Embroidery Database

I use Access frequently in my current job.  I didn’t know much about it before, other than it was a database program.  I’m the sort of person who learns best by doing a particular thing instead of just reading about it.  It must have something to do with being a visual learner.  I wanted to improve my Access skills and tried to read books on it, but each time I would begin a book on Access my thoughts would flit towards actually creating a database.

Finally, I decided that the best way to learn about Access was to use it while creating my own database.  I’m also a Ravelry user and have been very impressed with their knitting social network/database set-up.  I also use Stitcherie, it’s a great place to post images of my needlework projects, but is seriously lacking in helping me organize and keep track of my embroidery projects, patterns, and supplies. 

Since I may never find an embroidery-geared site such that Ravelry is for knitters, I decided to create my own embroidery database in Access.  I started by making a list of things that I wanted to include and how it needed to be organized.

So far, there are 24 patterns in my database.  Some of the patterns are ones that I’ve completed.  The patterns range from simplistic needlepoint, crewelwork, to counted cross-stitch.  I’ve accumulated many embroidery patterns and kits over the years.  Some of these I’ve made and given away to family members.  My initial major embroidery purchase was three patterns that I planned to make and give to my mother and two sisters.  I still need to complete the last one, to my eldest sister.

The database is far from being finished and as I work on it, I keep finding or thinking of different things to add to it.  Creating the database has helped me to categorize my embroidery stuff in a way that I hadn’t really thought of it. 

Before starting this project, I hadn’t really thought of embroidery floss or beads as just being a general item.  It was always in my mind fairly synonymous with DMC or Mill Hill.  To think of it in a more general sense and then to sort by company, color number and name actually made more sense.

The analogy I that formed in my mind was if you took a picture and you basically broke it into pieces and put each of those pieces into different categories.

I don’t think that this database will ever rival Ravelry, but I can see a definite use for it in today’s online world.  Even if this database doesn’t lead me to making something on the same level as Ravelry, at least the idea is out there for someone else to pick up and run with it.