Stitching Rotation #1

While I wait anxiously for friends to start uploading wedding photos (because I have none of my own... ack!), I've started getting my stitching stuff organized and sorted so I can get back to my hobby. I really have been missing it a lot over the last few months.

It's been so long since I did a stitching rotation that I'm just starting over with my numbering. Here's my current plan...

Rotation #1
8 slot rotation. Work 10 hours on each project, then move on.

Two slots in rotation for focus piece. Two slots in rotation for Teresa Wentzler pieces, since I love so many of them. One slot in rotation for backstitching, since I always have a ton to do.

Goals:
- Push 's sampler forward
- One fresh start (wedding planning reward)
- One small piece finish

Rotation Slots:
1) FOCUS: Apache Wedding Blessing
2) TW #1: Floral Bellpull
3) CAT: Home is Where the Cat Is
4) FOCUS: Apache Wedding Blessing
5) NEW: Astrology Sampler
6) TW #2: Egyptian Sampler
7) BACKSTITCHING: Apache Wedding Blessing
8) SMALL: Spirit Dragon

Hope this works...

Of Stitching and Sorority

I'm back at work today. Still coughing, although my lungs seem to be settling down off the morning hard stuff, and I should be okay until late this evening when fatigue will kick them off again. Bleh. But we have a box of Lemon Zinger tea at work, and it will be my friend for the day so I don't try to drink carbonated soda.

It was an odd weekend. Odd because while still being sick, I was perfectly well enough to have people over. And so I did. Masquedbunny, Whishastar and Myownwench came down on Saturday noonish for the day. My somewhat-but-not-really local cross stitch store, With Heart and Soul, was getting out of the stitching business with a massive 50% off sale of EVERYTHING in stock, and since the three of them also craft, it was the perfect opportunity to go grab stuff.

And I did - all of those patterns I've been eyeballing for years, I bought. Don't know if I'll get to them, but hell - they're all 50% off, so I got almost all of the patterns for about $2-5 each. Can't beat that. AND a good chunk of them were the out of print Teresa Wentzler patterns that are impossible to find (the seasonal fairies and the fruit quartet, fellow stitchers?). With Erich's kind help via credit card, I dropped what WOULD have been $260, whacked down to $130.

Boo. Ya.

Anyway, I can't blame the shop owners one bit. Apparently the town of Cumberland has a yearly inventory tax - so basically any of these patterns that sit on the shelves get taxed EVERY YEAR. So much that the owner point blank said - at this point, I can't make back any of the money on them. We're just recouping whatever we can for the least loss possible. So yeah, I can't blame them at all. Shame they're closing. Wish they'd had some more practical hours, though... 10-5 weekdays and 10-6 on Saturdays just isn't realistic for your average adult woman stitcher these days. We work full time, folks. We're not stay-at-home wives. In fact, most of us aren't. *sigh*

But anyway... we went shopping. And then we came back to my place, where we spent the day doing crafty things, talking about life, the sorority we all belong to (these stitch 'n bitches have been the closest thing we have to official meetings after all), and just hung out. Erich kept the drinks rolling for us, cooked food, etc. He was awesome.

The girls left around midnight, and I went on to another one of my semi-sleepless nights due to cough. Whee.

On Sunday, we spent the day doing some small tidy projects around the house. Erich was daring and jumped in to take care of the worst of my office - it's actually CLEAN now! I just need to go through the boxes to put stuff on shelves, sort through stuff for our yard sale/toss out, etc.

Since I was still coughing quite a bit, I forced myself to do small stuff that would keep me mostly on the couch. Any time I started doing stairs, I started coughing. So I caught up on all of the dishes and got the kitchen somewhat scrubbed up (still need to do those scary floors), gathered laundry up (Erich had to do it, though... due to the aforementioned stairs), and then settled on the couch. I took advantage of the forced couch time to sort through my stitching stuff - both the new stuff that was bought on Saturday and everything else that had been bought but not stored.

So I spent about, I kid you not, six hours winding bobbins of overdyed thread & labelling them. I removed all of the patterns that were in plastic bags from said bags and stapled or paperclipped as needed, and put them all in a magazine rack. They can't stay in the plastic - we have cats who think plastic is a food group. They will literally EAT any plastic bag that comes into the house. So yeah... *sigh* And I had a lot to do, because while I've bought stuff over the past year I haven't really done much of my own stitching - I got too involved in round robin stitching last year to concentrate on my own. So it was good to get a sense of some of what I have. The rest will come as I get my office together. And then post wedding, I'll REALLY get back into my stitching - because I'll be too broke to do much else!

It was tedious, but it kept me sitting still and resting my lungs, which is what I needed to do, but I got stuff done, and that's good. I think I watched the entire season of Ice Road on Discovery, too. Those guys? They are crazy. Driving semis over frozen lakes in Canada in the winter? I realize it's the only practical way to get stuff to those mines... but damn.

So all in all, it was a productive weekend, a fun weekend, and still an annoying weekend because of my cough.

Should be an interesting week, too. ;)

Lazy weekend

It's been a laid-back weekend, which is good. Erich's fallen ill with the most recent bout of plague. Somehow, I haven't caught it yet. Miracle of miracles.

Meadowbird came over yesterday, and we spent the better portion of the day being lazy, crafting, and watching Not Who. Bad Wolf was on during the day, but other than that... not a single episode. Shocking, I know. That's not to say the day was without Who actors. We watched every episode since January of Heroes (oh, scruffy!Chris...) along with the World of Warcraft episode of South Park, which she hadn't seen (and really is a good one).

Erich was at a D&D game all day yesterday, so even after doing the to Boston and back drive to take Meadowbird home - which got me back to our house at midnight, I knew I had hours before he would get home. I did some writing sketches to work on expanding chapters 2 and 3 of Translating Extraordinary before sinking into bed, throwing Harry Potter into the DVD player, and zonking out sometime after 2.

I didn't hear Erich come home- he said it was around 4:15.

Today started out as a lazy morning stitching. I'm finishing up my work on the UFO RR before I have to mail it off this week. I watched the first two episodes of Blackpool along with Erich. I was surprised that he enjoyed it, although he was a bit disturbed by a couple of the musical numbers. I was slightly disappointed - and jarred - to hear a non-Kenny Roger's version of the Gambler at the beginning of episode 2. I don't think I've EVER heard anyone else sing it, and the original was in the broadcast... so it was just... weird. I suppose some licensing rights didn't translate to DVD.

The rest of the day has passed quietly. I've been doing some laundry, doing some writing. I made my grandma's kielbasa & sauerkraut recipe for dinner. And now I'm enviously reading post-viewing thoughts from Brits on Recovery, which aired tonight on BBC1, while continuing to work on fanfic.

Oh... and a side note of semi-worthwhile news... the cards for our Save the Dates arrived on Friday. We're waiting for the magnet inserts (which were ordered separately), and then we can start sending the things out.

Progress, progress...

Stitching Blog Questions - Catchup

Why yes... I *am* still stitching these days. 100% of it has been on round robin pieces. My own projects haven't been touched since October or so. I'm really not happy about that, but I made committments to these RRs, and until they're finished in the next couple of months... I'll just have to deal.

Anyway, I haven't answered SBQ's since early December, so it's time to catch up. :)

12/14/06 - Do you have any good internet links to tutorials for your favorite finishing techniques that you would like to share?

I rely on asking folks on the various stitching message boards about their experiences and recommendations. Those "in the know" tend to be better at expanding on explanations on how to do things, including those little tricky points that you're better off knowing before you start (that tutorials sometimes forget to mention).

1/10/07 - Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream… maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.

Note for non-stitchers... LNS = Local Needlework Shop. ONS = Online Needlework Shop

I've had the fleeting dream of owning my own stitching shop. But I'd make a horrible store owner/manager, so reality squashes that idea very quickly in my mind.

I do have some ideas for creating patterns... and I think I could be very good at that, actually. It's simply a time issue. I don't have it, and if I were to create a pattern, I'd like it to be good.

1/17/07 - Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

As of this past Sunday... yes! For the Floral RR, I completed my flower. It's a portion of a lovely cat-with-flower pattern, and was fun to stitch. I've taken a picture of it... should have it up this weekend.

I can't make an estimate for a finish in my own pieces yet, sadly. Everything's contingent on wedding planning.

1/24/07 - What company produces your favorite hand-dyed fabric? Are there any companies whose hand-dyed fabric you do not like? If so, why?

