May I Present

In the Tall Flowers!
Liberty Street Designs
32 count starlight pink hand painted fabric, Liberty Street Designs
recommended DMC

You may remember that this piece caught the attention of a little boy on public transportation. Tonight, a four year old who told me that being married was "nasty" (I think because it involves kissing) was very taken with this piece. We were trying to decide what the beads on the leaves symbolized; we went with bugs, even though they "live in the grass." Even after he told me how gross kissing girls was, he said to his dad, "Look!" and then he plopped himself in the seat next to me. (Apparently he's not so keen on girls but he loves him some older women!) They are going to have their hands full with him in ten years.

I made the fudge tonight. If Sissy gives it her stamp of approval, I'll post the recipe. I will warn you, though, it's one of those family recipes that includes precise measurements like "butter about the size of an egg yellow." (An egg yellow? What's wrong with the word yolk?)

Hold onto Your Hats

I've been challenged, sort of, to do the NaBloPoMo thing in March because the theme is lists. You know I love me a good list. I started trying to think of 21 blog-relevant lists. I know March has 31 days, but I thought I'd give myself weekends off from the relevancy thing. When I got to about 15 ideas, I decided you deserved for me to blog in list format in March. Aren't you lucky?

I haven't been following my rotation because I am two leaves away from finishing Tall Flowers. And I plan to finish it very soon. But I've started this exercise regimen and I have fewer minutes to stitch each evening. And there's no point in showing it to you now and then again when the only difference will be two leaves.

Sissy has made reservations for Friday at Rae. Check out the prices on that menu. She thinks pretty highly of herself! At any rate, her message ended, "Gifts are required...I mean optional.....no, nope, required. " Man, I was almost off the hook.

December Remembered

My goals for December:

• create snowman tree topper Foiled by the craft stores!
• caterpillar eyeglass holder Took so long, it turned into a butterfly!
• finish fisherman ornament Sorry, still no photo...
  
• finish Elisabeth’s stocking See it here.
• finish Jillian’s stocking See it here.
• make lobster stew I did, and I have been crowned lobster stew champion.
• sew overnight case--changed my mind; Sissy will get this in Feb for her b-day
• finish beer stitched piece--changed my mind. Wrapped it with the frame but I didn't actually finish it. My dad is friends with a great framer.
• felted soap--nope--instead I made the dude a little scrapbook listing 12 restaurants serving 12 different ethnic cuisines--including printed directions to each place--so that we can try a new place every month. We tend to go to the same places and eat the same things. (We used to live near a sushi restaurant and when we'd go in all the waitresses would just say, "the usual?" So sad.) He also got a pile of books including Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving, Pynchon's Against the Day, Schott's Original Miscellany and the 2008 Miscellany (he likes facts), and a guidebook to Thailand where we plan to spend his 40th birthday.
  

I also worked on Christmas Elf Fairy--just have to finish the whisper thread and bead it.

I also did some back stitching on Tall Flowers this month.

Sparkle Plenty

I have been so horrible about opalescent fabric. I may not have told you I wasn't crazy about the project you did on it, but I thought it. Oh, I thought it.

And when I was at Stitcher's Paradise... I bought some. For the two Vegas patterns. It seemed completely natural. And now we learn why we never say never--and never make fun of people to their faces. Oh sure, you think you'll never wear the latest trend or stitch on opalescent fabric, and the next thing you know, you look like Britney Spears (only with covered lady parts) or are holding a piece of Picture This Plus Crystal Fog.

I realize I didn't tell you very much about the store. For a smallish shop, they have a ton of stitched models. And they really love monsterbubbles because I've never seen so many of her patterns stitched up in one place. They're so great. They also had a couple of really unique finishing techniques which I asked permission to photograph. But I didn't say, "I'd like to photograph them so I can pop 'em up on my blog," so you'll have to settle for my descriptions. Unless someone from the store writes to me and gives me permission to post them. Both were smallish pieces (4x4 or 5x5) finished as wall hangings. On one, a fringe of ribbon was hanging from the bottom all the way across (all different color ribbons, probably 5 inches in length). The other one had a similar fringe, but it was made from whole skeins of floss. Twenty two of them--I counted just for you. It looked like bullion fringe. So beautiful. And not cheap. That floss was overdyed. Wowza, what an effect.

Last, but not least, hanging in a corner near the front of the store was Tall Flowers. People, I am just going to have to sit myself down and backstitch because we were wrong. I've seen it in person and it needs the backstitch.

