Happy New Year!

My goal for 2005 is to continue the completion trend set in 2004. I want to halve this list of the projects I've started through the years and haven't completed.

• Toy Gatherer
• Williamsburg Doorway
• Baby Band Sampler
• Enchanted Alphabet
• Elizabethan Rose
• Pins and Needles Smalls
• Hardanger Napkin Rings
• Alpine Garden
• Treasured Tulips
• St. Basil's Cathedral
• Geranium
• Majestic Rooster

Enchanted Alphabet will soon be on its way making the round robin rounds. Three of the projects are rather small (Pins and Needles smalls, Elizabethan Rose and Williamsburg Doorway--although admittedly the last two are complicated). I will try to finish those and also the Baby Band Sampler, which is for my nephew, and Toy Gatherer which has been on the list the longest. So these are the projects I'll focus on in 2005. You know, in addition to the new projects that I pick up.

I say that as if I hadn't already done so! I have made the happy addition of Anne, Petite Bergere for my best pal's happiest Christmas present: Edward Alan (must check spelling of latter). Even though Ted isn't the girl she expected (there was no picture proof) she loves the little lambs in the picture, so we're sticking with it.

Here's to a happy, healthy new year for us all.

2004. . .Year in Review

I had quite a successful year in stitches, though I say it myself. I finally finished the floral afghan. I took a list of 22 projects that I had begun and halved it (some of the ones that didn't get finished did get worked on). I was able to complete:
* Wooly Zipper by Bent Creek
* Fa La La by Twisted Threads
* Noel Ornament by CA's Eclectic Collection
* Sunflower Smalls by Lauren Sauer
* Itty Bitty Trio of Hearts by Twisted Threads
* Keep Christmas in Your Heart (JCS Ornament Issue)
* Tipsy Tree by Mill Hill
* Professor Fizzby's Freebee '99 by Dimples Designs
* You are My Sunshine by Bent Creek
* Roly-Poly Santa by Heartstrings

I think that setting goals has really helped me become more focused, and as a result, I'm more realistic about what I can manage. On the downside (for people who get gifts from me) I'm going to be more selfish with my time, I think. Well, I will be once the round robins are out of the way.

Round up

Here's the list from this month:

• Make Christmas cards
  
• Finish and send Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR
• Finish and send Ornament RR
• Make a scarf for the dude's co-worker by 12/14
• Finish Sissy's poncho by 12/24
• Finish auntie's booga bag by 12/24
• Possibly make a scrapbook about my uncle's fishing prowess--my aunt just gave me the pictures and clippings on Thanksgiving, so they're not expecting it. We'll see. [operative word: possibly]
  
• Make a capelet or shawl to wear on 12/24. I might just wear all black and wrap the yarn around myself. [found a cute sweater substitute, must find something else to do with the yarn]
  
• Make a scarf for neighbor

I did manage to get back on track with the poncho. I've got 10 more repeats to do one side one and then it all begins again on side two. I have begun counting stitches after rows 3, 4, 5 and 8, because these are the ones that involve YOs and knitting two together. Oh, and after all this damn poncho saga everyone loved the booga bag. Sissy said, "I would have taken one of these." So I beat her with it. I really did, Christmas eve and everything. Those felted bags are very rugged, you know. I also had two requests for the no hair day chemo cap I made for my niece--who is not undergoing chemo, she just loved the eyelash yarn. Next Christmas may be refreshingly easy since those take me about 1.5 days. I've also learned my lesson, no more asking people what they want for Christmas.

I can't be too hard on my sister, though. She went to my wishlist and bought every cross-stitch kit and chart that she thought was cute. She spent a fortune, but it is all part of my birthday present too. She got me the 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 Heart's Content Annual ornaments, and Spring Glory, Summer Joy and Autumn Thanks charts from Sisters and Best Friends. She also got me the pattern for Nostalgic Needle's Whimsy Bag. I told her she only liked that one because she has the Sweet Bag I made her hanging in her bedroom.

Other stitch related gifts included two clover cutters--one for floss and one for yarn--from my cousin, who beaded necklaces for them. A hefty gift certificate to The Silver Needle from Auntie Em. My mom focused on scrapbooking and got me the entire color collection of Zig Memory Markers. I sat with it in my lap all day and marvelled over the colors! I'm a big crafting dork. She also got me some stickers and some paper. Wheeee.

Now, to look ahead. Must plan
For January:
stitch and send Freebie rr
stitch and send Prairie Schooler rr
stitch and send Wee Ones rr
stitch and send Alphabet rr
stitch and send Sisters and Best Friends rr
stitch and send Ornament rr

I also need to work on Uncle J's scrapbook. After he saw the one I made for Auntie Em's birthday, he told me that I had to hurry up and do his because he wanted to show it off to a fishing buddy whose wife made one for him. He said mine would outshine hers. I'll take it as a compliment.

