Challenge Pattern Challenge

Grrr. I flipped through my freebies, and I though I found the perfect pattern. Lots of possibilities for modification and personalization. Then I went online to find it only to see that the designer's website has expired!

If anyone can find "Live Simply" by Hands to Work or something like it let me know.

Edited: That was poorly worded. I have a paper copy of this pattern, but I wanted to find a place online where the pattern was still available. That way, I could just direct everyone to the pattern. I have since been given the designer's e-mail and a link to her blog, and I've written for her permission to e-mail the pattern to those who wish to participate in the challenge, but do not already have a copy. I'll let you know how that goes.

Craft Corner

Last night I went to the public library's "craft corner." The woman in charge called me the wrong name almost the whole night. I kept repeating my name, but she wasn't getting it. I really have to come up with a polite way of correcting people. Anyway, she finally asked me for my e-mail address, and when she saw it written, she started using the right one. Two librarians, two friends, and I were the only ones in attendance. The two friends were the kind of people that go to a public stitch in and then just talk to each other. Nice. Good thing you left the comfort of your own home. They only stayed for an hour. The librarians were super friendly, so I think I'll go back next week.

We got on the topic of this local yarn store that closed, and one woman said she didn't carry things that were that different from AC Moore. I cannot confirm since I never went to the store, though I meant to. Then they were talking about the bead store and saying they hoped she survived. The woman who said the Technicolor Sheep was like AC Moore said she had been in to the bead store but hadn't bought anything. I told them about the classes I took, and said they had a lot of stuff that you can't get at the craft stores. Which is totally true. It's just more expensive, and I suspect that that is really the underlying reason that these people think that the big box craft stores are good enough. But I am here to shed light not to condemn! Next week, I think I'll bring my beading projects to see if I can get them interested in actually shopping there. I also turned the younger facebooking librarian on to ravelry. It's just one good deed after another.

I ran out of Harvest Basket for my aunt's gift, but I do have some on the way from Jenna so I should finish up soon. I found some fabulous flannel for a pillow finish, but I was thinking I wanted to make a ruffle on the pillow. Then I thought I might use five fabrics (four different ones around the pattern and a fifth for the ruffle) so I've got to get more fabric for finishing it. This may be put off until June (my parents arrive for ten days 4/30 and my MIL for 14 days on 5/16).

I've substituted Curly Q Ewe for my travel project. But people I have just realized that my birthday exchange is rapidly approaching. Yikes! Gotta get on that! (Well, I've been buying things for it, now I've got to get to making things for it.)

---

Challenge
It looks like we have critical mass for the challenge. I'll start looking around for freebie patterns--if you have any ideas, just point me toward them. And I'm thinking about the prize thing. I'm a little wary of collecting money from people, and I thought it might be nice to have prizes for the top three...but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

Challenge

Here's an idea I've been kicking around for a while. It came up again a few weeks ago when I saw a woman mailing her quilt to Keepsake Quilting for their challenge. In a quilting challenge, quilters get some number of fabrics from which they can make a design of their choosing. The rules state they have to use a minimum number of the fabrics supplied, and they can only supplement with a certain number of additional fabrics. You can't quite work this way with cross-stitch, but you could have a common pattern that people stitched allowing them to choose fabric, floss, and finishing method.

How about a cross-stitchers' challenge? We could do it for fun to see all the different ways the pattern got stitched, or we could do it for prizes.

If the latter, we need to find judges and make rules. And the prizes, we'd need to come up with prizes. People could send in a photo of their finish and I could post them anonymously and put it to a vote, letting the visitors make the choice. Of course, people would have to be on their honor to make their entry anonymous.

So, would you be interested in participating in something like this? We could work on a timeline of a couple of months and make it a pretty small (free) pattern so it won't interfere too much with your already busy stitching schedule.

Photo Gallery

Here is a photo of the scissor case "right" side up. (It's going to be turned on point to sew, but I didn't stitch on the diagonal. I did that once. I got too confused.) I threw in my Putford scissors so you can see the relative size. The Putfords measure 2.5". It is stitched on 28 count I think, with Belle Soie "blue heaven" which has a periwinkle hue.

Here is my Amy Butler Stash and Dash case. It is sewn with home dec weight fabric. (I hate interfacing.) The stripes were in the sale bin last fall, and I bought what was on the bolt. Which means I can make 100 Stash and Dash bags. Or maybe a beach tote. The houndstooth is on the shelves at Joann's now. I kind of wish they had had that one in khaki. It's lined with a surprsing brown and blue combo.

