Creative Chicks, RIP

I got an e-mail today that the Creative Chicks webring is no more.  I must have sensed it, leading to yesterday's tour.
 
I was checking out the Rotation Stitcher's forum, thinking about joining.  There's some chat about blogging on it, and I should check out those blogs, but one woman asked why she'd blog if she had the BB.  And I have the opposite question, why would I join a BB when I can blog?  It's not like I'd have much more to say for myself than I do here, and I'd have to spend a lot more time online to keep up with things.  OTOH, I'd be making more connections with other stitchers.  (In the meantime, I've joined cross-stitch meetup, and I'll go if we're around, although there's only one other person from my area signed up.)  If I had a third hand, I'd wonder if there were enough stitchers like me to make a BB worth my while.  The participants are more sophisticated stitchers (they all stitch the ladies and Teresa Wentzler designs) than most of the people on craftster from what I can tell, and that's a good thing, but you know I have the fear of others.

Wandering

I have just stitched a bit on the afghan. Life's been getting in the way. It will definitely be done before the end of the month though, and I will have completed all my stitching goals (yay!). I don't really have anything interesting to say today (or yesterday either) so I was scouring about to see if I could riff off something that was going on. I went through the creative chick webring. So many knitters! So many knitters bragging about doing stuff I can do, and I'm not even a very good knitter. (Not all of them on the webring; and indeed many accomplished knitters who blog. About the same proportion as beginning/accomplished stitchers who blog, probably. It's those in the middle who are unsure enough about what they know not to blog, maybe?) I suppose I should let them have their moment of pride. In some ways I'm a little jealous more people don't do counted thread work, a boom for the industry would be good for us all. On the other hand, a lot of knitting magazines have "dumbed down" and the experienced stitchers are being left out. We don't want that.

I've been reading the fora (I think that should probably be forums, but fora sounds prettier) at craftster. It's for crafty hipsters. I think I am officially too old to be a hipster, but these kids need help with their "embroidery, cross-stitch, and needlepoint." It's mostly newbies doing embroidery because it's retro and hip. And they don't know many stitches or where to find them on the internet or their libraries. How did I manage to learn as much as I did before the internet? Oh, right, it's not brain surgery.