Predicting the Future

I received a link to this interview with Jill Davis, Founder and President of Scrapbook.com

Where do you think scrapbooking is headed next year?
First, I think it will continue to become simpler. Second, seasoned scrapbookers won’t be experimenting as much with new products and techniques. Every scrapbooker has a personal style that, when discovered, becomes their niche. They’ll still be interested in new techniques, but they’ll focus on their niche and get more albums completed. What I call experimental, or cutting-edge, scrapbookers will still be interested in the new and exotic techniques.

It got me thinking about the stitching industry. I'm interested that she distinguishes between newbies and "seasoned" scrappers: newbies experiment and old-hands stick with their niche. I think it's true to some degree. We old-timers have managed to collect so much stash that we start to look at the whole idea of craft differently, I think. When you're new, it's all such a wonder. You want to try so much! Of course the collecting doesn't start until that first time you get burned. You see something you want but don't buy it because you've already spent so much or because you've got so many other projects on the burner, then search as you might, you can't find that pattern ever again. For a while you take fewer risks and the next thing you know, you've got hundreds of kits and charts and magazines.

I remember when I first started going to Spirit of Cross-Stitch, and silk ribbon embroidery got steaming hot one year. Now, less than ten years later SRE is nowhere. It's interesting because SRE was so easy to do, but so frou frou. Very Victorian. Eventually Chinese prisoners were stitching it on to our clothes. Who needed to spend the time (although it is faster than cross-stitch) when you could get a t-shirt with SRE for the price of a regular t-shirt? Although I think you'd be hard pressed to find SRE on clothes for sale these days. Do you think, perhaps, that it was the trend toward SRE on clothing that caused it's death? We all know how fickle the clothiers are.

And what's new? These days, it's Russian punchneedle. I do, however, remember the one punchneedle woman at the SXS shows nearly ten years ago trying to get people interested. At last! Her persistance has paid off. Again, it's quicker than xs. But, besides putting it on kids clothes, I cannot for the life of me think what to do with the piece I've done. Is this another needlework trend too closely tied to the garment industry?

So what's the next big thing?

Christmas Time is Here Again...

1) What is a Christmas tradition that your family did when you were a child that you loved the most?
I loved going to my grandmother’s for Christmas Eve. She lived in a trailer, and had this pinecone tree studded with glass ornaments. We’d have lobster stew and get to open presents. Then we’d got to (my mother’s) Aunt Mary’s and have more presents, and then stay up for midnight mass. (I mostly remember staring up at the painted ceiling from the kneeler.) Eventually we got too big for the trailer and we started alternating between our house and my aunt’s house for the celebration. But I think part of what I loved was the pinecone tree and the coziness.

2) What is a Christmas tradition that you plan to instill in your own family or already have instilled from when you were a child?
We’ll keep the Christmas eve celebration. I also love watching those old stop-animation Christmas shows; my favorite is Year Without a Santa Claus, but I hate Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

3) What is a new Christmas tradition that you have instilled in your family that is new to both you and your significant other?
You know, we don’t really have “our” own traditions since we go to my parent’s house for Christmas. Our first married Christmas, we were so broke that we had “imagination Christmas” (I got a CD player for the car) and we thought we’d always do that, but things have brightened up.

4) Do you make any traditional holiday dishes?
We couldn’t live without lobster stew. And god help him (it was my dad) who messes with the recipe, although they have let him cut the onions (used to be whole). Auntie Em makes cheeseball and turtles that are delish. And Uncle Jay makes spanakopita. I sometimes bake, but not always. I initially wrote a draft of this before leaving SoCal. Now I find out that lobster stew is being replaced by seafood chowder. I'm appalled. I'm not sure it's going to be Christmas this year.

5) Does your family open Christmas gifts Christmas morning, when the clock strikes twelve, or one gift the night before and the rest the next morning?
We have an exchange on Christmas Eve, but the nuclear family gifts are opened only after everyone is up on Christmas Day. If we do get a gift early, it's Christmas pajamas.

Well that was 5 hours wasted

The plan, of course, was to knit the poncho the whole way to Charlotte and then up to Manchester. I'm supposed to have 78 stitches, but I've got 76 no matter how often I count it. I've taken out a whole skein's worth of stitches. I used to have 12" of poncho, now I'm down to about 5 and still I have only 76 stitches. I know I had 78 at one time (I counted the cast on row). What I can't understand is how I managed to work in the pattern with only 76 for so long. I only have today to knit, because sissy arrives in Amherst, NH (for Joyce) tonight. And I still haven't found the missing stitches. I've got to get this done! I have to work on the rrs when I get back to L.A. (I have a week's vacation when we get back and I need to spend it stitching, not knitting! Is this a refrain? I'm pretty sure it is.)

