The Great Recycling

Wow. I would have pitched all those magazine, and instead I got over $150 for them on e-bay. Thank you, amy! As for the rest of the stuff, sales were disappointing. Even though I advertised our yard sale on several local craft sites, crafters didn't come. I had loads of x-s patterns and general craft supplies. I did sell all the hardcover craft books. There were 3 boxes of those. Towards the end, we gave a woman a real deal on them and she took them all. Or rather, we took them all over to her. We're going to use the funds to replace some of the furniture we got rid of, and it looks like we won't have to buy used because we did so well between e-bay and the yard sale.

I've started prepping my crafts for cross-country travel (we're driving the car). The dude hates to be in the car and not drive, so I will have to knit and stitch. I have a series of bags I plan to knit. I'm planning a "Kate Spade-y" booga bag for my sister, a handpainted yarn booga for me and a purple Sophie for me on the ride. The KS Booga is on the needles. It's going to be roughly 1/3 brown, 1/3 brown and pink stripe and 1/3 pink with pink handles.

That's all for now. Today is my last day at the job and my free internet connection is one of the things I will lose. I will be back online in mid-February. Stitch lots!

Bent Creek Arch Angel. 

Framing

Do you frame your cross stitch yourself or do you take it to a professional framer? Why?
I've framed a few small pieces, including putting items in those boxes, which is very like framing. Most stuff goes to a professional, because why do I want to screw up and end up with a crappy job when I've spent all those hours stitching? Even though you know how to use a needle and thread, you wouldn't give yourself stitches when you got cut. I take it here.

In your opinion, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages of putting your work behind glass when you frame it?
Glass is good--nay, imperative--if you are a smoker or in a dusty area. You have to protect your stitching from the environment. If, however, you have normal dust levels in your non-smoking home, you can save some dosh on the glass. I usually give glass on gifts because it just seems more "finished," but that's a crazy bias.

Overheard

Sometimes you just hear the craziest snippets of cell phone conversation that you have to share them: "When I picture myself in law school, I picture myself in a double bed..."

amy! rocks!

So, you know, amy! came over to look through my magazines. She said that they were so nice (I told you that they felt good!) that someone "out there" must want them. She thought I should put them on e-bay. So I checked and sure enough a lot of both Handcraft Illustrated and single issues of Australian Embroidery and Cross-stitch were there. So I said to myself, if I am willing to ship single copies of books for $4, how much will it take for me to go to the post office to mail these? I decided on a $10 reserve. Less than 24-hours later--and over 3 days before the end of the auction--the reserves have all been met! I'm already up $50. One woman even wrote to ask if, since she lives in L.A., she could come over and pick them up, to save on shipping. Man, I hope she wins.

Last night I worked on the Bent Creek Flower Arch Angel (See Friday, Oct 29) while we watched the tennis (Davenport v Molik). It's starting to look like something, so I'll take a picture tonight in between sorting the crap in the study and getting the ebay crap ready to ship tomorrow. The movers think we are doing the right thing getting rid of most of the crap, so that's some positive feedback on our strategy. More positive reinforcement: we got a $150 check for some of the books that the used book sellers took off our hands. This thing is really happening, and it's really happening fast! Sorry I haven't been able to keep up with things around here. It's only going to get worse...

Weekend update

This weekend, in addition to packing loads of books, I worked on two of my round robins. You can see the results below. The first, the Prairie Schooler RR, is a nutcracker santa. The woman who owns the rr stitches backwards (to me) and has asked others to do the same. This is an exercise in Alzheimer's prevention. I can't tell you the number of times I start a row in the wrong place and realize partway through that I'm stitching normally. Here's what I mean.

I stitch
4 2
x
1 3

I'm being asked to stitch
2 4
x
3 1

Instead of stitching left to right //////xxx, I have to stitch right to left xxx\\\\\. The only real difference is it comes out with the opposite leg on top. And it makes you think.

The other picture shows the Heart in Hand Wee Ones bird series. I have a feeling I am going to stitch this pattern A LOT--there are 8 of us in the RR and I think everyone's doing it! I chose autumn this time because I had a lot of the colors. Have to run out and buy two WDW to finish this one. It went fast--just about as long as it took New England to kick sorry Pittsburg ass. (Seriously, the Steelers have done a great job to get to the playoffs with a rookie QB.) Much faster than what I have asked people to stitch (Wee Santa), I feel kind of bad about that.