And for Jenna:

Outfitting Your Favorite Crafter

Crafty Gear has the most awesome crafty t-shirts. I just bought two to supplement my "Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society" tee which used to be a lot funnier. (I could wear it on airplanes. Now, I can only wear it when I'm with the like-minded.) I could have bought more but I decided to go with

I am a tiny bit disappointed that the many can be running around in stitch bitch t-shirts. Maybe I should alter it to read "The Real Stitch Bitch." Actually, maybe it's best that I can keep my secret identity...

Anyway, there were many more shirts that I loved, and they have them for knitters, quilters, beaders, everyone. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't see the "I have a [glue gun] and I'm not afraid to use it" shirt before I checked out. Or "Felt Up." Or "I have crewel intentions."

Many Finishes, Few Photos

Thanks, everyone, for your uplifting comments and compliments on my front path area. You should see it--now with more daffodils.

I had to go to a college* near my house to do some research for work today. Research always takes longer than you think. I was there for over three hours, and I could go back for more. I drove right to sewing class from there. I finished my Amy Butler Stash and Dash bag but I was ravenous when I got home so I ate instead of taking photos by the dimming light.

What I do have to show you is the completed stitching on what will become my scissor keep from camp. A lot of people used one really large motif on theirs, but I thought it would be fun to stitch a bunch of random motifs and see how it works out. I'm trying to decide which way to orient it--I'm pretty sure the orientation pictured here is not the one--but we'll all find out when I sew it (this weekend?). I finish-finished the fob and the biscornu but I have no photos tonight. I'll have lots to show tomorrow.

And WOOT! I am next in line to stitch the Traveling Pattern. I am part of a sorority! Yeah, that's funny to me too.

* A Quaker college, go figure!

Family Business

This is what I have been working on lately. It's Hinzeit's Family Matters. My aunt is worried that once my dad sells the family business, she'll never see us again. Granted, we're not very good at keeping in touch with people, but we always fall right back in once we have the opportunity. We're easy going people. She does have a point though, because when the shit hit the fan, she ended up with us. (Her petty, petty sisters chose sides. It's one of those family business things.) Anyway, she wrote me a note telling me that her family matters to her, so this is perfect. She'll cry. My aunt has also recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. (Don't pink me.) Her prognosis is excellent at this time, but you always like to let people know you are thinking of them don't you? (Apparently I'm crap at that too because I only sent my great aunt two notes while she was being treated for ovarian cancer--and I asked her to find the fudge recipe just before her last chemo treatment. So thoughtless.)

I've been kind of down lately. There's the work situation. There's this club I'm involved with that is a mess. People want me to take over but I just want out. I want to go back to camp right now. Really, really badly. Let's try to cheer up. Here's the front door. Look at those happy daffodils! Look at those little pufferball PJM rhododendrons! See the fauxforsythia (fauxsythia) wreath on that beautiful pea green door! Happy, colorful spring!

Habits of the Modern Stitcher

I have made two new starts. One for me and one for my aunt. I don't have much to show yet. But here's a little meme about stitching habits that I found on Kendra's blog.

1. How do you hold your fabric? In my left hand.
2. Floss licker? I have licked some floss in my day.
3. How do you thread your needle? I wrap the floss around my left index finger, lay the needle over it (parallel not perpendicular), and push the needle down and back. The thread just magically jumps through the eye.
4. What needle do you like best? Petite needles, not plated. (Platinum or gold react with my skin.)
5. Are you a needle loser? No, I’m a needle winner. Sorry, I couldn't help it. I drop needles regularly, and I have picked a number of needles back up off the floor (even on the El).
6. What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? linen.
7. Bobbins or floss bags? Bobbins for DMC, everything else is in a big tangle in Ziploc storage bags.
8. Are you a scissors collector? Nope. Now these, I lose.
9. Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? I have done my own framing, and I lace.
10. Are you a floss floozy? Yes. Floss is as cheap as I am.
11. Silk? Love it.
12. Railroader? Sometimes, but only on the top leg.
13. Are you a pattern or designer snob? No.
14. Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? No.
15. Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? About ten years ago, bestpal and I were at Celebration of Needlework in NH and staying with my folks. I was showing my dad what I had purchased. He asked, “when are you going to do those?” I replied that if I retired right then and did nothing but stitch for the rest of my life, I wasn’t finishing all my projects. That was ten years ago. You’ve been with me during the last four. It hasn’t gotten better.
16. Do you wash your projects? Some of them.