Productive Weekend

I had a very productive weekend. I finished my Christmas cards--I'm sending two sorts of homemade ones (I send a bunch of alma mater cards to those likely to use them). Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of them; they were adorable too--one a reigndeer and the other a hand-drawn snowman (never did find the stamp I was looking for). I also finished the booga bag, which is currently drying on the cereal box. I finished and gave my neighbor her scarf, and I think she likes it. All this, and I went to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I heart Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson.

So, I am down to the poncho for my sister.

We leave tomorrow morning for NH, where we'll be for a week. If I can get my father off the computer for two seconds at a time, I'll post again. Otherwise, I'll update you on our return.

Behind Again

For a brief and shining moment, I was caught up in my rrs. And then last night, I got locked out of the apartment. This was not entirely my fault. A couple of weeks ago, our landlord changed our locks. The building inspectors have decided to inspect all of Los Angeles's apartments, and we got inspected a couple of weeks ago. J. had to change the locks because we had those deadbolts that require a key on both sides, the big fire hazards. The dude has always complained about this, but when J. explained everything became quite clear. Our landlord personifies the California slacker: he drawls, "maaaaaaan." He sounds like he's still high from all the dope he smoked in the 70s, and he's an idiot. Here is J's explanation of the dead bolts: if someone breaks in the window to steal our stuff, they can't go out the door--they have to go back out the window. And that stops them, how? At any rate, the cleaning woman couldn't get in without the new key so I gave her mine. The dude and I commute together, so I didn't even think twice about not having a key. Then last night, the lads played squash. This always involves a meal out and perhaps a few rounds at the pub.

I realized I had no key when I was halfway home.

I decided that an In n' Out burger must be eaten. Then I called one of the lad's wives who gave me the number of the restaurant they always go to (no mobile phones in the bunch). No one was answering so I decided to see if I could find a stamp at Michael's or Joann's for my Christmas cards (a sort of specific snowman stamp). They didn't have it. Then on the radio they were talking about the big sale at Robinsons-May, who were open until midnight. Even though I have finished the Christmas shopping, I needed some cold weather clothes. I finished shopping at 10:42 and got home at 11:00. The dude arrived ten minutes later, just as I had finished flipping through the new JCS and EGA Newsletter that were sitting on the mat.

And that's how come I didn't finish the ornament rr on time. Too dog ate my homework?

To the Rescue

While I was waiting for the dude last night, (he was finishing up his library final after work) I was looking over the usual suspects and some blogs I don't normally read. I heard a familiar refrain--in fact, it was one that I had just been singing myself. When I found the knit-but-unfinished hat in a bag on the floor in the "office", I thought, "I have got to clean up in here." I wish I had a big enough room for all my crafting stuff, but face it, even people who own their own homes don't often have the gift-wrapping room*. Barring a whole craft room to myself, what I really need is more organization. I need an area for the cross-stitch, an area for the knitting, and one for the scrapbooking. Actually to rearrange that by "amount of stuff" it's more like cross-stitch, scrapbooking, then knitting. The difficulty is everyone would rather craft than organize. I mean, what's the fun in cleaning? If cleaning were as enjoyable as crafting thousands of undocumented workers would be out of work in Los Angeles alone. And, let's face it, crafters hoard shit. You can make a [describe project] out of that [discarded item]: Adorable cross-stitched box out of that altoids tin. Wooden spoon holder out of that coffee can. Woven paper card out of those paper strips. Join the fun!

But we don't need to throw it all out. What we need is a team of crafters who can organize. The Craft Control Squad. You don't need less stuff. (Okay, maybe that "where's the beef" cross-stitch pattern needs elimination; you are not a cross-stitch archive.) You need better control of your stuff. And the people who can best help you control it are people who understand why you've kept it in the first place. Not that evil troll on Clean Sweep. People who would pick up the cereal box and see that you need it as a form for the booga bag and then find a place for it. One where you could find it when the booga bag had been through the laundry a couple of times. Wouldn't it be fun to have this group of crafters over to get your room in order in a day (maybe two)? The Craft Control Squad would get something out of it too (besides first dibs on the "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" sampler pattern). You could all take some time to sit and stitch and check out the shops in different areas. I'd do it. You know, if I didn't have to do this other job every day.