Amy! stopped by to look at some of the Australian magazines I have to part with. She agreed that they had a great feel and took three of them. In her perusal, she discovered Tamari--of course it just so happened that I had a couple of books on how to do that as well. Never used them, too mathematical and precise a hobby for me. And we gave her a couple of brief lessons on football, because I couldn't actually turn off the tv just because someone visited. I'm a seriously bad host.

Prairie Schooler RR 

Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR 

Progress Report

I calmed myself this long weekend through crafting. I finished my Prairie Schooler Round Robin. I am using Two by Two II for this one, and I stitched the baboons. We are thinking of them as monkeys, since we use that as a pet name. I am also two pattern repeats (about an hour) from being done with the first side of sissy's poncho. Then I have to load up the needles and do the whole thing again, block, seam, and knit a neckhole. I'm getting closer...

It's amazing how much shite a person can accumulate in 7 years in one place. I have the craziest stuff to put in my yard sale. Aileen's Collage Glue (4 bottles), 5 paper mache heart ornaments, unopened bottles of paint (I can't think of the last time I painted!), a collection of the out of print "Hand Crafts" (or Hand Made or something like that), the previously mentioned collection of the Aussie magazine "Cross-stitch and Embroidery," about 15 cross-stitch kits I'll never do or are duplicates, embroidery hoops, compressed sponges, and jewelry findings, from the time I made those little wine glass markers (and spent about 3x what they sell them for in the store, d'oh!).

The good news is I have started offloading some of my collections on e-bay and I'm already up $90.

Prairie Schooler Round Robin.

Enchanted Alphabet Color Changes

You may notice the letters I have stitched thusfar are not as charted. Back in the day before AOL existed as part of the internet (it was an intranet, or something like it, iirc), I used to read rctn. And from that font of great wisdom, I found a message from someone who had seen these Enchanted Alphabet stitched with these color substitutions and raved about the fabulousity of it. I printed it out (I'm really an analog girl) and stored it away. When I went to start the project--part of the great rush of begginings I made when my cousin became pregnant in 1999--I couldn't find/didn't remember the substitutions and started the project as charted. I didn't get very far on the letters, so I didn't feel bad taking them out to restitch for this round robin. And thanks be to Bonnie for saying that this was the project she was going to do. It clicked. And yet another project begins to become finished (in this case the agency really doesn't belong to me!) I am done stitching letters for now (I want to get the girl finished before the send date, um, tomorrow).

Here are the Needle Necessities substitutions.
A 150 Victorian Christmas
B 195 Purple Coronation
C 136 Navaho Turquoise
D 110 Blue is Blue
E 178 Coventry Garden
F 133 British Green
G 189 Kismet
H 154 Coral Cay
I 178 Coventry Garden
J 195 Purple Coronation
K 136 Navaho Turquoise
L 150 Victorian Christmas
M 110 Blue is Blue
N 133 British Green
O 189 Kismet
P 139 Mountain Spruce
Q 150 Victorian Christmas
R 156 Elderberry Wine
S 195 Purple Coronation
T 136 Navaho Turquoise
U 110 Blue is Blue
V 154 Coral Cay
W 189 Kismet
X 178 Coventry Garden
Y 150 Victorian Christmas
Z 139 Mountain Spruce

And for Cross-reference, and your shopping list:

• 110 Blue is Blue: D, M, U
• 133 British Green: F, N
• 136 Navaho Turquoise: C, K, T
• 139 Mountain Spruce: P, Z
• 150 Victorian Christmas: A, L, Q, Y
• 154 Coral Cay: H, V
• 156 Elderberry Wine: R
• 178 Coventry Garden: E, I, X
• 189 Kismet: G, O, W
• 195 Purple Coronation: B, J, S

My Alphabet RR. I am doing MLI's Enchanted Alphabet. 

Mid-month Finishes and the Beginning of the Packing Saga

I will be completing my Alphabet RR on the 14th, packing issues notwithstanding. I've decided that if I spend two hours a night going through the nine years of accumulate crap (including wedding crap, aka the registry) I have to spend at least an hour stitching. Otherwise, I'll find myself standing in the middle of the study (where we are trying to sort everything) shaking my hands, wailing, weeping, and hyperventilating. Of course, it doesn't help that the dude works on his own schedule and is incredibly stubborn if I make suggestions about a timeline. For example, on Monday night, I went through all 50 linear feet of books in the study and most of my craft books. I packed the books I wanted. (There are still feet of bookshelves to weed in the living room and to pack in the bedroom.) Last night, I went through the coat closet, including some wedding crap and started in on the papers piled around the study. Last night, the dude finally decided to join me in the fun. He went through 24 linear feet of shelving and packed one box of books and created another pile of books he wants. Maybe he'll pack those tonight. Okay, they want him in mid-February, but he doesn't seem to realize how quickly that is coming...

