We have a Winner

You'll need to embiggen this to read it, but the winner is Lee! I am pleased that some of my new readers have won the last three giveaways, but it's delightful to be able to reward someone who has been reading my blather for over five years!

Fair and Square Arrival

Yesterday I received my F&S Squares. For the Christmas Round, Paula stitched me "Angels Sang" by Shepherds Bush. I think that's appropriate since I just hung up the Toy Gatherer. I plan to finish these squares as an ornament. (I meant to take the photo this morning when the light was better, but a sale at Joann's called to me. And isn't it more important for me to help the economy than to take a great photo?)

Don't forget to sign up for the anniversary prize! I'm drawing it tomorrow.

OT: The Marbury-Costanza Connection

I just had the realization that Stephon Marbury is George Costanza. Life imitates art.

We're off on a family adventure. Write soon!

Meet the Parents

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends. I think Thanksgiving is a holiday that should be adopted throughout the world. (It turns out several cultures do; when forced to think about it, I knew 5.) You don't have to eat turkey and sweet potatoes to be thankful for what you have. Just take a few minutes to think about those things. Then eat like you will never have them again...

I've been tagged again for 6 Random Things by Jen. I'm not tagging anyone and I'm not putting the rules on the blog again. (Sadie also tagged me for the sixth photo in the sixth file. I'm still looking for the thumb drive for that one.)

Six Random Things, the Thanksgiving Edition
1. I get my love of trying new restaurants and new food from my dad. It was his idea to go to Uzbekistan yesterday. I like how that sounds, “I went to Uzbekistan yesterday.”
2. I get the craft gene from my mom. She used to run the school fair, and turned it from a small fair run by nuns (think plastic bead ornaments) to an event that raised 1000 percent more money. And when I say 1000 percent, I mean 1000 percent.
3. My sister and I share a loud and obnoxious laugh. My mother says it’s like a machine gun. I don’t think it’s that bad. I prefer to call it exuberant.
4. The dude and I have some really horrible trivia in our heads. If we could focus our brain power on good, instead of drivel, we could run the world. But first, we need to find the energy…
5. I’m stubborn like my grandmother. But she gets drunk and says funny things, people, that’s why Jacque loves her so much.
6. I promised my niece we’d take her to a cat show as her Christmas present. Anyone know a good cat show near Philadelphia in January or February? The other niece wants to ride a buggy in Amish country. Oh, what a January we have planned!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anniversary Drawing #4

I probably should have stuck with a seasonal theme, but I saw this pattern and really wanted to stitch it. Since it's my blog and my anniversary drawing, I win! Then the finishing just came to me in a flash. Too bad I haven't been able to sit down and do it. It's going to be a pincushion you wear on your wrist. Like a corsage. You'll feel like the belle of the ball wearing this one.

I was going to have Grannie "sounds good since you had it fixed" StitchBitch draw this one on Thanksgiving Day. With photos. And any good anecdotes. But she's had some trouble recently with eye surgery, a corneal transplant didn't go to form. So my aunt is staying up in NH with her for Thanksgiving. So we'll have the random interger generator take care of things. Less romantic. Anyway, to win, comment on this post. Drawing 11/30.

Counter Intuitive

First, the dude thanks you all for your kind words regarding his big brain. He's a little worried that it's going to give him a big head. But I'm here to keep him grounded. (Also, his head is freakishly large all on its own.)

No stitching. I have been expending my energy cleaning the craft room and the master in preparation for the installation of the quarter round (toe-molding, shoe molding) tomorrow. (That craft room was a disgrace!)

But here's what did happen today. They installed new countertops. Quartz composite, never needs resealing. It's called Galaxy Black in the Zodiaq line. And now you really notice how hideous the backsplash is. Really, see the tacky transfers on the tiles? Totally old lady. Also I love how the baking cupboard is open in this picture, because we haven't adequately shoved the sugar in there. Sigh. Work remains...always.

Accolades

Thank you all so much for your wonderful, kind comments about By the Sea and Toy Gatherer. Thanks especially for not mentioning that it took me 13 years to complete. Of course you wouldn't point that out. You are my people! You understand my plight.

