Finish Line

These were the goals I set out for March:
1. Continue to work on the Tree of Life UFO I didn't pick it up this month
2. Work on the marquoir no, sadly
3. Continue working on the Tall Flowers sampler I have stitched three flowers, two to go
4. Start the Apple Sampler by Curtis Boehringer from the defunct Cross Stitch Sampler I started this on the plane to camp, and have finished the alphabet (and I received another nice note from the gals at Boehringer studios!)
5. Spend the Weekend near Tulsa starting and finishing some new projects I completed three projects in their entirety--SamSarah's Patriotic Heart, Prairie Grove Peddlar's Bee, and a needlebook with a rabbit motif.

For April:
1. Continue to work on the Tree of Life UFO
2. Work on the marquoir
3. Finish the Tall Flowers sampler
4. Continue the Apple Sampler
5. Start AMP's and/or SSW's birth sampler

pretty, pretty

Today I was going to review a book, since I have done no stitching this week. Maybe tomorrow, but I've got to prep for the guest.

But then, lucky you, this fell into my inbox. A woman in San Francisco used to bind books. Which she embroidered. Oh, beauty! They are on view at Arion Press in SF through April 13.

Hot Dog!

Dolly Mama's: Poodle Freebie
Finished: 2/17/2007
Finished as a pillow: 3/17/2007
Fabric from Hancock's of Paducah

Lot's of Work, Little Stitching

I was flat out this weekend. On Friday, I started cleaning and by Sunday, I had

• thoroughly cleaned the downstairs
• hung the clock in the kitchen
• purchased and set up a printer
• printed 20 photos for the big picture frame (35 photos)
• hung the bpf in the dining room
• hung other pictures in the dining room, hallway, and guest room
• had my cousin her family over to hang the chandelier in the dining room and the light fixture in the downstairs bath, and eat dinner (which I fixed)

I think we may be almost ready for the dude's friend to arrive from England. I just have to clean the upstairs, do the laundry, and buy a duvet at IKEA. Now that I write it, it doesn't seem like a lot, but I was going full tilt until I dropped into bed every night. Maybe you had to see the unbelievable mess two people who don't pick up after themselves can make...

I can't believe it's almost time to review my goals for the month...and I haven't even picked up the marquoir!

Knots

best pal sent me a link to Monday's Washington Post, where Paul Richard claims that "knots made humans human." I don't know if I agree with him, being one of those stitchers who doesn't make knots, but there are some interesting things that have been done with fibers over the millenia. I kept waiting for Richard to talk about the way ancient Peruvians tied knots to remember important things...and there it was. (I belong on Jeopardy!) A California windsurfer won math's highest honor for creating a tool for distinguishing between knots. You should also check out the Knot Place. I think there are some patterns to be made from those pictures.

Of course, there's always a crazy woman in these stories: a woman crocheted the Lorenz manifold. I could totally see my friend amy! crocheting the Lorenz manifold. Not only is she probably the only friend I have that knows what it is, she can picture things in 3-D and rotate those images in her head. I am in total awe of that skill--I have to move the map to match the direction we are heading or I can't read it. And she makes up patterns that would take her 85 hours to crochet. But I wouldn't call her crazy.

Save the Date

I wasn't going to post this, because Cathy totally scooped me, but just in case you missed it, I bring for your edumification:

A coworker invited me to the Phillies Stitch 'n Pitch scheduled for Tuesday, June 26 7:05 (vs Cincinnati). You should come! It would be so much fun.

I'm thinking a redwork biscornu. Phillies red, not Cincinnati red. You could do that start-to-finish in the time it takes to play one ball game. Of course, one does need one's Chickie and Pete fix. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...crab fries. I'll bring the Wet Wipes!

Edited: Check out The National Needlearts Association for a game near you.

New Heights

The Tall Sampler bloometh.

Thanks for your compliments on my camp stitching! I highly recommend changing some of the wording on your projects. Cross-stitch can be so twee, we need to rough it up!

Apples to Apples

Here's an update on the Apple Sampler by Curtis Boehringer. I've finished the alphabet, and it's on to the apples. I love the alphabet on this one. Look at that "s."

And how cool is this? I got a message from the Boehringer studio because they read my blog! They're happy to see me stitching this piece. (But will they be so happy when it takes my five years to finish it?) I went to the website where Mr. Boehringer has some new samplers. Did you notice the pumpkin sampler? That will be a nice companion piece.

What I really want is that set of santas and all the time in the world to stitch them!

