Stripping and Knots

Today I had to go in to do paperwork for my job and have a physical. It was really weird having a physical for a job that will involve writing. I had to give blood for a measles test and have a tuberculosis test. It's crazy. They were joking in the office that the blood test was a drug test--they had to be joking because if not, they broke the law because no one told me there'd be a drug test. Any way, they were joking because one of the mucky mucks who interviewed me told my supervisor that he'd better tell me about the drug test . . . since I was from California . . . and an artistic type. I got a good laugh. You know how the SoCal locals are always sparkin' up! Why would I take illicit drugs? They give me atarax for $5 a month!

Anyway, I needed a small project for the train and all the waiting I (correctly) anticipated I would do. So I took along Polar Santa, one of the new Mill Hill kits from Sandy Cozzolino. On the ride home, I was stripping my floss. Now, 99999 times out of 100000, you can just whip one strand out of the bunch with no trouble. Today I experienced that odd time. I had so many knots I had to work them out from Market East station to Bryn Mawr. So I only got about 40 minutes of stitching time on the ride home. If I decide to stitch instead of read on the train, I could have many, many new ornaments to put on the Santa tree this year!

English Magazines

I was in B&N yesterday treating myself because I punished myself by eating bad Chinese for lunch. They have a great magazine section. I pulled a bunch of card crafting magazines and a couple of cross-stitch ones to browse through. Since I subscribe to the American stitching mags, for some reason I can't truly fathom--oh right, it saves me money--I mostly looked at the British ones.

I don't get them. It's not some sort of Lost in Translation problem; after all the Dude is a Brit. There is a preponderance of tiny patterns to make cards. I can't understand them. It takes way too long to make something people won't keep. And there are whole magazines devoted to the topic. Even the magazines that are more generalized have pages and pages of tiny patterns. The thing I hate most about really small patterns is that they don't even look like the thing you are stitching unless you squint. It's too pixelated, if I may apply a more techologically advanced concept to our craft. But what I don't get most of all is stitching a pattern of Sir Cliff Richard. Okay, I don't even get Sir Cliff Richard.

And today's grammar lesson

Sounds like "of"...

Must have=must've not "must of"
Should have=should've not "should of"
Would have=would've not "would of"
Could have=could've not "could of"

Still, it's "coulda, woulda, shoulda" when you're complaining about betting the wrong horse.

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And can I reiterate? Lose is how we write "not win/can't find." Loose is something altogether different.

Throwin' Crafta Gang Signs

Have I failed to mention that I am on a brief vacation to the Finger Lakes region? Came up on Wednesday and return tomorrow. Today, the dude and I went to Sonnenberg Mansion which for some reason I keep calling Sonnenfeld mansion. While we were taking in the Victorian splendor, we stumbled on a display of hair receivers. I pointed them out to the dude, because just yesterday we saw a spectacular--if revolting--wreath made of human hair. I wandered away, and the dude fell into the hands of the docent who completed his education on what the Victorians did with human hair. (Now if a Ph.D. were worth anything, he'd already know what the Victorians did with human hair as his dissertation covered that period.) I arrived at a room that had the most gorgeous William Morris wallpaper. I went to retrieve the dude to show him. Since we're in the early stages of home buying, my mother wants to know what sort of furnishings to buy. Always one to put the cart before the horse... I wanted, no, needed, to show the dude the wallpaper. So I interrupt the docent who is explaining to Pete that Victorian crafters, like contemporary crafters, couldn't throw anything away lest they need it for a future craft project. (I mean, really, collecting human hair.) I explained that he knew about that obsession. Sensing that I was one of us she accompanied us back to the William Morris wallpaper--it was original, not reproduction; I thought to ask--and she took us into the roped off room to show us...a round bathroom. It's not on the everyday tour; you have to know the secret handshake. Peace out.

My Garden Blooms

I have been working on Moon Garden. Sometimes, when I'm stitching in bad light, it seems like it's all one color, but then I'll catch a glimpse of this piece in the daylight, and I'm struck by the subtle beauty of the colors. My new rotation is to decide that I will complete a piece, like the Just Cross Stitch Ornament RR, and then for a few days I can stitch on one "main" piece that strikes my fancy--Moon Garden, this time. I've got to put together a short list of pieces that can be finished in a few days so that I can "reward" myself by stitching on the main piece. Petit Berger, Pins and Needles scissors rest, and any rrs that come my way should do. Of course, I have to either find the chart I made of the birth statistics for the little shepherd or I have to rechart it. I swear I am losing my mind. We're in the tiniest of spaces, and I can't keep myself organized. The list of things that are "lost" grows: zip disk, Bobbi Brown tweezer set (and, man, do my eyebrows look like it), birth stats chart. I feel like I am living with the Borrowers.

