Silly Cat

My hunk, a hunk of burning love - 17lb cat named Elvis - is sitting in the window about to have a heart attack just from watching the squirrels chase each other through the woods behind our house. He nicely crawled under the sheet with us this morning and licked my leg until I was awake. After I got up and got my robe, he poked his head out from under the sheet and meowed at me. Then he realized that yes I was really up and going downstairs and he jumped up and landed right on DH's stomach. Ouch. That had to hurt. Especially on a full bladder.

Did I accomplish anything yesterday? Took DD shopping for a little bit, but only bought her two new (very cheap) shirts. Bought new sheets for DS and a Moshi pillow. I think that's what it was called. Very soft and squishy. Made Chicken Cordon Bleu for supper. Spent hours talking to neighbors - always fun.

Guess that means I should go and try to accomplish something today.
Right now.
I mean it.

Still Culling Mags

Yesterday I ignored the 20 years worth of Just Cross Stitch and went at my piles of the Needleworker, Needlewords, Cross Stitch Sampler, and Piecework. Another 15 lbs. gone.

When I stopped to flip through the notebook I'm putting the salvaged articles in, it was quite refreshing. No ads, no distractions. I can see that I should make an index of what I'm saving, but that's a project for another day.

I did get my new glasses yesterday. They feel slightly off kilter. I'm trying to see if I can adjust to them. But in 32 years of wearing glasses, I've never put on a new pair and felt like something was wrong. But they are sleek and sexy and almost like wearing nothing at all.

Mags

Didn't like what DH was watching so went upstairs to my room where the teenage boy was switching back and forth between a History Channel program on the Autobahn and a James Bond movie.

Gee that was much better than the documentary DH was watching.

So I pulled out all my issues of Stitcher's World/The Stitchery and started slashing through them.
Came up with a few articles on Brazillian embroidery, Japanese embroidery, and a couple of graphs. Now I know why I stopped buying this mag. Between the graphs I eliminated yesterday morning and the mags last night, I probably culled out another 10-15 lbs. I'm feeling very virtuous doing this.

And from experience (having done this operation before with my old issues of the Cross Stitcher) I know I won't regret eliminating stuff.

Now I can move on today. It's either the scrapbooking mags or 20 years worth of Just Cross Stitch. I think I'm going to need some more page protectors...

Trying to Figure Out

Why is the type so small?
I know this isn't what it was before.
Patience while I try and find an answer...

I've Got An Urge

Someone was looking for info about some old charts, so I went digging through the stash. Retrieved what I wanted. Didn't let myself get sidetracked. But...

I really really really want to...

go through the stash and eliminate stuff I'll never stitch in a million years.

I think this is just a continuation of my organizing bent that commenced last week with the furniture rearrangement. Taking just what I needed from 8 years worth of rubber stamping mags was liberating.

It's rainy and generally miserable outside, so after my shower, comes the stash sorting.

Don't anyone panic. I won't just toss stuff in the trash. I'll find it a good home.

Glasses - the kind you see through

Kiddos and I went and ordered new glasses yesterday. All three of us. Fortunately we do have a place to do this where the price isn't totally exhorbitant. But we still spent almost $500.

I am hoping that my new prescription will at least stop me from straining and getting tired eyes. When my eyes get tired, I'm having difficulty seeing to stitch. I don't need reading glasses/bifocals yet, but I'm getting closer.

And thus we come to crux of the reason why I'm no longer stitching up a storm...if you can't see, you can't stitch.

Sigh.

I went outside yesterday morning and got in a little time stitching. The lovely bright outdoor sunshine does make things better. My Ott-lite is not enough indoors. I'm wishing summer could last a really long time.

stitchers question of the week

What are your favourite cross stitching websites and why?

I just counted and I've got 62 cross stitching websites bookmarked. I'm sure there are others out there with larger numbers. About 30 of them are places for shopping. LOL

The rest have to do with techniques,  patterns, stitches, finishing ideas, historical info, etc.

One of my favorite sites is the  ANG: Stitch of the Month site. I'm not truly a needlepoint person, but I've done my share of it. This site has come to my rescue more than once when designing something of my own.

 

from the Needles Excellency

Laren posted the following question on her blog. I replied in comments, but wanted to post it here so that I would remember to add to it.

"So my question is, what is your favourite embroidery (ie any stitching form - cross stitch, hardanger etc) magazine and why? How could embroidery magazines in general be improved?"
Having been purchasing various needlework mags since 1986, I feel like I could edit my own. The only mag I am currently subscribing to Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly, because I've got a thing for samplers. Fine Lines is also appealing to me, but they have too many designs done by the same people. When you can open the mag, look at a pic and know who did it - that's just too much of the same style over and over. Just Cross Stitch usually has at least one pattern I'm interested in, plus there are those articles by Martha Beth Lewis. I miss the Needleworker.
So if I could be in charge of a needlework mag it would have: a balance of simple and complex designs. A balance of different techniques. Nothing cutesy/country. But would include the occasional humorous design. Informative articles on history, design trends, designer interviews, organizing tips, etc. I'm sure there's more but this is all I've got right now!

Rearranging Things

I succumbed to one of my little habits the other day and started rearranging furniture. I pulled a bookcase out of the office and put it in my bedroom. Then filled it with stitching, rubberstamping, and various craft books. Rearranged things in the office so now there is more room for movement and feels much more inviting. Now I can actually access my filing cabinet that is hidden in the closet. Just wish DH would do something with all these empty boxes he has. Do we really need all of them?