Someone on the creative chick ring had done this. And now I have too.
100 Things About Me which will Tell You Nothing About Me
1. Are you an innie or an outie?
Innie.
2. Have you ever worn bell-bottoms?
I was a child of an ultra-fashionable mother in the 70s. I had embroidered bell-bottoms. My favorites were the plaid corduroy elephant legs.
3. Have you ever written a song? Yes. I think my first one was called “Snow White” it was for my never-formed all-girl punk band. “Some day, my prince will come/I’ll probably be 101/No money, no job/He’ll be a lazy slob.” Apparently, I cultivated cynicism rather early.
4. Can you make change for a dollar right now? No.
5. Have you ever been in the opposite sex's public toilet? Too many times to count, for good and evil.
6. Have you ever smelled your own feet? My feet reek. If I take off my shoes, everyone smells my feet.
7. Do you like ketchup on or beside your French fries? I don’t like ketchup.
8. Can you touch your tongue to your nose? No.
9. Have you ever been a boy/girl scout? Yes, for two miserable weeks. We were sewing bean bags (4x4 square) for “retarded children”—that’s what we called them then—and I couldn’t figure out what they would want them for. I don’t care how diminished your brain capacity is, why do you want to play with dried beans sewed up in navy blue daisy fabric?
10. Have you ever broken a mirror? I don’t recall.
11. Have you ever put your tongue on a frozen pole? I grew up in NH and skied when I was drunk. What do you think?
12. What is your biggest pet peeve? I am the queen of pet peeves. I hate when people say less when they mean fewer. (That’s why I lovelovelove Target; their express lane signs say “10 items or fewer.”) I hate when people confuse “loose” with “lose”—so many bloggers have that problem. It’s “not tight” and “not win/can’t find,” respectively (that means the first goes with the first…); do a grammar check, you’re on a fucking computer. I hate people who drive SUVs in the city, too, especially here in Los Angeles. I mean WTF do you need an SUV for? Negotiating washed out roads? Avoiding elk? ELF has the right idea.
13. Do you slurp your drink after it's gone? No, I always leave a little, and according to my mother, leave the glass wherever I feel like it. "Half drunk glasses of water everywhere!" except in this New England accent, so there are no "r"s.
14. Have you ever blown bubbles in your milk? I refused to drink milk as a child.
15. Would you rather eat a Big Mac or a Whopper? I have a wheat allergy so I have to go to In-n-Out for an animal and protein style double-double.
16. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? I’ve never been comfortable enough in my body for that kind of thing.
17. When you are at the grocery store, do you ask for paper or plastic? I ask for both; we use them for the garbage.
18. True or False: You would rather eat steak than pizza. True.
19. Did you have a baby blanket? I suppose my mother used blankets on me when I was a baby, but I didn’t drag one around like my sister did. (She carried hers until she was old enough to embroider her name on it.)
20. Have you ever tried to cut your own hair? No, but I let one of my friends cut “steps” into the back of my hair when I was 18. It looked really cool, you know, for the 80s.
21. Have you ever sleepwalked? No.
22. Have you ever had a birthday party at McDonalds? Mine was at Burger King.
23. Can you flip your eye-lids up? Everyone can; it’s a matter of wanting to.
24. Are you double jointed? I can hyperextend my thumbs and bend down the first joint of all my fingers. My pinkies get to 90 degrees.
25. If you could be any age, what age would you be? 28, but only if I didn't have to go back to grad school.
26. Have you ever gotten gum stuck in your hair? Not that I recall.
27. Have you ever thrown-up after a roller coaster ride? No, I love roller coasters.
28. What is your dream car? When I was a kid, I had a fear of driving (which I’ve gotten over). I imagined a car that had a computer: you’d stick in a card (that was how computers worked then) that said where you were going, and it took you there. I understand we’re getting closer.
29. What is your favorite cartoon of all time? Scooby Doo
30. Would you go swimming in shallow waters where, one year earlier, a shark had attacked a child? Yes, but first I’d throw in a child.
31. How many cavities do you have? None, they’re all filled.
32. Have you ever eaten a dog biscuit? No, but I made out with a boyfriend after he ate (dry) dog food. Close enough for government work.
33. If you were in a car sinking in a lake, what would you do first? Unfasten my seat belt.
34. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Yes, in Poland.
35. Can you pick something up with your toes? I have the best toes, yes.
36. How many remote controls do you have in your house? 4
37. Have you ever fallen asleep in school? Yes, before I was diagnosed with asthma, they thought my cough was curable with codeine. And then there was the time in college when I signed up for literature of the Industrial Revolution from 3:15-4:30.
38. How many times have you flown in an airplane in the last year? 12
39. How many foreign countries have you visited? 23
40. If you were out of shape, would you compete in a triathlon if you were somehow guaranteed to win a big, gaudy medal? Not for a medal, but I would for money.
41. Would you rather be rich and unhappy, or poor and happy? Just like I am, poorish and happyish.
42. If you fell into quicksand, would you try to swim or try to float? Whichever one is the one that gets me out.
44. Do you ask for directions when you are lost? What else would I do? Intuit it?
45. Have you ever had a Mexican jumping bean? Yes, when I was little (5ish) my mother’s cousin Danny bought some for me. They were really kind of boring.
46. Are you more like Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland? I'm more like the wicked step-mother.