Blogiversary

I knew the two year mark was creeping up on me, and I had such plans--make sure all the links still worked, replace links to the old website with in blog photos, maybe a new skin... But on Friday, I got a call that I had a second interview for a pretty interesting job. I spent the weekend studying, went in on Monday, and received an offer this morning! I'm kind of excited that I'll be working again, because we haven't been able to save very much money, despite not paying rent (we're paying down credit cards from the grad school days).

I also had trouble updating because I cannot find the zip disk full of jpegs of my stitching from the old website. We're living in a couple of hundred square feet of space, it's not like it can be hiding too many places.

Happy blogging anniversary, anyway.

SBQ: Wash

How often do you wash your fabric for each project? Do you wait untilthe very end until to wash it or do you wash it more than once? Sometimes, I don't even wash it at all. I use a lot of overdyed flosses and after the Chiara May birth sampler episode (see here), I won't make that mistake again. Although I am rather slovenly around the house, when I stitch, I keep my hands so clean, you could eat off them!

Out of the Doldrums

I'm stitching! And I have learned that the thing that gets me out of a slump is shopping! I went to Strawberry Sampler, which I'm still lukewarm about, to buy a birthday present for a stitching friend. (But while I was there, I discovered a bead shop right around the corner. At least I felt like the trip to Chadds Ford wasn't wasted.) I got my friend Evergreen Topiary from Knotted Tree. Of course, while I was there, I couldn't help shopping for myself. I was going to buy the fibers to stitch Anna's Bird, but I only found two of the several colors needed. I did buy La D Da's A-Z and Between. I could hardly buy any of the floss for this one either. And they didn't carry the Silk n Colors I needed for my friend.

So I just had to go to Fireside Stitchery. Fireside is much closer than Strawberry Sampler, but it's a needlepoint store. The best thing about needlepoint stores, since I don't needlepoint, is that they carry every fiber. And it is literally ten minutes from the house. What a resource! I bought the Silk n Colors (desert moss) for my friend, and all the floss for Anna's Bird, A-Z, and Blackbird Designs Moon Garden.

How, you may ask, did this take me out of my stitching slump? I started Moon Garden. I love it. It's so beautiful. I know I have to get the last JCS Ornament RR finished in 5 days. So I gave myself permission to stitch Moon Garden until Saturday, when I have to return to the ornament. The thing I hate about this ornament is that some of it is stitched on the diagonal. And I'm a bear of very little brain...

A Long Line of Pictures

Juul asked for it...here are some of the cards I've been stamping. Because Miss Peel has appeared here before, I present the Miss Peel series. Miss Peel has a sort of 60s flair, so I've gone for the Austen Powers sentiments. The far left, "Work it, Baby" is a congratulatory note. Then, "Happy Birthday, Baby" appears on silver. Both of these cards are overstamped on Judikins retro backgrounds done in lavendar chalk ink. The white card has a retro font inside, and the copper color card on the far right is blank as yet. It's a pity that you can't tell that the silver and copper are on metallic cardstock. I got it from California Paper Goods. I like their selection, and they are fast.

A Bright Sunshiney Card

More cards. The glare is caused by the pearlescent ink.

I saw a neat idea when I was checking out at Target today. It was an "emergency card kit." It contained 2 birthday cards, a thank you note, a congratulations card, a blank card, and a ?sympathy card?. It also had envelopes and instructions: "Break plastic, select card, sign it, place in envelope." I thought it was kind of cute, and something a card crafter could do for Christmas presents. Even better, you could put a stamp on the cards--the real emergency involved in card sending is usually the lack of a stamp. What do you think?

Juul, Your Name in Lights

Here begins the waterfall series. This is a dinosaur card for the nephew. (Sorry for the glare.) I used stickers, because the card is a bit of work, cutting and folding to get each dino square to flip into place. There is one other card in this series, not pictured. My niece's princess waterfall card--I'm waiting for my iridescent white paper to come in. I'm also going to put glitter on the edge (where, for example, the dino card appears black). It's going to be over the top; I just hope she's still into princesses. (In the end, I'd rather she weren't into princesses at all, but even I had my Barbie phase...)

