September Round up

Here's what I planned to do this month:
* stitch last piece in Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR
Done! I mailed it out on September 10th.
* complete Le Petit Berger and bring to framer
Completed stitching on September25; we're going to the framer tomorrow.
* ten hours on Sissy's poncho
Done!
* complete Moon Garden
Done, September 14!
* complete two Sandra Cozzolino Santa ornaments
I completed one on September 19th. And the other on September21st.

Here's what I plan to do in October:
* make bracelets (braglets) for sils
* finish Sissy's poncho
* begin the Dude's Christmas sweater
* knit cousin fluffy hat and scarf
* ten hours on Toy Gatherer
* two ornaments from the new JCS

Off-Kilter Aphorisms

I was thinking of cross-stitching some pillows with movie lines. Sort of off-kilter aphorisms.

“The Dude Abides” was my first thought.

“I know it was you, Fredo” was my second.

Are there more moviephiles out there? (You know, movies beyond Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.)

Do you have any ideas for the aphoristic pillow?

---

Sissy's poncho update
It turns out that I miscalculated how much I had left to do on this project. I thought that I had done 20 repeats instead of 25. Last night, when I hit 20, I got out the other half and realized I had 5 *more* pattern repeats to do. So I kept knitting. I only have 3 more repeats to do. I think I can finish this tonight. Tomorrow I'll block it. Sunday, I'll sew it. Monday, I'll finish the neck. Friday, I'll present it to Sissy.

SBQ: Quitting

Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We’re not referring to UFOs here, rather projects that you know that you’ll never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it - throw it out, give it away, put it away?
Yes. I once took a class with Maureen Appleton on silk gauze. The design was of pansies. I took the class to see if I should invest in a dazor lamp with a magnifier. I figured if I didn't like stitching that small, there was no reason to invest in the lamp. Now, I have a habit of putting the needle back through the hole when I want to take out a mistake. It's not a very good method; about half the time, the thread catches and doesn't come out and I am left with a knot. I do it to avoid rethreading the needle. (Stupid I know.) So while I was in class stitching the pansies, I tried to unstitch and the thread knotted up. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anything to get the knot out. Cutting the threads would have undoubtedly cut the silk. For a long time, I thought about shelling out for new gauze and finishing it, but then I realized that I wasn't keen on stitching those pansies. I have no idea where they've gone.

I did, however, invest in the lamp. One day I saw a table lamp with a magnifier at Pearl Arts and Crafts on a table marked "make us an offer." I offered them $20 which I figured was about 25% of the price. They took it. And to think I could have avoided that pansy class.

Now that I think of it, I'm probably never going to finish the silk embroidery flower pillow class I took in the mid90s. SRE is so yesterday. That I know is in the storage unit.

Will the earth open and swallow us?

Last night, I got out Sissy's poncho. It's the only thing left on my list for September. I found where I was, stitched 6 rows, and screwed it up again. Now you can see why I avoided it for so long. Today I brought it on the train and stitched 5 rows.

The trouble I have is that you do a YO (making a stitch) to increase the piece from 78 stitches to about 148. Then you purl them all. Then you decrease. That decrease gets me every single time. I try to count that row when I finish it but it slows me down so much. (Of course, not as much as having to rip slows me down.) Today, I counted as I stitched it. That seemed to work. I only have 5 repeats--about 40 rows--to do before it is done. Sissy is coming to visit us next week. I think if I make this a focus piece, I can actually finish it. It will only be ten months late.

I'm making hardly any presents this year. I think that ought to help me get the ones I am making done on time.

Shopping Gives Me Stitchy Fingers

Saturday, I came home and couldn't wait to stitch! This weekend, I finished the baby sampler and put in two hours on Toy Gatherer, and that's after we drove around Phillie looking for an affordable place to live that was also liveable.

I think I'm so excited because I got some really cool stuff that I need to get working on!

