the fabric in the frame, as it was. Things were just too tight. So I tried the trick of inserting chopsticks into the lacing on the side slats, which did provide more tension.

But I still wasn’t satisfied with working in those jammed surroundings, with fabric and slate frame that were both too small.

What prompted me to take the piece off the frame was that I noticed a definite pull of the fabric towards the top left corner of the frame. No matter how I adjusted the frame, I could not eliminate that pulled feeling in the fabric. It wasn’t something actually visible – but if I ran my hand over the surface of the fabric in the frame, I could feel it.

So I took the fabric off to see if it was affecting the stitching. It had affected it, but not too noticeably. I could probably frame the piece up again, continue from where I was, and everything would work out ok. I wouldn’t say there was any high risk involved.

But if you add this point to my irritation with the frame and the small cramped size of the fabric, and you factor in a growing desire to change one of the shades of blue – these three points together offer me a perfect excuse for starting anew.

So that’s the decision I made, and the second go is already underway. This first stage will serve as a good practice cloth for a couple things I haven’t worked out yet. That way, this piece won’t go to waste, and, when all is said and done, I’ll have it as a reference.

I’m approaching a couple points differently on the redo, thanks to the clarification that comes once a decision is made, so I’ll show those to you down the road.

Hope you’re not thinking I’m crazy! I’ll tell you this much: it’s always better to make a decision like this early in the game, and I’m a Whole Lot Happier with the way things are going now. Peace of mind is definitely worth the price of starting over!

(Ok. Go ahead. If you think I’m nuts, you’re free to tell me! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!)