So, when the Alphabet RR goes off, I will have 17 days free of round robin work to knit sissy's poncho...and she thought she wasn't getting it before her birthday. Pictures to come, promise.

Illicit S.E.X.

The dude got a new job (well, the ink's not dry on the contract yet, but we're 98.8% there) which will be taking us across country. This means we'll be getting rid of the entertainment center, 4 bookcases (of 7) , the portable dishwasher, the couch and chair, the dining room table, the dresser, and about 20 copies of the fabulous Australian magazine Cross-Stitch and Embroidery (just to make it blog-relevant). I've never stitched anything out of these, but kept my unbelievably expensive subscription just to touch them. I'm serious; the paper is thick and glossy and the photos are gorgeous. Lots of wool crewel on beautiful cream fabric. And some Aussie-themed designs. I'm considering putting them on e-bay, but I'm not sure I'll be able to manage it. Would anyone even want them?

So, illicit sex? I'm coming to it. Knowing full well that there is an impending 3000 mile move, I bought stuff. Quite a bit of stuff actually, from some of my favorite online places. I got the fabric to make the bouncing10lb5ozbabyboy's birth sampler. And some 40% off Ewe and Eye and Friend patterns, Slow Poke and You and No Other (Vous et nul autre). I also requested Goode Huswife's Anna's Bird (which just has stunning colors) and I Thee Wed (which will get socked away to be done as part of my effort to do cutesy-coupledom stitches for the dude at each of our anniversaries). I also got the necessary overdyed flosses for Flip Flop Fun for the madre's summer home. Then I went on another site. I got Lavendar Wings' Sara (a wire haired fox terrier for my cousin) , Bent Creek's Snowman Stocking, and Heart in Hand's Anglica (40% off!). Now I have to decide what makes the cut to be taken to our temporary digs and what gets stuck in storage. I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more about this...

Bonnie's Freebie RR. I'm a bit disappointed that you can't see the texture in the lamb's head--stitched with French knots. 

Bonnie's Ornament RR 

While we were on break I did some work on several RRs. Annie's Heart in Hand Wee Ones.

It Never Rains in Southern California

No one seems to know that the chorus ends, "It pours, man, it pours."

Today is blustery, colder than the northeast, wetter than England and there's lightning! What a good day to stay in and stitch. Too bad I'm at work.

The Tower of VKC at USC aka "Globie." 

Zen and the Art of Cross-stitch

Back in September, I wrote this post, but never posted it. I thoughtfully e-mailed it to myself and filed it under "crafts." Recently unearthed, it's still relevant, so I share it below.

---

Mary asked, since she and I are cross cross-stitchers, or cross-stitchers without patience, why do people think xs takes patience? And it's a good question.

So I went to the source of all important human knowledge, written in part by a man who perfomed autopeotomy, so you know it's got to be good, the Oxford English Dictionary:

Patience (n) The practice or quality of being [wait for it] patient.
a. the suffering or enduring (of pain, trouble, or evil) with calmess and composure; the quality or capacity of so suffering or enduring.
b. Forebearance, longsuffering, longanimity under provocation of any kind; esp. forbearance or bearing with others, their faults, limitations, etc.
c. the calm abiding of the issue of time, processes, etc.; quiet and self-possessed waiting for something; ‘the quality of expecting long without rage or discontent’ (J.).
d. constancy in labour, exertion, or effort.

I think people who don't stitch think it takes patience because it seems really boring to them. There you have it. All that dictionary learning and it comes down to the small mindedness of others! ;) If you think about patience being the "enduring trouble with composure" or, even better, "the calm abiding of process," you can see why people would think that cross-stitch--and other needlework--takes patience. Needlework is small, it involves counting, and it takes time, and when we do it we seem composed. There is a certain angelic peacefulness to stitchers. Think about stitchers you've seen in the doctors office, or wherever you have to wait, they hardly ever ask a hundred times if they're next, or demand to be seen immediately, or get agitated. (Think about my Thanksgiving trip.) You know, until they've ripped something out* for the 40th time and they're about to tear out their hair. Of course, if you've been reading this blog, you know that definition "D" has nothing to do with me! And that's where the idea of stitchers' patience really falls apart!

*I hate the term 'frogged'; come back to me when it's made the OED

Explain this to me

I was clicking through the Counted Cross-Stitch, Needlework, and Stitchery Page links to freebies when I happened upon this. "Friends are the Ribbons in the Cancer of Life." I mean, I get that the ribbons are supposed to represent support and that friends are supportive. But the Cancer of Life? How's that for a fucking downer? I'm gonna stitch that for someone who might be dying. Because, you know, LIFE SUCKS.

