I've become a fan of the Ruth Schmuff/Kathy Holicky series of stitch dictionaries on CDs. There are three CDs to date. I bought Volume One at Needlepoint Tool Time on sale a few months back, and Volume Two was a gift last month from a friend.
I have not seen the third CD which is called "Backgrounds." It probably is much like the first two, except they each have 300 stitches diagrammed and Backgrounds has 481 "repeat" patterns.
http://www.tistheseason.org/ptdproducts.php?catid=56
The two CDs I have are set up the same. Stitches are arranged into folders. You have Straight, Diagonal, Crossed and Tied, Eye, Decorative and Darning Pattern folders. There is also an alphabetical listing of the stitches. The stitches are in two formats: PDF files (which can be enlarged) and jpeg images. You can print out either and you an embed the photos (jpegs) in stitch guides. Ruth encourages stitch guide writers to use her diagrams but just asks for proper credit.
Many of the stitches are new to me although there are some old favorites in the two CDs I own. I love browsing the stitches, although you do need to have a CD player (my computer does) to read them. It doesn't matter whether you have a PC or a Mac computer, however. Either can read the CD for you.
You can print out everything to have in a paper format if you like, but I just browse a CD when looking for a stitch, starting with the folder that sounds more like what I'm looking for.
I think this is a wonderful addition to any stitchers' set of stitch dictionaries. The only caveat I can think of is that some folks may be uncomfortable working with PDF files or jpeg images but it really isn't hard to learn.
By the way, here is Needlepoint Tool Time's website. They have great customer service and some very good sales.
http://www.needlepointtooltime.com/
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
