End of Month Reconciliation

Goals
1. finish nephew's ornament
2. finish bil's ornament
3. complete all ornament finishing--I'm working on it, I am! It's just not as easy as it looks
4. ship inlaw's gifts by 10/21--well, we're getting warmer
5. keep up with the marquoir--pathetically, I haven't even taken a stitch.
6. finish Sissy's laptop bag (hangs head in shame at mere mention)--Poor Sissy. You'd think I didn't love her as much as I do!

Finishing HELP!
I'm desperately trying to find some finishing help. I love how the directions you get say "attach trim." As if how to attach trim were completely self evident. It reminds me of a friend of my mom's. We were talking about learning to sew from your mother. She said, "I can remember asking my mother how you ease a sleeve" [I interrupt this paragraph to say, "ease a sleeve?" I didn't even know what the hell she was talking about.] "And she just screamed at me: 'You ease it. You just EASE it!'" My mother may not have been that bad, but I didn't end up with the mad sewing skillz she has. Not even close.

Last night I got out the sewing machine and not only did the bobbin wind like I was a frickin' pro, I managed to sew straight lines. (Don't laugh; this is not a given.) Of course, I sewed them too close and the finishing form didn't fit in the pocket I had made. Fortunately, I own a seam ripper. (Of course, if I had been a logistician, I would have cut the form. D'oh!) I sewed it again, but this time it was too large. Fucked if I was going to rip it again, I just stuffed some batting in it and proceeded to close the opening.

For some reason, my blind stitch looks like it was done by a blind person. My eyesight's not 20/10 like in the old days, but it's not that bad. I just don't know what the fuck I am doing. And then I got to the directions, "attach the trim." Oh, thanks. What they should have written was 'You attach it. You just ATTACH it!'

I got out a couple of sewing books that my mother gave me when she bought me the sewing machine. (She knows I like books.) No clue on attaching trim. Apparently you just ATTACH it. Then I thought about my collection of Fine Lines Magazines with Marcia Brown's finishing instructions. The first few places I looked, you just ATTACH the trim. But then I found the issue where we make the trim (Fall 98). And in tiny print buried in the half of the article that continues on page 18, directions on how to attach the trim. Oh dear lord, thank you, and I apologize for making fun of the baby Jebus.

Finishes!

This weekend, I finished four ornaments and got the accoutrements to do the other three. I hope to finish them in the next few days.

Here are the santas for the boys. I looked at all the big box craft stores for perforated paper, but came up empty so I used sticky felt. So they're not personalized. I'm a bad auntie.

I used the same evenweave that I stitched on to back the sheep ornie for my sil. I just popped a ribbon in there for a hanger, and it came up slightly off center even though I pinned it--and you wonder why I hate to finish. (You should see the job I did hanging the drapes in the living room. I. Did! Measure.) I hope she's not disappointed because this one will have the lamest finishing.

I hope to finish two more tonight and one on Tuesday while I hand out candy. Don't you hate the first Halloween in a place? I have no idea how much candy to buy. At least we live within walking distance of a grocery store in case supplies dry up.

Card Dealer

Sissy and I went to our rubber pusher's house last night. As you can see, we made Christmas cards. What you can't see is the glitter on the mailbox card. I'm not sure you can tell, either that we actually got to punch out the baby Jesus. I mean how many times can you say that?! Or, when the only open seat was at the embossing station, Sissy got told to "go do Jesus." We have really dirty minds so we got a lot of mileage out of that. Oh, we're going straight to hell.

Still No Finishing

Last night I had important socializing to do. Do you ever wonder why you so rarely read about me socializing? It's because I just moved 3000 miles, and I have no friends! So when I get a chance to make new friends, I jump at it.

Still, on the commute, I finished this little fob that I started when I went to the stitching weekend in Maine...with my friends. The days get shorter, and the photos get crappier.

Drawn Thread
Pumpkin Keeper

unknown 30+ ct fabric
DMC floss, with substitutions for the pumpkin and the flowers

SBQ: Creepy

If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a morbid or “creepy” saying on it? If not, why?Um, I just bought monsterbubble's pattern Lizzie Borden. And I created an embroidery of Lizzie Borden sneaking up on her father with an ax before any of us even heard of monsterbubbles. Fo' rizzle. Of course I'd stitch the creepy.

In a Handbasket

So Saturday I get home from the hairdresser and I'm feeling really queasy. No idea why. I lazed about on the couch, even had to cancel dinner with Sissy, which I hate to do 'cause she's a peach and a pip. Right after I hung up with her, I finally puked. Nothing to do with her of course.

Sunday, I felt pretty punk, and didn't manage to pick myself up from the couch until my niece called to see if I wanted to go to the pumpkin patch with her. Of course I did! But I wasn't sure if I felt up to it. I experimented by taking a shower, and that went well enough that we drove out to podunk to ride in a bumpity, smelly tractor out to the unnaturally arranged pumpkin patch. (Usually you can pick your own, but the bad pumpkin crop this year meant they had to be shipped into the field.) It took this photo.

Grey Sweatshirt and Pink Shoes are my nieces. Blue Sweatshirt is the neighbor girl.

I set my sights on finishing the presents this week. Yesterday, I went home from work, had to go out to dinner because there was bupkis at home, came home, and fell asleep on the couch at 8:45. Way to get on the projects! I'm thinking the presents might go airmail this year...

When You See These Again, They'll be Finished!

These are the last two ornaments I have to stitch for my inlaws. Our big shipping deadline is Monday since they are going by slow boat. Well, actually the deadline has passed, but we're doing our best to send things sooner rather than later. Not like in the past, when the presents arrived in February...or not at all. (That was a tragedy. But we'll choose to ignore it.)

