Goal

I think I should make a list of goals for May. Maybe then I can get the damn afghan off my hands and into my mother's. I haven't been stitching at all lately because I just feel that project weighing me down. (And I'd rather scrap, make cards, rest...)
May's goals:
# finish and send Eiffel tower clock
# finish "You are My Sunshine" baby sampler (up to a point)
# finish damn afghan
# sort out access to webpages so that I can post pictures again

Ugh

I was sick yesterday and too bored to stitch. So I went through about 80 magazines ripping out the charts I would do (and other crafts I would craft) and throwing the rest away. I noticed that I subscribed to The Needleworker for too long; I threw some of those away untouched. But in their last issue there was a Scottish sampler and I like to keep the Scottish stuff since my MIL is from Orkney. It was the first of three parts. D'oh! I haven't checked out Piecework yet--Needleworker did continue in there as an insert. So many stitching magazines have passed away since I started stitching: Needleworker, Cross Stitch Sampler, Cross-Stitch and Country Crafts, McCalls Needlework, and Celebrations. And those are just the ones I subscribed to! I think I may be forgetting a couple of them. No wonder I have a bazillion patterns that I'll never get to. At least I didn't pay all that much for them!

Do you think it would be too snotty of me to offer my services to bloggers with poor grammar skills? (I do have a Ph.D. in English.) I'm tired of reading the blogs of people who have no idea where to put a word or who have really atrocious spelling (I'm not much of a speller, but I do spell check or eventually correct the typos and missing words). I don't mind people making up words so long as the ones we have are inadequate. But it's making me flashback to grading hundreds of students' essays. I can't take it.

I'm Baaa...ack/Stitcher's Five: Charts or Kits?

I had quite an enjoyable trip to Washington, despite catching the lurgy from my aunt and niece (and throwing up into a bag on the plane). I got to finish some ornaments, and I made a carrier for my ott-lite. amy!, our pattern was for a "box" according to Stitch Bitch momma: "fabric doesn't work that way." She was also against putting the zipper in around the top and made me put it in the side. (It can be done, but not at my sewing level.) We didn't really need to draw a pattern because what you need are four rectangles, two squares, and another rectangle for the handle.

I still haven't finished the damn afghan. I have to though because I have wedding presents and baby presents to finish--my one year is almost up and the baby's due on June 5.

1. Which do you prefer, Kits or Charts? Charts.
2. Why? Because eventually you reach the point where you have all the floss. Also, I prefer linen.
3. How do you organise your materials before you stitch? Stick it in a bag of some sort.
4. Do you do anything to the sides of your fabric before starting?
No. Most fabrics won’t unravel beyond ¼ of an inch. I can handle that.
5. What do you do with the leftovers when your done? Depends on where they came from. I usually dump the leftover floss from kits. I do seem to hoard the patterns, but I am rethinking that too.

Stitcher's Five: Specialty Stitches

Do you like to use specialty stitches when you stitch? Yes.
Can you do a perfect french knot? Yes.
What is your favourite stitch? Rice stitch (for the texture; it's also pretty easy and relaxing) or queen stitch (because mine are so good)
Are you currently working on any projects with specialty stitches and if so which ones? In my UFO pile, I have Treasured Tulips by Nutmeg Needle—that has the fabled coral knots and has some cutwork as well. Moss Creek’s Elizabethan Rose is loaded with buttonhole stitch. Twisted Threads’ Trio of Hearts has Algerian Eye, silk ribbon embroidery, and Rhodes stitch. C.A. Wells’s Noel ornament is loaded with Palestrina knots (of course).
Name a specialty stitch you would most love to learn how to do. Well, my dove’s eyes kind of suck… and I had a class once on coral knots, and I’m definitely learning disabled when it comes to those.

Well That Didn't Go as Planned

I spent this weekend buying and preparing fabric to finish some of my cross-stitch projects. When I go to DC my mom will be able to help me sew (I'm an incompetent machine user). I've got fabric for about 20 of my projects, mostly ornaments but a few Secret Needle Night projects from the Silver Needle that I will make into wall hangings too. I love fondling fabric, and Jo-Ann's was having a pretty good sale. I couldn't afford not to finish them (lol!). They will look a lot better displayed than hanging in my closet on a skirt hanger. How do you store your finished-but-not-framed projects? Or do you get right on the finishing once the project is complete?

Another weekend

I'm still not done the afghan. I feel so fried. I did two hours last night on the hydrangea, and I am getting to that place where it's just a matter of filling in a few stitches here and there. I have the whole weekend to myself; the Dude is off with some boys to beat drums in the jungle. (He's going to Palm Springs with his friends before they break up for the summer, and some move away for good.) I should be able to get a good portion done this weekend.

Unfortunately, I've also started scrapbooking the photos from the birthday party. It's fun--great photos--but it takes away from the stitching time. Now though, for the next 48 hours, my time is mine. All mine.

Stitcher's Five: Favorite Themes

1. What is your favourite theme to stitch (i.e. primitive, fantasy, samplers, etc)
I don’t know that I have one consciously, but I’ve stitched a lot of Christmas stuff.
2. Has this always been your favourite theme (i.e as your tastes change)?
I have incredibly eclectic tastes. See March 19th blog entry.
3. How many WIPs/UFOS do you have currently in this theme?
5 out of 21, so it’s not an overwhelming favorite.
4. And how many finished?
25--I do a lot of the JCS ornaments--plus the 40 or so Sandy Cozzolino perforated paper Santas.
5. Name three favourite designs in your overall favourite theme.
Shepherd’s Bush—I did five of the stockings and when more people are added to the family, I’ll make them a stocking too! Heart’s Content—I’ve finished three of her ornaments (two of the annual kits and one that was in JCS’s ornament issue). Sandra Cozzolino—I just love those perforated paper Santa ornaments for quick finishing travel pieces.