Bleu de Chine, Coussin Carres Fleuris

Dimples Designs Mini Ladybugs I

La D Da, Love Birds

Long Dog, Piggy in the Middle

Nutmeg Company, Weekend Cottages: Autumn in Stratford on Avon

Simply Old Fashioned, Twinkling of Willows

Simply Old Fashioned, Ever So Little Chimps

Another Review: Crewel Yule

I was going to hold off reading this one until Christmas, but I caved. I have had a head cold and didn't feel like stitching last Sunday, so I read this instead. This is my favorite of the Monica Ferris stitching series. The absolute best.

Setting this book at the International Retailers Needlework Guild annual meeting was genius. We got to see "famous" needlework designers, and I have to say she describes them pretty well: there's Frank and Judy Bielec (Mosey N Me), Terrence Nolan (Dimples Designs), Betsy Stinner (Earth Threads), and Doug Krienik (duh, from Krienik). I am still researching to see if there really is a man with a needlework shop in Philadelphia. I hope so! It really felt like a "needlework" mystery because of the setting, even though, in the end, there's probably not much needlework in the mystery. (The only craft mystery I've read where the solution is in the craft was the collage mystery in Murder Most Crafty.)

It was fun to see "market" from the inside. Much more fun, incidentally, than the only other mystery that I have read that is set at an annual meeting: Murder at the MLA. (For those not in the know the MLA is the Modern Languages Association the organization for academics who study, you know, English and stuff. I mention English not only because it was my subject, but because it sort of dominated the association. The MLA meeting is held the week between Christmas and New Years which has to be the Dumbest Time Ever to hold a meeting. It is also where graduate students go to supplicate interview for jobs. It is hugely crowded--something like 10,000 people show up--and fraught with anxiety, jockeying, and ass-kissing. In short, it's horrible and I'd rather kill myself than go back there again.) Murder at the MLA was an awful book, despite being a very accurate account of the meeting.

In addition, the mystery was the tightest ever. There were three plausible suspects and we all--reader and characters--kept boucing back and forth about who it could be. The solution hinges on the kind of conversation that no one would really remember, but I was okay with that.

Of course, it was again marred by editing oversights. Betsey Stinner shows up as "Susan Stinner" once and another word has two a's in it when it should just have one. And the first time Doug Krienik is mentioned, he's just called "Krienik." Am I the only editor reading these things?

Off to Hershey

It was a totally last minute decision, but my best pal and I decided to meet in Hershey for a little shopping today. I'm so new at my job, I don't get any days off, so we couldn't go until today. Her husband rescheduled a chiropracter's appointment and golf so that he could watch the kidlet and we could shop. Yay, John! He has to be The Best Husband Ever, and to think someone else actually divorced him. All the better for my lucky friend and me.

Stash report, Monday!

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

I do tend to go on. When I got on the subject of wedding samplers last week, I asked if anyone has any suggestions for a sampler to do for my parents 40th anniversary.

Cheryl offered some very sweet Sweetheart Tree patterns. While they're nice, they aren't right for mom and dad. Think bolder. Possibly more traditional.

Anything?

Review: New Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue

What is exciting about the new Just Cross Stitch ornament issue is the number of newer and smaller designers that are included. New designers include: Needle Play, Twisted Oaks, Charlotte's Web, Hands to Work, Water’s Edge, Sunflower Seed, Wee Works, and Waters Edge. Bent Creek, Twisted Threads, and Heart in Hand are out. Have the Trilogy abandoned us? Other notables are missing, but there’s so much that’s new! The other noteworthy difference is the overwhelming number of ornaments that double as needlework smalls (scissor holders, needlebooks, and pin-keeps). That’s one way to be sure people stitch your stuff! On to the review!

Group 1 is mostly red and white ornaments. Two are hardanger and 2 are needlework accessories. These are probably just as you picture them.

Group 2 consists of Christmas trees, from a tiny over one from Elizabeth’s designs to the abstract—one by Twisted Oaks and another by Angel Stitchin’. Monsterbubbles has a “No L” sampler that’s fresh looking even if the joke is really old.

