Stitching Meme

From Kendra's blog via the Stitch Bitch:

1. How do you hold your fabric? In my left hand. I used to stitch mostly in hand except for large pieces on scroll frames, but due to the influence of a friend I've started using scroll frames again.
   
2. Floss licker? Nearly always. LOL
   
3. How do you thread your needle? The usual way, I think. Fortunately at 48, I can still see without the need for magnification.
   
4. What needle do you like best? Petite needles. Platinum if I want them to last longer than a week.
   
5. Are you a needle loser? No. I'm a needleflinger. And if I can't locate it, the needle is LIA - lost in action.
   
6. What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? linen. And my favorite linen is Glenshee.
   
7. Bobbins or floss bags? Bags. Like my little bags better than anything else I've used. But I'm still waiting for some enterprising person to create the perfect floss storage system.
   
8. Are you a scissors collector? The ideal would be a pair a scissors for every project. I guess that makes me a collector. But I'm very far away from my ideal
   
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? Wondering what a floss floozy is...but I imagine that I am one.
    
11. Silk? Love it. Love it. Love it.
    
12. Railroader? Only when reaching for perfection. Always when satin stitching with 2 threads.
    
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.? Shouldn't the question be when did you reach S.A.B.L.E? In my case that would be more than 10 years ago. Maybe closer to 20.
    
16. Do you wash your projects? Some of them.

I Realized

I just realized.

That I spent as many hours frogging this week as stitching.

And too much of it was out of my control, i.e. not because I made an error.

But it looks like everything is good for making forward progress. Real progress.

And then I go and buy something new...

More details tomorrow 'cause my poor brain just isn't functioning properly and I can't find this pattern with a quick google.

By Cracky

Big sigh. Huge sigh.

I brought the gingko leaves home with me after consulting with the designer. We all agree that it looks unfinished somehow. Now I've got months to remedy that problem instead of days. Which means I came home and put it away.

And moved back to stitching Indigo Rose's "Betsy" which looks so sweet. How something so small with only five colors can look so good is a testament to good design.

Now There's Something to Celebrate

April 7 marks the 75th anniversary of the official beginning of the end for Prohibition. On the date in 1933, legal beer production resumed in the United States, sparking celebration among brewers and imbibers alike.

I know I would have a been a law breaker if I had lived through Prohibition. I'd have brewing my own.

And in Stitching News:

Okay. The blackwork filling on the four gingko leaves is complete. I have devised several options for a border and will try the easiest one this morning. I'm truly hoping it works, as I would love to be finished with this. I am ready to move on to something else. Oh so ready.

I frogged two leaves completely and changed them. Both times, the frogging was way worse than the stitching. Unintentionally I am learning lots of lessons about designing and about blackwork. Which could serve me well in the future.

Yeah!

One college rower in the family had success yesterday. Other one, not so good.

Can't win 'em all.

So today we get the rain we should've gotten yesterday. Blah.

Will finish third leaf and am pretty darn sure I'm going to rip the first one and do it over. I'll use that motif for the border. And this should be all I do today as I try to meet that Tuesday deadline.

Boring

I'm boring. And I'm bored.

One more freakin' post about these gingko leaves. May have one or two left to go.

I ripped and restitched the second leaf and started the third leaf. Some of these blackwork fill patterns take four passes. Seems like forever to make progress.

Woke up at 2 a.m. thinking of how to do a border that enhances this thing.

Instead of staying home and working on it, I'm running off with hubby who is in search of a specific bottle of rum as a gift for his departing boss. Might be the closest I get to the cherry blossoms this year. Battery is charging so I'll be prepared in case we stop.

I punted working on the leaves yesterday in favor of some retail therapy.

Here's what I bought at Ross for $99 plus tax:

2 pair of Levi's
1 pair denim capri's
3 short sleeved tops
one king sized blanket
4 placemats
2 leather purses
and 1 leather wallet

I had way more luck there than at TJ Maxx and Marshall's. Yes, I can devise a trip where I hit all three stores and it's about 22 miles round trip from my house. I also stopped at Border's - no new magazines - and Wal-Mart.

I haven't had a day like that in a while. All accomplished in under 4 hours, including a stop for lunch. Now that's power shopping.

Soon, Very Soon

I will be able to post a photo of this model project I've been working by the end of the month.

Yesterday I got the go ahead to continue with the blackwork (regardless of how I felt about it when I woke up. That's fine.)

I nearly completed a fill on a second leaf when I decided I didn't like it and ripped the entire thing out. Took me longer to rip it than to stitch it. Argh.

But a few hours today I should be complete the fillings. Then on to a border design??? Goal is to have it finished by Tuesday.

When I showed up at the shop yesterday morning the designer was not there and I didn't want to continue on the piece without her looking at it. I thought I had "Betsy" with me, but it wasn't in the bag. I picked up the shop round robin of A Most Noble Pursuit. Seven of the ten areas are completed on this piece. I kind of got drafted into maybe stitching one the areas after someone moved. Well, even though the fabric was gridded, there are mistakes. I went to start my square and realized that it was off by one thread. I can't imagine stitching on linen and putting my needle in the wrong hole. It's terribly difficult for my brain to do that. It wants to check that I'm right every time by looking for that vertical thread. Turns out that I could match it up with the square below me and stitch in the right holes. I'm off horizontally, but correct vertically with the other stitched parts. This isn't the only error on the piece. It'll have rustic charm. Yeah, that's it.

Interesting, But...

Yesterday I stitched the blackwork filling on one of the leaves. Actually, first I started it. Then I met a fellow stitching buddy for lunch and showed it to her. We agreed the filling needed something. So I ripped what I had done. Flipped the motif and stitched it with two threads instead of one. Then I backstitched it. And that's where I stopped, thinking I needed to consult with the designer.

Woke up this morning thinking it just needs to be ripped and replaced with regular cross stitching.

Not all ideas work out. We'll see what she thinks this morning.

Fool Me Once

I will say that I did not click on the google link about their GoogleTime app. But I did wonder how in the hell they were going to do that. Fortunately all was explained to me later while listening to some caller go off on Google on Tech Tuesday. Funny how I forgot the date.

But I did remember it later when reading GRR Martin's livejournal blog about how he was going to end the Song of Fire and Ice series. Good one, George!

I came so very close to finishing the cross stitch portion of my model project last night. I'm probably one thread away from ending. Will do today. And start on the blackwork portion. Unfortunately the Fios guys are still in the neighborhood. They just started the pile driver. May have to resort to going to my LNS later so I can stitch in peace and not endure the migraine inducing noise.

Time to Defend

Again this year I promise to keep the baseball/Red Sox posts to a minimum. (Speaking of which, blogger really should add Sox to their list of words. I'm tired of showing up as a misspelling.)

Go, Red Sox! I'm looking forward to another very interesting year. Like always. It's never boring. As the game starts at 10 p.m. my time, I won't be watching the entire thing. I hate that they're starting out on the west coast.


And as for stitching. Well, the Fios installers are in my neighborhood. And yesterday they were right in my backyard. With the pile driver driving conduit from one hole to another. I've got to say that they were hard workers. But it was giving me a headache. I ran off to the library and to the bookstore when I couldn't stand it anymore. So no real stitching progress yesterday.