Silkweaver so far is my favorite. I was on their fabric of the month list for a while... and will join up again after the wedding. I love the variety.

I've also received fabrics from a company called Dyed-4-U that had a montly fabric pull for a while. I think they've gone on-hold or out of business, though. I liked their fabrics, but they didn't have quite the range that Silkweaver did for colors.

I've yet to buy from Sugar Maple Fabrics. Again-- will do once I get past the wedding and can justify expenses. :)

I haven't found a company I don't like, though.

2/7/07 - Have you ever been to a stitching retreat?

No, but I really want to! The Hershey retreat is the closest to me that I know of, and is probably the most likely candidate for me to attend.

2/14/07 - Do you like to buy "chartpacks" that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?

If it's a pattern that comes with weirdly shaped buttons or charms, I do prefer chart packs. One of my local LNS's, Hoops and Needles does great little chart packs with the pattern and buttons. Things that only need basic beads (Mill Hill, for example), I really could care less either way. I'd buy it for the convenience, I suppose. When it comes to charts vs. kits with fabric & threads, though, I'd prefer to buy on my own so I can make sure I get the better quality fabric & thread.

2/21/07 - What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?

The smallest count fabric is one of my current projects-- I'm stitching on 32 count. It does have some over-one (which is why I asked for, and received, an Ott Crafting light w/magnifier for Christmas). I have a couple pieces of 36 count fabric in my stash, but I don't have projects lined up for them yet.

The largest count I can recall using is 14 count. I don't think I've ever done anything on anything bigger. I learned on 14 count Aida when I was 10, so *shrug*.

for my non-stitching readers... fabric count = stitching squares per inch. 32 count fabric = 32 squares per inch. "Larger" counts are actually smaller numbers because each individual square is larger. Also-- a stitch on 14 count fabric is nearly identical to a stitch on 28 count fabric. On 14 count, you stitch within one square. On 28, you stitch over two.

SBQ catch-up

So I figured... hey, I have some quiet time. Let me catch up on the couple of Stitching Blogger Questions I've missed... and eep! There are nine of them.

Where has this year gone?

In any case, here's my catch-up!

9/28/06- When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?

I usually muddle through, but I will take a break from the project with which I seem to be having difficulty. If it's just a row or two of miscounts, I'll just pick them out and redo. If it's something god-awful, then I do a ceremonious hoop toss across the room (no... really), unhoop the project, and move onto the next in my rotation.

Granted-- it all depends on my general life state, too. Lately, anything that stressed me out was just punted away for a while.

10/11/06- As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

I'll confess- I have none. I'm horrendously rough on my hands, and generally hate the feeling of creams or lotions. I've had friends recommend ones that they claim are great, non-greasy, "soak right in," etc... and I just hate them. The only lotion I generally use at all is the Aveeno oatmeal stuff that comes in a big tub-- it works well on my skin when I'm sensing I'm close to a hives outbreak. Otherwise, I'd much rather deal with dry skin than lotion.

10/18/06- Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I'm right-handed, but I don't think it affects the way I stitch. I've actually switched directions-- as a child, I stitched every-which way (because I didn't know better). As I started figuring out that they should all face one direction, I stitched \\\ then ///. When I picked it back up in college, somehow I switched to the other direction, /// followed by \\\. My guess is that I probably was thinking about what I was supposed to use, saw the diagram on a chart I was stitching from, and it said to stitch that direction. I stitch /// \\\ on all of my projects currently.

10/25/06 - If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and
appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a
morbid or "creepy" saying on it? If not, why?

To be honest, I find almost all of the samplers that have sayings a bit creepy. Some are downright morbid. I guess it really depends on how weirded out I am. Some of the replica samplers from the 17th and 18th centuries can get VERY morbid. I still would love to try stitching them because of the historial aspect, though. So I guess my answer is yes, I'd still stitch it. Justifying the expense is another matter...

11/1/06 - How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random,
or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?

It's dull and boring, I admit. I've never really been... happy... with it. I just never put the energy into a better title. (should I open this up for a debate? Start the new year with a new title?)

11/8/06 - How many different brands of "complete" embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index cards, palm pilot, etc.)

None. I have a pretty good collection of DMC standard thread, but it's definitely not complete. I also have a decent collection of Dinky Dyes and Sampler overdyed threads, but not complete. I don't have any method of tracking it-- the different kinds are kept together, but that's about it. When I have to gather threads for a new pattern, I go to the overflow box first, then purchase anything missing from the overflow. As I finish projects, I put the remainders back in the overflow (unless there's really none to speak of).

11/16/06 - Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each year and for whom? If not, why not?

I have not stitched any ornaments to date, but I do have some that I want to do. With the exception of perhaps my mom or Erich's mom, I would only stitch them for our tree, so I can do them on my own time.

11/29/06 - How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically,
do you or have you ever used a waste knot?

I don't use waste knots-- I was taught to never, ever knot the thread (and to this day, I feel guilty knotting my backstitching thread, but can't figure out how else to secure it). If I'm stitching with a single color, I use one strand, fold it in half, and then loop through to start it. If I'm stitching with two colors at once, I just pull the thread through until I have about a five or six stitch-long tail, and stitch over the tail.

Big stitching update & goals

I never updated my goals at the beginning of the month, due to all of the craziness that resulted from starting my new job. Here's where I'm at, and where I'm looking to go, both in December and for 2007.

In November, I wanted to..

1) Complete my portion for Autumn's flower RR done!
2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is nope... still not done. *sigh*
3) Complete 20 hours on Goldie's UFO RR piece done and mailed.
4) Work 10 hours on Apache I did around five...
5) Cook a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy the day with family and friends. definitely done!

So for December, I want to...

1) Finish Home is where the Cat Is... seriously, this time.
2) Complete my flower on Linda's piece for Flower RR
3) Work 10 hours on Gina's piece for UFO RR
4) Finish the sunset & tree band on Apache Wedding Blessing.
5) Put together my stitching plan for 2007.


I had a good year stitching, although I didn't finish any of my stitching goals for 2006. :) They were (just for the record...)

- Finish two TW's I finished one, and another is now moving as part of the UFO RR.
- Complete both Wedding Samplers About 50% on one, haven't started the other. Should be done with #1 over the winter.
- Complete 5 other pieces (any size) I finished one other piece this year. The TW finish took more time than I expected.

For 2007, I hope to do the following:

Finishes
----------
Apache Wedding Blessing (sometime during the winter)
Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull (traveling in the UFO RR currently)
Cats on Staircase stocking
Dragon Dream's elemental dragons still remaining: Spirit, Air, Water, and Earth

Starts
----------
Dragon Dream's Wedding Blessing
(Either) Spring or Autumn Queen
Why I Love New England
One Cat Leads to Another...

I know that keeping a solid rotation is going to be difficult the closer I get to my wedding in September, but I see stitching as my release from the planning stress! :) So I'll do the best I can.

Monthly Stitching Goals

October has been a productive stitching month for me-- made possible by the fact that all of our spare spending money was spent at King Richard's Faire. :)

Here's my monthly goals recap... I think it's safe to determine my progress for the month at this point. I won't be stitching tomorrow night.

For October, I wanted to...

1) Grid and ship my Floral RR to the first person Done!

2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is Nope- didn't touch

3) Work 20 hours on UFO RR for Jenni Done!

4) Work at least 10 hours on Apache Done!

5) Complete my portion for Autumn's flower RR Nope- Doing that next weekend...

6) Update my stash organizer Nope- postponing until Yule

So... for November, I want to..

1) Complete my portion for Autumn's flower RR

2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is

3) Complete 20 hours on Goldie's UFO RR piece

4) Work 10 hours on Apache

5) Cook a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy the day with family and friends. :)

SBQ's

I have a couple Stitcher Blogging Questions to catch up... and then I'll start working on a general life entry... :)

8/24/06: What do you keep your WIPs and other stitching supplies in when traveling?

On a day to day basis, I keep all threads for my WIPS in those bobbin caddies at home or on the road. All papers are put in a poly envelope that has a drawstring enclosure. If it's small enough, the piece goes in the envelope as well. For traveling to and from work, I generally just put my hoop, bobbin box, and envelope in my backpack. Nothing fancy.

If I'm doing serious traveling (airplane, etcc.) then I usually put everything for the project inside a plastic bag just to keep it more together.


8/30/06: How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?