Group 3 are very traditional looking ornaments. Again two are ornaments-cum-needlework smalls. You can tell the ones I’m not that thrilled with…

Group 4 is the “white” ornaments. It includes M Designs “Joy” tree. You can now get "Love," "Hope," "Peace," "Pray," and even designs personalized with your name on them. Charlotte’s Web has a nice dove with peace written in several different languages. I’m already planning to rework it because I don’t like how each word is labeled with which language it is. Also the “i” in the Russian word is backwards. Good thing I took those two years of Russian, isn’t it? Mostly the others aren’t my style: a rose with a blackwork background, a photo frame stitched on plastic canvas, a hardanger noel.

Group 5 is my favorite! I want to stitch 2/3 of them. La D Da has created a sweet Christmas heart with roses, sort of pastel Mary Engelbreit. Bright Needle has a pretty little house, and Carriage House does a flame stitch around the date “Dec. 1804”—for her house—I’m sure we’re all smart enough to stitch a date that is meaningful to us. (I digress: I’ve never really understood stitching exact replicas of historical samplers with the old date on them. So I just don’t get stitching a random old date on an ornament.) Handwork has a pretty one hearts that form a rose in dirty rose and olive green colors—the latter freshens up the color scheme a lot. I love it. Trail Creek has a cute gift surrounded by “gift to be simple.” I like it, but I’ll have to re-chart so it says, “Tis a gift to be simple.” My husband looked at it and wondered what the hell “gift to be simple” meant. And he’s quite right. Another one I like but will ultimately re-chart is Full Circle’s two hearts ornie. The saying around the pretty hearts is “two hearts in love a Christmas blessing from heaven above.” (Gag.) I’ll probably just do something like “Christmas 2005” and fill in the other areas with vines. This page also shows a scissors sheath.

Group 6 is this year’s “not so much.” Two red hat snowmen, a little elf, a cutesy angel and a baby in the manger. At first I didn’t get Susan Greening Davis’s ornament. It’s just backstitched “To: Santa From: Mrs. Claus.” It’s the finishing, though. There are directions for a beaded edging. I like Samsarah’s snowman who is reaching for the stars; it says “the stars were brightly shining” with button stars, of course.

Group 7 is for the birds! Two partridges with pears, a pear sampler, Jemini’s usual, unusual bird ornament, and requisite cardinals. One of the partridges is by Sisters and Best Friends, but the coloring is so strange, it was hard to tell what the design was until I saw the black and white pattern. I wasn’t alone in this, my cousin couldn’t tell what it was either. I sort of like the Jemini series. It’s a little offbeat. This year, the bird is a pelican. There is also an ornament, similar to last year’s by Fancy Work. This year’s has the lyric “Heav’n and Nature Sing.” It’s pretty if you like colonial.

Group 8 is the colorful page. There’s a Santa Lucia ornament that’s sweet. Another needlework tool: a pin-keep this time. Prairie Moon’s ornament reminds me of something I can’t quite put my finger on. And I always have to comment on Moss Creek and Forget-Me-Nots-in-Stitches (could the name be any longer?). Lauren Sauer’s ornament is ugly this year, but it is based on a 19th century Christmas card which makes it interesting to me. It’s not anything we’d look at and say, “Christmas,” but someone once did. Rae’s contribution is a Scandinavian Jule Aften or Christmas plate, and we get the history on those. It’s a simple blue and white design. I always like to know the story behind a piece. So many times there’s no intellectual content, you know?

Group 9 is the family pets: the cats, the dogs, the . . . dragons? As a dog person, I love Mosey ‘n Me’s black Christmas dog (she was a rescue!). I may stitch it for all my family members who rescue animals. My other niece loves cats and the ones I’m considering for her are a cat angel by Chessie and Me and the Britter Cup, hmmm, calligraphy-style drawing. There’s also an over one featuring the phrase, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Cute, but no over one ornaments for the nieces. You can hardly tell it’s a dragon from Jennifer Aiken-Smith, but he’s warned, “Paws Off Santa’s Snacks.” No doubt it will have quite a following.

Finally, there is another traditional grouping which includes a sampler from Blackbird Designs, a house from Little House, a Nancy Sturgeon sampler, and an adorable present surrounded by ornaments by Little by Little. I wouldn’t call it her usual style—a little more funky. Overall, a pleasing issue.

