At the Mt. Vernon Inn

On Wednesday, last week, the D.C. Chapter of the EGA had its Holiday Luncheon at the Mt. Vernon Inn. If you are ever in the area and are touring Mt. Vernon, please eat at the Inn. The food is wonderful. I had a spinach salad to start. And then the full turkey dinner that comes with their fabulous peanut dressing. Desert was served in a chocolate shell and we were all very happy.

 

After eating, we were visited by Martha Washington herself! Martha is currently in her late sixties and she and George have moved back to Mt. Vernon after serving two terms as the first couple of the new nation. Martha told us many stories - about learning to stitch from her mother and serving the men at Valley Forge and about how she and George met. She answered every question put to her and she also has a terrific sense of humor.  

R.I.P. Ginnie

Sadly cross stitching guru Ginnie Thompson has passed away. You can read her obituary here. I'm sure many of us have copies of her books, Linen Stitches being one of my favorites. 

I never made it to her shop on Pawley's Island. But I always wanted to go. In her honor, one of my 15 ornaments in January will be stitched with Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread. 

Organizing

I know there are other things I should be doing, but in an effort to ward off depression I spent yesterday is my future studio organizing. 

(Seriously, how did I forget to take a before picture? Well, I did forget.)

I decided that painting the wall can wait. I removed DD's books from bookshelf. And then started the long process of carry two bags of her books downstairs and returning with two bags of my books. These are just the needlework, beading, crocheting, and a few inspirational books. Most of which are hardcovered and heavy. This involves going from second floor to the basement and today my knees are a bit unhappy, to which I say - suck it up, knees, I'm no way near finished. 

Along the way I have discovered that my bookcase downstairs is slightly wider than DD's is. I already had more books than I had space for and I can see some downsizing in the future. Meanwhile, if I end up with a pile of books on the floor for a while, I can deal with it. 

I packed up the contents of the china cabinet and moved it. Moved my chair closer to the window and discovered that this time of year I cannot angle it the way I wanted as the sun will be shining directly on me. Moved the scrapbooking/paper supplies onto their shelves. 

Oh yeah. Somewhere in this process a pile of my plastic project cases tipped over and crashed my cup of coffee. What a bad thing! I now have some coffee stained stitching books. And photo albums. And if my neighbors could hear me, they probably thought someone had died. 

And thus we come to today's goals:

go to Target to pick up photos of Saturday's luncheon

use photos to finish President's album

bake cookies for cookie exchange

continue moving things into the room and moving out the last bits of DD's stuff

When and if this gets done, I can go downstairs and start rearranging furniture so that the futon can move into the bar. I'm exhausted and I haven't even started.

Time and Ornaments

I'm not going back to look, but I'm fairly certain that last January I posted one my goals here on the blog. And that goal was to stitch at least one ornament a month. 

Today I'm here for my public castigation over a goal not met. Not even barely started. Didn't even try. I've got all kinds of excuses. Blah. Blah. Blah. 

Here are photos of last years' exchange ornaments - one for EGA and for the the Sampler Guild - proving I can stitch and finish ornaments. 

Now once again let's try this as a goal. Only this time I'm going to be serious about it. 

You know that Crazy January Challenge that some people are participating in? 

details below:



Crazy January Challenge


We have so many charts in our stashes, so let's start stitching them!
The rules are simple:

1. Start stitching a new design every day, from January 1st to January 15th. So by January 15th you have 15 new WIPs to stitch!

2. Try and finish everything you started stitching during the year 2011 :)

3. Show photos in your blog if you have one, in January and during the whole year while you stitch, as we all love to see photos!

4. If you wish to join, leave a comment with your blog address into this post and I will add your name to the list.

5. Have fun stitching!

I've decided to join the challenge, but in a scaled down way. I've got some BAPs in progress and don't want to stop making progress on them. 

So I will for 2011, start 15 ornaments, one of each of the first fifteen days of January. And I will finish at least every month. No private projects, i.e. no gifts or mysteries. 

Makes me want to go kit projects right now, but that's going to have to wait for another day! 

December SBQ

Many stitchers really kick it up a notch over the winter holidays.  Christmas, Hanukah,  the New Year, Kwanza - whatever holiday you choose to celebrate usually means that we’re stitching something gift or holiday-related.   Tell us your best story about some holiday stitching.

What We Do For Love

Many, many years ago - thirty-three this month - my boyfriend who eventually became my husband and I exchanged Christmas gifts for the first time. I gave him a copy of The Prophet and he gave me a homemade clown that he'd bought at the craft fair where his great Aunt Emma lived. I named the clown Junior and never told him about my dislike of clowns. 

(That's right. I'm a big wuss and don't like clowns. I'm okay with the real ones at the circus. But depictions of clowns creep me out.)

Junior stayed on my bed all year. And for many years after that. We even took him with us on our two day honeymoon. But I digress.

As the next holiday season approached, I didn't have a lot of money, being a poor, starving college student. This gift giving thing was getting me down. And one day, in Woolworth's, I found something that seemed inspired. A clown ornament kit.

And so, out of love, while creeped out, I stitched a crewelwork clown sitting on swing. Pom-poms, polka dots, pointy clown hat, big black shoes. And I gave it to him for Christmas. 

I still have Junior. He's a bit dusty as I haven't given him a sponge bath in a while. And when we got married, that clown ornament came with the husband. 

