Artful Dodger

The other day, I found myself in need of entertainment, and I wandered into Barnes and Noble to find a magazine and came out with this, Artful Blogging, which has to be one of the strangest magazines ever.

Let me start by saying this isn't really for people like me, hobbyists who blog with whatever they are working on, without expectation of compensation; people who don't spend hours and hours on the "look" and "brand" of their blog.

But should it really exist at all? I mean blogs are a staple of the virtual world. Why would you stick it into something as static as print form?

The photos in the magazine and most of the blogs are beautiful. And most of the people I read about were trained artists, And if they weren't trained photographers they
were people who spent a lot of time learning about and paying attention to their photos. Not like me--since my camera's battery "door" broke and won't stay shut, all my blog photos have come from my phone. You probably noticed but were too polite to say anything.

Photo from Death to Stock.

The bloggers all focused on different things--some were painters, others bakers; some were lifestyle bloggers and others interior decorators. That said, the blogs were all of a piece. I mean you could have dropped this photo of a succulent (especially if it were in a milk glass container) into all of the blogs and it would fit right in. They looked rather samey.Well, maybe if the shot weren't so crisp, but rather moodier and gauzy (Maybe that was an editorial decision to focus on a "look"?) .

The advice from the bloggers was similar--and maybe there's just not that much to say about writing. Words like "voice" and "authenticity" over and over. (How many months can you run the same story?) And it's not like you can't find the same advice...on the internet where blogs live!

This publication has been making it in the world for almost a decade (!) now. I'm pretty sure my buying it this time but never again isn't going to make or break them!

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I bring you this foray into the publishing world because I did not work on the Deruta biscornu at all, after all the drama of not being able to find the next project in my rotation. We had a busy weekend for a change. I think the dude is taking one of those "say yes" challenges so when I asked him to go to IKEA to look for a chair to replace the one the dog has chewed, he said yes. (He hates to browse even more than he hates to shop!) When I asked him to help me with yard work, he said yes. (He's a delicate flower from the north who wilts under our harsh Pennsylvania summers.) When I asked him to go to an open house with me, he said yes. (That browsing thing again.) Anyway, I didn't spend the weekend on the couch, so no stitching.

Today's not much better. I snuggled into my massaging spa chair for my monthly pedicure and took out Tis the Season only to realize that I didn't have a needle with me! Welp.

Onward!

Frogs for Sale

First, thank you so much for your kind words about the craft room clean up. It's always nice to have hard work recognized! Grazie mille .

Because you were interested, I'm happy to keep those few cents eBay takes and sell these here. I was going to put them on eBay as a lot. I'd prefer not to have to make up eight invoices and eight boxes, etc. Most of the "Buy it Now" prices seem to be about $5-8 for the clear glass frogs and a little higher for the metals. I'd be really happy if someone took them all for $3 each. We can work something out. I'll charge actual shipping costs; my local post office doesn't let me ship for more than it should cost (always pushing first class over flat rate).

Gold metal and green metal. SOLD!

These are very heavy.

Large (about 4.5") and flatter. SOLD!

Small (3") with a higher dome. There are actually three of this type. SOLD!

I also have some old Sampler and Antique quarterly magazines if someone is interested. Back issues cost  $7. I can do $3 each. Or you can make me an offer for all of them: Fall and Winter 2002 and a complete set from 2003. SOLD!

Piecework: I would prefer to sell one year lots. I looked up the prices on these and they are crazy, ranging from $5-$24 each. But for you, special price, one year (six issues) $18. I have complete years from 2000-2010. I also have May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/December 1999.

Magazine Apocolypse

Craft Magazine--you know, the ones who loved my Phillies biscornu--is going out of business. I could never justify the hefty price tag. They are maintaining their web presence at Craftzine. In addition, O at Home, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, Domino, Cottage Living, and Country Home are all gone. (Apparently even though 9-11 drove us to nest, we're done.)

So, it makes you wonder about this:

I'll admit I don't get the Sandra Lee phenomenon. My mother used to do semi-homemade. She called it doctoring, and it's something she just knew how to do. Before you say she learned it in the kitchen with her mother, this is GrannieSB we're talking about. The woman can make toast and a martini. Actually, she's a bartender--she's going to be 87 soon and will retire for good then--and she can make lots of drinks. But food, not so much. So when my mother opened a can of B&M baked beans and stirred in sauteed onions and peppers and added a glop of mustard and ketchup, it's just because she thought those things would make it better, not because it was a recipe handed on through the generations that we need to go outside and find now because our mothers weren't home to help us anymore. You don't need Sandra Lee, just trust your taste buds.