SBQ: I Love a Challenge

What is the most challenging specialty stitch you have ever stitched?
I would have to say coral knots. Not the ones that are done on the surface of a piece, it's a stitch done on one of the threads (warp? weft?) after you've cut some out. In English, that would be drawn thread. It looks like this. Now that I see that diagram, I can't figure for the life of me what I thought was so hard about it. I learned it in a class with Sue Stokes of the Nutmeg Needle. I haven't finished the project--a pair of Deco tulips surrounding a drawn thread sampler--mostly because I thought those knots were so hard. I may just have to pull it out. I'd have to say a lot of drawn thread stitches get me, though. I can't do a lovely dove's eye to save my life. If the pattern has four, I'll have one nice, two decent and one that's all wonky.

And lately, my Palestrina knots stink!

I Love Just Cross Stitch

I got my Ornament Issue last night! My cousin almost called me at work to tell me it arrived. I've been coming home every night like a puppy, "is it here yet?"

I have a tradition of doing a description/review. But now images are available on e-bay, and hundreds of people have already slept with theirs. Should I do a review? Let me know!

I [Heart] Tacky Bob

I finished one of my santa ornaments. I happily used my tacky bob to corral my beads. It's such a relief not to spill beads all over the place while I am stitching with them. Trust me, I always spill the beads. I'm the kind of girl who falls upstairs.

The other ornament, the one that I've been stitching on the train, isn't far behind.

I'll need a new train project. My list of September goals includes completing a birth sampler and ten hours on Sissy's poncho. Which do you think I'm going to pick up?

Behold! Brevity

Where is my copy of the Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue? I should have just gone to the stitching store to get it instead of letting the distribution people be in charge...

I'm the only one who doesn't have it!

EGA Marketplace

I’ve always been intrigued by the EGA marketplace, a list in Needle Arts magazine of items that different chapters have for sale as fundraisers. For example, the Madison Area Chapter is selling “Stitcher’s Choice”:

This sampler’s vertical bands and borders form and interesting but subtle background of texture for the diamond shapes and whatever else you choose to put in them. Band techniques include pulled thread, darning patterns, and blackwork. Instructions include diagonal compensation techniques for incorporating the diamond patterns. Choices of center motifs are charted I additional techniques. With easy adjustments, this piece can be a wall hanging, a pillow top, a sewing case, evening bag, table runner, or any other item of choice.

And that’s one of the better descriptions. Why don’t they just ask you to put ten dollars in an envelope and send it to them? How do they sell any of these? I’m still left with the question, what does it look like?

I checked not only the EGA website (a good place to post a picture) but also the chapter website (perhaps the perfect place to post a picture). Nothing.

Where Anna Goes Socialist

Personally, I find it a little troubling that EGA chapters have focused on teaching cross-stitch to girls who are home-schooled or “independently schooled.” While the authors of these articles bemoan, “many art programs in schools are being reduced or eliminated,” they are ignoring that this is mainly a problem with the public schools. Are the public schools so very hard to work with that EGA teachers can't get in? My public school career, now this was aeons ago, had after-school programs, and that’s where I learned to decorate cakes. I don’t see any reason why public school children cannot benefit from these programs. (Oh, but public schools are so dangerous! and scary!) Set it up in your public library! Advertise it to public school parents! But maybe I am relying on too small a sample; I've only read reports from two local chapters that are teaching stitching.

I think the class element is also confirmed by EGA’s insistence on using Roberts Rules of Order. On the face of it, RRO seems to “protect the minority”—ideas and agendas have to be filtered through the rules and approved by a certain percentage of members. But I’ve always been put off by RRO. It’s like you need to know the secret handshake to get anywhere. And although the rules are available to all, they seem so archaic.

There is also a sexist element to the description of the youth outreach programs. Now before you tell me that boys are not interested in handicrafts, I point you to the Waldorf Schools that require all students to learn to knit as it teaches dexterity. I’ve watched my friend’s son knit up a storm while he waited for his mother—clearly he has been taught what we all know, handwork makes the waiting easier. At a certain points in their lives, children with healthy upbringings are interested in opposite-gender activities--or they would be if we didn't have dumbass governors calling their opposition "girly men." I have this feeling that these women are finding that their beliefs about gender are confirmed: boys don’t want to stitch because they’re advertising to girls or some such thing. It’s hard to know you have ideology when you’re living in it.