Tell Me Something Bad about Tulsa

Here are the photos that accompany the camp report. Sorry it took me so long to get them up; I've got no excuse.

This is the Samsarah patriotic heart. It's stitched with overdyed pearl cotton. The blue was stitched one stitch at a time, but the red was stiched in rows because I didn't realize the red was overdyed too. You can see the differences that result when you stitch overdyes both ways.

This is the altered Prairie Grove Peddlar stitched with those luscious Crescent Colors silks in the WhimZi frame.

This needlebook was designed by the staff and stitched with Medici wool. I have to add the trim. This project also came with the cutest pair of little scissors.

Start Me Up

I subscribed to the old Cross Stitch Sampler because I absolutely fell in love with this design, The Apple Sampler by Curtis Boehringer. It was published in 1993. Fourteen! years later, I'm finally stitching it. The magazine (and its successor, Fine Lines) have both gone under. I, however, am not down for the count.

The weather has me home early, so I'll be taking some pictures. I'd like you to see the camp stuff before you forget I went to Tulsa last week.

A Face that Launched 1000 Stitches

Oh sure, he's Kate Moss's boyfriend but it's still hard to believe he could inspire cross-stitch. And yet... This woman is cross-stitching her text messages. All of them. Including the deep, momentous message from Doherty, "Eels slip down a treat." In American English, it doesn't even mean anything. She believes the folorn medium of text messages should be memorialized; some of these messages are meaningful. I'm pretty sure that unless you've got philosophers for friends, most of your text messages can slip into oblivion unnoticed.

Is the world gone crazy, and the rest of us hadn't noticed?

Shopping Spree!

Where do I begin? I had three, count 'em 3, gift certificates to the Silver Needle. And I spent 'em.

• Medeiros Needlecraft Design "Counting Sheep Basket" (punchneedle)
• Fancy Work "Lavender Rose Sweetbag" (must check to see if this is a dup--and put my chart database on google)
• Finger Work, "Whale Hunting"
• Plum Street Samplers, "Dead Man's Chess" (for the dude!)
• La-D-Da, "Sweet Dreams" (for the SIL's bebe; shouldn't it be born already?)
• Workbasket, "Bunny Attitude"
• Artful Offerings, "Oh No! More Snow!" (punchneedle)
• Raise the Roof, "Off the Deep End" saw this done up and it is fabulous!
• Nostalgic Needle, "Mermaid Tapestry"
• Sisters and Best Friends, "Five O'clock" (for my cousin)
• flosses for a few projects
• Weeks Wool, Angel Hair herringbone (to make an ipod cozy)

We got giant grab bags one night. None of us kept all of the charts, rejects got passed around and around, and I think they all went home with someone. These were the keepers that I found:

• Erica Michaels, "Signs of Summer"
• 4 My Boys "Autumn Square" (a pumpkin!)
• Mosey 'n Me "The Flowers"
• La-D-Da "My Spotted Pony" (for my littlest niece)

And some freebies:

• Prairie Schooler, Rain
• Glendon Place, Eggcellent Easter Scene
• Drawn Thread, First Snow
• SamSarah, A Posy Heart
• Little House Needleworks, Summer House
  

Should I quit my job just to stitch?

Gifted

Back in the 80s and early 90s, my family took a lot of cruises. One thing we learned from sailing around the Caribbean with a bunch of people: your experience is what you make it. Focus on the negative, and surprise, you’re pretty unlikely to enjoy yourself. I think that happened a lot at this camp. There were lots of people bitching and moaning, and honestly, there were a few things to complain about, but in the end all was made right, and really, you have to focus on that.

My flight arrived in Tulsa at 4:00 and by the time we moseyed out to camp, all the tables were filled! Sure, we could have sat two there and a few there, but we came from across the country to be together. In the end, that was remedied. By the time we sat down to stitch on Friday night, all was well. As usual, we had three kits: a SamSarah patriotic design finished into a cube, a bunny stitched using Medici threads and finished as a needlebook, and a small Prairie Grove Peddlar “Bee” chart stitched with luscious Crescent Colors Belle Soie silks and finished in an exclusive Just Nan WhimZi frame. Two of the three kits didn’t have enough floss. (What’s new?) But, that situation was rectified. You would have thought it was the end of the world the way some people carried on when they were missing one length of thread. For sheesh! Anyway, I ate some more Starburst jelly beans and focused on the positive. I left with three stitched projects. Two of which are completely finished, and one I only need to add trim to.