Monsterbubbles

At camp, one of our new friends was stitching up monsterbubbles' Eiffel Tower Christmas ornament from the (most recent?) JCO issue, which, let me tell you, was gorgeously bright. And, when I arrived home my order from monsterbubbles had arrived. Happy coincidence.

Sometime last month, I got an e-newsletter from monsterbubbles saying that her new book was available and if you bought it from her, she'd sign it. The deal also offered free shipping and a free chart for spending a certain amount. Well, how could I pass that up? I love "Don't." ("Don't let's ask for the moon, we've got the stars." Edgar can name that in one.) I know I keep saying this, but maybe that will be the dude's anniversary present. I got Merry and Bright and one of the patterns for screen as a gift. Because she sent the order out kind of late, she sent along an extra pattern, "Simplify," which may be impossible at this point.

I know you are dying to know what is in Stitch Graffiti besides that striped heart on the cover and Heather Holland-Daly's autograph. There are many of the designer's offbeat phrase designs, including "Imagine Peace," "Relish the Night," and "On a Bad Day, there's Lipstick." She has a little section called "tattoos" to stitch on clothing--to try out before you ink your skin, as it were. The final section offers ideas about decorating with stitches. Her goal, and this is one she expresses on her website too, is to bring new stitchers into the fold by showing them how cool cross-stitch can be. So the book is a little on the "hip" side. For example, there are suggestions for music to listen to while you stitch. No offense to Heather, but they're the suggestions of a 40-year old. I don't know how that's going to play with the kids. What I do like about the book and what I do think will play with the kids is the freedom she espouses. She explains how to make floss and fabric substitutions and what the substitutions mean for the design. The patterns are planned for mesh bags, flyswatters, clothing, and screen--not just evenweaves and linen. I think the book taps into the DIY nature of the way the kids are crafting these days. I hope it works. You will definitely see a design or two from this book here in the future.

And, don't stay up too late blogging tonight, okay?

Camp Wannasew

Now with more wine coolers and beer...

My trip to Tulsa, which started painfully early on Thursday morning--my cab arrived at 4:15 for a 6:05 flight--is over much too soon. I was in denial until I stepped off the plane in Philadelphia, and even today my hands reject typing and long for the feel of fabric.

When bestpal and I first went to camp in 2003, I didn't even think we'd make it through the whole weekend. (I used to have a fear of the south.) I never imagined I'd still be attending, especially not "by myself." I've made new friends, so I can hardly say I'm going by myself when bestpal doesn't come along. Our original group of six dwindled to only two this year, but I think we may have managed not to alienate everyone we met to make new friends.

If last year's camp motto was "it's all about freedom," this year's started out as "that's part of the charm." We decided that the seemingly inevitable missing flosses and people getting lost on the way to Amish dinner was going to be a fun part of the camp experience. And then? No missing flosses. No lost campers. Not to say that camp was not fun. There was booze! There was raucous laughter! There was nude pillow fighting! (Not really.) Camp was down to 18, but let me tell you how much quieter it was in the halls while we were trying to sleep. Now if 18 people can manage to speak quietly in the bathrooms and not let their doors slam, what is it about the other 20 people who can't manage it? Let them stay home, I say.

Our projects were great! We got to choose a Quaker inspired sampler (Quaker Virtues or Quaker Christmas) and a whole skein of Belle Soie silk (is that redundant?) to design our own set of stitching smalls including a scissor fob, biscornu, and a scissor case. Maybe this year's theme should have been it's all about freedom. I chose "blue heaven" which is sort of periwinkle. You can see the results below. I didn't finish any projects this year but I'm really happy with what I have so far. This is a first. I think I was shooting my mouth too much. But there were new people to hear my boring old stories. The other project was Lizzie*Kate's limited edition kit, My Country. We got both a Silver Needle version (fuzzy fibers, large count fabric) and the original kit. I'm thinking of doing the latter for my cousin's kid as a birth sampler. Our helpful input was heeded and next year spring campers won't be making anything Easter or patriotic. Yay! I have only kept one of each; I usually give the finished Easter projects to my sister and the patriotic to my grandmother; they both appreciate them more than I do. My grandmother will just have to suck it up.

My choices for fob (acorn, monogram), biscornu, and the beginnings of her scissor case.

I bought a ton of stash. Way more than I planned, but I still spent less than the entry fee for a national chess tournament.

Not pictured: fabrics, flosses. It was the fabrics that put me over the edge.