You might suppose that, as a feminist, I should be happy that the EGA is an “old girls’ network.” But no, this network isn’t challenging the old boys’ network, in which case, I’d be all for it. I suspect many of the old boys see needlework as a way of shunting us off to the side to occupy us with trivial matters. (A place I am perfectly happy to occupy for short periods of time, mind you.) I’m just saying that not all old girls’ networks are feminist. In fact, old boys’ and girls’ networks go against my more anti-elitist nature—they serve to keep others out: in this case, the working woman, notably. Now, I’m not saying that the EGA needs to appeal to people who aren’t stitchers, but surely there is a way to be more attractive to stitchers. You certainly don’t appeal to others by writing about topics in ways that are indecipherable to outsiders (Fiber Forum) or using methods to set up privilege (RRO). Who the fuck cares if continued agenda items are called committee reports or unfinished business? (See September's "Tips from Robert's Rules".) Go ahead, make me understand.

I Like to Say Zeitgeist

We now return you to your regularly scheduled EGA rant...

Membership in the EGA is falling, and the needlework industry isn’t keeping step with the craft industry—especially knitting. I suspect it’s a problem similar to one faced by the National Women’s Studies Association. A certain group (in that case, radical lesbians) does most of the work, thereby setting the agenda. The agenda serves to keep those not like the organizers out of the group. For a while, the group thrives because it’s new or relevant. Then focuses outside the organization shift and, because the organizers are only interested in their own belly buttons, the organization gets left behind. Substitute “old, retired women” for “radical lesbians” (and don’t think I do not love that image) and I think you can see the EGA’s problem.

One good example is the Philadelphia chapter. Most of their events are scheduled for weekdays. They have, however, moved their board meetings to the evenings in the hopes that “working women” will take on board positions. What is this working women of which you speak? Hello, it’s 2005! I'm not sure that's enough. How do you balance the needs of these "working women" with the retirees and other people who can go to weekday meetings? When things aren’t a problem for you, it’s hard to see that there’s a problem at all.

I do think that the EGA have some awareness that part of the problem is there aren't many new people coming into the organization. As a result, they have done a lot to teach kids to stitch—but I’m not sure their approach is entirely effective. I think introducing kids to stitching will help the needlework industry, overall, grow. The main reason I think it’s ineffective for the EGA is that kids don’t join this type of organization on their own. EGA needs to bring in more dues paying members. Perhaps it’s just impossible for older women to tap in to the zeitgeist of Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation.

Finish!

Birds of a Feather, Moon Garden.

SBQ: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

I thought I'd give you a break from my EGA bashing. But I have more. Oh, boy do I have more. Renee asked us:

Do you stitch for events like weddings, engagements, or other things that might not last? If you have been unlucky and the two people broke up, what happened to your stitched gift?

I have stitched thirteen wedding samplers--it's sort of "my" gift. Only two people have broken up. It helps to be Catholic. One of the break-ups, I know, still has the original sampler--and of course, the new one! (This time, I know it's going to take!) The other one was for a stitching friend. Three of us from the stitching group worked on it together. One would think that she kept it, since she knew how much effort we put into it. But her husband was a real ass, so maybe she had to let it go...

If you're not sure the couple will make it, you can stitch the one pictured here from Kandace Thomas. I've done it five times now. Takes about a week, looks great. Of course, that verse is from the Book of Common Prayer, so they would need to have no objections to that sort of thing. Or you can just wait until they've been married for ten years and do an anniversary present. (Sorry I don't have a photo of the completed piece...)

Speaking of anniversaries, my parents' 40th is coming up. (Oh my god, I'm almost 40.) I think they've been together long enough that I should stitch something for them! I look forward to your suggestions for something appropriate. It can't be too frou-frou (no Stoney Creek), and it can't be too small (my mother has started complaining that the projects I do are getting smaller). Let's see some comments!

Oh, and I knew I wrote something about last week's SBQ--changing your stitching for round robins. I found it; back in January.