Holly Hat

Last year, I had this idea to knit hats for all my nieces and nephews. The nephews got theirs, but somehow these hats got put aside for the nieces. I had finished the base of this hat in just one day, but never got around to sewing on the felted wool holly leaves and red "berry" jingle bells. I think Mackenzie will cut a stunning figure! (My papertowels sure do.)  

O Christmas Tree

While I had the camera out, I took a picture of our little Santa tree. We live in an apartment with 10 foot ceilings, so we could have a kick ass tree, but since we travel over the holidays the dude thinks I'm crazy to even put up the little four footer. (Complete with brown paper packages tied up in string, courtesy of my mil.) 

Sinterklaas I

A Sinterklaas for Anneke. 

For Anneke

Another one of the Sinterklaas. 

Papa Navidad

This is the newest addition to my collection of perforated paper Santas. I stitched it while I was on vacation in September, and finished it last night.

Woo-hoo

Mailed the Wee Santa RR. Found out the Sisters and Best Friends RR I thought was due today isn't due until late January. Hot damn and Hallelujah, this turned into a pretty good day.

Stitching Bloggers QOTW: Obligations

Obligation Stitching: Yes? No? Maybe? I stitch for weddings and babies, at least the first ones. It has sort of become expected in the extended family that these presents will arrive, but I still get to pick the degisn, so I hardly think of it as an obligation although others might. Well, there were two patterns that I regretted. Both are samplers I did for cousins. One was hideously frou frou. I held my nose, but it was pretty quick. The other was the project that led to the stitch bitch nickname: a kit with 1000 shades of green. Okay, not 1000, but every single one DMC made. And the bushes and trees were all blended and confetti. It was a pisser. I chose it because the kit picture had the same chapel as my cousin was getting married in. That's not really a good reason to choose something... This year was the first year anyone's ever asked me to stitch something specific for them. But it was my best pal (and she was appropriately sheepish in asking), it's her first baby, she stitches (so she knows exactly what she's asked me to do) and shucks, the pattern was on my to do list anyway! So that's hardly an obligation.

Now, the round robins. I can't tell you how big a mistake these were. Probably I will feel different in about a month and a half. But right now, I'm trying to finish Christmas, and I have these stupid extraneous deadlines! The good thing about them is that I am getting to see patterns I may have missed, stitch in colors I might not otherwise use, and um, well that's it. I couldn't believe when I looked at the calendar today and it was time to send the Sisters and Best Friends Robin. Gack. I haven't even finished the first of three motifs. And Wednesday there's another due to go out. The problem, really, with these is that I signed up for too many. But after I have finished the ones I've signed up for, that's that.

Given the pressure of the RRs, I'm pretty sure I will never take on a commission or stitch for a designer. This is supposed to be fun!

Patience is a Virtue

It turns out that my lns is open all the way to 5:30. So 9:00-5:00 cross-stitchers need to work very close, like at the airport, if they want to visit during the week. At any rate, this lns is under new ownership and there are some notable changes, even though I didn't inspect the store that carefully. (When I realized I might also be able to get to the post office before it closed, I was in, out, and on my way.) I did notice that she is carrying knitting stuff as well as needlepoint and cross-stitch stuff. I saw only a handful of xs patterns, but again this wasn't an inspection. Still, she's got floss and fabric, which is enough for me.

After I made it to the post office with five minutes to spare, I was on a high. I boogied over to the children's book shop, and knocked off four presents from the list. I went in with a couple of ideas, and my list was more than ablely suplemented by the staff. I left with The Paperbag Princess for my niece who was a "Wicked Princess"* for Halloween; Taxi Dog for my other niece whose first (and almost only word) was "puppy," although I really wanted to get her Open Me, I'm a Dog; Pete's a Pizza for one nephew, from Uncle Pete, of course!; and Frederick, because it espouses the importance of art in our culture, for the other (the poet mouse is accused of not "working"--what a different world this would be if W's favorite children's book were Frederick instead of The Very Hungry Catepillar). I also got a belated birthday present for one nephew: The Knight and the Dragon.
And searching all these titles on amazon.com clued me in that Taxi Dog is a series. Because these kids have birthdays in January, February, March and April. And the buying starts all over again.

Of course, this all means I'm still not done with the Wee Santa. Grrr.

* My cousin bought a pattern for a "medieval princess" costume. Someone asked A. what she was going to be for Halloween. She replied, "A wicked princess." (Not, as grammy reported earlier "an evil princess.")

I should have married a business man, then I'd have nice things.