The last swirly Santa: Green Man
Barbara Sestock in Cross-Stitch Christmas: Handmade Heirlooms (2002)

Peace Tree by M Designs in the JCS Ornament issue 2004

SBQ: Hand it to them

Thanks for all the well wishes for my birthday. I hardly feel 40. I feel just like a jet-lagged 39 year old! I am almost back to normal, just have to stop passing out on the couch at 9:30.

Anyway, one way to get back to normal, the SBQ:
Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?
I stitch /// followed by \\\, and I am right handed. I don't think handedness affects the way I stitch. Best Pal is a righty and she stitches all backwards (\\\then ///). I think how you learned matters more than handedness.

I also think a lot depends on where you start on the fabric. When I was asked to stitch "backwards" for a round robin, I just started on the far right and reversed the way I stitch, stitching what I think of as the top leg (\\\) first, then working my way back doing what I consider to be the bottom leg, rather than starting on the left like I normall do.

Now We are 40

It was a wonderful trip but there's always something about being home, isn't there?

I've written a bit about my trip here. I'm a little disappointed to report that I wasn't able to get to the needlework store--or indeed either of the two yarn shops--that I found in Ljubljana before they closed on Saturday. (Why close at 1:00? Why? Why?)

I spent over fourteen hours in the air, so I was able to make some progress on two projects that I stuck in the carry on bag: E&E&F's Polka Dot Scissor Fob and Mirabilia's Christmas Elf Fairy. I finished the first, but I'm afraid the elf will be hobbling around on one leg for a while while I finish the Christmas presents that must be sent abroad soon, um, last week.

Around the World in Stitches

Found a little stitching store in Ljubljana today. It was closed, but we'll be back to visit next Saturday. Full report when I return. This is costing too much and I keep hitting the z instead of the y which is transposed on this keyboard. Here's a little souvenir: čćžđš

Slovenia, Slovakia, hasenpfeffer incorporated!

We're gonna do it!

So we're off to celebrate this milestone birthday in the country that sports the Julian Alps, Lipizzaner horses, a green river, a disappearing lake, a capital whose every l has a j, and 7500 karst caves. And it's only the size of New Jersey! We'll be able to see a lot in a week.

We leave tomorrow, but I am not going to be able to visit. Back Sunday, October 16.

The Maine Event

Our trip to Maine was relaxing if not entirely restful. We packed so much into our days that even my mother's neighbors commented on how much we did. We all arrived on Thursday. While best pal and I waited for DD's flight to arrive we popped over to Colonial Needleworks in Bedford. It is a really pretty shop and she had a nice selection. I think the internet has totally ruined me for shopping. I see stuff in advance and then I'm put out when it hasn't arrived in the stores...

We drove up to my folk's place in Maine and met VT who my mom had been kind enough to fetch from the Portland airport. We had treats to share. I had made flip flop scissor fobs and a notebook to put into the bags I had decorated. I also included a few freebie patterns.

DD made up goody bags that included candy and gum, hand cream and a nail file, a magnet needle holder, a nap raiser, Thread Heaven, and a thread straightener. It was all included in a pretty little autumnal bag. So sweet!

After lunch at Wild Willy's on Friday, we made the pilgrimage to Yankee Cross Stitch which is loaded with beautiful stitched pieces, but I didn't see that many new things. It's a sad fact that we forgot to take a photo of us in front of the store. My mom drove us, and even though she doesn't stitch, she did pick out a couple of patterns. For me to stitch for her. But she bought everything I picked out because it's almost my birthday so it's the least I can do. I got two Mosey n Me patterns, Twigs and Blocks of Christmas; Carriage House Samplings, Annie's Garden; monsterbubbles, Lizzie Borden; Good Huswife, June Morning; Blackbird Designs, Flea Market Souvenir, and finally I found a copy of the JCS Ornament Issue. (I bought the Hillside Samplings chart, Animal Samplings, at Colonial Needleworks.) My mom picked out the Sue Hillis Designs, Why Men Fish and the Dimensions Flip Flop kit, though I have permission to substitute the fabric.

We shopped a bit in the mall where YCS is located. Before driving back we swung by Strawbery Banke so DD could see "a three hundred year old salt box" per her special request. We stopped at Yummies on the way home. We bought candy like we were...kids in a candy store. For dinner we had Mike's Clam Shack clam chowder and lobster rolls.

Saturday was a beautiful day so we took a short cruise past Nubble Light. We walked around (shopped) Ogunquit before heading back to pick up my dad for dinner. Lobster on the marsh. Mmmmmmmm lobster. Then we swung by the Bush's place to watch the sunset. (Some of us were more excited about that than others. But next time George, Jr. pulls his aw-shucks-I'm just-a-man-of-the-people act think about summering on Walkers Point. Personally, I know that I had a privileged childhood, and our summer place was next door to one that a bunch of frat boys rented!)

Then the weekend was over quick as it came. We did do a little stitching, I had kitted up a Drawn Thread pumpkin fob, but people had also brought their own projects. So it was more a weekend with stitching friends than it was about stitching. I guess we'll save that for camp next year.

October Mission

Some people are just starting to think about Christmas. Lucky them. I am supposed to ship out the first round of gifts by the second week of October. Unfortunately, I'm going to be away during that period. I hope to ship them shortly after we return from Slovenia. So, a pretty short list of goals this month.

1. finish nephew's ornament
2. finish bil's ornament
3. complete all ornament finishing
4. ship inlaw's gifts by 10/21
5. keep up with the marquoir
6. finish Sissy's laptop bag (hangs head in shame at mere mention)

Full report of the stitching weekend tomorrow.