I keep digital photographs going on my blog, and there are albums on measi.net and flickr.com (links are on this page). For people I know in person, I generally bounce excitedly and smile as I hold the finish out to them.


9/21/06: How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?

Only one piece has had specialty stitches so far... I did that back in high school. I've finished about a dozen pieces so far in my life, mostly because cross-stitching was a hobby that wasn't in the forefront. So far, all but one piece has been for myself. The piece that wasn't was a bookmark I stitched for my mom for Mother's Day in elementary school. She still has it, attached to her desk wall at home. :)

Stitching Progress

Apache Wedding Blessing
Originally uploaded by measi.

My computer is finally home from the repair shop! Now I'm able to upload all of my photos to Flickr to show that I am, in fact, making some good progress on my pieces. If you want to see the larger versions, just head over there via the photo to the right. :)

The piece I've been focusing on is Apache Wedding Blessing. It's stitching quite easily, although I was slowed down last month by having to stitch a large area of light yellow on white - it's rather hard on the eyes! But it's coming along very well, and I'm still shooting to have it done for the holidays so I can present it to Ivanna. Now that the weather is getting colder, I'll definitely be in a mood to snuggle on the couch and stitch.

During my morning and evening commutes, I've been working on Home is Where the Cat Is. It's a small piece that I've had for... ages. I bought it in either 1999 or 2000 and somehow never got around to stitching it. In the last couple months, I've made great progress. It's about 85% complete now:

Last weekend, I started preparing for the OTHER round robin I'll be participating in over the next year: a floral-themed round robin with six stitchers. Stitchers can select any designer. The tricky thing for me was figuring out my layout for each person's block. I first tried a very basic square-on-square format, but I didn't care for the result. Then I started sketching. I finally came up with a loosely "flower" shaped layout with five blocks for petals, and the center block for myself. You can see my rough sketch of the layout at my Flickr account.

I decided to stitch the Morning Glory block from Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull as my center block. It conveniently is the 60x60 stitches I decided upon for each stitcher's area. In about six hours, I've made some great progress on the block:

And finally, Jenni's piece for the UFO round robin showed up yesterday! Her piece is called "The Mighty Samurai." Here's how it looks as received yesterday:

Lots of stitching to do! :)

A crisp Monday morning

fEvery year, one morning in September wakes me up to the reality that it is, in fact, autumn. It's the "I Really Should Have Worn My Jacket" morning of the year. I was shivering as I stood on the train platform. I continued to shiver once we were on the train because NOW... after the heat of the year, the A/C is finally blasting in the trains. Tonight my light jacket will get pulled out of the closet, washed if necessary, and be used for the next couple months.

To my surprise, I'm not shivering at work-- the temperature gauge seems to be about right... finally. :)

But it was a beautiful autumn morning in Boston. The sky was a beautiful, sharp blue without a single cloud. The air is just starting to smell of dew on the grass mixed with earth and leaves.

I've said it before - I love this time of year. It's cozy and comfy and the world is full of color. I get to fall in love with New England all over again.

--------

The funeral, obviously, was the unexpected focus of this weekend. Erich and I went, along with Erich's dad.

The services and burial for Normie were held on Saturday morning. It was a simple, beautiful service at the funeral home, surrounded by loved ones and friends. Normie was 90, and was lucky to have three of his close friends (aka "partners in crime") there at the funeral. If only we all could be so lucky-- both to live to 90, and also to have close friends in our lives.

The saddest part of the day, in my opinion, was the fact that Erich's mom couldn't be there for her own father's funeral. She's been in the hospital for the past several weeks- with at least three more months to go - and is simply too immobile right now to travel. Katie, Erich's cousin, pointed out that she would had to arrange an ambulance to drive all the way from mid-coast Maine to southern Massachusetts and back. It just wasn't feasable. :( But Erich and I have a recording of the funeral service and the warm eulogy given about Normie to give to her. We're also going to make a point to get up to Maine as soon as possible to be with her.

The rest of the weekend was nice and quiet. Since we were in the area, Erich and I swung by The Big Apple in Wrentham, Mass., on our way home and to pick up some yummy stuff. We bought a bag of apples (McIntosh, which are in season right now), fresh peaches, two apple pies, and a pumpkin pie. The Big Apple, as its name might suggest, is an apple orchard farm. They grow at least a couple dozen types of apple trees, and by about late September, TONS of different apples are for sale in the sales barn, for sale in five pound bags up to "whatever you need" if you call ahead. The thing that Erich and I beeline for is the pie rack. Weekends can be an absolute zoo at The Big Apple in the fall. But it's fun insanity, and it's one of those things that we get to perhaps only once or twice a season. On Saturday, the air outside the sales barn was full of the smell of fresh doughnuts (yum!) and of course... the pies. All three that we bought were still hot in the box. It was a relatively quiet day at The Big Apple. It's definitely still early in the season.

We got home.. Erich headed off to Frank's to spend the rest of the day with the guys playing Dungeons & Dragons (which originally had been scheduled to be at our house that day). I know he needed the time with the guys and was honestly glad he decided to still go play.

With the rest of the day to myself, I scooted myself up to Cumberland, RI, to go to the closest cross stitch shop. My second stitching round robin is a Floral theme, and in creating my layout for each stitcher's block, I discovered that I didn't have a piece of fabric within my stash wide enough to allocate both stitching space and the additional inches needed for framing. Off to With Heart and Soul I went to purchase a piece of cream 32 ct. linen that's 20.5 inches square.

I arrived back home a bit after four p.m. I called my father, but as always, he's not home. So I left him a message to wish him a happy 63rd birthday. (sigh... more on Dad and I in another entry... it's another rant piece). Then I started my stitching work for the weekend.

The first order of business was finishing my prep to send out the UFO RR on Monday. I decided, after lots of thought, to send out Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull. I made sure all of my materials were in place and then packaged it up.

Next I got to work on the Floral RR. I tried to start by marking out each block with gridding thread, but it just was not working right. After an hour of miscounts, I gave up and decided to just work on stitching my square, and then I'd mark the other squares based upon my measurements. I've decided upon 60x60 stitch blocks for each person. Conveniently, each square of the Floral Bellpull (from the other RR) is exactly 60x60 stitches without the border. I selected the Morning Glory block, and got to work.

I'm quite proud of the amount of stitching I got done this weekend. I have nearly 1/4 of the stitches already in the fabric. Hopefully between this week and the weekend, I can get the majority of it done. The tenative start date for this RR is on Sept. 25th. I may just make it.

Monthly Stitching Goals...

Eh... not a great month, but it is summer and attention is elsewhere...

1) Finish half of the bottom border of Apache Wedding Blessing I'm close... just under one half. All of the yellow is done.

2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is I did work on it, but it still has a few hours to go.

3) Prepare my UFO to mail for the UFO RR that starts in September Yes-- it's ready!

4) Get at least a couple hours of work done on Egyptian Sampler Can't get to it... I'm going to have to shelve this until Apache is done.

5) Finally update my stitching pages completely, with photos and update progress. Nope. Computer's been in and out of the shop all month for repairs, so I haven't been able to sit down and get it done.


For September...

1) Finish bottom border of Apache
2) Work on UFO RR
3) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is
4) Update Stitching Pages
5) Have a stitching cram session (6+ hour day) on Apache.
6) Attend the Boston Knit Out in late September

SBQ's

It's a Wednesday, which means that I'm actually on time for my Stitcher Blogging Questions...

8/9/06: For those of you who use hand or over-dyed floss, how do you store it? Currently, my collection of Weeks Dye Works and Sampler threads are stored on their tags, lying flat in a drawer. Nothing special-- but I store DMC threads on wound bobbins in crafting storage tubs that have slots made for bobbins. (Well, mine are actually made for Matchbox car collections... but they work just fine!)

8/16/06: Do you have an organizational system for your fabric? If so, what is it? If not, what do you store your fabric in?

I'm in the process of putting together a system, actually... but for right now, the answer is no, sadly. It's scattered around my hosue at the moment. However... going into the next question of the week for my grand plan...

How do people store their fabric, especially those small but potentially usable pieces? Do they sort by count? How do they label it or otherwise know what each piece is?

Ideally, I'll have all of my fabrics stored by count size, and then labelled with their officially given color (although that's honestly not as important to me... as long as it works with the threads).

I have an Excel spreadsheet that lists all of my kits, charts, specialty threads (no DMC listed, but Kreniks, overdyes, beading notions, etc.), WIPS, etc. Ideally I'd like it to also list the fabrics (and estimated size) that I have in my stash.

