I haven't done anything more on Fan--too busy at night--but I have been thinking about all the great new designs showing up on other stitching blogs. And it raised a question in my mind.
Just how do you choose a design for your stash? There are so many choices! We are really very lucky in that there are so many designers making beautiful things for us, but that means somehow we have to decide which new thing will join the collection. How does one decide?
I keep a list of things that I like. If I consistently over time admire a design, it stays on the list. Sometimes I will like something because so many other folks like it. If there's a lot of email chatter about a design, if it shows up in a lot of online shops, if a lot of my friends are stitching it, well, it shows up on the list. But then it has to stand the test of time. If I start to lose interest, it comes off the list.
Then I have to think about cost. Resources aren't unlimited here in CH and I have a stitching budget that I don't exceed. I watch for items on my list and when something comes up on sale someplace, then that's the decision point. Do I want to buy it?
I use several criteria in choosing whether to spend at this point. Do I own a similar design already? If so, doesn't matter how much of a deal it is, I won't buy it. I don't want to repeat myself.
Do I have a lot of ideas about how to stitch it? Is is a good place to try something new I want to learn about? Does it seem to whisper to me? Is it something I have fallen in love with? Will that love last?
Now that I have Blogs, I have a responsibility to readers. Is this new thing going to showcase something that blog readers are likely to be interested in? Does it illustrate how to do something that folks want to know? Is it large enough (but not too large) to work on publicly? People lose interest in large pieces in my opinion but you do need to have more than 1-2 postings on a project.
Finally, is this something I want for my own house or to give as a present for a loved one? Or to donate to the ANG Auction (a favorite charity of mine)? The final piece needs to have a home beyond a drawer, after all!
How do you choose?
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