Recovery

I finished the backstitching on both the sweet pea and the narcissus. I spent about two hours last night working on the hydrangea. I've decided to send a detailed list of items that were in the lost stitching bag to the finder of lost items. It may not get the bag back, but I'll feel like I have done all I can. When I went to the not-so-lns to pick up the missing flower thread, I picked up a couple of packages of needles. I also contemplated replacing the doo-lally. These steps, coupled with the fact I could work on the hydrangea, make me think that I'm getting over this loss. Of course, I only have two squares to back stitch and about 2 hours work on the hydrangea. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it's a bright, white light.

And this is stream of consciousness that rivals my grandmother's letters.

Not as stupid as I look

Okay. I hid the camera in the dirty laundry so well, I hid it from myself. Good thing Saturday is washing day...whether we need it or not. 70 pictures of an old broad and her friends recovered.

When it Rains...

When I opened up my checked luggage, I noticed immediately that the digital camera was missing. But maybe, just maybe, I did forget to pack it. So I called my mother who did not respond until today. The camera--with about 40 pictures from my mother's by now infamous 60th birthday party--is gone. Before you get all righteous about how I shouldn't pack valuables, I pack the digital camera all the time--I guess it's just law of averages that it walked away this time. Of course, because I've gotten so into scrapbooking, I made sure to take a picture of every guest with the birthday queen. I don't even care if I get the camera back; I just want the damn pictures. Anyway, they're doing a pilferage investigation. This was the worst trip...ever. Okay, there was that time I tore 11 ligaments in my ankle when I was in Poland, but as far as coming home with less than you left with! I may never leave the house again.

I have to say in my defense, I am not this flakey. But right now, it doesn't look good for my reputation.

I will have to take a trip to the not-so-local needlework store so I can replace the ecru and two ugly yellow flower threads that are in the stitching case so I can finish the hydrangea. Because I can't look at the hydrangea without feeling ill--and because I am missing 3/4 of the floss needed for completion--I'm focusing on backstitching the narcissus, jasmine, sweet pea, and peony. I got about halfway through the sweet pea in just a couple of hours of stitching last night. I think I should make some real headway this weekend in completing the backstitching.

T Minus Six Weeks

I talked to a human being about my missing stitching yesterday, and if you've ever wondered about how an airline's lost and found works, I'll be happy to share the news. First, they keep items left in a plane or in the waiting area at the gate for a week. (TSA and the airport have different policies for items left elsewhere.) Then they send it to baggage services. There, a lone employee tries to match up the descriptions with what they've got. One person. I guess that's good because then you don't have too many cooks spoiling the soup, but a lot of stuff gets left behind. I was the third person who had filed a claim with the gate agent in MHT. MHT doesn't really handle that many flights, so multiply an exponent by the number of flights in a day--and I lost my item in Charlotte, a hub airport--you can just imagine how much stuff gets sent to baggage services. If this finder-of-lost-things matches your item with your description, they'll mail it to you. No phone call; it will just arrive. This process can take 2-6 weeks. If, and the guy who I talked to really emphasized this, if someone turns it in. So I can't really say the stuff is missing for six weeks. I will be the eternal optimist. Now I am obsessing over whether I accurately described what I lost. Should I have been more specific? Should I have given them the whole list of everything that was in there? Should I have called it knitting or sewing instead of "stitching"? The first thing anyone will see when they open the case is packages and packages of needles (about 12). That should ring a bell with "stitching," right? And I put the quote from the needlework piece in the description. Now I just need the person to really dig through the case and open up the project. As far as I can remember, I don't have a card in there, although I may have stuck the cards of the Tulsa stitching crew in the bag. Each woman knows about the separation, so any of them would know whose bag it is if it accidentally arrives in her mailbox.

I didn't stitch last night. I made Easter cards instead.

Am I Blue?

As you can imagine, I had a hard time taking out my stitching on the plane yesterday as I returned to LA. I only had one needle, no cutter, and no hydrangea pattern. I've lost two colors that can't be replaced on that (I was 4 from being done, but 2771 I got in spades and ecru is replaceable). I did manage to do some backstitching on the narcissus.

The happy news is that my mom was astounded by the piece. Of course, she still couldn't believe that I started it in 2001 and couldn't finish on time. That's just how she is. She's trying to find a good place to put it. I'm planning on finishing it by April 21 when I venture to DC for the babysitting job.

High Anxiety

I hate to fly. It's not being on the plane or crashing that bothers me. It's more along the lines of separation anxiety. I usually carry three things with me so that I can always be counting my three things (am I starting to sound OCD?). Well, yesterday I had two: backpack and purse. I had my stitching supplies and the afghan in my backpack. I took those two things out of the backpack (which had a few other things in it) and put the bag up in the overhead. I happily stitched the whole way across the country despite all the turbulance. Strong headwinds and the turbulance meant that we were half an hour late. I put the afghan back in the back pack grabbed my two things and bolted for my next plane which was boarding in another terminal. It wasn't until after takeoff that I realized I had left my stitching supplies behind. Gone: (original) doolally, clover cutter, ruler, packages and packages of needles, the floss and patterns for the hydrangea square, and "Man of Sense" that I was working on for DH. I'm sick. I reported it when I arrived at MHT but I am not hopeful. Just sick.