More, Juul

This is the puppy waterfall card for my puppy-loving niece. When you pull on the red tab, the three squares are shown, ending with the last dog tag and a message. I put this doggy last because it looks like my mom's dog Coco. (oh, I think I never told you that the yellow lab--the one who delayed the party?--finally died. I don't know what from, but she was old and had had a good life.) Coco loves chasing down balls so much; she's practically OCD. She even knows what we mean when we say, "Do you have Coco's b-a-l-l?" (It must be spelt.) Sorry for the glare in these photos.

And the Vespa Girls

Cards from my "Vespa girl" series. On the top, the card features running stitch. If you were interested in having the corners of your stitches square, you should probably use a ruler to place the holes for stitching. (I use a thumbtack, and I eyeball it--I'm not into perfection.) The bottom photo, left hand card features cross stitches in the corners, and the final card pictured has no stitching at all. Just blue ribbon and brads.

Renewing Subscriptions

Just Cross-stitch just conned me into renewing with the offer of a free Ornament Issue. I think the subscribers should get a free Ornament Issue, but do I really have to get the other six issues? I have been feeling so lukewarm about the magazine... I guess that at some point a stitcher just outgrows magazines. The patterns are so straightforward and simple; they either hit it right or it's a bomb.

This month, there was an article about monsterbubbles, whose designs I love, even though I have not managed to stitch any of them. Now, I seem to recall a slightly different, more bawdy explanation of the monsterbubbles name, but I'm willing to go along with the revisionism that accompanies success. Besides, I could be imagining it...

There was also an article about Jeannette Douglas Designs whose work is not for me.

There was an advertisement article about the DMC Mentors program. I'm sure people have always felt this, but having lived for so long in Los Angeles, I have become completely jaded about the crossing of the fine line between news and entertainment and news and advertisement. "Publicity": just where should it end? I also kind of think the people who feel particularly proud of schilling for DMC as "mentors" are kind of sad. Okay, so you get free stuff, but really, DMC can more than afford it; they are a multinational corporation after all.

And last but not least, Martha Beth Lewis filled up more than her share of pages with her Neverending Story of hemstitches. And not a design worth stitching.

Next, Anna takes on the EGA membership.

Slumping Along

I haven't been stitching at all. I don't know why I can't pick anything up! Perhaps it's the promise of working on Sissy's poncho. I haven't done one thing on my stitching goals list for August, and it's already August 15th! I have stamped and made some great cards--I used the waterfall technique to make a dinosaur card for my nephew and a puppy card for my niece. They are both indescribably cute. (The kids and the cards!) I made a bracelet for a friend. But I can't seem to pick up a needle. I have seven days to finish my Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue RR--and then I'll be done with that one. Okay, that might give me some motivation!

SBQ: Framed!

What do you do with the framed stitching that you keep? Do you hang it up and leave it in one place, never to move it? Or do you have a rotation, where you have one place for stitched pieces and switch them out according to mood or season? Maybe a mixture of both? At this time, I have no walls of my own on which to hang anything at all, though I am grateful to have housing. Back in the day when we had our own apartment, though I may seem to be waxin poetical about Our Own Space, that apartment isn't something I long to go back to, Nevertheless... When we had our own apartment, we had one piece that hung in its spot, and a picture below that one that rotated. In fall, it was a halloween Mill Hill perforated paper kit with beads. In the winter, it was a Santa Mill Hill perforated paper kit with beads. The rest of the time it was a picture of a quilt. Apparently, I didn't find any of those Mill Hill perforated paper kit with beads that I liked for the other seasons. Once we buy a house and get things up on the walls, I'll let you know. But I imagine it will continue to be
a mixture of both.

Promises, promises

As promised, pictures! Here is the framed "Vous et Nul Autre." I found the frame at the local cross-stitch store, pretty inexpensive, about $7. Considering I got the pattern for 60% off, a pretty cheap gift. But well loved...