Our goody bags were full of freebie charts, flosses, cookies, and Vera Bradley. I'm not a fan of chintz but I was really excited because we got a pair of VB slippers. I needed new slippers, and the pattern (Kensington) is attractive.

I worked on Hillside Samplings Threadkeeper on the plane and on Thursday night. Here's what it looked like before.

I finished Rose Bunnie by Liberty Street Designs on the plane. Stitched on the called-for linen with substitutions (GAST Harvest Basket for the bunny, Weeks Carrot for the carrot, and white whisper for the tail).

I had been thinking that we might want to do something different next year--it's our sixth camp in Tulsa and it's more difficult to get to Tulsa from PHL (I was up and down three times both ways). But I had so much fun this year, I can't wait for spring!

Poisoned

Definitely food poisoning. I can't even think about what I ate yesterday. The dude wouldn't let me go to work today after a night of turning my guts inside out.

Speaking of inside out...KJ wanted to see the inside of the bag.

Under the flap--this pocket was in the original pattern.

Inside I added extra pockets for a pen (that was a mistake, I made the cell pocket too small), sunglasses, and a cell phone. I based these on the original pattern but guesstimated the sizes. I put the second cell phone pocket on sideways, but I have to say it's easier to get the phone out of a horizontal pocket than a vertical one. In the photo on the left, it looks like that corner isn't sewn properly but I just can't muster the energy to take a better picture.

The pattern is from The Village at Chelsea Lane.

Finished

Bag, finished last night. I'm finished now. I think I have food poisoning.

-----written earlier, waited for photos to post------

I didn't have a chance to post my last list of March, though I did manage to post every day. It's okay anyway, the list was called "List #31: Camp List, the Boring Edition," which was my packing list. Wanted to make sure I made one. I also found a list of lists I had made back in the beginning of the month, in case I ran out of lists. These are the ones that didn't make it:

1. Design Firm names to Attract New Audiences to Cross-stitch
2. Projects I really should finish-finish (turns out, there's a lot of overlap with some of the lists you saw here!)
3. My favorite colors
4. House Colors (that is, colors my rooms are painted) in DMC numbers
5. Knitting WIPs

Last month, I set out to stick to a schedule:
Monday: sewing class
Tuesday: Anna's Bird
Wednesday: beading class
Thursday: Apple Sampler
Friday: Emerald Mermaid
Saturday: marquoir
Sunday: marquoir
Traveling piece: Rose Bunnie
I'm going to blog every day in March as well. Lists! Woohoo!

I did go to my classes, but I didn't work on most of these projects. I had also planned on doing the final finishing on four projects since I didn't do the two for February. I have to tell you, I finished one! I am also three inches (of handstitching) from finishing a second. I sewed up and stuffed two more ornaments, but they're left with no trim. Poor things.

At any rate, I'm making just two plans for April:

1. Go to Camp (April 3-6)
2. Bring the finish-finishing of 2008 to six items, not counting the ones Mona is giving me at camp.

Grammar Bitch

For at least a year, maybe two, I've been wanting to start a new blog, Grammar Bitch. The idea was to go about my daily life with a camera to document bad grammar and give little lessons about the world gone wrong. All those misplaced apostrophes are just waiting for me to come along with a metaphorical red pen. (Graffito, "Jesus Save's," gave me the idea.) I never thought of doing something like this. But I would. Can you see it? A band of editors set loose (loose!) on America... You can follow the journey here.

#30: Home Alone

I made a giant list of things to do while the dude was gone. I haven't done very many of them. But these are things I do when the dude leaves me home alone...

1. Stay up way too late. I don't know why I can't make myself go to bed. When I'm gone, he doesn't go to bed either. When we're both here, we manage to go to bed within half an hour of our bedtime.
2. Eat badly. Saturday night was different because we did "Sunday dinner" at the hibachi place. But Friday night? Bag of popcorn and two diet cokes. And things didn't go well tonight either: pasta, butter, cheese.
   
3. Clean instead of doing things on my list. I don't know what gets into me. I hate cleaning. I think it's because when I am home alone, I'm the only one responsible for mess. When the dude's here, I just resent the fact that I have to pick up after him (it's sort of irrational, because he does help).
   
4. Spend too much money. I went to Target for bras, sunglasses, and soap. Let's just say a lot of things jumped into the basket. Then I went to Lowe's and bought a sucking leaf mulcher. (Cousin's husband thinks I should return it because he has one that we can have.) And there were two trips to Joann's (mostly because different stuff was on sale on Saturday and Sunday).
   