47. Would you rather have an ant farm with no ants or a box of crayons with broken points? Crayons. I am a crafty chick.
48. Do you prefer light or dark bread? I can’t eat bread.
49. Do you prefer scrambled or fried eggs? It’s a toss up.
50. Have you ever been in a car that ran out of gas? At least once. This very kind woman stopped to help me; she was returning the favor since someone had helped her once. When I got back to the car with some gas, a cop was there to give me hell for being on a curve in the road. Like you choose where you run out of gas. Yelling at me probably gave him a hard-on.
51. Do you talk in your sleep? Yes. Usually I have coherent conversations with people who approach me after I’ve been asleep for a while, followed by no recollection of the conversation. Once my husband’s pillow had fallen between the bed and the wall and he asked where it was. I replied, “Under your head.” This cracks him up, still.
52. Would you rather shovel snow or mow the lawn? Mow the lawn. Cut grass smells great. Snow is really heavy and cold.
53. Would you rather be bitten by a poisonous snake or constricted by a python? Bitten.
54. Have you ever played in the rain? Lots of times. The best time was when I was in Italy and our room opened onto a roof. We danced in the rain in our nighties.
55. Which do you think is more dangerous: an angry bear or a hungry white shark? Angry bear.
56. Would you climb a very high tree to save a kitten? No, that’s why we have firemen. Mmmm, firemen.
57. Can you tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? Theoretically, I know the differences but if I were up close and I wasn’t in a zoo, I don’t think I’d much care.
58. Do you drink Pepsi or Coke? Diet coke.
59. What’s your favorite number? 6.
60. If you were a car, would you be an SUV or a sports car? I get way better gas mileage than either.
61. Have you ever accidentally taken something from a hotel? Accidentally?
62. Would you blow your nose at the dinner table? What, in the linen napkin?
63. Have you ever slipped in the bathtub? In the bathtub, in the shower, on the stairs; I’ve had the best bruises.
64. Do you use regular or deodorant soap? I buy what is on sale.
65. Have you ever locked yourself out of the house? Many, many times.
66. Would you rather make your living as a singing cowboy or as one of the Simpsons’ voices? Can anyone make a living as a singing cowboy any more?
67. If you could invite any celebrity to your home for dinner, who would it be? I don’t think that many celebrities are that interesting. Could Phil Gordon come over and teach me Omaha?
68. Have you ever gotten a truck driver to honk his horn? At me, or for me?
69. Which would you rather live with: a huge nose or crossed eyes? Crossed-eyes.
70. Would you hang out with someone your best friend didn't like? Have done.
71. Would you hang out with someone your best friend liked, but you didn't like? I’d avoid it as much as possible.
72. Have you ever returned a gift? Yes.
73. Would you give someone else a gift that had been given to you? I did just recently.
74. If you could attend an Olympic Event, what would it be? All the sports I’m interested in aren’t represented in the Olympics. I’d go to any event just to avoid those horrible, sappy portraits NBC does for the little women who don’t like to watch yucky sports. (I hate NBC.) Oh, I do like Olympic Hockey better than the NHL.
75. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Over 40.
76. If your grandmother gave you a gift that you already have, would you tell her? Yes, how else would she know?
77. Do you sing in the car? Of course.
78. Would you rather jump into a dumpster or into a vat of honey? What am I diving for in the Dumpster?
79. What is your favorite breed of dog? Lab.
80. Would you donate money to feed starving animals in the winter? Wild animals? No, because we have to let nature work. I would give money for shelter animals, though; they’re in there because of evil people.
81. If you were a bicycle, would you be a stingray or a mountain bike? Isn’t this the sports car/SUV question for the self-propelled?
82. What is your least favorite fruit? Grapefruit.
83. What kind of fruit have you never had? Prickly Pear.
84. If you won a $5,000 shopping spree to any store, which store would you pick? I think I’d put it on a horse at the Breeder’s Cup. I don’t need $5K worth of anything. Okay, furniture, something from Pompanoosuc Mills.
85. What brand sports apparel do you wear the most? Champion.
86. Are/were you a good student? Very.
87. Among your friends, who could you arm wrestle and beat? All of my girlfriends, I think.
88. If you had to choose, what branch of the military would you be in? Air Force.
89. Would you ever parachute out of a plane? See, if you haven’t done it, why would you say you would? You haven’t chosen to thus far. I do think it would be exciting, but it’s pretty spendy.
90. What do you think is your best feature? Tits. So much for being uncomfortable in my body.
91. If you were to win a grammy, what kind of music would it be for? Spoken word.
92. What is your favorite season? The moment when summer turns into fall.
93. How many members do you have in your immediate family? 4.
94. Which of the five senses is most important to you? Sight.
95. Would you be a more successful painter or singer? Painter; dude, I cannot sing.
97. How many years will/did you end up going to college? 4 for undergrad and 11 for grad school.
98. Have you ever had surgery? I had my wisdom teeth removed in the hospital.
99. Would you rather be a professional figure skater or professional football player? Football! I love football. I was a cheerleader in high school so I could watch football. I was too short to play in high school and Title IX hadn’t trickled down to Pop Warner when I was that age.
100. What do you like to collect? I have a shot glass collection, but now I’m thinking less is more.