You are not, however, the only ones who deserve accolades. Indeed, you will remember that the dude was playing chess this weekend. On Saturday he was the co-leader. We were pretty proud of him. On Sunday, he came home with the trophy and a small cash prize! He won the tournament outright! My what a big brain he has!

Arrival

My parents have arrived without incident. We had dinner with them last night. And they brought me this, which you may remember I had left up in Maine in August for framing.

Shepherd's Bush
Toy Gatherer (kit)
began: 1995
completed: 8/24/2008

As for the framing, I can't take any credit. All props go to Cindy, the family framer (at Casual Cat). She chose the mats and the frame. Funny how she came up with the same two colors as the schmancy Jill Rensel mats, but placed the green on the outside. I like this much better. I usually think simple is better.

Love the frame too. Love it!

I think this is the first BAP I've ever kept for myself. Framed. Ready to make its debut in the gallery--where it will remain year round.

Focus!

I went to pick up my mom's Christmas present. Voila!

The shabby frame is perfect. I love how this came out! I saw many lovely things at the Strawberry Sampler, including some fabulous colored fabric. I kept looking and putting things back because I have so much to do. I need focus. It was my mantra. Focus, focus, focus.

I needed a fabric marker so that I can make another naughty apron. So I made the mistake went to Joann's. Something came over me and I was wandering around and around. The next thing I knew I was walking out with about $50 worth of stuff. Including this to make more cowls. Not sure for what or whom...apparently I lost my focus.

The good news is that I managed to send off two pieces that have been hanging over my head.

Okay, gotta run. My parents just arrived at my sister's. Ahhh, a week of family fun!

Ode to a Bed

The dude wants me to blog about our recent woes with the thermostat. We have a programmable one. You may remember when we got this new one. Well the old one was smart. It knew about daylight savings time. It has taken us three weeks to realize that our house is freezing by 10:00 pm. You know, once the heat has been turned down to 62 for an hour. We have been so thankful for our fleece sheets. Have I told you about the marvel that is fleece sheets? We dig them. Between the fleece sheets, the poufy comforter, our nightcaps, and the tempurpedic mattress, being in bed is like floating on a cloud. On a cloud. In fact, why am I not in bed already? Friday is the best night of the week for hunkering down in bed. Oh sure, you young things are hitting the bars and the dance clubs and the movies. But the dude and I are so exhausted by Friday, we can hardly sit upright at dinner.

So in my exhausted state, I leave you this:

Fill in Friday
1. The last band I saw live was _____REM_____.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is _Triple Corn Stuffing___.
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is _theoretical___.
4. Thoughts of ___bed____ fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear my pajamas to work____.
6. Bagpipes _rocked our wedding__.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to __um, I think you know the answer___, tomorrow my plans include _picking up a framed By the Sea__ and Sunday, I want to _congratulate the dude on another chess tournament well played__! Speaking of chess, have you seen what the American women are doing in the Chess Olympiad? Today they beat Russia, and now are in second place only to China, with whom they drew.

Will I Ever Laze Around on the Couch Again?

I've got to work late tonight. It should be interesting. A chief justice of a foreign court is coming from one of those places that requires us to have heightened security.

Nevertheless.

Tonights blog-fodder comes from Lee.
My Favorite part the Meal: I think it’s the stuffing: the recipe is from the Black Family Reunion Cookbook. I don’t care what color you are, you need this cookbook. I’ve waxed poetical about the triple corn stuffing before.

Worst part of the meal: Canned cranberry sauce. People! It’s so easy to make from scratch. Make it on Tuesday night and it will gel nicely for Thursday. Good stuff. Do it! Do it, Do it!

Anything new in the meal this year: I don’t know, my cousin hasn’t told us what we’re having. But the first time she cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us she made creamed onions for her husband. His mother’s recipe. Not so much. Oh! I almost forgot, I'm making Alton Brown's sweet potato pie recipe this year.

Dishes that we don't make anymore, but I'll always miss them: Cranberry shrub—cranberry juice with a scoop of lime sherbet floating in it. We started every Thanksgiving with this when I was a kid.

NaBlowing

Last year at this time I was running out of steam, and well, lots of you were too. And guess what? This year too. After work, I had to go to an alumnae club meeting where we talked about the same things we talked about last year and the year before when we were just starting out. Remind me never to do this executive board thing. I don't know what it is, just when I think I am out...they pull me back in.