I’m in love with the CC silks. They did not fray or get fuzzy, and they felt so nice! The colors were lovely. They were so inspiring. I changed my options of “bee gentle,” “bee kind,” or “bee happy” to “bee bitchy.” It was a late night and some of us were a bit cranky. It got a few laughs, and I’m thinking about using it in a new header design. But first, I’ll have to take a photo.

On Friday night, we went to our Amish dinner. The Millers have built a new eating establishment so we don’t have to invade the privacy of their home anymore. The new atmosphere leaves a little to be desired: unfinished garage, springs to mind. Well, it is a garage-style building. And the inside is unfinished in the classical sense. So it’s not much of a stretch. Of course, a few people got lost, and I’ll never know why the organizers don’t write down directions for everyone and post a big sign at the turn that people always miss. They were supposed to have posted a few people out on the road to signal the turn, but the signalers thought their job was done and they left before we got there. Fortunately, we’ve done this a few times. The lost people did show up before we had shoveled down a first plateful of food and well before the arrival of the rolls. Oh, the rolls! They were later than the lost people, and I was positive we weren’t getting rolls. But we did; focus on the positive.

After dinner, our little crew handed out surprise gift bags to the campers in honor of our friend, V’s, birthday. People were easily bribed into singing happy birthday with a few trinkets from Oriental Trading Company—oh, and 72 cupcakes. She was shocked and surprised, which was just the effect we were going for. Happy significant birthday, Vickie!

On Saturday night, I overheard someone looking for Anna Van Schurman. Anna would have loved to attend camp, but someone had to stay behind to make sure the dude doesn’t have sex with my sister. (A running joke.) Now, I know I’ve alluded to this before, but that’s my nom de blog. So anyway, best pal, being who she is, asked if they’d like to meet Anna, and they said they had something for her. Why on earth would anyone have anything for me? Well, Chelle is just the kindest person. She had her friends who were attending camp give me a little giftie, a RAK. She sent a little kit to make an ornament out of the JCS ornament issue. I was so surprised. Thanks, Chelle! When you least expect it, expect it!

Since I brought geegaws for 48 people, I really thought I’d be going home with an empty suitcase, but between the RAK, a belated birthday present, and the gift bags that my devoted friends brought for us (not to mention the giant bag of polyfill that I had to buy at the Wagoner Wal-mart to finish the biscornu ), it was full-up on the trip home. (Yes, the biscornu got finished on time, but I did forget to photograph it. I’ll see if we can rectify that!)

Of course, I shopped and shopped, but that report will have to wait for another day.

Hummingbirds, Deer, and Rabbits, Oh My!

Last night was landscaping class again, so I'll share the bunny story: Last week, I asked about planning for the rabbits that run rampant through my neighborhood. The one guy in the class says, "you need a shotgun!" Then the teacher and he start listing the things I can use to repel rabbits: marigolds, pepper spray, liquid fence...at which point, I break in, "I was hoping I could peacefully coexist with the bunnies." The teacher sort of gets it and says that we'll go over plants that are unattractive to rabbits. Fortunately, some of them do seem to be attractive to me. I can tell shotgun-man and I are going to get on real well. As we were looking at photos of landscaping, I was writing a list called "concerns." In addition to peacefully coexisting with the rabbits, it included

• xeriscaping
• using organic products
• using native plants
• eschewing chemicals
• working around the mulch issue (not sure I can take that up with Mr. Mulch, the teacher)

Still, I am very excited to be starting my first garden and looking really hard at ways to make it virtually carefree. (Ha!)

I'm off to camp tomorrow. Full report Monday. Now be good!

Stitching Police

I was working on my friend's biscornu last night on the train when this guy sat down next to me (I was on the inside seat). He was busy reading his book, then he reaches into his bag and pulls out RED gatorade. He drinks a few sips, then instead of putting the top back on, he sits there holding it. Primed to splash all over my white fabric!

SEPTA rules clearly state: Eating and drinking is prohibited on SEPTA vehicles. In fact, one time these rowdy girls were doing a sing-song of the rules as they are posted on the El: "no eating, no drinking, no loud radios. It's common courtesy. It's the law!" I folded my project up, put it away with a flourish, heaved a sigh, and sat there glaring at him with my arms folded. He put away the drink. With exaggerated movements, I take it back out and put in a few stitches. Out comes the Gatorade. In goes the project. If I had been on the outside, I would have just gotten up. But I felt incredibly put upon because I was in the inside seat--where could I go. I contemplated telling him how rude it was to put my project in jeopardy. I thought about pointing out that he was breaking the rules. I considered telling him we'd both regret it if he ruined my needlework with his contraband. When seats were available, I excused myself and moved to another seat. But really, why the fuck should I have?