Crafty gatherings...

To start, a bit of promotion...

via a friend's LiveJournal, I found a link to the Boston Knit-Out & Crochet Too event happening at the Common on Sept. 24th. My friend Ivanna had sent me a link to the NYC one, but I wasn't going to be able to make that one with my expenses these days. This one, however, I'm about 98% sure I can make. Yay! I'm actually really psyched. I plan on taking advantage of the mini-training camps that day to work on my skills and move forward a bit so I can make something a bit more complicated than a scarf. I have knitting and purling down. But that's about it right now.

So yeah, if you want to go, click the link. And if you are going, tell me so we can meet up.

Next... my sorority sister Michelle and I are holding a stitch 'n bitch gathering (not affiliated with the big knitting one) at my house this Sunday. For this round of it, I think it's pretty full up-- I want to get a sense of how comfortable we can fit in the house for crafty stuff. But if you're a regular blog reader (Anne?) and in the general area or are willing to travel to my area, throw me an email at measiwitch(at)gmail.com with your preferred inviting email address and I'll throw you on the general Evite list. Not all of the events will be at my house. I'm sure we'll have some up in the Boston area... and maybe a couple public areas from time to time. :) I'm thinking once every couple months for an afternoon. And this isn't an exclusive type of crafting. Anything goes-- cross-stitch, other embroidery, knitting, crochet, sewing, scrapbooking... heck, I'm trying to wrangle my friends that make chain mail to come in. So yeah, if you're interested, lemme know.

I can't wait for 5 p.m. to get here... weekend! Get here! Now!

Monthly stitching goals & SBQ's

So now that it's August (how the HELL did that happen?!?), I'm setting new monthly stitching goals for myself...

1) Complete lower left corner of Apache Wedding Blessing I'm 20 stitches away... close enough for me to say yes!

2) Complete Elemental Dragon:Spirit No- I misplaced my threads... replaced it with another travel project, but didn't finish that, either.

3) Create and implement a new excel tracking spreadsheet for my projects Yes! And almost everything in my stash is already itemized.

4) Have one new start No. Focused too much on Apache. But that's okay with me... :)

5) Work on at least three projects for five hours each. Worked on two pieces, but not three.

For August, I want to...

1) Finish half of the bottom border of Apache Wedding Blessing

2) Finish Home is Where the Cat Is

3) Prepare my UFO to mail for the UFO RR that starts in September

4) Get at least a couple hours of work done on Egyptian Sampler

5) Finally update my stitching pages completely, with photos and update progress.

Nothing too bad-- just a lot of random stitching. I might honestly be able to attack a good chunk of this list on Saturday, since Erich's at an all-day family memorial event, and it's just too damn hot to do anything outdoors. Of course, getting lots of stitching done implies that Colley and Noby the Lover Cats won't be crawling on me as I try to stitch...

(heh)

Anyway... some SBQ's that I haven't answered...

7/20/06 - When you get a project professionally framed do you get glass inserted into the frame? Why or why not? I plan on having glass put into the frame, mostly just to keep the cat hair from flying up and sticking to the piece (because in my house... it will.)

7/26/06 - Many of us have a few pairs of embroidery scissors and some even have a "collection". How many pairs of scissors do you have? Feel free to share a photo of your favorite pair or pairs with us! Sadly, I only have one pair-- and I hate them. I must have bought the cheaply made pair because I've only had them a year and the connection screw has come completely loose. *sigh* I have to admit, though, I find keeping a pair of fingernail clippers in my thread box is so handy for trimming loose ends. It's very small, doesn't risk poking a hole in my bag, and trims very clean and close.

8/3/06 - Do you have a favorite needlework tool that you like to work with? What is it and why do you like using it? It may sound funny, but my favorite are those little cheap paper bobbins for storing thread. While at the stitching stores, I often get surprised looks that someone my age (for some reason) is working on Teresa Wentzler projects because she's considered so difficult to do. Everyone gripes about having to cut and match the blended threads. I couldn't figure out why it was such a problem, until I realized that other stitchers weren't sorting colors like I did. I create a bobbin, marked by symbol, WITH a length of each color in the blend. Each blend on its own separate bobbin, and gets treated like its own color. I only keep one length of each color on the bobbin at a time to avoid excess floss waste. At the end of the project, the blend bobbins are pretty ratty, so they just get tossed.

Any time I explain this to a stitcher at the store, she exclaims "why didn't *I* think of that?!?"

;)

New stitching rotation

I'm trying a new rotation through the end of October to see if this system works for me... I'm realizing I just can't work on an hourly rotation. :(

I'm doing a day-specific rotation with a travel slot for my train commute in and out of Boston (where I'll stitch a smaller piece). In September, I'll be participating in my first round robin, so I want to make sure I provide ample time for that, too.

Apache Wedding Blessing is a gift for a friend (she knows it's coming). Ideally I'd like to have it done by her anniversary in October, but I'm more likely to have it done for Christmas.

Commuting piece: Home Is Where the Cat Is (mini version)

Mondays: TW SAL- Egyptian Sampler
Tuesday: Apache Wedding Blessing
Wednesdays: UFO RR (starting in Sept. Until then, Apache Wedding)
Thursdays: Backstitching (any project that needs it)
Friday: Cat pieces: Cats on a Staircase
Saturday: Open day (usually busy with other things...)
Sunday: UFO RR (start in Sept. Until then, Apache Wedding)

Rotation planning

Now that I have The Castle out of the way, I'm trying to come up with my new rotation for stitching. All things considered, I haven't really been doing well to make my 2006 stitching goals. But I know why-- World of Warcraft. It's sucked away a ton of my time. For the second half of the year, I want to balance that a bit more.

So, fellow stitchers, I'll give the info that I have on my stitching habits. Please give me any advice you have on making a workable rotation. :)

My rotation history: For 2006, it's been non-existant. I've really only stitched on two pieces all year in a bit of a screaming fashion. In 2005, though, I was a 10 hour minimum stitcher, but would continue for another 10 hours or so on a piece that I found myself motivated to work. I only had a 6 slot rotation, but it would often take me 2-3 months to complete it.

My original goals for 2006: 1) Finish 2 TW's (not going to happen. I finished one. I'm considering this complete.)
2) Finish both wedding samplers (again.. not going to happen... revising to one.)
3) Finish five other pieces (I've finished one other so far.)

Obligations: My biggest obligation is Apache Wedding Blessing, which is a gift for my friend Ivanna. It's currently at about 25% done (not counting backstitching). Ideally, I'd like to finish it for her anniversary the first weekend of October. Realistically, I'm shooting for this Christmas.

I also have signed up for the UFO Round Robin over on Worldwide RR's. That will begin mailing on September 11th, and I'll have six weeks to do approximately 20 hours of stitching on each project before mailing it and receiving the next one. Since I have so many floating in UFO land, I will be selecting one of my Teresa Wentzler pieces to send on this RR. (I'm leaning toward Magical Night).

Non-stitching obligation is to plan my wedding. We are having a more casual wedding, so once I get a place reserved, I should be in good shape. Right now I'm shooting for a spring '07 wedding.

Weekly timeframe: On an average week, I currently do about 10 hours of stitching. If I cut into the WorldofWarcraft addiction a bit, I would add another 3 hours on weekends. :) My stitching time breaks down to about the following:

Weekdays: 1 to 2 hours stitching on the train. Tuesdays at lunch (for office Stitch & Bitch). Rest is in the evenings at home-- about an hour per night.

Weekends: Flexible schedule.

Other UFO/WIPs: None of these are a priority to finish, so they can be added or subtracted to my rotation in whatever fashion. For those not as familiar with the individual pieces, I'm including the size of the piece. If this list doesn't excite you, a (roughly) full list of what I have is here (from the StRIP board).

One TW Piece (currently Egyptian Sampler) - XL piece
Cats on a Staircase (Bucilla) - L piece
Elemental Dragons- fire is done, need the other four (Dragon Dreams) - S piece
Astrology Sampler (Witches Stitches) - M piece
Fantasy Wedding Blessing (Dragon Dreams) - M/L piece
Smoky Mountain Cats (Pegasus) - L piece
Home is Where the Cat Is (Leisure Arts mini) - S piece
Why I Love New England (Sampler Needlework) - XL piece
Leaping Cat (La-D-Da) - M piece
Mirror Mirror (Abbey Lane Designs) - M piece

Things I'd really like to fit into the rotation...: So here are ideas that I'd like to incorporate if possible...