EGA and The Edjumication Thing

Although there is often tedious detail in Needle Art's articles, many more stories seem to offer little or no context. For example, the education section of the September issue introduces “Fiber Forum Jurying.” There is no explanation of what Fiber Forum is! (Is it like asking how much a yacht costs? If you don't know what Fiber Forum is, it's not for you!) What I can tell you is for $10 you can become a “friend” of it. Ironically, one should submit photographs of, not actual, works to Fiber Forum, and one is strongly urged to use professional photography services. The photographs in the newsletter range from professional to some crap they pulled off the web. (Wake up call: you need higher resolution photos for paper than for the web.) If your own members don’t know what your programs are, how on earth do you expect them to expand, or to bring reflected glory onto the organization? It’s this sort of thing that makes people feel alienated from EGA. Note: you can find an online description.

The education section also features a profile of a recent graduate of their master certification program. But there is no description of the masters program. (There is in the previous issue.) What they need for some of these articles is that throw-away paragraph—a line or two really—that all marketing writers recognize from press releases. It always comes at the end, and it’s a context provider. Something like:

The EGA offers its members many exciting educational opportunities. One program designed to encourage personal study is the Master Craftsman Program. The program can be pursued in beading, canvas embroidery, crewel embroidery, color for needlework, counted thread embroidery, design, plain and fancy needlework, quilting, silk and metal thread embroidery, smocking, and surface embroidery (and not as it reads in the previous issue "silk and metal thread embroidery, and smocking and surface embroidery"—and you ask why we should use serial commas.) Participants submit their work, which follows established guidelines, to be judged. The judges’ critiques provide insight and individualized comments to help the needleworker develop and improve.

That way, one doesn’t have to rely on having read previous issues to understand what’s going on. Just because you, who’ve been involved with EGA since birth, know what’s going on doesn’t mean the rest of us are mind readers. I mean, Fiber Forum, WTF?

Funnily enough, the name of the program “New Kid on the Block” (which was probably a lot funnier in the 80s) had to be changed because people thought it was for teaching children how to stitch. It’s not. It’s now called “Technique Basics” which is only moderately more clear. If that doesn’t prove that the EGA muckity-mucks are disappearing up their own bums, I don’t know what does.

Flexing My Critical Muscles

Today I had to kill two hours in a train station. I had a couple of copies of the EGA's Needle Arts with me. As you know, I have a PhD in English, which essentially means I am trained as a critic. It’s not such a bad way to live in the world, though sometimes other people do wish you’d shut up about the limitations of everything. (If you’re not sure about the difference between criticism that academics do and the criticism that your mother did--presuming she wasn’t an academic--check this out.) As I always say, how can you fix it if you don’t know what’s broke? I began thinking about Needle Arts, started taking some notes, and in the end, I had over four pages, to which I will not subject you all at once. I do want you to come back.

I read two issues of Needle Arts cover to cover. Let me tell you, this is not easy; we’re not dealing with a fascinating document. I was perplexed, bored, and flabbergasted. It took me a while, but I finally realized the problem: the editor doesn’t seem to know what—or who—this magazine is for. Oh, sure, broadly it’s for needleworkers and it serves to advance needlework education, but what is an article—no, a whole recurring column!—on Roberts Rules of Order doing in there? And have you ever seen the column on chapter newsletters? Not the “Chapter News Section” the “Newsletter Highlights” section? The past two issues covered how to mail a newsletter—and I’ve mailed newsletters by bulk mail, she’s not even good on that, though it is true that bulk mail standards are completely perplexing, better just to stick the .37 cent stamp on it… but I digress… The other article covered the names of newsletters. In extraordinarily tedious detail:

Most of the 292 chapters who send me their newsletters have titles. I did some research and found that neatly 100 use their chapters’ names as the newsletter title or part of their chapters’ titles. [Never mind the grammar.] Many more have titles that contain words pertaining to needlework. “Needle” is the most popular with 64 occurrences, “thread” is used 30 times, “stitch” or some equivalent is found in 21 times but “thimble” is found in only three newsletter names.

Hey, wake up! No drooling while I blog.

