Stitching in hand

So, something different that happened this week was .... drumroll please.... I started stitching in hand! Check it out!

It has come as a surprise for me too! I have always loved my hoops and q-snaps, in fact I still do, but I'm having a hard time holding them lately, and I just hate placing them over my finished stitches. They always flatten out and it makes me so nervous, even though I know they'll pop back up again eventually. 

In view of this going through my mind, I thought of investing in a floor or lap stand, but honestly I just can't find anything that I like or that works for me. So I was watching Stitchin' Mommy on YouTube and I realized she was stitching in hand and beading as she went, which completely blew my mind and is right up my alley. So I went to check out her tutorial on stitching in hand, and I decided to give it a shot. 

It was a bit awkward at first of course, and I missed my hoop, and it took a while to get the fabric just so. But I focused on the advantages, which are:

1. Simplicity. No more worrying about which hoop or frame to use and how to take it places or how to prop it up.
2. It's so easy to finish off threads! I always slide my threads underneath existing stitches before I cut them off, and now there are no hoops in the way of the needle, no tension to make it difficult and accidentally pull stitches too tight.
3. You can bead as you go! Which will be huge for me in my next project. As a general rule, I like to backstitch and do everything else as I go so it's not so daunting.
4. The fabric is happy. No more pulling it tight and worrying that I'll damage it.

So I stuck with it, and got a totally unexpected bonus as a result: I'm faster and my stitches are fuller! Who would've thought? Not me! So I'm going to be giving this a go for a while.

Happy stitching! :)