For Cat Lovers

Watch this for the cross stitching cat...

Cravendale.https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h6CcxJQq1x8#! 

Wow

Things are spinning out of control here as I get ready to leave for the EGA National Seminar with husband. 

Cars. Computers. Pre-work woes. 

Trying to stay calm.

Everything will get done. Or it won't. 

I haven't picked up a needle since Thursday until this afternoon when I made some cutting errors on my pre-work and had to do repairs! Yikes. That's not the relaxing type of stitching.

The good news is that I'm adjusting to a new exercise program and am no longer feeling like a mule kicked me in the butt in the afternoons. I'm enjoying it, but today was the first time when I felt like I just didn't have time to exercise. But that's the new #1 priority. 

So if you're going to Seminar, be sure to say hi if you see me. 

I might find time to post again before we leave - did I mention a 6 a.m. flight? What was I thinking? Oh. I know. More time in New Mexico!

 

In Memory

Dear Dad,

If you were still with us you'd be celebrating your 77th birthday today. In my mind, I still see you in your 30s with your dark, wavy hair.

I think about you every time I walk in the words. You're the one who gave me the great gift of the outdoors. Lately I've been walking a couple of miles in the morning through the woods watching the leaves change. I see deer or turkey or hawks every day. I know you'd be happy to hear of my rediscovered joy in being outside.

Love,
Donna

Reply All

This past week there were two Reply All comic strips that dealt with needlepoint. Sort of. 

Reply All 10/12/2012

Reply All 10/13/2012

Of course, this does say more about the speaker than the carrier of the needlepoint. 

 

Trying to Get Photos from Phone to Blog

I am a master of technology. But sometimes. Things. Just. Drive. Me. Crazy. 

I tried posting 3 photos through my blogger app from my phone. But they showed up sideways and of course stuck together in a way that was less than ideal, i.e. I could not separate them and comment on them separately. Rather than have everyone turning their heads, I figured I would just e-mail myself the photos. That was 9 minutes ago and they still aren't here on the laptop. 

Ah. Well.

Since the last post, I have attended a post season baseball game - my first. Fortunately for us I had tix for Thursday's Nats game which they won. That was just a magnificent ending. We stood for long stretches of the game and the place was rocking! Friday morning, DH and I took a walk and we had people honking and yelling "Go, Nats" because of course we were wearing our gear. It's a shame it had to come to such a sudden end. But as we Red Sox fans know, there is always next year. And sometimes you need these losses to make the victories even sweeter. Thus endth my baseball postings for the year 2012. 

Not much in the way of stitching going on here this week. I've started a new exercise program and let's just say I'm tired. And we'll leave it at that. LOL

 Yeah. Photos are starting to show up. Here's my start on our Loudoun Sampler Guild class with June Abel on Saturday. Nothing like a bit of stumpwork to make my day. This fits into a walnut shell! Very petite. 

 And here's where I confess that I finally fell off my no-new-patterns/canvases wagon. Barbara got me with this one. I love the colors, not to mention the name. Seriously - this is the first pattern I've bought in weeks and weeks and weeks. I even did not sign up for the Carol Lake/Michael Boren class that I am in love with and the deadline was yesterday. I almost made it to Seminar, which was my goal. 

Last photo was supposed to be an update of my Pacific Coast Collage, but that photo hasn't show up yet and I've got other things to do. 

Tomorrow!

Apologies

My fat fingers deleted a comment on My Closet instead of approving it. I'm sorry, Nicola!

My Closet

Well. Let's begin with a quick vent. I have no idea what's going on with my fonts. I can't seem to get rid of the bold in my title. And Verdana is italicized whether I want it to be or not. So let's use Trebuchet. Then to post this photo from my phone, I got sucked into Google+, something I had successfully avoided until now. 