And another

And here is the Trilogy's "Spring is in the Air" from a Just Cross Stitch magazine of unknown vintage. I love this piece. And if you look at the lower left hand corner, you can see some tea staining mentioned in another post. I'm not crazy about this frame. It was a standard-size, off the rack frame that I got on sale at Michael's. It is navy blue and has an inner edging of--whaddya call those ball things? I don't like that the spacing is uneven; there's so much more white space on the top and bottom than on the sides. Custom framing would have cost too much. At least it is hangable, who knows when I'll be able to afford a custom job. I'll take having more finished projects!

And another

And last year's anniversary present framed in a plainish brown frame.

Stitching, but Not on Fabric

I've been in a bit of a stitching slump since I went to Maine. I've been stamping. I guess the stamp-a-stack I went to before I went on the trip got me in the mood. And tomorrow is my Stampin' Up rep's open house. I've made a ton of cards. I'm finishing off cards that I made a few elements for. I do that a lot. Stamp a few images with nothing specific in mind, then weeks or even months later, I go back and assemble them.

One of the ones I like best married my two favorite hobbies: stitching and stamping. I stamped the girl on a Vespa from Stampin' Up's Paris in the Spring set, mostly as a challenge to myself--I mean, wtf, a girl on a Vespa? (I bought the set for the poodle and the Eiffel Tower.) I colored it a jaunty yellow, pink, and mint. Then I mounted it on a piece of torn pink cardstock with a stem stitch using mint DMC. It's cute though I say it myself. I also love the more brightly colored one I did. I used a technique I read about on vacation--remember when I could only flip idly through magazines due to fatigue? I stamped on ribbon. I love it! I can't show this one right now, because I have big plans for it. If things go well, I'll let you know...

SBQ: Dyeing to Know

Have you hand-dyed your own fabric? Why? I have overdyed my fabric with tea, but I've never used color. I like the subtle look of tea-dyed fabric. (Oh don't get on me about how it won't last forever because of the acids. In the real world, nothing needs to last forever.) I also like the less subtle look of bleached linen (like Terrence Nolan of Dimples Designs sometimes uses). I'm less keen on the garish hand dyed fabrics out there. The reason so many patterns call for white or unbleached linen is that you want the background to fade away, not demand to be attended to. I have done some things on colored fabric, don't get me wrong. I love the wedding sampler my best pal made for me, and it's on a dark green fabric. But with the mottling that appears on the hand-dyeds, the deep tones, and the stitching, it's just too much. I am a huge fan of Simple Scrapbooks. I like my stitching similarly simple, though not simplistic.

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Sorry I haven't posted the pictures I promised. I schlepped all my crap to Wegman's yesterday where I learned the reason the (free) wireless internet access is so haphazard is that they have the wrong router for the job. Of course, yesterday was one of those days that the router didn't do its job. It's over 100 with the heat index, and I'd just rather stay in the air conditioned house and conduct my job search--and blogging--with the dialup.

I have also planned a trip to Kinko's to download my photos from the zip disk (don't you love how technology lasts for two minutes?) to the stick. Then I'll be able to put the pictures that I once had on a website seemlessly into the blog. It will be all color all the time.

July in Review

My goals for July were:
* stitch last ornament in JCS rr
I'm about halfway done.
* complete Le Petit Berger
I finished the chart, but I have to add the birth information.
* complete Camp needlecase
Done!
* ten hours on Sissy's poncho
Nada.
* ten hours on Toy Gatherer
Done.
* ten hours on Pins and Needles
I did a few, but landed in the stitching slump when I went on vacation.
* finishing on three projects, including Vous et Nul Autre
Done! Photos soon.

August Goals:
* stitch last ornament in JCS rr for 8/22 mail date
* complete Le Petit Berger and bring to framer
* ten hours on Sissy's poncho
* ten hours on Toy Gatherer
* ten hours on Pins and Needles, should finish the set

I haven't been stitching

I'm back from my trip. May I recommend not taking SEPTA from the airport on a Sunday if you live in a community where the trains don't run on Sundays? Piss poor planning. But we had a terrific time while we were in Maine and NH. And now we're back, a lot lighter in the pocket having had to take a cab from Philadelphia to Exton.

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What is your most unique/interesting stitching quirk?
I've been thinking about this question for some time. I even tracked down other people's answers; most of what they reported, I wouldn't consider quirks. The only thing I can think of is that I sometimes use the needle backward (eye up) if I only have one more stitch and the thread is running out. Oh, and did I mention that I hate Margaret Sherry?