Aren't you glad I went? If you ever find yourself in Vegas, go. It's worth the trip. But try to carpool; the round trip taxi fare from Caesars was $45. (I do have the number of a cab driver who knows where it is, if you need that...)

Consensus

Consensus is the flowers look better without the backstitch. But one of the things I like about the design is the beads on the leaves. To do that, I'd need to backstitch the leaves. And if I do the leaves, I'll have to do all the rest as Lee and Barbara have pointed out. Who'd have thunk there was so much thinking involved in this? So I am putting it aside for now. I'm bringing a baby sampler on the bus.

I am just swimming along, however, on Alpine Garden (pictured). If I keep up this rate, I may have it finished before my parents leave and they can take it with them, whoohoo! Anything to avoid putting my stitching in the mail.

You may have noticed that I modified Alpine Garden a bit. I am not a fan of backstitched letters--really not a fan, so I have converted all the writing to over one. In the original version, I was going to replace columbine with my marrying friends' names and their wedding date. Now I will have to chart columbine, for courage. Isn't that a bit ironic that columbine in the language of flowers stands for courage? Okay, you know I can't leave well enough alone. So I checked on the columbine thing. Few of the sources include columbine. (Not this one or this one or this one.) Most others suggest that columbine means folly. (Also here, here, and here.) The closest we get to "courage" is the suggestion that purple columbine means "resolved to win." Resolution is not like courage. Fortitude, maybe. But I think courage is a stretch. On the other hand, if the pattern came out after 1999, you'd see why one wouldn't want to put "folly" on the design. The word is so closely associated with the high school shootings (Think Bowling for Columbine.) that to use "folly" would be, indeed, folly. Even without that association, folly just doesn't follow the rest of the pattern: strength, hope, faith, loyalty, compassion. So courage it is. Besides, it beats the hell out of "anxiety."

I Don't Know

I just don't know how I feel about the backstitching on the flowers. On the one hand, it reminds me of all the cute felt thingies I've been seeing on the interwebs and even making. OTOH, I think the flowers might look better plain. If I wanted the felt-thingie look, I could just order me up some Week's Dye Works 100% Wool Felt (I love it!) and make it outta wool.

Which reminds me, didn't I order a wool rug from the Mennonite woman like a month ago? When will I get the e-mail telling me it's ready? (Hey aren't I clever? I know she's not Amish by the e-mail account.) Wait til you see it. You are going to be in love with it!

But for now, I'd like your opinion on the backstitching.

More Bus Talking

The other night on the bus, I was working on Tall Flowers. This sniffly little boy got on, and sat right near me. I thought I was going to hate him, but he charmed me utterly.

The boy, Rich: What are you sewing?
Me: It's called a sampler that's because it has letters on it.
Rich: My grammy sews.
Grammy: It's needlepoint.
Rich: Right now, she's sewing a pillow that says, "Quiet, baby sleeping."
Me: Is there a new baby in your family?
Rich: It's my sort of cousin.
Me: Sort of?
Rich: It's my stepdad's sister.
Grammy: Step-grandfather's daughter.
Me: Your sort-of cousin. [But really, people, isn't everyone a cousin--who keeps track of the removes and the half and the steps. So much trouble, cousin!]
Rich: What's your name?
Me: Me. What's your name?
Rich: Rich.
Me: Do you know what my father's name is?
Rich: No.
Me: Rich.
Rich: Do you know what my great-grandfather's name is?
Me: No.
Rich: Rich. Do you know what my grandfather's name is?
Me: Rich?
Rich: Yup. Where do you live?
Me: Havertown.
Rich: I live in Havertown too. Where do you live?
Me: I live near the [shopping center].
Rich: I don't know where that is.
Grammy: Is that where the [grocery store] is?
Me: Yes.
Grammy to Rich: It's where the [grocery store] is.
Rich: That's good, then you can walk to get your groceries.
Me: That's right.
Rich: How do you know where to stitch?
Me: [explains difference between painted needlepoint and counted cross stitch. explains about starting in the center.]
Rich: Which letter did you start with?
Me: [figures out center of pattern]: The letter C.
Rich: Are you almost done?
Me: [shows pattern] What do I have left to stitch?
Rich: [Begins pointing to all the empty boxes at the bottom] here, here, here.
Me: What else besides the boxes?
Rich: [investigates pattern closely] [and with help from grammy] The leaves!
Grammy pulls the rope to get off.
Rich: [from the exit well] Do you have a driver's license?
Me: Yes.
Rich: Do you have a car?
Me: Yes.
Rich: Well, then, you're all set! [Rich jumps from the bus]
Man sitting next to grammy: That little boy knows you better than anyone else on earth!
Woman sitting across the aisle from me: We're all coming over to your house now.