The dude said there was nothing else that I could have done that would have brought us to such a satisfactory conclusion.

Finishing Frustration

Yesterday, the dude and I put up a map in the guest room/study. You can see it here. It was a marvel, it took only 3 hours and we didn't fight or argue once.

But it left me precious little time to finish the poodle freebie as a pillow for my niece. Because the piece was so large, I decided not to applique it to a 15x15 square (to cover a 14x14 pillow) like I did for the January pillow (which I have, regretfully, not yet photographed). I can add, so I was going to put strips around the edge. But apparently I am a sewing dufus. I knew the project was 8x8 so I was going to add two 3.5 strips to bring it to 15 inches across. Which sounds fine except that I used a half inch seam rather than attaching the strips by magic, which would yeild a 0" seam (8+3.5+3.5=15 except when you reduce everything by the seam allowance, d'oh). So I raced around looking for the seam ripper, couldn't find it; and I had used some sort of teeny tiny stitch length, and I couldn't get the scissors in there to save my life. Of course, I had to tell my developmentally delayed neice that auntie was very sorry, but she screwed up and someday she could have a pillow made from this fabric and this adorable poodle stitch. And I got her the same t-shirt that she was wearing yesterday. I bought her a t-shirt with a dalmation on it at Target and got her a pink long-sleeved t-shirt to wear under it. She was wearing a pink turtleneck under hers.

Moral of the story? I am an excellent wallpaperer but a really lousy aunt.

Today I started a biscornu as a gift for a friend. It's due Thursday. Will I make it? Stay tuned!

Commentative

I don't encourage you, do I? I never tell you how much your comments mean to me. How I check my e-mail wondering if, when, you'll comment on what I have to say. So here it is: me, responding.

I'm shocked, shocked, that no one was appalled by my father's firm grasp on the MREs from Vietnam... about 30 years past their sell-by date, as it were. I will bring the camera next time we journey to the center of the attic, but I can offer a shot of the goodies I'll be putting on e-bay after camp.

I'm glad to know I am not alone in my feelings about the EGA. Jo's so lucky, and even Katrina because she has alternatives. If I have them, I haven't found them through a google search. I do wish working women, and especially women with children who work outside the home (all mothers are working mothers), didn't perplex people so much. But it's good to know others are struggling with the issue. It is through this struggle that we will persevere! (Or, I'll win the lottery, stop working, and find something else to complain about.) Even though someone was willing to admit that the boards can get to her, you all were so kind to ignore the part where I make fun of a dead girl. It's great. You think I'm funny, and the weird parts you sort of ignore. Now imagine if you knew me in person and had to negotiate those landmines.

Nevertheless, I hope I get to meet Michelle when she comes to Philadelphia.

I found both Adorn and Sew Simple at Borders, if that helps.

And as always, many thanks for your kind comments on my work, the cards, the stitching, all of it.

Fits and Starts

Well, kids, I have lost track of the days. I wanted to respond to some of your comments, and I started to, but then I felt like I should take a photo of the attic detritus. Then, bad job stuff. So last night I needed a hug and a hamburger. And then, because I am so excited about my landscape design class (Three people! Talk about individualized attention! The instructor thinks we may be able to--as a class--design more than one spot for each person. How amazing is that for $55? Remind me to tell you the story about my bunnies.), I had to go to the library and get books about perennials, and then read them. But I'm back, temporarily to tell you that I am busy again tonight--suddenly I have a social life?

March 1, time to review.

1. Dolly Mama Poodle--due 2/15 Done!
2. Continue to work on the Tree of Life UFO I did work on this, but didn't finish
3. Work on the marquoir. Try to finish part 2 by the 16th, so I can start part 3 before part 6 is released. Did you get all that? I did some more, finishing part 2 and beginning part 3
4. Continue working on the Tall Flowers sampler This is coming along
5. Hope I receive the next RR so I can finish in time for camp (3/8) I didn't receive it. No biggie, we'll finish this eventually.

I was kind of thinking that Tree of Life and Tall Flowers would be done so that I could start some new things...well, one new thing and return to one new UFO. Should I forge ahead with what I've been working on, or start something new? How about both?
1. Continue to work on the Tree of Life UFO
2. Work on the marquoir
3. Continue working on the Tall Flowers sampler
4. Start the Apple Sampler by Curtis Boehringer from the defunct Cross Stitch Sampler
5. Spend the weekend (3/8-3/11) near Tulsa starting--and finishing--some new projects! Whoot!