I haven't stitched in days and I have things I owe people piling up. Not to mention that I am still in the midst of stitching three gifts (angel, stocking, stocking I haven't started) for Christmas. And I have to finish-finish two more. And finish-finish two giveaways. And finish the stupid signature block on my Fair & Square. And my sister's friend saw my cousin's "Eat Me" apron and asked for one. I told her I would stitch it if she bought the apron. She got me the apron superquick. So I've got that on the plate too. Fuckin' hell people, I don't have time for blogging. This is the worst month to try to get people to carve time out of their daily lives. There is just too much to do--like all the things I am going to be assigned to make for Thanksgiving and I won't even have countertops or a sink until Tuesday.

It's a good thing they prescribed those anti-anxieties.

Meme from Geggie

We're just getting home from dinner out with a friend from my old workplace and our husbands. We went to a Laotian place in West Philly. We had a good time, and maybe soon we'll be crossing #27 off the list.

I've got to get to bed, so I swiped this from Geggie who I met last year as a result of Nanoblomo.

1. Political show - The Daily Show
2. Picnic food - I can't think of a damn thing right now. It's too cold.
3. Mixed drink – Manhattan
4. U.S. President – Millard Fillmore, my dog is named for him
5. Kind of student to teach – adults
6. Hobby you do or wish you still did - duh
7. Sports commentator – John Madden
8. Sport to watch on TV – football
9. Animal to have as a pet - dog
10. Halloween costume you have worn – I once wore my heart on my sleeve
11. Kind of dessert - tonight we had the best--a banana and chocolate wrapped in a spring roll wrapper and deep fried. It turns out if you want a decent dessert at an Asian restaurant, you need to go Laotian
12. Comic strip - Boondocks
13. Style or make of footwear - Naots
14. Ice cream flavor - vanilla with chocolatey things in it, but not chocolate chip
15. College or university president – the now-retired Nancy J. Vickers
16. Internet news source – nytimes.com
17. Vacation spot - Bermuda
18. Wine – I can't really drink with the meds
19. Way to waste time instead of working – I'm not allowed
20. Student excuse for late work – I had to be sick, otherwise I sucked it up and handed it in.
21. Reality show – High Stakes Poker
22. Jewelry on a man – Bad idea.
23. Pizza topping – mushrooms
24. Children's movie - Princess Bride
25. Celebrity you wish would retire - the cast of the Hills, the Kardashians, Nicole Richie and both the Hilton girls, I think all added up they make about one celebrity.

L.A. Stories

As you know, the dude and I lived in Los Angeles proper from 1991 until we moved to southeastern PA in February of 2005. Lately, our thoughts have been with our friends who stayed. We watched a couple of hours of CNN's coverage of the fires-this-time on Sunday.

When you think about it, it's a wonder we lasted in Los Angeles that long. 1991-1992 was the first time, in oh thirty years or so, that the University of Southern California closed.

In October, there were serious ash-floating-downtown fires somewhere. I can't remember where and google isn't helping because that was the year Alameda burned. Also, "fires Los Angeles 1992" takes you to one thing, but we'll get to that in a moment. I may be conflating this with the massive Topanga-Malibu fires in 1993. But I can confirm that winter storms in February of 1992--it rained for at least two weeks straight, and I mean two.weeks.straight--caused serious flooding. (I know because the dude got wicked strep throat, and I had to carry him to the student health center in the pouring rain.) In April, we had a little tiddler of an earthquake in Joshua Tree. We have some funny stories associated with this one. Then, when I was grading my students finals, I smelled a little smoke and spent the next three days hiding out in the dorm protected by the only riot-trained campus police in America. (At least that's what they said. I believe they were riot trained--think Watts--but I don't know if they were the only ones.) A couple of weeks later, the day before I was leaving for vacation in New Hampshire, the Landers Quake hit. I was hiding under my desk and counting because that scared the fuck out of me. (For some reason, counting during earthquakes sort of calms me down. Yeah, I wish I didn't know that either.)

And yet, I came back from my vacation in New Hampshire. And not only because I had spent six weeks with my parents. And not only because the dude was so frickin' good looking.

