What’s a SAL exactly?

Date Added: 09/09/2014
Hi Folks!
Many times - and many more now, with the launch of the new Mystery from Lizzie Kate - we’ve been asked by many of you the precise meaning of "SAL". And this is a question we actually find 100% right, for not all "stitchers" are also expert stitchers and these are the best occasions to get started with the enchanting art of cross stitch: a kind of embroidery that has stood the test of time, thanks to its indisputable simplicity, but matched to as indisputable great results
So, we’ve decided to explain exactly what’s all about!

SAL is the acronym of the American English "Stitch-A-Long", often simply written as "Stitch Along" and simply meaning: "Let’s stitch together"!
Generally speaking, a SAL it’s a way for stitchers, maybe living far away from each others, to gather together and stitch all the same project
For sure, the Internet and the Social Networks have now given even more "impulse" to this kind of initiatives, for every stitcher can share her/his progresses, ask for suggestions, comment and give her/his opinion on any stitching project, talking in real time with all the other stitchers who are working on the same project, too.

The basic idea is just that of "gathering in groups", knowing that many people are working at the same time, to stitch all the same pattern. In fact, who launches the SAL usually proposes a start date and a deadline, when all stitchers should have finished their work. However, it is far from a race: its deepest and purest spirit is that of ”aggregation” and sharing

That’s why there are many kinds of SAL! For instance, if the stitchers joining the SAL do not live too far away from each other, they can decide to catch up all together and spend a weekend, stitching somewhere at the seaside, in the mountains or everywhere else that can be easily reached by all of them!
Similarly, but when distances are too large to gather together in person, the SAL can be organized through a forum, a needlework association or something similar, inviting also people who aren’t members of these forums or organizations, to join it
Another kind of very renowned SAL is that launched by a cross stitch designer: in this case, the designer himself/herself usually creates a special pattern, which is then published and offered in different "issues", each having an exact date of release and to be stitched within a certain time by the stitchers joining it, or also completely “open”, that means everyone joining the SAL can stitch with his/her own times and rhythms.
However, everyone is always glad to share his/her progresses with the other participants while stitching, as well as his/her results (and doubts, if any ).
This last typology also includes the so-called Mystery SAL, which is exactly what mentioned here above: a SAL expressly promoted by a cross stitch designer - as in the instance of Lizzie*Kate - and that creates a pleasant “mystery atmosphere” around the finished project, just because each pattern composing the project is released individually and on precise dates, usually in 3 parts (but they can be more: some SALs can last a whole year and have, therefore, 12 issues! One for each month of the year!). So, “the surprise effect” is 100% certain and the pleasure of stitching gets even more “thrilling”
In the instance of Mystery SALs, also, designers often like to have a fabric and a range of threads expressly hand-dyed, to be used to stitch the project and thus making it a unique, once-off work of art!

So there are so many reasons for a stitcher to join a SAL: something that, even if just once in one’s “stitcher life” should definitely be tried
Hear from us soon!
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