Never having attended an EGA meeting, I don’t know what other EGA members need from their newsletter. But it’s not doing it for this member-at-large. And when the newsletter is your single greatest budget item (June 2005, 6) it had better be worth it, doing something for your membership. (In this I will happily claim an expertise. In a previous position, I edited and wrote for a newsletter. The steering committee looked at the budget and said the very same thing. I asked for one year to change things. I added reports from our grant winners, wrote a fun column applying “dry academic thought” to “the real world,” and encouraged the director to move away from those columns that were merely a list of activities and events. Our readership increased—because so many other departments began using our newsletter for recruitment, we had to increase the print run.)

This newsletter seems to be doing too many things to do any effectively. It serves to advertise the education programs, it helps chapter leaders do their jobs better, it shares news about members (about whom we care not), it provides patterns, it presents articles about designers and how to teach children (I should say girls, more on that later). But when it comes right down to it, the information about the education programs is sketchy, the chapter leaders are a different audience from the chapter members, we're not one big happy family, and we don't all think that teaching kids is the only way to expand the needlework market. (Of course, we all love to get patterns and read about designers.)

Tomorrow, I investigate the information about education programs...

This Morning on the Train, I Slept

I don't know what got into me this morning. I was exhausted! The moment I got on the train, my head was thrown back and my mouth was wide open. And to add to the pretty picture, I drool in my sleep. I woke up briefly in Bryn Mawr (roughly 35 minutes) and again when we stopped at 30th Street Station. Fortunately, I was able to stay awake until I got to Market East. I had to stop for a coffee, I was in such a fog.

So I haven't added any stitches to this piece. And I'm working late tonight, so I won't be able to stitch much once I'm home.

As you can see, I'm getting very close to completing this piece. Next, I'll move on to the birth sampler. I'm going now, here, to get some graph paper so I can rechart the stats.

Book Review: Embroidered Truths

When I started my new job, I got the usual, "oh I'm meeting an English PhD, better watch my grammar" thing. I told her that I studied literature not grammar, so she didn't have to worry. That she said was worse because now they had to hide the books they were reading on the train. I assured her that I read the worst books, and Monica Ferris's needlework mysteries are my evidence.

I read the Crewel World series because I want to like it. I want there to be a good, interesting, funny book about needlework. I want the world to see that we're not just a bunch of dorks, dedicated though we may be. These aren't doing it for me, and yet I read on--I've read all but one.

There are, however, many heartening aspects to these books: Godwin and his gay relationship being the best. In this book, Godwin's lover is killed. I haven't spoiled anything, that's right on the cover. Now, I don't follow mystery plots to see if I can solve the mystery or if I can spot plot holes. I let it sort of wash over me just like any other story, so I'm not going to comment on that sort of thing. A real low point during this investigation, however, was when Betsy Devonshire and Jill Larsen dress up as dykes and head to "The Gay Hangout" to talk to someone. Betsy tells him that they're not "hag fags." Now, were I a gay young man who was told that, I'd know I was talking to a big poseur, but he seems not put off by it. Maybe that's just the way they talk up there in Minnesota.

And there was a real lack of needlework--except where Godwin knits mentally while he is incarcerated. (You didn't think he wasn't going to be arrested for the crime, did you?) I guess in a world where the crime cannot be solved in the shop, you're going to focus on the crime not the shop. I think my favorite of these books is the one where Alice's unusual and artistic embroidery is discovered. I can't for the life of me remember which one it is. I went to the amazon reviews, but clearly the reviewers who don't do needlework didn't realize how important Alice's work is because they don't mention it. They only mention when they don't "get" the needlework. And so I wonder, am I reading "through" that too? That is, do I not think there's that much needlework in these mysteries simply because the needlework that is discussed is so elementary to me that it fades into the background?

And am I wrong? Isn't kielbasa a fatter sausage than brautworst?