I finished the co-worker scarf on the ride to work this morning, just need to bring it into the house so I can weave in the ends. Then I can start on the neighbor scarf. I'm going to knit that lengthwise with four different yarns. I think it will come out nice. And since my neighbor is so desperate for a handknit scarf that she was going to take the most hideous scrap scarf that I made and was too humiliated to give to a relative, I'm sure she's going to love it. Got the yarn on e-bay, and supplemented with one ball that I picked up at the lys when I was there on Saturday getting the wool I needed for my aunt's booga bag i-cord. Although I have enough acid green to make the handle, I wanted magenta. It looks a lot better than it sounds, maybe I'll remember to bring the camera home tonight.

I wasn't able to finish the dumbass Wee Santa, however, because I ran out of WDW Beige. Who would think that a "wee" pattern would need more than 5 yards of floss? And why are they only making 5 yard skeins anyway? Because it's cheaper? In what way? I went through all my flosses to see if I could come up with an adequate substitute, even checking here to see what was recommended. Oatmeal was too white, harvest basket too dark, picket fence not dark enough, pebble too pink and straw bonnet too yellow. I'm so damn close to being done! I want this project out of my hands! I'm sneaking out of work today at 3:30 so that I can get the floss to finish this off. And that's another pain in my ass! Why isn't my lns open past five? Oh, I'm not supposed to have a ft job if I want to cross-stitch; I'm supposed to sit in my stitching chair in the warm bosom of my family with children at my feet and a roast roasting for the "dh" when he comes home from winning bread. I forgot.

Well that didn't go as planned

This weekend I didn't make my cards. I was home sick. I had a stomach flu which hasn't entirely left me yet. I got the dude to drive me to Michael's, Joann's and the Yarn Shop so that I could do my shopping so long as I felt good. I didn't want to have to drive if I felt faint, which I did while I was waiting in line to check out at Michael's, but everytime I walk into the hustle and bustle of the Michael's in Santa Monica--and look at the serpentine line to check out--I feel faint. I got the Boa yarn for the co-worker scarf, which I ended up starting on Sunday. I should have been finishing the damn Wee Santas RR which is officially late, but both projects should be done by this time tomorrow. I'll bring the camera home tonight so I can show you what I've done.

Stitching Bloggers QOTW: Injuries

What has been your most interesting stitching related injury? Surely we've all poked the needle through dry skin and sewn ourselves to things. But what else? you might ask.

The most interesting injury I suffered was that I broke my dominant hand index finger a week before I went to Spirit of Cross Stitch. (The breaking of the finger was a stupid accident that had nothing to do with sewing--shut it in the door of an SUV.) I was living at home at the time, and my mother thought that I should call and get a refund. I was simply not to be deterred. I learned to stitch with my finger in a splint--which isn't really hard when you are determined! I even beaded a box for my sil (which was subsequently lost stolen in the mail by the evil British mailpeople). I was simply not going to miss the festival: 1) I wanted to see my best friend and 2) I was brain-drained from grad school and I wanted some mindless work to make me feel better. The finger healed nicely, but I still haven't finished all the projects from Spirit that year...

Baby Steps

I got an extension on the Wee Ones RR, so I don't have to mail until Tuesday. I have been working on it religiously in the evenings, and it's starting to look like something. I've got my Christmas card list done--except for two labels, so I'll just hand address those when I get to them. My packing list is written. (I was in a professional development course yesterday, and had some time to think.) Although that list has spawned a new one, or rather additions to an old one: things I need to buy, like sweaters. Damn this travel from SoCal to NewHamp.

In the mornings, I knit in the car, I think I've mentioned that. My most recent car project is a scarf for myself, which you'll agree is more than necessary since I have never knit for myself! It's made using Chenille Thick and Quick in periwinkle mixed with Homespun Pacifica, which looks better than it sounds. I'm using a moss stitch. It's almost done, so I'll be able to start the co-worker scarf on Monday or Tuesday. I'm getting red and black boa at Michael's on Saturday since it's on sale.

And for you to mull over the weekend, which literary classic am I?

Virginia Woolf: Orlando. You are a challenge, for
outer events, the outside world, the time etc.
play no importance to you. Your focus is in
writing, in gender issues, and inside your own
head. Self-analysis and exploration of yourself
as well as the outer world hold great
importance to you.
Which literature classic are you?
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Power List Making

Today I made a list: "Lists to Make." I feel so ashamed I can hardly discuss it.

• To do (Christmas)
• shopping/Joann's and Michael's
• Christmas Card List
• Packing List (for the 12/21 trip to NH)
• Mail to England (things to do before this can be accomplished)
• mail to Casual Cat (framer in NH)
  
• shopping for me

Maybe if I spent more time doing things and less time making lists about them, I wouldn't be so stressed and I would get more done. But what if I forgot something because it wasn't on my list?