1) A focus on Apache to get it done
2) A backstitching slot, for both Apache and TW's
3) Some way to fit the RR in... Rose on the rotation board suggested a Sunday/Wednesday RR slot.
4) A definite TW slot-- I have a ton of her pieces I want to do, so I need to have one going in every rotation
5) A definite cat-related piece slot, for the same reason

Other than that, the pieces I work, the number of pieces, etc. is completely open...

So... whatcha think? :)

SBQ's

I'll be doing a stitching update this weekend-- probably Sunday. Erich's dad celebrates his birthday this weekend, and Erich's taking him out for a full round of golf starting at 9 a.m. I, on the other hand, will be avoiding the forecasted 90+ degrees and humidity and will spend the day stitching in front of the TV.

So yeah... stitching updates & photos Sunday. For now: SBQ's. :)

June 14, 2006: How many cross stitch books do you own and how often do you use them? I actually do not own any books dealing with technique for cross stitch. To date, I really haven't done enough specialty stitch work where I'd need one. If I need to reference anything, I just head to the 'net. I do own some collections books, though-- Teresa Wentzler's fantasy collection (which got a ton of use as I backstitched The Castle), her Christmas collection, and a beautiful Asian motifs book that Jason and Jen gave me for my birthday (in which I already am scoping for a project late next year once I get some obligation stitching done).

June 21, 2006: Have you ever used a magnifying glass while stitching? If so, did you find it helpful? When I was in elementary school, my mom would have me stitch in front of her magnifying makeup mirror so that she could see what I was doing to help me. She was in denial of her need for glasses at that point. :) I don't currently use one, but I'm thinking of purchasing one for the over-one stitching I have over several projects these days to help me stitch them a bit faster.

June 29, 2006: What do you do with your charts once you've stitched them? Do you keep them or dispose of them? If you keep them, do you organize them in a way that is different from the way you keep your unstitched charts? I work from photocopies so I can highlight as I go. Those get tossed in the trash. I do keep the originals if they're in good shape. (my original copy of The Castle is so battered it will be tossed... but I have it anyway in the collection mentioned above). Right now, I don't really have enough completed charts to organize them differently-- but I'll probably create a binder of them at some point.

July 5, 2006: What is the biggest mishap you have had with your stitching material (i.e. spillages)? In March of this year, about half a bottle of Diet Coke that I hadn't twisted closed properly spilled all over The Castle in my work bag. Thankfully, I noticed it very quickly (probably a half hour after it happened) and immediately soaked it once I returned home. I soaked the entire piece in a 9x13 glass baking dish with some Dawn soap, gently rinsed it, and placed it flat on a towel to dry. All of the damage came out. :)

Considering how often I stitch with an open glass of soda next to me, I'm very lucky.

July 12, 2006: Since you started blogging, have you noticed any difference in your stitching habits? Tell us about them. For me, it's not a change in my habits-- it's just completely opened the doors to new avenues in stitching that I'd otherwise not know about. My blog wasn't created for stitching-- it was created to help me work through some things in my head back in 2001. When I started stitching again at the end of 2004, it was just one of those life topics I started including in my writing. :)

The connection to other stitchers is wonderful- the encouragement keeps me going. Feedback has been so helpful-- through responses to my blog entries, I learned about the Rotation Stitchers board, and started stitching in a rotation style. I've discovered many new designers. I learned about Silkweaver Fabrics. I learned (finally) that no, you didn't stitch everything on evenweave like you did on Aida (aka "over one"). And starting later this year, I'll be participating in a stitching round robin for the first time.

Above all, I've met a ton of stitchers worldwide with whom I can connect on a hobby that gives me a ton of satisfaction. And that's the best part of all. :)


- Mel.

The Castle

The Castle
Originally uploaded by measi.

It's amazing to me, but I finally finished The Castle about a half-hour ago. It hasn't been cleaned yet-- it's still tacked to the stretcher bars I've used all weekend as I've been working the remaining backstitching. But it's done-- my first Teresa Wentzler piece, and the largest stitching piece I've completed to date.

It's been a long ten-year journey with this piece. I have lots of emotions tied into this one. I know where I was when I stitched particular areas of this piece. In some cases, I even know the state of mind I had. I've stitched areas of The Castle within a ritual circle, trying to clear my mind and regain focus. I've stitched through tears. I've stitched through cats. I've stitched on it at work. I've stitched on it on trains and planes. I've stitched on it curled up on the couch with one of a few of my sorority sisters, also stitching on their own pieces, laughing and creating comfy memories.

It has seen me from age 21, as a junior in college with no clue where she wanted to go in life, to age 31, engaged with several hopes and dreams for the future. I've moved five times since starting it. I've graduated college. My father remarried. My brother graduated from both high school and college. My grandmother passed away. My mother, ever supportive, watched me go through heartbreak and anger to falling in love. As each of these events (and more) happened, those emotions were blended into this piece stitch by stitch.

All of the rest of my stitching this year is just extra credit. I've reached a personal accomplishment goal, and now I just need to do some happy dancing for a while!

Wheee!!!!!

Stitching photo day! (updates and SBQ)

This is going to be a pretty heavy photo entry. :) Apologies in advance...

It's been a long time since I've posted update photos of my stitching. And since it's Wednesday (and therefore Stitcher Blogging Question day), I finally got my butt in gear and took some photos. I'm having some serious problems with blur, though. *sigh*

Anyway, here's The Castle. As I'd mentioned a month or so ago, the cross-stitches are now done. I'm finishing up the backstitching. The majority of the work I have left to do are the rocks between the castle and the tail. I'm working the spines on the far left hand side (against the white backdrop) right now.



Here's a bit more detail on the backstitching I'm actually focused on:




For those who read my journal who don't cross-stitch... backstitching is the technical term for adding lines that create detail. It includes outlining, shade lines, and definition lines between different colored areas. On my Castle, for example, take a good look at the rocks on the left hand side of the image vs. the right-- you'll notice the ones on the left have a faint outline around them. That's what I've backstitched so far. The ones on the right are not yet backstitched (but will be!).

Most stitchers I know consider backstitching to be tedious, but we all know that it definitely DOES make a difference in the finished project. I'm thankfully moving well right now, so I'm plugging along on it while the ability to tolerate backstitching continues. :)

Apache Wedding Blessing is my other big project right now. I'm stitching this for my good friend Ivanna, who wed in October. I'm really hoping to have this done for her first anniversary...




I got a good 10 hour plug done on this so far this week-- anything you see in the top horizontal section was done on either Sunday (most of the day) or last night (mmm... Deadliest Catch). I want to have that section done no later than Friday night. Then I'll begin working on the bottom half of the left hand column (more of the blue zig-zag pattern, which stitches obnoxiously fast). Once I get the left hand vertical column done, I'll get that portion backstitched, and then move on to the bottom horizontal panel.

So my projects are moving right along-- I can be honest via photos now!

The Stitcher Blogging Questions for this week are photographic, too...

The first request comes from Vashwho is requesting pictures of the back of your stitching… are you brave enough to give this one a shot?

I'm really not afraid of this. I consider myself a very neat (and proudly so!) stitcher.

Backside of The Castle:




Backside of Apache Wedding Blessing:




I'm not sure who actually taught me this, but I learned very early on to keep the backside of my stitching as neat as possible so when I finished a piece, it would lie as flat as possible when put into a pillow or a frame. As I stitch, I honestly do consciously look to make my backside stitching as clean as possible. Most of the mess I may have comes from the backstitching.

The second request comes from Singular Stitches, and she is asking for "a pictorial tour of [the] special place that you go to create your wonderful stitched creations."

Other than the Commuter Rail train, which I couldn't shoot spur of the moment... here are my two stitching nooks:

The living room couch (complete in this photo with British stitching mags and the black sheet I've been using to cover my legs as I curl up)




And my side of the bed (please don't skeeve at the wallpaper. It's from the previous owner... we just haven't gotten to it yet. The cats love pouncing the big pink roses, though!)




And I think I've reached my max space limit for entries today....

Stitching Push

World of Warcraftcrack has taken over my life the past five months and change. Now that I've reached level 60 with my first character, I'm trying to pick up the stitching that I've been leaving behind-- I have a ton of projects that I could have finished with all of the hours I spent on the computer. (oops)

Through the Rotation Stitchers board that I frequent, I put together my goals for June:

1) Complete the backstitching on The Castle

Self explanatory-- I want to get this project done. I estimate I have probably about 10 hours of backstitching left to do.