Right here is where I supposed to post a photo of Junior. Well, right now he's buried in a box under a lot of other boxes. I know I have photo of him somewhere, but my initial search turned up empty. And you know that clown ornament somehow there is never room for it on my tree... 

Tragically I Can No Longer Think of Clever Titles

I wanted to post this photo a few days back, but I had apparently uploaded it to the old computer, not the new one. Sunset in Sterling, Virginia on November 26th. Taken in the parking lot of Sweetwater Tavern because I'd had enough turkey already.

Yesterday was the Holiday Luncheon for one of my guilds. We decamped from our usual gathering place because we were tired of being cold and rained/snowed on. I wish I had room in my house for a gingerbread display. But I truly don't.

View of the Potomac River from the country club balcony. We had terrific food. The usual ornament exchange. The giving of few special gifts. Lots of socializing. And a special program by Barbara Darlin of Unlacing the Victorian Woman.  She starts the program in one dress. Strips down to her chemise. And dresses in another outfit explaining about the pieces as she goes along. I am so grateful I do not live in the era of corsets.

Reader Mail

Today I'm vowing to be better about replying to comments. And will start with the last two.

Dear Calamity,

Yes. You are correct. I do plan on picking up one mess - the scrapbooking stuff - and then will create another mess. I'm a one mess at a time kind of gal. If I let it get too out of control with multiple messes, I will just shut the door and ignore the whole room!

Dear Mary,

About the haircut thing. I had the same problem. Husband in the Army and moved every two years. I eventually ignored the problem by not getting my haircut. LOL I suppose that created its own problems. 

Your suggestion about sucking it up and paying the extra $$ is worthy of consideration. But here's where my frugal New England roots get in the way. I made the mental calculation:

1) haircut every 6 weeks

2) means 8 visits a year


3) original cost $80 plus $20 tip


4) new cost $110 plus $20 tip


5) $30 times 8 equals $240 differnce


Somehow I can tolerate $800 a year, but $1040 is over my budget.
It just crosses that line for me. It's hard enough getting me to spend the $800 on my hair. 

December 2

By posting a photo in my header of last February's blizzard, am I jinxing us? I certainly don't want feet of snow at a time again this year. Last winter was all too much. 

But still. Snow is pretty. White. Clean. Sparkly. At least in the beginning.

Can't change the weather. We'll get what we get and so it is.

Small group at stitching today. I soldiered on with my bellpull. Made myself do the second drawn thread section. Not fun reweaving ends that are essentially an inch long. But I did it. And it looks fine. Now I've come to the very slow eyelets over one alphabet. I wonder what other surprises this piece has in store for me? 

I have totally trashed my new stitching room by having to do a photo album for a gift. Dragged some scrapbooking stuff up the two flights of stairs and now there's crap everywhere. It will get cleaned up in time for the furious wrapping of presents. 

December is Here!

Commencing panic, 3, 2, 1, now!!!

Wait. I need to get other stuff finished first, and then I can panic over Christmas shopping. LOL I am a master procrastinator. But I do meet my deadlines. Usually. 

I did manage to squeeze quick trips to two LNS yesterday. I was buying metallics and some Splendor. I got to the point on my Echoes of Elizabeth needlebook where I needed another Kreinik #8 gold. So I wrote down what I needed for a poinsettia piece we're doing with Potomac ANG, and I changed my mind again on the metallics for Royal Wind - because I found a different pin to use on this piece. I'm still going to stitch it on blue congress cloth. You will be seeing this one early on next year. 

It did take both stores for me to get everything on my list - which wasn't that extensive. Also bought the Winter issue of Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly. I'm in love with the purse on the front cover. (Once again - the winter issue is in stores, but the website is showing the autumn issue - thus I will not provide a link. Someday the people at Hoffman will get their act together.)

I have a crisis of epic proportions brewing. Yesterday morning I got my hair cut and colored with my miracle man. When I went to leave, the price had jumped dramatically - from $80 to $110! We've reached my breaking point. Now I need to find a new stylist. Argh. I am not looking forward to this. At least I'm good till January. 

Also yesterday I spent more money by myself than I ever have in my entire life. Over $9000. On something so unexciting. Windows. It needs to be done. But it's just so depressing to think about it. 

German smoker dude that DH bought in last March. He's a folksmarcher holding his map. I think he looks like someone we know which is so cute!

Wow

The number of people who have jumped into the Crazy January Challenge since I first saw it has reached amazing proportions. I am still considering it. (The challenge is to start a new project for the first 15 days of new year and then finish those projects in 2011.) I know that I can easily pull 15 projects that I would like to see completed. What I need to do is seriously look at the other things I'm committed to stitching in 2011 and see how the two lists dovetail. The Crazy Challenge could be complete madness if I come up with too  many things on the other list.

In stitchy news:

I have begun claiming my daughter's former room as my own. Last night we moved the queen sized bed out of there. And moved a comfy stitchy chair in. What I need to do:

1) repaint dark green wall - a shade of lavender is what I think this room needs.

2) pack up all her Disney figurines and brick-a-brack in the old china cabinet

3) move her books out

4) finish moving my books in

Where we stand:  I've moved her dresser out and nearly emptied her closet. My Elfa baskets are in the closet and my closet has nearly returned to the life of normal closet. This means about half of my supplies are now in her room.

This is the wrong time of the year to tackle a project like this. It's all I want to do. When I really need to be working on what's needed at the holiday party. And wrapping and mailing gifts to my far flung relatives.

On my wish list:
 
A small TV and maybe Roku?