Websites: Stitching Bloggers QOTW

What are your favourite cross stitching websites and why?
Counted Cross Stitch, Needlework, and Stitchery Page. Kathy Dyer, a sister alumna, put together these pages in the infancy of the internet.  Somehow, she's managed to keep up as the number of online sources boomed.  You can find  all sorts of information about stitching there: fabric calculators, free charts, how tos, charity stitching, retailers, manufacturers, and stitching shows to name a handful.  For retailers, Elegant Stitch, The Silver Needle, and Wyndham Needleworks all find ways to please me.  For putting together a wish list, Hoffman Distributors is awesome, though not exhaustive.
 
I finished my ten hours on the geranium.  I'm so glad that's going back to the bottom of the pile.  It may not make the monthly goals list for a while.  I also finished the jasmine pot. And I am thisclose, veryveryclose, to finishing the hydrangea.  That will complete the saga of the afghan.  I look forward to reporting the end of all that to you soon.

Too Much Floss

I've been working on this watercolor geranium for about seven hours now. I hate it. The fabric's 28 count, and the pattern calls for three strands of floss. Since I started it five years ago, before I had ever used just one strand on 28 or 32 cound fabric for Ewe and Eye and Friends' projects, I used all three. Now it feels like I am forcing the floss onto the fabric. It's not coming out stiff--like when I used six strands on a waste canvas sweatshirt project I was doing. I thought I had a 10 ct. waste canvas, but it was 14 ct. That came out STIFF! By my fabulous Auntie Em, for whom it was a gift, wore it until the sweatshirt deteriorated (that stitching wasn't going anywhere, despite repeated washings!).
 
What a pain. At least I don't have too many hours left. Then it's back to the afghan. I think these ten hours may do it. Fingers crossed.

Here's an update on the Treasured Tulips too.  As I was working on this, I realized I may have forgotten more than I knew about drawn thread work.

I thought I was supposed to be whittling down the stash...

Last Friday, I went to the LNS from which the owner is retiring. She's having a bang-up 50% off sale. I know I am supposed to be paring down the "stuff" I have, but some of these, okay, one was really important.
drawn thread: birth band plus fabric
brightneedle: friendship (more spirals!)
sisters and best friends: button border pumpkins (another spiral)

ewe&eye&friends: polka dot heart scissor companion
twisted threads: pumpkin gingham
shepherd's bush: teri's stocking

In the backroom, I actually spent good time going through the 50-cent charts. Most of the stuff was dated, but I did manage to find a surprise for a friend who reads the blog; mosey 'n me: you are my sunshine (it's in their catalog, which operates on frames); and threadbear creations: peter, peter pumpkin eater. The latter two are for the Dude. Here's the story on those: I have this fear of circular stairs. (Perhaps resulting in a spiral obsession?) When we were first dating, we flew to NYC for spring break and when we were climbing down the Statue of Liberty, I had a panic attack. It was ugly. So he sang to me. First he sang "You are My Sunshine." Then he sang, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." He cracks me up. So I got the Mosey 'n Me chart to celebrate that moment. They don't make too many Monty Python charts. Now, there's a niche market. I got the Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater because one of our best friends read that at our wedding. Obviously, my husband is called Peter. Mike, our friend who did the reading, did it totally deadpan, like he was reading great literature. It was hilarious, and added the appropriate touch to the ceremony.

I never noticed that I have a tendency to buy loads of pumpkin charts--three on one trip. A third of the charts! And it's not like I don't have enough at home. It's definitely not a conscious decision, except for Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater. I'm wondering if I just like pumpkins, or if I like the color orange more than I thought.

I also got three mini pillows to help with the finishing. The two HIHN Monthly Manias that I've done (August and January, go figure) match the ones I bought perfectly. I didn't even buy them with anything in mind, so that worked out well. But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't frame those pieces instead. I was telling the Dude that I thought I could sew ribbon on the pillows to hang them so they can be part of my seasonal gallery. He has even bigger plans. He thinks I should have a whole wall where from one end to the other all the months are represented. I suppose almost everything I've completed can fit in those parameters. And I've got enough stitching to fill a long hallway--if I ever get it framed or finished appropriately.

And go round and round and round in a spiral game

I love the new stockings from Bent Creek.  That snowman just makes me smile.  I'm thinking that the hubster and I need stockings that we can hang at our house, even if our stockings only really get filled in New Hampshire (it's the only place Santa knows where to find me).  You know I've done the series of Shepherd's Bush stockings for the family (Mary's, Peter's, Sophie's, Bertie's, and Robert's).  But I just love that snowman!  I think it's the combination of color and the spirals.    I love spirals.  I'm so glad they've come to cross-stitch and general craft design.  (The spiral was one of the first paper punches I bought!)  I used to doodle them all over my school notebooks--a series of interlocking double spirals.  Do you think it's because I don't know my path?  Because I sense that there's not much reason to life, that is, that there is no path (despite what the hyper-organized and those who march lock step to the top of their careers might think)? 