2) Complete the top quarter of Apache Wedding Blessing

This project is moving quickly, but I need to recommit to it-- if I can get the top quarter done by the end of June, I'm going to be in great shape to plug through it over the summer.

3) Rework a new rotation to start in July

I really need to get a new gameplan going here. I have 8-10 projects in various stages of completion, and need to figure out a good way to approach them, now that The Castle is almost done.

4) Update my stitching pages

I haven't done anything with them really since we moved into the house. It's time to update the webpages. This project might get pushed back until July, though-- I do want to focus primarily on stitching this month.

5) Finish organizing my craft room

My office is a disaster. It's not just a craft room-- it's my office and library, and it's just a wreck. Again, it might be pushed off until July, but at least it's on my mind.

Stitcher Blogger Question

It's shocking... I'm up to date! :) Here's today's SBQ:

Do you collect charts by one particular designer, yet have never stitched anything by that designer? If so, which designer and why do you collect the charts but have not yet stitched any of them?

I have two small collections. The only reason that I haven't stitched them is because I'm working through some old pieces that I really want to finish first. The two designers are Mirabilia (Nora Corbett) and Calico Crossroads (for the cat designs). I do intend to stitch them someday. :)

I seriously need to open up a stitch shop, though, if I want to have the time to do all of these, though!

Stitcher Blogging Questions

Catching up on some SBQ's...

5/10/06: When you stitch from a kit and use the supplied floss do you have leftovers? If so, how much and what do you do with them? If not, do you usually have just enough or do you have to dig into your stash to finish?

I normally do have leftovers-- quite a bit for some colors. It depends on the individual kit, though. If there is a good amount left and it's labeled as DMC colors, I'll add it back to my general stash. Otherwise, I usually just toss them.

5/17/06: Lately, it seems that many stitching bloggers have experienced a loss of their stitching mojo. Have you ever lost your stitching mojo? If so, how did you get it back and how long did it take?

Mine is always running hot and cold. I basically just roll with it- if I'm in a stitching binge, I jump right in. If I'm not, then I do other things. I find that the nicer the weather is, the less I generally stitch. The longest loss of mojo was about four years in my mid-20s.

5/24/06: What is your favorite specialty stitch? Which one is your least favorite? Why?

For some odd reason, I always liked chicken-stratch stitches. I haven't done them in a while, but I really like how fast patterns develop from them. I hate french knots. They never look good when I do them. :(

Stitching Blogger Questions

I haven't kept up on my SBQs lately. Tomorrow I'll post new stitching updates (when I have better camera light to shoot them). But here's the catch up on a plethora of weeks of the stitching meme :)

1/18/06: Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that talks about it.) If not, when do you predict it will be? My first happy dance (a.k.a. project finish, for the non-stitchers) was a little reindeer with ice skates. I talked about it back here. The next happy dance WILL be The Castle, and it's coming along quickly... just a lot of backstitching left to do on the bottom half...

2/1/06: With the exception of your online stitching friends, do you have any other stitching buddies? I'm part of a knitting/crafting group at work that meets over lunch on Tuesdays. A few of my offline friends also cross-stitch as their time/interest in it allows.

2/8/06: Describe your "perfect" project. (Include the designer or specific pattern, the fabric, the floss, and anything else that would make that project "perfect" for you.) I have two designers-- Teresa Wentzler (obviously... if you've ever chatted with me about stitching, on or offline, you know my addiction to her work) and Heaven and Earth Designs. If money and time were no object, I'd stitch Peacock Tapestry from TW or one of the many Stephanie Pui-Mun Law pieces on HAED (I adore Stephanie's art).

Needless to say, I'm into self-torture with my stitching. But the results would be oh-so-sweet.

2/15/06: Comment on your comments (giving and recieving): Do you love comments
or hate them? Do you check them every day, never check them, or find them helpful? And finally, are you convinced no one is reading your blog if you don't get any? I adore comments given to me. I also love giving comments, but do it far too rarely. I do find them helpful, supportive, and reassuring that I'm not screaming into the neverland of the internet. :)

3/1/06: What cross-stitch magazines or other publications (as opposed to blogs) do you read on a regular basis? What do you like about them? What do you not like? What would your perfect publication include? I loved Stitchers World when it was published (mixed on the renamed version, though). Other than that, I stick to the various British stitching mags because I don't care for most of the cutesy country Bible-verse stuff most American mags seem to think are the only things worth stitching. My perfect publication would combine a great mix of both simple and complex pieces to stitch over a variety of themes, plus some intensive looks at different specialty stitches. Most magazines seem to do a couple of these, but I really haven't seen one that covers all of them on an issue-by-issue basis.

3/8/06: Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do
you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them? I keep thinking I do, and then I mess it all up again. It'll get organized at some point! :)

3/15/06: Do you stitch "over one?" If so, describe your experiences. If not, have you considered it? Last year contained my first experiences with 28 count and higher fabric, so I'm a newbie to over-one stitching. I have done some of them, and find I can only do about 20 stitches before I have to put it down due to eye fatigue. I really need to drop the money on a magnifier over at Michaels so I can stitch longer... it's all those Teresa Wentzler designs, you know... (again... self torture is in!)

3/22/06: Have you ever participated in a needlework mystery (i.e., a design that you started before knowing how it will look in the end and by which you receive parts of the design via the internet, magazines, or leaflets at spaced intervals)? If so, why did you decide to do the mystery? What appealed to you about it? Did you enjoy it? If you have not done a mystery, would you ever do one? I'd be very interested in doing one. I have not done one yet, though.

4/5/06: Do you stitch "on the go?" (On the commute to and from work, during your lunch break, waiting for the kids, etc.) If so, do you have a specific "travel" project or do you just grab whatever you happen to be working on and take it with you? Lately, my only guaranteed stitching time is on the commuter train to and from work, so yes. It gives me an hour each way, if I spend the entire time stitching (I usually don't). My travel piece has generally been The Castle so I can push to get it done, but I've done the grab-n-go with other pieces, too.

4/12/06: For those of you that stitch while riding in the car or on the train,
how do you cope with the bumps and the motion? Do you have any tips
for others? Bumps on the train have never honestly been an issue for me-- the train I'm on is on Amtrak rails, so it's relatively smooth. I would never be able to stitch in the car or on a subway. I do suggest, however, that if you're going to stitch on a train, you want to be using a plastic container and bobbin storage method for your supplies- that way you can snap it closed while stitching in case things do bump around. And ONLY bring something you can stitch on a hoop!

4/19/06: Do you do obligation or deadline-based stitching? Why or why not? If
you do, do you tend to get in over your head and why? I have one obligation piece-- a wedding sampler gift for a friend. I won't take on another one until it's done because I'd immediately be overwhelmed. I can't guarantee a steady stitching schedule, so I need to have flexible time projects.

5/3/06: Do you or have you stitched with over-dyed threads? (Weeks Dye Works,
The Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Six Strand Sweets, etc.) If so, what is your opinion concerning them? If not, why not? My first two projects with over-dyed threads are kitted (one with Weeks Dye Works, the other with The Gentle Art threads). I love the fading and variation in the threads, so I'm looking forward to stitching them. I know the technique (doing every full x-stitch by itself) is a bit slower, though.


Phew! And... I'm spent. Project update photos coming tomorrow...

Knitting and stitching finish photos

I promised these the other night... :)

Anyway, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I've just recently learned to knit. The piece below is my first set of rows. It's 30 stitches across, and will eventually be a scarf. I thankfully have two full skeins of yarn, or I don't think I'd get much length on it. I love the yarn color. It's a dark lilac purple, but the dye gives it almost a denim look with flecks of the original white showing through. The weight isn't given on the skein wrapper, but it's labelled as a "chunky weight" yarn, made by Lion Brand.



Anyway... it's going well. I'm using #11 needles (that came with the yarn). It will become a big, thick Back Bay Boston wind-beating scarf. :) Hopefully.

I talked to my mom last week, and she's sending me all of my grandmother's knitting supplies at some point soon. My mom knits, but completely forgot about grandma's stuff before she went out to buy her own. I asked if I could have her needles, since as of right now, I only have the size 11 set that came with my beginner kit. I told my mom how, now that I've seen how easily I've taken to basic knitting, I really regret not learning how to knit FROM Grandma. Her needles will definitely be a sentimental piece of my crafting.