It's a lot of disaster, and I would forgive you for doubting me. But here's more evidence: the California Board of Equalization's (Orwellian-speak for tax board) list of governor-proclaimed disasters. Read from the bottom up. You'll see that '93 and '94 weren't much better.

And still, I have a soft spot for that place.

Quick Knits!

Today I knit this cowl. I cast on this morning and I was done before the football even started--and I took time out to move everything out of the kitchen cabinets (yes! we are getting new counters).

A couple of years ago, my mother bought this superchunky yarn when we were at a yarn shop in Portland, ME. She wanted a sweater (unlikely!) then she said I should knit "whatever." Last year she told me she wanted a cowl. A few weeks ago, I found this very simple cowl for a chunky yarn. I think I might have to block it, but it came out pretty well. And my mother can have it next Saturday. She's coming down early for Thanksgiving. It's good, but kind of bad because I was going to go to the beading store next Sunday to fix a bunch of bracelets my mother asked me to repair. (Definitely the downside of taking all those jewelry making-classes.) Maybe the cowl will distract her...

Stars in My Eyes

I've been working on exchange pieces that I cannot show. Instead, I bring you links to some of the posts I've starred in my reader lately.

• Sewing Tutorials from The Princess and the Monkey [via whipup]
• Turkey feathers self published a cute book on reusing wool blankets [again with the whipup]
• One Pearl Button recycles a sweater [via Craft]
• A tutorial on Japanese kusudama in two parts [via whipup]
• Craftstylish shows you how to make a paper wreath. I see a lot of possibilities for a person with a large circle punch and a giant collection of paper. Not like I would know anyone like that or anything. [via Craft]
• A freebie from Midsummer Night Musings, which you've all seen by now.
• Pioneer Woman doesn't need a lot of press, but these sandwiches are awesome.
• Whipup gathered baby bootie patterns. I should be making some of these, but where is the time I need?
• Betz White posted this pomander tutorial, and I think I developed a girl crush.

That was Fun

Redwitch guesses: in reality you are a dyslexic born again Christian!

No, I am pretty sure you can't fake what I do. I can't anyway. I lack imagination. ;)

Zoomcity says: you love pistachio ice cream, but don't like pistachios.

Actually, I like pistachios but don't like pistachio ice cream. I don't think it tastes like anything.

Sweetpea guessed: You love to travel, but do not like hotel beds, so you travel with one of those silk sleeping bags that protects you from hotel sheets.

Do I really seem like this kind of a person? Because I am. My friends at stitch camp call it my shroud, but dude, do you know what is on hotel sheets? It doesn't bear thinking about. I bought mine after a particularly horrible weekend on the scratchiest sheets known to mankind. I had to wrap myself in a blanket even though it was about 85°F with 85% humidity. I could not sleep on those sheets. So the princess needed a silk sleeping bag.

Anon says: When riding the bus, you can't sit on a rear facing or side facing seat and stitch because you end up having to frog when you get home.

I always ride in a rear facing seat on the El and sometimes ride in a side facing seat on the bus (no rear facing seats on the bus). I find my need to unstitch does not vary depending on where I sit. I can make as many mistakes while I lie on the couch as I do when I am upright.

Cathy says: You like fuzzy crazy colored socks all year round.

I have precisely one pair of crazy colored socks, and they are indeed a little fuzzy. I used to wear them with clogs and a fuzzy purple sweater that matched the stripes in the socks. But the sweater is gone, so they rarely come out anymore. I still wear them with clogs when I do wear them--I mean, where's the fun in crazy socks if no one sees them? The truth is I rarely wear socks--not a fan--and when I do it's almost always black trouser socks. Bo-o-oring.

Donna says: Your dream job involves living on an island where the masses can't bother you.

There is no doubt that people make me very cranky.

Coral thinks: You hate it when people cannot remember how to ask to borrow something (a South African down falling of note); "Can I loan your sharpener?" "Could you borrow me your paper clip?"

I had a South African friend in college, but I'm pretty sure he never confused borrow with loan. I think it's probably true that I would hate people confusing borrow and loan, though I can't be sure. I had a boyfriend in college who said "axe" for "ask." I broke up with him for much more serious reasons. What do you think this is, Seinfeld?