I thought I would see if there was a simple explanation of spiral symbolism out there.  There isn't.  Spirals have been used in many cultures throughout the ages.  Of course, then, the meanings are multiple.  Spirals represent the cosmos, the id, cycles of growth and change (i.e. the passage of time).  Once, I must have been about 13, I asked my mother if she thought linearly.  She considered briefly and then said, "I don't think." (This is patently untrue, but I digress.)  She asked why I wanted to know.  "Because," I said, "I think I think in a spiral.  It's not like you come back to the same starting point, but I do cycle through thoughts over and over again."  You can see why my mother told her friends she never knew what I was talking about when she drove me to and from school.  So when I was looking up the spiral thing, I found this.  Interesting.  Something I intuited as a child.

We do not go round a circle (of existence). That is an illusion, just as the cycling of the planets and the stars is an illusion.We move along a spiral track. It is not quite the same journey from the cradle to the grave each time. Sometimes the differences are small. Sometimes they are very important. We must set out each time on the same road but along that road we have a choice of adventures.  -J. B Priestley, I Have Been Here Before

So I think my next adventure might be the Bent Creek stocking.

Addicted? Stitching Bloggers Question of the Week

Would you consider yourself ‘addicted to stitching’? Why or why not? 
I probably would have considered myself addicted to stitching in the mid-90s, when I started all those projects that I am finishing now.  I remember coming to my parents' house after a class at Celebration of Needlework armed with new stash from the marketplace.  As I was showing it to my father, he asked, "When are you going to get that done?"  He was joking, of course, having a wife who was a seriously addicted quilter.  I spent my vacations on stitching retreats; I bought a ton of stuff; I started a bazillion projects.  But then, I decided that I had to finish a more pressing project and put stitching aside for a few years.  And now that the other project is done, I'm back to spending my free time crafting, mostly stitching.  Like many others, I find it soothing.  And I find that if I don't get to stitch for a few days or weeks, the soothing feeling is something I need.  But I know I'm not addicted to stitching because I drove one hour out to the other not-so-local needlework shop (I don't think I've written about that one here yet) where they were having a sale of up to 50% off--I don't know how I get to be so lucky to have two stitching shops having 50% off sales--and I couldn't find anything to buy. 

putting exes in, taking them out

Suppose you are doing a ten hour rotation.  And let's say that you put in two hours worth of stitches.  But you put the very first stitch too far to the right so you spend another 15 minutes, for argument's sake, taking them out again.  Does this count as 2 hours and 15 minutes of your ten hour rotation?  Or do you have to do a total of 12 hours and 15 minutes before you can pick up a new piece?
 
I decided it counted and moved on.

Blank

Yesterday, the computer system at work went down before I had a chance to update. Not that I had anything particular to say... My husband loved the stitched piece I made for him. He really likes primative stuff, especially if items are out of proportion. The first stitched piece I made for us (as opposed to the millions I had made for my mom, or a wedding present, or for babies) was a Catherine Theron design that was in Just Cross-stitch. It had two flowers in pots on the sides and a house with a squirrel that was about a quarter of the size of the house. (Imagine if squirrels were that big. Eek.)

I'm starting to slow down here with ideas. Loyal readers, and not so loyal readers, can write and ask questions. About stitching. That's what we're here for. I see lots of people are writing about the demise of their favorite stitching boards. I don't know how people read those things. Especially the ones that go so far off topic. I don't really see stitching boards as places to find the kind of comfort people seem to seek in them. But then, I know I am out of step. Oh, so horribly out of step.

Ready Ahead of Schedule!

I completed the anniversary present on Sunday. Three days early, not bad. Tonight we are going to a wine and cheese tasting--mostly cheese--for s.o.'s birthday. Tomorrow I'm being taken out for sushi at our new favorite restaurant to celebrate three years married. Since we've been together for 12 years, it hardly seems significant. I'll never forget when we were first married and a friend of a friend asked, "Don't you feel like a team now?" with earnest excitement. I responded that I wouldn't want to be on a team that would have me as a player, but it went right over her head. I hate that garbage. Like it's some piece of paper that makes me stay. At any rate, I won't be stitching for a few days. But I'm trying to decide if I should go back to the afghan or to one of the other projects in the rotation. Well, we'll see on Thursday night.