Hopefully I'll be able to pass on the teaching years from now. Although if I ever have a daughter, I'll let my mom have the first crack at teaching her. It's definitely a grandma thing. :)

Anyway... my first cross-stitch finish of 2006 is a little piece that I started over New Year's weekend. I wanted to get away from The Castle for a while, so I pulled the freebie kit out of my British stitching mag:



It's a very small piece, and probably only took a bit over 10 hours to do. I stitched it in hand, which was definitely different. I don't have any hoops this small though, so it was a necessity. And, oddly, the pattern called to use only one thread thickness for everything. In hindsight, I think I would have done it with the normal two strand thickness.

I haven't decided how I'll finish it yet, but it'll definitely become some sort of tree ornament, I think.

Stitcher Blogging Questions tomorrow!

~ Mel.

Stitching Updates

I can't believe it's halfway through March already... this year is going entirely too fast. *sigh*

Not a lot of news on my end, honestly. Just the same-old, same-old. But I have done some stitching lately. :) Here's the progress photos--




Spirit Dragon by Dragon Dreams-- this is the second in the elemental series that I'm working on. It's not much so far, but I've been stitching this during my downtime on flightpaths in World of Warcraft. :) The stitches completed are an orb that the dragon is holding.





Cats on a Staircase by Bucilla - I've been working the green garland on the left section of the piece. March happened to be "green" month for the Unfinished Objects stitching board I belong to... and this was the most prominent piece with green for me to work on.





The Castle by Teresa Wentzler - Almost. Done. Finally. But with a mishap. The reason the piece is so wrinkly is because I had to wash it early. After ten years of handling, storage, moving, and porting this around, last week I had my first accident with it as I spilled a good amount of diet coke on it. :( Thankfully it came out quickly with just a short cold water soak. I should have the cross stitches done on this by the end of this coming week, if all goes well. :)


More photos in a couple days. I'm getting prepped on a new computer at home, so I need to get some stuff oriented first.


~ Mel.

Knitty Witch

Miracle of miracles, this klutzy witch seems to be able to make sense of the spikey sticks with yarn. It's very, very strange.

But oh so cool.

Every Tuesday at lunch, a group of my coworkers gets together in the cafeteria for an hour stitch 'n bitch. Until this week, I brought my cross-stitching. I'm getting so obnoxiously close to finishing The Castle that I've been pushing myself... and the group was a great motivator.

But last week, I sensed that I needed to step away from my dragon for a little while. I need a recharge before I can go gungho on it again sometime next week and quite possibly FINISH all of the cross-stitches.

So this Tuesday, I brought in a skein of yarn and some #11 needles that have been sitting quietly among my stash, waiting to be picked up. I bought it over a year ago when I saw the "clearance" sale at Michaels for a learn-to-knit kit. The yarn is a beautiful denim-like purple color made by Lion Brand, and I have two skeins of it.

Ellen, with whom I've had many adventures over the years, was happy to teach me. She's considered THE knitter of our office, and it's common to see someone early in the morning or late in the day with needles and yarn coming to her for advice or panicked repair assistance.

I was fubsy with casting on (she does a knit-stitch cast-on) so she did that for me, but after watching her for only a few stitches, she put the needles in my hands. I was very clumsy, but picked it up very quickly. By the end of the lunch hour, I'd knitted my first row.

Since then, I've knitted three more complete rows-- although I'd be closer to six if I hadn't had to pull a couple out for some serious missed stitches. And I really can't believe I waited this long to learn how.

I've got a serious case of "I Made This!" ness this morning. :)

SBQ's

I'm honestly drained of writing ideas-- anyone have topic suggestions?


Until I find some inspiration, I'll catch up on my Stitcher Blogging Questions...

12/28/05: How do you balance your stitching time with your other obligations such as work, household chores, etc.?

It hasn't been a struggle for me. If I have too much to do house-wise, it annoys me so much that I just don't stitch. If I were doing more obligation stitching, I may feel a bit more stressed about it. But I stitch when I have the free time and feel like pulling my hoop into my lap.

At the moment, I have a one-hour train ride each way to commute to work-- so when I'm awake, that's nearly two full hours of stitching every day. When the weather's lousy, I'll eat at work (now that we can buy food in the building) and possibly get in about 15-20 minutes of stitching. Evenings depend on what's going on at the house-- we rarely do any big cleaning projects on weekday evenings because we don't get home until 7 p.m. At this time of year, it's dark before we leave Boston anyway- so outdoor projects are definitely out. Dishes and a load of laundry are really all that can be done on weeknights.

On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I'm guaranteed stitching time because Erich has "clan night" for one of two games with the guys-- World of Warcraft (Tuesdays) and Halo 2 (Wednesday). I usually plunk on the couch, turn on the TV, and grab a hoop.

So yeah... it's not a big deal. If kids factor in the picture, I know that will definitely change things.


1/4/06: Do you do your stash shopping at your LNS, ONS, or both? Which do you like better? Why?

I prefer to shop via the local store (LNS) because I feel there's really no substitute to surrounding yourself with the projects available, looking at sample work in person, and seeing the threads up close. But I have done a lot of online shopping as well. Ususally when I do online shopping, I don't go through a store, though-- it's usually through ebay or a person-to-person transaction off one of the discussion boards I belong to.


~ Mel.

A new year for craftiness

Sometime around Yule, I received a postcard in the mail from my local stitching addiction supply store that they were having a storewide sale on threads at the end of the year. As in, 30% off. Which meant that I could get the big-time supplies that add up in a hurry for a heck of a lot less money.

I quickly pulled out all of my patterns, and over Christmas weekend, developed my crafting plans for 2006. On Friday the 30th, I headed up to the store, gift money in hand, to have some fun. $80 later, I'm ready to go. I'm missing only two colors for one pattern, which I'll search for this Saturday. All of these threads were the more expensive kind- overdyed and hand-dyed silk threads that I'm honestly a bit nervous to stitch with because I know they're not colorfast and somehow I already sense a can of Diet Coke sneaking quietly up to them in the storage drawer, threatening to pour itself over them. But I'm also excited to try some new threads. It's a step up in the stitching advancement department. :)

My entire year of stitching is starting to firm up. I have several projects that are "works in progress" from last year. I have about a dozen others that have all supplies ready to go. And I'm psyched-- it's going to be a fun year of craftiness.

The big goals for this year are:

- Finish both wedding samplers (mine and Ivanna's)
- Finish two Teresa Wentzler pieces (The Castle and something else)
- Finish 5 other pieces (of any size)

This might get revised, but with the condition of my pieces, I think this is definitely do-able.

Here's my working rotation for the 1st round of 2006. I'm estmating that this will take me through about mid-February or so. I'm working it at 20 hour intervals:

Apache Wedding Blessing <-- current at home
TW slot (The Castle) <-- current traveling plus weekends
Cat slot (Staircase)
Wedding Blessing
Finishing slot/mini piece (will be used to backstitch. If no backstitching needed, I'll work on a really small piece here)

I started Ivanna's Wedding Blessing sampler this past weekend. So far, it's stitching up surprisingly easily and quickly- but it's still a mass of jumbled stitches at the moment, so I won't put up a photo until the weekend. At this rate, I may have it done within a couple of months.

I'm also still carrying my second rotation piece, The Castle, back and forth with me to work. It guarantees me at least one hour (and possibly 2, if my brain is awake enough in the morning to stitch) to work on the project every day. I only have about 10% left to go on it-- just some lower rocks plus the backstitching of the lower half of the pattern. And then it's done. Could I possibly finish this by the end of January?

It would be nice. :) Really, really nice. And it's very possible. (yay!)

My entire rotation might wind up going this way for a while: working a wedding sampler at home. Carrying the other pieces with me on the train. I honestly don't care, as long as the pieces are progressing. And I'd really, REALLY like to have some multiple finishes this year.

Once the wedding samplers are done, I'll take one of those slots and make it into a small to medium piece (any designer OTHER than Teresa Wentzler) slot. The other one will probably be open to whatever is screaming the loudest at me to start it. :)

It should be a very interesting craft year.