Connie says: Methinks that despite your blog name, you are really a very sensitive, deeply mushy, very fragile delicate little flower that loves everything and everyone around her. Oh, and you hate people who use the word "methinks".

Sissy and I sometimes say we are "delicate flowers" usually after we've let a giant one rip (either end), so ironically. And when Alice Roosevelt said that thing, I sat next to her. So, I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of people who think I got it right.

As for methinks, some people who can get away with it. Usually, they are dorks dressing up for the Renaissance Faire. But I think it works for you. ;)

Christmas Countown Continues

Yesterday, over 100 people visited this blog. And only three could imagine strange things about me? C'mon, you can do better than that! I'll give you until tomorrow. I don't want to leave those three hanging too long, because someone was right!

Here's a crappy photo of LHN's The Angel Sang. I managed to do a little more work on this gift for my aunt.

When I showed this before I asked if you stitched outside your ideology. I think it's interesting that so many people willingly do so if it is for gifts for others. On the other hand, I guess people who don't stitch for others wouldn't have any particular reason to stitch things they don't believe in! Duh. Still it's nice of us to take others' beliefs into account.

Too Many Days

Margie tagged me for Six Random Things.
The rules are as follows:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

I almost never do these things, but it's November and I have to blog every day. Six Random Things About Me:

1. It really pisses me off when people use everyday instead of every day, when they say less when they mean fewer, and amount when they mean number. There are differences, and if you don't know them, look them up. You are on the magic google box.
2. I hate people who drive Hummers. I was going to say "in the city" but no. I hate them all.
3. There are many things stitchers do that I don't get. Like sign up for a blog that encourages you to stitch. I mean, isn't that what I'm doing? But I am sure there is some fatal flaw in my understanding.
4. I don't know my left from my right when I am sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Makes the driver a little pissy.
5. The dude and I settle in every (winter's) eve with a nightcap. I mean the kind you wear on your head. The dude started it--he got headaches every night. Turned out his head was just cold. You can get them here, but I highly recommend making them from fleece.
   
6. I can't think of anything else. Make something up, slap it in the comments, and I'll let you know if you are right!
   

I'm going to go ahead and tag some Nablopowers. Sometimes 30 days is 29 too many.

1. Sue
2. Renee
3. Kendra
4. XeyedMary
5. Megan
6. Yeah, maybe I should just do five? How about you? Would you like to do this?
   

Tosser

This morning, I did a floss toss for the dude's Christmas present--the map of Bermuda. The original pattern calls for the background to be stitched. I don't think so. Not when there's colored linen out there! So I pulled the floss and threw it on a couple of pieces of blue linen you've seen around here before.

First, I tried the light blue on which I stitched By the Sea.

Then I popped it in on murkey depths--I'm stitching Emerald Mermaid on this.

Then I looked at the colors and said, wow, those colors remind me of something...something Edgar sent. Ooooh, I'm thinking silk

So, what are you thinking?

Vote in the comments!

Christmas Countdown

This is Brett's Stocking for my BIL.

I didn't do much stitching today. It was time for the biennial colonoscopy. Things aren't great in there, but I could have told them that just from the end user experience, if you will. I know, you come here for the stitching, not the poop talk.

Still, if you're over 50, you should be experiencing this every ten years. You can handle that. The prep is worse than the actual event. The prep keeps changing, since I had my first one ten years ago. In some ways it's easier. In some ways, there's much more vomiting.

Anyway, the dude has been taking good care of me, and has been listening to me list all the different foods I craved, especially yesterday. I don't do well with a liquid diet. I'm back on solids... and lovin' every minute of it.

More stitching soon.

Alumnae Club Craft Circle

I have a lovely picture of our club president learning to knit from a woman from the class of 1947, but I don't think I can slap it up here without permission. I planned to work on the mermaid but forgot a needle. Lots of people offered me yarn needles, but since I am working on 32 count fabric those were a little big. Well, huge. Someone dug around in her sewing kit and came up with a tapestry needle. Probably a 24 or 26, but really, beggars can't be choosers. Tomorrow I'll take a photo and you can see the progress on the tale.

We've decided to knit hats for Save the Children. So next time we meet, I'm trading in the tapestry needle for a pair with no eyes.