Choice: Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week

How do you choose a project? What “calls” to you the most?
I guess it's kind of like obscenity--I know it when I see it. Unlike a lot of those who've answered the question so far, I don't like the ladies (Miribilia or Lavender and Lace). I will never stitch a "realistic" animal. No crouching tigers for me. Nor hidden dragons. I'm not really keen on the dragon/fantasy stuff, but I won't say never.

Since so much of the stitching I do is for other people, I do try to take their tastes into account. Of course, even if cousin Hildegarde really wants the most frou-frou of crap for a wedding present, I might tone it down a bit so that I can show my face in stitching circles.

I'm not put off by difficulty or fractional and specialty stitches. So I don't judge that way. There are colors I prefer, and I wish more designers would use brights in interesting ways. I'm very eclectic and my stitching tastes are too.

ABCs of Me

Act your age? No, I act older.
Born on what day of the week? Friday.
Chore you hate? All of them.
Dad’s name? Richard.
Essential makeup item? Lipstick.
Favorite actor? Owen Wilson.
Gold or silver? Both.
Hometown? Amherst, NH.
Instruments you play? None.
Job? Assistant Director, academic administration.
Kids? None.
Living arrangements? Rent.
Mom’s name? Maureen.
Need? Food and water.
Overnight hospital stays? None.
Phobias? Circular stairs; my fil, the classics professor, once put together a word for it, but I can’t remember it.
Quote you like? In these times, "Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." --Herman Goering (1946)
Religious affiliation? None, and I don’t want to know yours either.
Siblings? One younger sister.
Time you wake up? 6:45.
Unique talent? I can cross just one eye and fold my tongue into a clover shape.
Vegetable you refuse to eat? Broccoli.
Worst habit? Teasing people.
X-rays you’ve had? What haven’t I had x-rayed? Knees (water on), feet (only tendonitis), ankle (tore 11 ligaments), finger (did break) and teeth, including one broken tooth and 6 cavities.
Yummy food you make? Thai-style chicken and peppers served with a peanutty salad. But everything I make is yummy.
Zodiac Sign? Libra.

On the stitching front, I think I've reached a higher level of existence. The new Just Cross-stitch arrived weeks ago, and I still haven't read the Martha Beth's bloated article on scissors. As fascinating as I am sure scissors are, the only thing I'm really interested in knowing about them is where to get them sharpened.

Anniversary Party

I'm working, perhaps not as steadily as I would like, on Be Thee Mine, the anniversary gift for 7-14. I have a week. There's lots of over one stitching to be done. I wish I had done more while the Dude was away placing in another chess tournament! (Couldn't win because of the half a point bye he took so we could go see fireworks on the 4th.) He's doing so well, playing well above his rating.

Instead of using my private time wisely, I finished two scrapbooks: my mom's birthday party and our cross-country road trip. I also started a scrapbook for my aunt of her trip to Cali last May. It features her grand-daughters. Like her Christmas album, all the page titles are songs. (The Christmas album actually had Christmas carols.) The new book begins with "California Dreamin'" and continues with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" (for the Oxnard Strawberry Festival). If you can think of a song about Legos, let me know!

Pride: Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week

Which project (finished or in progress) are you most proud of? Explain why. Anything people complement me on. Seriously. I think that I'm not a person who takes pride in my work. I'm trying to think of one project that jumps out at me and none of them do. Perhaps I've given too many of them away--out of sight, out of mind. I guess I do feel pretty good about finishing my cousin's wedding sampler, but there wasn't anything really spectacular about it--just lots of color changes. I think the feeling I get from it might not be pride so much as I feel like I conquered it.

The piece I was going to say was Nutmeg Needle's lacis piece I took at a class in NH. I not only completed my own, but I also taught a group of novice teenagers to stitch it. But if I'm really so proud of it, what's it doing crammed in a box in the closet? Hmmm?

Finishing technique

I finally finished the acorn that was supposed to be for my grandmother's birthday. At least she'll be able to display it for a few days before it will be packed away with all the other seasonal crap she has. (Her living room has a wide plate rail up near the ceiling and she changes it out for every season. She has all these horrifying porcelain and resin scenes--the winter village, the autumn houses, yadda yadda, and stuff I make her. Which is nice, my other grandmother gave away the stuff I made her; at least she had the sense to give it to my aunt.)

I can't reveal the finishing because I did take the class (online) from Lois at Elegant Stitch and you should too. I can say it involves pins and foam core board. And most importantly no sewing!

This weekend, I've got to spend the time I have away from my s.o. madly stitching the anniversary present. I hope to have a good picture to show on Tuesday.