Okay. The closet. First let me say that this is the neat side. Not a thing in there that isn't stitching or stitching related. LOL

On the top shelf we have threads on the left - pearl cotton, Watercolours, GAST, Crescent, other assorted cotton overdyes, etc. On the right are box with small canvas projects including a Gay Ann Rogers class that I need to finish. That one is bothering me. 

In the Elfa unit on the bottom left - there are two drawers of fabric, one just for linen, the other everything else. Another drawer has more threads. Appleton crewel wool, flower thread, odd threads like Oriental Linen, etc. Thread packs pulled from kits long ago. I think there's two bags of miscellaneous threads in there. 

Bottom right has a drawer with needles and other stitching tools. A drawer that holds all my DMC floss. A drawer with stretcher bars and tacks. A drawer with q-snaps and small scroll frames. 

On top of the Elfa units are project boxes. Some contain one project. Some contain two projects. There's more small canvas projects on stretcher bars. A couple of surface works projects. Some empty cardboard tubes for storage and transportation of finished work. 

It's not a complete disaster. This side of the closet has "good bones." It just needs a little attention. There might be one or two projects I can discard. I did this recently with two pieces of canvas. Removed them from their bars and unpicked the threads. I might be able to reuse both pieces of canvas. And I can certainly use the threads for other things. 

The other side of the closet is a whole 'nother story. I'm not up for sharing that yet. 
 

Needles in a Bottle

Photo of a shelf in my wall unit. It's just kind of random right now. But that little Blanton's bottle has my discarded needles.If you don't know what Blanton's is you're not a bourbon drinker.

I just added a bunch of needles to the bottle.

Phone blogging

Experimenting with my new phone. Here's an idea from a smart and talented stitcher, Robin King. Parking extra magnets on one of these metal photo frames. I got mine at a big box craft store.

Note my 3newest magnets - the owl, the Needleman East cat, and between them the one I received this week courtesy of a giveaway by Jane of Chilly Hollow and Lisa October Accoutrement Designs. Love the yellow face! Thank you, ladies.

A Flying Finish

Okay. I've got a new phone. And I was trying out the camera.

(Yeah, um. Private note - Dawn, guess what I did Thursday afternoon?)

So here is my Raise the Roof "Go Fly a Kite" scissor fob.
 

Too cute! Not my best finishing job. But not my worst either. 

October Wanderings

I was wandering along in my local Target (which happens to be my son's current place of employment until he ships out in January) just minding my own business when a couple of placements jumped into my cart. I think it's funny that my DH didn't bat an eye eating off this. 

Meanwhile, the Halloween plastic placement that I bought to go under the kitties' food dishes, caused a disapproving reaction. It has orange pumpkins and a black chevron border on the top and bottom. And apparently that border distressed my cat. He kept trying to get to his food without going over the border. Sat there looking at the placement and then looking at me and meowing his disapproval. It's okay. After a day and half, he's adjusted. I just thought it was funny. 

On Monday, I finished buttonholing my first box and did the four-sided stitch around it. Yesterday was rainy and dark and I didn't dare work on the second square.

So instead, I finished stitching my kite and now I've got to do the actual finishing. And I just might add some beads to it. That'll give it some weight. 

And I bought a book on lucette braiding at the Fiber Fest. Came home and pulled one of mine out of hiding and chose a pretty nylon ribbon yarn. Not perfect, but it's okay enough for me to continue to make something of it. But what to do? (You can find some basic lucet/lucette instructions here on a
 SCA site.)

After a long investigation of the bead drawer, I realized I didn't have any pendant or cabochons of the proper color. So I decided to make a piece for my cording.

I had purchased these quick start peyote cards and my gosh, that was quick! No more fumbling trying to get those first two rows established. I started beading a base and then ran out in the rain to a bead store because (and I find this difficult to believe) I didn't have any purple beads! My base is being done with cheap Czech beads - non-uniform and they are causing problems. But the rest will be beaded with Miyuki Delicas, my much-appreciated go to beads for beadweaving. 

Where shall I wander today? I've got some clothes that need returning...