In the meantime, feast your eyes here. These are the photos I promised of the gifts that arrived last week. Sorry, blogger is flipping my photos. These are both sideways. But this is why god made your neck a pivot joint.

Two(!) of Jennifer's beautiful hand dyed threads. The orange is called "Autumn Leaves" and the brown is called "Apple Cider." I've got the perfect plan for these.

This is the birthday gift from Barbara. I love it all, but that reform school girl card rocks. And I've got an idea for that "Don't Bug Me" pattern.

So people keep sending things and giving me big ideas. Thanks a lot, folks, like I don't get big ideas on my own! I should write these things down before I start forgetting...

Thanks, Barbara and Jennifer. You make me believe in the inherent goodness of stitchers.

Cute Shoes

Today in the grocery store a woman told me I had cute shoes. I tend to agree with her. These were an early Christmas gift. (Early! My mother is nuts. If we get out of this economic crisis, it's going to be my mother and Cindy McCain shopping our way out.)

I started stitching for the fair and square Christmas round, so I've got nothing to show. Well, I would if it would stop raining here so I could take some decent photos. If it's sunny tomorrow, I'll take enough photos for weeks of posts. Just in case.

Round Robin Redux

Wow! That post brought you out of the woodwork. A little research shows Nic and I were in the Prairie Schooler RR together, and Mercy was in the group too. All of us hosed.

As for outing her, she's already been outed. If you googled her, you'd find her on the "Stitcher's Report Card," an assessment of stitching traders. Frankly, I don't even think she's stitching any more.

The sad thing is that this wasn't even the first time I had a lousy RR experience. Back before the interweb, when we just had e-mail and 50 on-topic RCTN posts a week, I did one organized by Theresa Venette (she organized all of them back then). The very first RR I was ever in was stolen by the woman right after me. Excellent.

So a couple of years ago, I did one with friends. And still! Mines MIA. Its' like a freaking conspiracy. I can't win for losing.

When Round Robins Go Bad

Two years ago or so, I was in a round robin yahoo group. The leader of the group started a new group about every 15 minutes and apparently she joined in all of them. Apparently she was the only one who knew that you couldn't join nine million round robins and keep up with your commitments. Little by little people became disgusted as their robins failed to make their ways home. Eventually, the group was disbanded, and many half-finished robins were sent around the globe to their respective homes. Except the 50 (fifty) (5-0) held hostage by the group leader. She promised she would get them all back to us. Promised. I waited a while and then sent a priority envelop to her so that she could return my three pieces that she had. Allegedly she never received it. This woman had a post office box and yet her mail went astray so often, you would have thought it was in another dimension.

At any rate, I started thinking about those missing robins again and decided to google her. People, she is out there carefree as can be! She is on Linked In, on Facebook, on mySpace, and has two, possibly three, blogs! She should be hiding from me, but she's not. How outrageous!

I read her stupid blogs. Not a word about stitching. So there she is in Utah, listening to heavy metal and watching football and not stitching. So does that leave those 50 (fifty) (5-0) projects languishing in Rubbermaid tubs in her basement? And if so, why not just send them back to their owners?

At any rate, I haven't written her name or linked to her stupid blogs because I'm still thinking about whether I could approach her to get my things back. My best bet probably is to show up on her doorstep one day. But I'll probably start with an e-mail.

Queen of the Pumpkins

I know I promised a picture of my gifts but the sun shineth not this morning in Havertown.

I am queen of the pumpkins.

I was looking at the searches that landed people on my blog. Pumpkins are the number one: pumpkin cross stitch, scarry [sic] pumpkins, tree pumpkin pattern, xxx pumpkin patterns*, cross stitch pumpkin, cross stitch pumpkins, celtic pumpkin pattern, heart in hand the great white pumpkin, heart pumpkin stencil, pumpikin [sic] designs, pumpkin list**, scared pumpkin pattern, xxx pumpkin pattern, stitch pumpkin pattern, tree pumpkin patterns, trees pumpkin pattern.

Strangest one-word search that lands you on my blog: sonambulent

Most ironic (tie): jesus loves me counted cross stitch, jesus loves cross stitch

Some people came and stayed:
Visited the most pages: Catherine Theron cross stitch
Visited 10 pages: Walt the Malt cross stitch
Stayed for 45 minutes: the hearts content floral afghan***

And the most disturbing: "penis ornament" latex. No, no, no: I'm felt boobs.