SBQ: Which Way

Which way do you stitch (/// and then \\\ or \\\ and then ///)? Can you (or if you haven’t done it before, do you think you could) change the way that you stitch temporarily if it is asked of you? I stitch /// then \\\. I can and have changed the way I stitch. I know I wrote about this because I had to stitch "backwards" for a round robin. No one it our group has been snotty about it. As we all know, this isn't fuckin' brain surgery--that is, it's not that hard to do cross-stitch. I am on of the most directionally challenged people going--I have to turn the map to face in the direction we are moving in order to read it--and even I can stitch \\\ then ///. You just start from the other side; that is, where /\ people stitch left to right, you just stitch right to left, then it feels natural to stitch "backwards."

I've Been Working on the Railroad

Actually, I've been stitching on the R5 train--the Thorndale local, which used to be the Paoli local in my younger days. And these days, I take the express.

I screwed up a bit on one of the leaves. I noticed it just when the woman sitting next to me on the train told me I had a lot of patience. (See August 30, 2004.) After I told her that I had no patience, she decided that I had dedication. I prefered it, but I could tell she sneered a little when she said it. Anyway, I've decided just to adapt the pattern to my variation.

Another RR Finished

This is the Tall Trees Sampler that I did for my Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR. I have stitched the last of these. I am now waiting for my HIHWO Santas to come home. Soon, I hope.

I Can't Take It With Me

I had planned for this santa to be one of my commuting projects. Unfortunately, I'm at the beading point. And I certainly can't do that on a train!

How Rude!

Today while I was stitching on the train, an old man sat with me, and he was drinking a cup of coffee! I suppose there are those caffiene addicts who will think he had some sort of inherent right to drink his coffee on the train, but I just think it's rude to eat and drink on the train. And it's not like it was first thing in the morning when coffee might be mandatory. This was an optional afternoon cup of joe. As we swayed along, I could just picture him losing his grip on the cup and coffee flying all over the project I was working on, so I put it into its plastic baggie and sealed it. I pictured a horrifying hour of being trapped there next to him unable to stitch. Fortunately, he alit pretty quickly taking his coffee with him. And the stitching came back out and entertained me on the trip out to Exton.

I had a hairdresser who used to use the expression, "how rude!" for everything, even when what she meant was "how disgusting!" or "how appalling!" or, best of all, "how unethical!" It reminded me of my students who would use the term "uncalled for behavior" in the strangest ways: homosexuality was "uncalled for behavior" as was Hitler's invasion of Poland. Apparently that phrase signified to them the worst of human behavior, rather than mere rudeness. Watching the language change is so difficult for us Dr. Johnsons...

Is it September Already?

I had such a stitching slump this month. My goals were:
* stitch last ornament in JCS rr for 8/22 mail date
Done!
* complete Le Petit Berger and bring to framer
Unfortunately, I lost the graph I made for the baby's stats. I didn't stitch an ex on this one.
* ten hours on Sissy's poncho
Oh, right.
* ten hours on Toy Gatherer
I started Moon Garden instead.
* ten hours on Pins and Needles, should finish the set
I am disappointed with my palestrina knots. So I rushed right back to work on that one [/sarcasm].

September goals
I'm not sure I should overreach. I am starting a new job; otoh, I will have a 2 hour commute each day and need something to do!
* stitch last piece in Heart in Hand Wee Ones RR
* complete Le Petit Berger and bring to framer
* ten hours on Sissy's poncho
* complete Moon Garden
* complete two Sandra Cozzolino Santa ornaments

SBQ: Hold On

What do you use to hold your fabric while you stitch? A hoop, a Q-Snap, a scroll frame, something else, or do you stitch in hand? Have you always used just the one thing or have you tried one or more of the others? Which do you like best? Why? I am a dedicated in-hand stitcher. I love to feel the fabric I am working on. I also use the sewing method for some stitching, so it's imperative that I hold the project in hand. Sometimes the project is too large or there is just too much fabric--like on the afghan--and I need to use something to hold the fabric. In this case, I use a q-snap. I got turned on to q-snaps by my mother, the quilter. I like them better than hoops, because hoops are too small and leave imprints that necessitate washing the fabric. I'm not much for washing fabric (see below). I'm not a fan of the scroll frame either because it leaves things too loose (and that's the word I mean). They also require too much work up front just to get the project on the bars. I'd spend more time putting projects on and taking them off, since I'm a whimsical stitcher who can't stick with one project for too long.