All Hail the National Champeens!

Wow! Did SoCal kick serious ass or what? I hope people who think Auburn should be National Champs will shut the fuck up now because USC can make even the most accomplished players (Heisman winners and runners up) look like they just graduated from pop warner. Lots of people thought SC's poor performance against UCLA meant something. Yeah, it meant that rivalry games don't play to form. That's what that meant.

---

So, yesterday they let us out early to check out the fi'ba' as my Scottish MIL says, which enabled me to pick up a couple of specialty flosses I needed for the rrs. As a result, I finished the Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR. Now, I'm ready to send three of the six round robins (Freebie and my Prairie Schooler among them). I just got the ornament rr yesterday, but I think I should be ready to send that tomorrow--the patterns are so small. The one I have is not shown, but you get the idea--a charm surrounded by a bit of stitching. For ease, it sure beats the heck out of some of my rrs! Then, I just have my Alphabet RR and Wendy's Sisters and Best Friends RR to work on and I can get back to sissy's poncho. I promised her that I would have that done by her birthday (late Feb). I think I can manage.

No More QOTW: Used Patterns

Jenny has resigned as the question maker for the Stitching Bloggers. I have to admit, I was one of the snarks, but I did send a bunch of questions so I feel that that balances out. Plus, graduate school hardened me to the snarkiness. Some people think I'm being a bitch when I think I'm just using my critical-thinking cap. Oh, you'll know when I'm being a real bitch. Renee over at Stitched with Love and Cat Hair has decided to be a sometime replacement. She asked what people do with their used patterns.

I've traded some--I was especially successful when I needed the DMC Flower Thread. I've also joined XStitchYardSale, a yahoo group. So far, no one wants my old stuff. I also tried putting some of it on half.com. No luck there either. I did have some luck at a real-life yard sale once. At the very end of the sale, a crafter came and she was in hog heaven. None of the craft stuff had sold and she bought a bunch of it. We may be having a giant yard sale soon, (we may be moving) and I'm planning to advertise the sale to Church of Craft and the Craftster boards so the right people will come to get the stuff--I'll have over 80 books for sale and even more charts and kits. The one set of kit patterns that I do plan to keep are my perforated Santas--I may make those again.

Another Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Made a list of goals for my stitching…and managed to get more stitching done!
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I had just the one--to keep in touch better with friends and family. I did that for friends up until about April. But I wrote to my grandmothers throughout the year, so I feel like I was pretty successful.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Who didn't? A friend from grad school, my cousin, my sister-in-law, my best pal--in that order.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes.
5. What countries did you visit?
None this year.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
A house.
7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day the Red Sox beat the Yankees after coming from 3 down to advance to the World Series. C’mon, 3 games down against the Evil Empire!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting some therapy.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting a new job.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Um, remember the hives?
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The DVD player. And the Netflix subscription.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The lesbians and gay men who got married in San Francisco and Massachusetts this year. And the lesbians who filed suit in Oklahoma against the hateful laws passed there. These are the people fighting for civil rights for all of us today.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Tommy Thompson, John Ashcroft…Oh, I could go on.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Joann's. Well, besides all the dosh that went to rent.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
That’s simply too many reallys for me; I don’t get that excited.
16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
I had a lot of trouble answering the three music-related questions here. It’s totally background noise for me.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? about the same
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter
c) richer or poorer? Richer
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Reading.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Working at a job I hated.
20. How did you be spend Christmas?
With my family in New Hampshire, playing poker.
21. Did you fall in love in 2004?
I fall in love with the dude every single day.
22. How many one-night stands?
None.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
CSI
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hating people takes too much energy.
25. What was the best book you read?
Bone, Fae M. Ng.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
1985, Bowling for Soup
27. What did you want and get?
Lots of cross stitch stuff.
28. What did you want and not get?
A new job.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
That came out this year, or that I saw this year? We haven’t seen some of the late season releases (ie Oscar contenders), but I really enjoyed The Life Aquatic.
On DVD it was definitely Badder Santa.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 38. The Dude and I went out for (Maine) lobster.
31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Working with fewer crazy people.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
I have a concept?
33. What kept you sane?
The Dude, stitching, and the Daily Show. Possibly not in that order.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jon Stewart.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Um, didn't we have an election recently?
36. Who did you miss?
Marisa.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Lori, the director of the Women's Center on campus.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.
I am horribly out of touch with the American people.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“I could leave but I'll just stay/All my stuff's here anyway.”