---

The squirrel photo is a little visitor who demolished my beautiful white pumpkins. We weren't sure who was responsible (bunnies? squirrels? chipmunks?) until the GTG tea; when people left, we surprised the pumpkin eaters.

* They didn't find what they were looking for. Bounced right out.
** Surprisingly, they weren't looking for mine. They left early too.
*** It's like they stitched it with me!

Civic Spiritedness

It's not what you're thinking.

I was on the El today, stitching my aunt's Christmas present, The Angels Sang (LHN). I was holding the project upside down while I worked, which meant the writing was right side up to people standing across from me.

A man came up to me. "I wanted to give you this," he says, and handed me a card: "Listen to Church Sermons Online." I can hear the word of God 24/7. I will be "spiritually encouraged, strengthened and focused on my daily walk with God."

Which I guess seems to imply something about me and my daily walk with God.

So, what about you? Do you stitch outside your ideology? Is your stitching sending people the wrong message?

I got some great surprises in the mail today, but I definitely need to photograph them in the light. Look for more tomorrow.

Monday Night Football

I've got nothing. The dude and I are watching MNF and he asked why the NFL hasn't licensed cross-stitch patterns, given how they market the shit out of the brand.

Fortunately, a little problem like licensing doesn't stop people:

• On ecrater, you can find 2 Rams, 2 Packers, a Steelers, Oregon Ducks and 5 USC patterns
• Stitched By Design also offers NFL and NCAAF logo patterns
• There's also an old AFC Helmets chart. (This was probably licensed as it is professionally printed. If you have qualms about that kind of thing.) Oilers! Denver without the bronco! The Mean Patriot in a three point stance!
• The worst of the 80s: cutesified NFL teams
• ebay seems to be the place to get a lot of these things
• For the Raiders fans, be careful--Al Davis is rather litigious
• And the big Why? A Browns pattern. Wrong on so many levels.

So there you have it. The NFL is losing out, but the fans win.

Special thanks to the dude who came up with the concept and helped execute this play. I'd say he matriculated all the way down the field.

Día de los Muertos

On Thursday, Sissy and I went stamping. We stamped some Christmas cards. We were looking for ideas for our own card making. Of the three cards our rep had for us, I'm only in love with one.

The Jesus-y Christmas card. So I'm stamping at my Christian (bible study, lady's church group-type) Stampin' Up! rep's house, and I actually say, "My Christmas isn't about Jesus. I'm culturally Christian." Because I'm just that sensitive. So anyway, that's why this card is incomplete. The white square had "Christ is Born" embossed in gold on it. Who would I send that to? I'm looking for a substitute: "Christmas doesn't have to be all Jesusy" or "Where my presents, ho?" Something along those lines.

The over the top card. She doesn't usually do things like this. I thought it was way too fussy. We did get to use the Big Shot. (Big deal.) And then we spent a million years putting these together. Mine still aren't glued together.

My favorite. The one we'll probably replicate. Cute. Woodsy.

Better schedule a stamping date with Sissy to get those Christmas cards done...

Día de los Angelitos

Not to brag, but By the Sea isn't the only Christmas present I've already stitched. I finished this for Sissy, but that was back in August, so you're forgiven for not remembering it. ;) Anyway, it's not a contest.
Emerald Mermaid SAL with Michelle--yes! Check it.

By the Sea--Finished!! Here.

SB Stocking for BIL--started

SB Stocking for cousin--I purchased the pattern, fibers, and linen. Which is really more than I thought I'd do. :)

Work on DD's RR--yes!
Stitch Anniversary Prize--done! Now to send it. What is it with me and the post office?

Travel Project Monthly Mania--worked a little bit on November (left).

For November
Stitch (and send!) anniversary prize
Stitch and send F&S by 11/21
Continue Emerald Mermaid SAL
SB Stocking for BIL
SB Stocking for cousin
Stitch LHN's "The Angel's Sang" for Aunt

Finish MIL's stash and dash bags (it's true; they're not done. But since I will spend a million dollars sending her gift, who cares when I finish?)
NaBloPoMo