Because of rearranging books between the office, bedroom, and bookcase that is in the hall closet, I then moved on to going through magazines. I pulled out 7 years worth of issues of the Rubberstamper mag. This includes the premier issue in 1997. Started going through them and cutting out the articles that contain techniques or other info that I might someday want. Put the articles into page protectors in a large notebook. I went through about half my stack. Tossed the mags into the recycle bin. Last year I got recycled my Rubberstamp Madness mags by giving them away. Next up - scrapbooking mags.

We have got way too many magazines in this house.

How Many Days until School Commences?

I love my kids. I really do.
But maybe if they did something useful occasionally I might like them a bit more.
 
Nothing quite like teenagers in the summer.
 
Time to make them wax the car.
 
Then I can have my living room back and maybe actually do some stitching...

Not Enough Coffee!

First night back home, and what a terrible night's sleep I had. I am currently operating under a serious sleep deprivation cycle. I never sleep great while at my in-laws house. Up at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. every day. Beware of typos!
 
Stitcher's Question of the Week
 
Would you consider yourself ‘addicted to stitching’? Why or why not?
 
Not currently. I know there have been periods of time when I needed to stitch every day in order to maintain a level of calmness and satisfaction with life. Right now, I'm in an off period.

Waaaa!

Took DD to Harvard on Thursday and managed to eat something that tasted wonderful, but gave me a case of food poisoning. Finally feel better this morning. Slugged through everything the past day and half because it's vacation(!) damnit!

Who knew the weather was going to be so uncooperative?

'Nuf whining.

One more day here. It's time to drive home tomorrow.

Stitching Blogger's Question of the Week

The Stitcher's Five has changed to a single question of the week. Good idea.

This week we have:
How do you choose a project? What "calls" to you the most?

The simple answer is whatever thrills me at the moment. Which would account for the size of the stash. I do have a weakness for samplers. I hate cute. I am attracted to nearly every design done in autumn colors.

Then when it comes time to pick new projects from my stash to put into rotation, I sometimes pick by size. If I'm working too many large projects, I pick something small that will give me gratification for finishing it.

Walking around Yankee Cross Stitch yesterday I was mostly looking at the models instead of the books. A finished piece calls to me when the colors are pleasing, the design is unique, or the artistry of the piece is exceptional.

Perfume Update

Almost forgot. I did get to Sephora before leaving on vacation. Did not feel like I could spend $50 on perfume right then. But at least I know where it is.

Darling daughter had a lovely time buying eye liner in many different shades. I bought one for myself and beautiful lipstick that's very close to my real color.

So .... What's for Dinner?

On Sunday we had a lobster feast with steamed clams and fresh corn. I volunteered for the lovely job of cracking the remaining lobster. I smelt like a seaside fish shanty for the better part of the day.

But that meant having the pleasure of purusing the Maine Lobster Council's website for recipes for last evening's dinner.

I chose to make an Italian Lobster Pie - with rice, ricotta, mozarella, lobster, onion. Was very good, but needed something in the seasoning department. A little fresh parsley and tarragon or chervil might have been nice. Also made a Meditterean Linguine with Lobster dish that had sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, etc. dressed with a rosemary infused olive oil. That was good. And there are leftovers in the fridge for today.

On Vacation

It's our second week here in New Hampshire and the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Rats.

I have been able to do a couple hours work on my Arts and Crafts needlecase from the Textile Heritage Collection. It's a lovely peacock all in blues and turquoise. Very restful work. The kit itself came with Aida and I didn't change it to linen. I've got some backstitching left to do on the body of the peacock, a few little flowers with greenery and the backside of the piece. Shouldn't take too long. And it would be nice to go home with a finished project.

I did make a quick stop at the Yankee Cross Stitch shop in North Hampton, NH.I was looking for some fibers that, but didn't have any luck. Only spent a few dollars. Trying very hard to be frugal here. And it's so hard.

Will Be Posting

I do have internet access while on vacation and will be posting.
But it's not terribly fast access, so I won't be reading other blogs.

A safe and Happy Independence Day to all!

Been Searching

You know how you find something you like, don't buy it, and then all you can do is kick yourself? Because you decide you really wish you had bought it? What were you thinking about not buying it? And - argh!

So I tried on this perfume at Sephora in Times Square. I knew I liked it right away. But I never buy perfume until I've had it on for hours and still like it. So as my daughter and I sat through an off-Broadway show, I kept sniffing my wrist. And saying to myself how much I still liked it. At intermission, let daughter sniff, and she still liked it. If DH had been awake when I got home, I would have let him sniff. See, we can never find a perfume that we both love. We can find one that he likes and I love, or one that he loves and I like. And there are plenty that one of us can't stand.

I started searching for this perfume so I could try it on and see what my darling man thought of it. I knew the name of the manufacturer, but the name of perfume itself was rather confusing. Because of the packaging I wasn't sure if it was in English, Italian, or French. Everytime I went to a store that carried high end cosmetics I looked for this perfume.

After trying this route for several weeks, I decided to search the internet. Started at the manufacturer's website. No dice. Nothing like it there. Now I'm starting to doubt myself. Did I just imagine that this was the company that made the perfume. (those of you familiar enough with Sephora may know where this going...)

Then I tried Sephora's website. And bingo!
There it is. I now know the name. And where I can find it.
Made especially for Sephora! And that's the only place where you can buy it! La.

My first instinct is to just buy it. But I have to go buy a mall tonight on the way to the airport that has a Sephora store. I am going to fight my instincts and just go and try it on so DH can smell it before it I buy it.

I am trying to show some restraint.
A little late, I know. But there you go.