(I say this like I'm some expert. But the banana bread from yesterday? I didn't actually measure the bananas. The recipe called for 6 medium bananas or two cups of mash. In another recipe Fanny said 2 large bananas was a cup of mash. So I figured I'd be good with 5 bananas and didn't measure. Now I have a banana bread that is totally tasty on either end, and mush in the middle. If I had cooked it any longer it would have burned. So when we get to the middle, we'll throw it away.)

The magazine industry expands and contracts with the economy. When things are bad, companies advertise less. That means fewer ad dollars to run the magazines. And some magazines are jettisoned. Last time, we knew we were coming out of the last slump when Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah--and didn't the Olsen twins?--put out magazines. We saw how that worked. (Just for the record, I said that there was no way Oprah was going to be on the cover of every issue. So I'm not always right.) But the point is we'll come out the other end of this sometime, and there will be magazines. Hopefully some of them will be as good as Craft.

It's in the Mail

Things have been coming to and leaving from the mailbox chez Van Schurman; according to due date/purchase date:

The Fair and Square squares I sent to Melita.

CCN's ornament from the JCS Ornament Preview Issue.

Warning: DO NOT cut the fabric to the size they tell you to. You will cry.

The lovely and fabulous F&S squares Melita sent to me after I said, "You can't go wrong with sheep!" And you can't.

The Secret Stitching Project #1 for bestpal's birthday. That's the Silver Needle's JBW exclusive "I Love to Shop..." finished as a little shopping bag for when we go to camp. Secret Stitching project #2 was for DD whose birthday coincided with our trip to Orlando. Imagine--because I forgot to photograph it--the same bag stitched with GAST Cranberry threads and with a blotchy red fabric. Black interior, a last minute substitution because I bought fabric with direction for the lining, and too little at that. But it turns out I like the black better.

I got my copy of the JCS Halloween issue from Vonna. Thanks, Vonna. I can't wait to stitch the monsterbubbles bat and the La D Da feet.

I also received some grab bags from the Silver Needle: a Rainbow Gallery threads bag containing 2 cards of cashmere, 3 cards of silk ribbon, 2 cards of angora, 4 cards of very velvet, 3 cards of rainbow tweed, 4 cards of splendor silk, a card of silk pearl and one of hi-lights; a Thread Gatherer and Caron threads bag containing two skeins of impressions, 2 skeins of shepherd's wool, 4 skeins of sheep's silk, 2 skeins of shepherd's silk and 2 silk 'n colors; and a fabric bag with lots of bits of fabric, perfect for stitching up some of those aforementioned ornaments. Wait, what grab bags? Well you should sign up for their newsletter and then you'd know about these things.

I'm almost ready for the trip to Maine! We're leaving again tomorrow night. But this time, we'll have internet access.

Adorn

So this past weekend, I was in the King of Prussia mall and these punk kids walk by--one of them is wearing a pair of pants my sister used to own, swear to god, red plaid with tapered leg. As we pass, I say to the dude out of the corner of my mouth, "You did not invent that." He retorts, "You kids are so 1983." I laugh and say, "When I was your age, I used to look like you. See what you have to look forward to?" The dude cracks up. Oh we're so jaded, and ironic, and witty.

But I was in high spirits because I found this magazine: Adorn. This is the kind of magazine I wish I had had when I was the age of those punksters. (I'll have to try to scan a picture from those good old days when I am in NH this weekend, clearing my crap out of my parents' house.) It might be a little young for me, but I loved their section on Japanese crafts, "Turning Japanese." Look, it really is all about the early 80s. (You so did not invent that!)

Best, they give links to help you get some of the cool Japanese craft books. Worth the nominal cost alone! I'll give you one, but only because I'm feeling ebullient. Check it (there are links to help you navigate Amazon.jp).

To Budgie or Not To Budgie

A three-year-old budgie has been named Young Cross-Stitcher of the Year.

Spike picked up the Cross-Stitcher magazine award after picking up the habit from owner Sandra Battye.
Sandra, 31, of Stevenage, Herts, who nursed Spike back to health after a food allergy almost killed her, said: "She would sit on my shoulder and watch me for hours.
"One day I just sat and didn't stitch. It seemed to frustrate her. Then suddenly she picked up the needle in her beak and began cross-stitching herself. I was staggered. Now I can't stop her."

Okay, try as I might, I cannot understand how a bird cross-stitches. She can probably pull the needle through, but interpreting a pattern? Choosing colors? How does the bird get at the back of the fabric? At first I thought it was a joke news article, but here’s the story on the website of the magazine that made the award.

How about if a cross stitcher of the year is a human? Don't we have enough to do to defend our hobby? Now we have to fight the stereotype of being bird-brained? I still think it can’t be true. I want to see live video footage. I think Sandra Battye's life is even sadder than mine.

I feel bad for all the human children who thought they might win "Young Cross Stitcher of the Year."