Back at It!

I've finished the flowers on the Tall Sampler! I'm back to stitching--I've stolen some time while the dude takes the guest out. I've started the leaves and rhodes stitches (in the green boxes) even. I feel like I'm back in the swing. Wheeeeeee!

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!

Fifties Bush

Tonight I am going to my first class at the Haverford Township Adult School. I am taking landscape design. For the good of the landscape. Our tiny brick cape is being inundated with yew that was planted when the house was built over 50 years ago. In addition to the four great yew, there are two sort of sad, but relatively tall, rhodedendron; they are sad because the old owner used to crop them into cube shapes. There are a few mountain laurel, which I hope to transplant to the backyard because, well, all this stuff is crammed together and no one's happy, least of all me. On the other side of the entrance there is an evergreen bush that blooms with white bell-shaped flowers in late summer--I can never remember the proper name of that one, but I have let it grow wild and it's blocking one of the windows. But truly, this poor plant was so unhappy in its former life as a block of bush. Around the corner, where no one can enjoy it, is a forsythia. That one left behind its legacy of poor haircuts last spring. Now if I could only train it to grow where I wanted it, instead of having it wrap itself around the drainpipe from the gutter...We also have an evergreen azalea accenting the path to the door. It's been pruned so badly parts of it are nothing but wood. (Sense a theme here?) Then there's the Japanese maple that is dying. I think it just needs to be fertilized, but who knows? I hope the teacher does!

So I won't be stitching tonight. I am happy to report, however, this morning on my commute, I finished the alphabet on Tall Flowers. Now to make the flowers grow wild.

Photoblob

For some reason, when I uploaded these photos (all at once), blogger read them as one, so I can't move them about as I had planned.

The two photos of Sampler in the Tall Flowers shows the progress I made after twelve hours in the car--not stitching the whole time. The fabric is totally washed out, but the floss shows it's true colors. How weird is that? This one is just so happy!

The cards are from Tuesday's session with our stamping friends. From the left, is a sympathy card that used versamark ink with chalks, you probably can't tell the green cardstock is watermarked and there is a burgundy ribbon. It's very subdued. The big flower card is ultra-simple with no interesting techniques, but it shows what you can achieve with few materials. (Simple Scrapbooks is my favorite, so you can see why I'd love this card! However, I thought of it on my own--I made a very similar one last summer, with a slightly smaller big flower stamp but outlined with "marker stitches.") The pig is popped off the background, but you can't tell from this picture. And I did a lousy job with the rollerstamp. I hate using those things.

Tall Flowers Update

This is a psuedo-update. I took this picture yesterday, in the daylight, and on my bus ride today I put the first flower on a stem. So this isn't really an accurate representation any longer. Sigh. Winter bites with all its bad lighting.

I do love the colors, though. They are so happy, with any luck they can get me through the dreariness of winter.

That said, I think it's about time to switch over to stitching the Tree of Life Window so I can get some time on that before the end of the month. Am I already talking about the end of the month? Why can't time slow down like it used to when I was a kid waiting for a big event, like Christmas or my birthday? Can I get some of that time back?

Melissa wanted to know what colors I am using on the marquoir. The answer is black and DMC 921, a sort of pumpkin color that matches the paint job in my dining room. Yup, just regular ol' DMC.

Shod!

Yesterday, I put a normal sneaker on my left foot and walked around like a normal girl for a whole day! It was very exciting while it lasted. Unfortunately today it doesn't fit. At least not with the extra sock I have to wear. I'm hoping I can burn the compression sock on Wednesday after I visit Dr. Bonecutter. Next time, before the surgery, remind me to get a couple of pairs of those so my foot doesn't stink so bad the dogs try to eat it.

I finally finished and sent my New Year's cards, which means everyone has been properly saluted this holiday season.

I worked on the Dolly Mama kitty for my niece:

And I started Tall Flower Sampler for me. Although I thought it might be an inspiration piece for the craft room--I'd paint the walls DMC3347, I'm starting to think I might go with periwinkle. Would it clash too much with the aqua bedroom across the hall?

PS: I'm very pleased I was able to provide diversion for so many with my fantasies. Now stop drooling on your linen and get back to work!