5. Watch too much crap tv.
   
6. Enjoy the quiet. There is something wonderful about being in charge of the computer, the remote, the time you eat, the things you eat, the time you go to bed...all the comings and goings. Only one more day...
   

List #29: Worked on this Week

I finished the mermaid. I am going to send it to my mother at the beginning of the week with a gift certificate for framing.

This is my second pearl knotting class and this one was a little easier because of the space between beads, but the three threads kept knotting up, so a little harder too. It matches the skirt I wore on Wednesday. I like to make jewelry to match what I am wearing. That way, you know you have something that goes with the thing you made. Because it's simply too much for me to try to remember what's in my wardrobe!

The messenger bag will be completed on Monday, so I'll wait until then to show it off. Right now it's just a few pieces sewn together.

I have two days left to finish some projects. Maybe I'll try to do that this evening.

List #28: Camp, the Shopping List

Today, I was kidnapped from work by a dear old friend. We went to a new fabric store, Spool, a next-door sister-store to Loop. They had lots of Amy Butler fabrics and some other cool stuff. I bought this fabric to do another messenger bag. Because, you know, I haven't finished the first one yet. I like biting off too much to chew. It keeps me quiet.

In one short week, I'll be waking up in Tulsa-adjacent at the Silver Needle camp. Usually 4-5 of us go, but between new babies and new dogs, we're down to two this year. I guess we're just going to have to make new friends. Or eat fried pickles all by ourselves! I'm down with that.

Here is my shopping list for camp:

• Green Snowman kit, Shepherd's Bush
• Red Snowman kit
• 25 Days, SamSarah
• and buttons, buffalo check linen, linen for ornaments
• I Thee Wed, Blackbird
• Herb Garden, Little House Needlework
• May Pole, Bent Creek
• Deep Blue Sea, Carriage House Samplings (and weaver cloth)

Fabric for

• Curly Q Ewe, LHN
• Flea Market Souvenir, Blackbird
• Star Light Star Bright, Little by Little
• Spots II, Lilybet
• Skeleton Crew, Cricket
• Off the Deep End, Raise the Roof
• Lady Gray, Lilybet

And when I got home, more fabric for messenger bags from Keepsake Quilting.


So I guess the theme for the rest of April will be New Starts!

List #27: Unknown Vintage

The dude is off to England. It's his father's 75th birthday. Even though we were just in England and it costs a freaking fortune and the dollar is in the shitter, the dude is on his way. His father wouldn't take no for an answer. You may remember he wouldn't take no for an answer last October either. But I shouldn't complain, I'm not on my way to England for a long weekend. The good thing is that I am in total control of the working computer for four days. Hahahahaha!

Here is the last list of stitched pieces. These are the ones that I have no idea when I stitched. Well, I have some idea. They were all stitched between 1997-2003. Some I can narrow down a bit more, some not. We'll have to form a support group so we can learn to deal.

• Santa Vest Hollie Designs. For my mom who loves Christmas. I took this in a class at SOCS just so we can help date it. It uses all sorts of fuzzy fibers and overdyed flosses. It's beautiful and she wears it every year.
• Sew Simple Vest 15 Hollie Designs. I bought this after the aforementioned class. It didn't take long to stitch, and I have worn it. But vests are kind of out. And dorky.

• Willow's Garden Tin Topper Samplers and Such. Stitched for my MIL, stitched the Christmas before everyone got one.
  
• Sweet Spring Garden, Elizabeth's Needlework Designs. Definitely stitched for my mother before I stitched Blossom which led to her remark about "small pieces." Of course, all the while I was planning/toiling away on the Floral Afghan.
• Plum Pudding Ewe & Eye & Friends. See 1999 for the story on the puddin'. I just can't not stitch plum pudding.
• 

• Bristol #1 Tin Topper Samplers and Such. Stitched for my SIL the year after I stitched the one for my MIL. My SIL went to Bristol. She was an art history major so this wasn't lost on her.
• Rice Stitch Mosaic Tin Topper Samplers and Such. Do I ever talk about how much I love the rice stitch? I love the rice stitch. I don't know who I stitched this for, but I don't have it.
• Florentine Stitch Tin Topper Samplers and Such. I stitched this one for my cousin on my mother's side who I never talk about.
• Knot Garden Tin Topper Samplers and Such Stitched for Sissy, the year everyone got tin toppers. And I mean everyone.
  
• Purple Heart, Ewe & Eye & Friends
  

• Queen of Hearts, Charland Garvin, Cross Stitch and Country Crafts. I played fast and loose with this band sampler. I started it with intentions of it being a wedding sampler for the dude's friends, but I finished it after they separated so it went to my mother. It hangs in her powder room.
• Wee Baby HIHN for the dude's best friend's baby. I know I've talked about this one--Oh, and there we go, we placed it!
  
• Peter's Stocking Shepherd's Bush for the dude. This was the first one I stitched.
• Sophie's Stocking Shepherd's Bush for me. Second.
• Mary's Stocking Shepherd's Bush for Sissy. Third. So these predate the ones of known origin. I should be an archaeologist.
  
• Bumble Bunny Twisted Threads, I stitched this for Lala's room when she was a baby--2000-2001. It's still in her room, just no record of stitching it.

• Going to Market, Dimensions. I picked the name of my cousin-who-traveled-to-Africa one Christmas so I stitched this. I really liked how the background was stitched. She loved it, used to bring it in to her classroom to talk about Africa.

List #26: Short List

Craft smells I love:

1. Stayzon ink
2. The smell of cake lingering in my cousin’s kitchen

What about you?

List #25: 2003

Work sucks. Today in a meeting about the only aspect of my job that I enjoy, the grandboss suggested we get freelancers to do it instead of me. Remember when I had that meeting with the grandboss around Christmas? I told her it was the only thing I enjoyed doing. Fuck her. I've got better things to do. I have an application winging its way to a little college nearby, and I'm hoping they want me to edit their communications. Please. Plus my arm is killing me. I had a procedure yesterday, and the parts that were supposed to bruise haven't, but my arm really hurts. I'm very cranky and I can't wait to go home.

I know I started this blog in 2003, but not until August. I stitched a few pieces before then. Unfortunately, no photos. What can I say, I suck.

• Wreath Wedding Marilynn and Jackie's Collectibles. For my cousin's wedding. She is likely the last cousin whose wedding I will stitch for*. I wish I had a photo of this one. I wish Marilynn and Jackie had a website. The background is pink stripes and the center has a grapevine wreath with the couples stats in it. Pink and brown before pink and brown were Pink.And.Brown.
• A Free Heart Kandace Thomas. You knew you were going to see this one again! For the dude's friend's second marriage. Oh, I almost forgot the piece I redesigned for his first marriage and then gave to my mother instead**. That must have been...late 90s? So much for all the admiration I earned two weeks ago for the deliciously detailed records I kept about my stitching!
• Cabbage Hare, Ewe & Eye & Friends stitched for my "Sweet Baby's" brother. I wanted the two pieces to have the same feel, so I went with another animal from E&E&F and used the same alphabet for the stats.
  

*I only have two unmarried cousins--one is a "troubled young woman" who is unlikely to find a suitable mate and the other is rumored to be gay. Plus my father fired both him and his mother from the family business so I'm unlikely to be invited to whatever kind of ceremony he may have in the future. Don't you love families?

**They were divorced before I finished it. Or maybe I knew to drag my feet?

List #24: Photos from My Cousin's House

Yesterday, the failed Catholics, an athiest, some pagans, and a former Quaker got together and celebrated Easter. I know some people think its crazy that people who don't believe in God celebrate Christmas, but even I agree that the unbelievers celebrating Easter is nuts. Sissy almost got into the spirit. She called my cousin to find out when the church in near her was holding masses, and my cousin called around to find the answer for her. She got back to Sissy who responded, "Jesus... I was hoping for something a little later." So you can see this religion thing is really working out for her. Anyway, we managed to hide the 54 eggs for the kids only once. (I'm pretty sure two years ago we hid them one trillion times.) And only uncle dude had to go looking for them after Yay-o had hidden them. At least he was indoors. I froze my butt off "hiding" the eggs.

So, I kept my promise of bringing the camera with me, though a few things went unrecorded.

The wedding sampler (discussed here) that led to the blog name. I tried to get a close up of all those color changes, but failed. Some days I swore that each square was a different color. Of course all those HAED stitchers will think I'm just a pussy.


The finishing on the pillow for my niece. My cousin ended up cutting off the trim because someone was pulling at it and little bits of fluff were ending up everywhere. My cousin is a neat freak. It's probably for the best because it wasn't sewn on evenly.


The dragonfly tin topper. Discussed here. Very sparkly in real life.


The birth sampler that I designed to fit into the bear frame. You can see the bee table in the background--there are matching chairs and bureau too. It was quite a cute room.