Feeling Crafty

It’s crafty day! Due to NaNoWriMo last month, I wasn’t participating in the Stitcher Blogging Questions on a weeky basis. I also didn’t have my camera to post updated photos of my work, so I’ll have those updates, too. :)

Measi.net was being extraordinarily cranky with photo uploads last night. I finally gave up at 11:50 p.m. and moved everything onto my old Kodak Gallery account. Over the weekend, I’ll work on posting photos and updating my Work in Progress (WIP) pages on the site, since they haven’t been updated since before my house move. For now, though, all of my updated WIP photos are here.

I’ve been working almost exclusively on The Castle this month and have ditched my rotation for the time being. I’m so (-oooo) close to finishing. The tail is almost completely done. Then I have a small section of rocks to do, and then a mess of backstitching. It definitely won’t be done by the end of the year, but the end of January is very feasible, and I’d love to get it done to start 2006 off with a great finish.

The week between Christmas and New Years will most likely be spent between stitching and sorting through all of my projects to prep a plan for 2006. I already know that 2006 has two wedding samplers (so far!) that are must-completes. Everything needs to rotate around those for now.

Onto some of my backlog of Stitcher Blogging Questions…

9/28/05- Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We're not referring to UFOs (unfinished objects) here, rather projects that you know that you'll never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it - throw it out, give it away, put it away?

I’ve had two projects that I’ve completely stopped. One was put away, but eventually thrown away because it became damaged. The other was just tossed immediately. I didn’t like how it was looking at all.

10/6/05- When you have almost finished a pattern and start thinking about the next one to stitch, how do you select it? (a list, most recent purchase, etc.)

Ironic, since I’m focusing on this right now. First comes any “obligation” stitching (for example, the wedding samplers I know are in-line). Then I go to my list of projects that I’ve kitted with all supplies. Since I love Teresa Wentzler’s designs and have a dozen or so that I want to stitch, any TW project I finish will almost certainly be replaced with another TW.

10/12/05- How do you `non-hoopists' who use a rotation system handle it (as it seems to be lot easier if you are in good terms with hoop)? Do you have several scroll frames? Do you use Q-snaps or maybe something completely different? Or do you just have one or two big projects and others are small enough to be kept in hand while stitching?

I usually prefer a hoop, but a couple projects just won’t work with one, so I’m adjusting. One project is on a scroll frame. The other is an in-hand project. If I were to move into stitching on multiple projects on hoops or stretcher bars, I’d probably adjust my rotation so I had a travel piece on a hoop for my commute and keep the larger scroll frame pieces at home to work on in the evenings.

10/19/05- Do you mark or hi-lite your patterns or can you follow them without any markings? Do you make copies to mark up, or do you mark originals?

I make copies of all of my projects to work from. I usually set the photocopier so that the pattern is enlarged and easier to read. If it takes more pages to copy, it doesn’t matter to me. My photocopies and the original pattern are then kept in poly envelopes with the tie-button closures to keep everything together. (Kitted patterns that I haven’t started have the bobbins of thread enclosed in the envelope, too).

As I go, I highlight. I can follow without markings, but when working the more complex patterns, it’s so much easier to work with a marked copy.

I then use the original copy to follow for backstitching (but don’t mark it as I go).

10/26/05- Have you ever stitched something as a gift and later realized that receiver doesn't respect your stitched gift a bit (for example it's never on show, or you have other reason to suspect that it may even be nonexistent or at least placed in some dark storage room corner)? If so, what have you done? If you've been lucky enough to avoid such people what would you do if it'd happen to you?

Hasn’t happened yet. But to be honest, I don’t see myself doing a lot of gift stitching for people that aren’t either stitchers or knitters themselves—people who will appreciate the time that goes into making something by hand.

11/2/05- If you have stitched for a while, can you usually pick out the DMC colors you need from memory when you go to your LNS? (For example, you know that 610 is a brown.)

(LNS, for those reading and not stitchers, is a Local Needlework Store)

Not all, but there are a couple strings of numbers that I know. The 500 greens that are common in TW projects. The 790’s that are my favorite colors of blue. The 3345-48 string of green because I have TONS of them for some reason in my excess stash and probably won’t ever have to buy them again in my lifetime. I usually just bring a written list to the store, though.

11/9/05- When comparing large projects versus small projects, which do you get more excited about finishing?

Definitely larger projects, due to the time involved.

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More SBQ questions in tonight’s entry to get me caught up on questions! :)

~ Mel.

SBQ's and Rotations...

Before I get to the stitching update-- why the heck hasn't anyone told me that my layout completely sucks ass? I've now looked at my site on two PC computers, and the tables are completely effed up in IE. Had I never looked at it in IE on a PC (it's fine on a Mac in all browsers), I'd never have known.

So I'll add template completion to my list of stuff to do this weekend... because this is just so, so icky.

Anyway...

I'm behind on Stitcher's Blogging Questions due to weddings and computer stupidity... so here we go...

9/28/05: Have you ever just quit a project while in the midst of it? (We're not
referring to UFOs here, rather projects that you know that you'll never work on again.) Why? What did you do with it - throw it out, give it away, put it away?

I've quit a couple, but I'm usually too stubborn. The ones that I have quit usually just find their way to the back of my stash pile and just rot there. :(


10/06/05: When you have almost finished a pattern and start thinking about the next one to stitch, how do you select it? (a list, most recent purchase, etc.)

A lot of it depends on my mood, honestly. I do have a list of unstarted projects, and several of them are nearly kitted, so I could start them at any time. But if I find a project that I absolutely MUST start right away, I'll probably find a way to squeeze it in sooner. And that gets me in trouble since projects keep getting pushed back.


10/12/05: How do you `non-hoopists' who use a rotation system handle it (as it seems to be lot easier if you are in good terms with hoop)? Do you have several scroll frames? Do you use Q-snaps or maybe something completely different? Or do you just have one or two big projects and others are small enough to be kept in hand while stitching?

I have only one project on a scroll frame at this time. The rest of my projects, I generally hoop. I loosen the one that's on the scroll frame during its "resting" slots in rotation. My other pieces are taken off the hoop and roll up loosely to put in a drawer for storage. If I did have multiple projects of scroll-frame size, I'd probably buy another frame. Getting pieces on and off scroll frames is such a pain in the ass-- I really don't want to try to mess with it all the time.


10/19/05: Do you mark or hi-lite your patterns or can you follow them without any markings? Do you make copies to mark up, or do you mark originals?

I always make working copies, and copy them at about 150% size so the symbols are easier to read. It tends to make my working copies really large-- usually they're on 11x17 paper. But that's okay, because at least they're easy to follow. I highlight sections as I go- usually highlighting at the end of a stitching session or at the end of a specific in-project area goal.


-----
And not an SBQ, but a question from a fellow diarist, which I figured I'd answer in the blog-at-large, rather than in the cramped guestbook...

Kim asked in my haloscan guestbook: You do your stitching in a rotation, no? How does it work? Do you work on only one piece for a week at a time? Or on whichever piece strikes your fancy at the moment? I'm curious about how people handle multiple projects, while giving each its due.

Everyone's rotation varies. Some people are very strict about spending a specific number of hours on each project, and then moving onto the next one once those allotted hours are up. Other people work week-to-week. Others work what's called a "screaming" rotation, which means they pick up whatever piece is "screaming" the loudest to be worked. :)

I have an ordered list for my rotation, and do try to stick to it, giving each piece a minimum of 10 hours. After those ten hours are up, though, I switch to a bit of a screaming rotation on a piece. If I'm feeling in a good groove with the piece, I'll keep going, allowing myself another week or two. If I'm not, then I move to the next piece.

After I've completed a full rotation of every piece, I re-evaluate the rotation. Do I need to flip projects around? If something is finished, what am I replacing it with? Is an important deadline coming up? I fix my rotation, and start again.

Right now, my *official* rotation looks like this. But because I've been so busy, and since NaNoWriMo will get in the way next month, I'm doing a lot of skipping around, and probably will only work a couple of these pieces until the end of November.

1) Elemental Dragons- Fire (finished in one rotation)
2) Egyptian Sampler - completed rotation round
3) Cats on a Staircase - skipped for this round
4) Astrology Sampler - skipped for this round
5) The Castle - working currently. Have done 10 hrs, now doing excess
6) Smoky Mountain Cats -- skipping this round
7) Home is Where the Cat Is-- will bring on commuter train since it's small
8) New Start: Apache Wedding Blessing - will get to work on this in November.

If you're looking to start one (for stitching, knitting, hell... scrapbooking?), check over here: Shakespeare's Peddler. This site is usually referred to anyone who's looking to get into rotation stitching. After that, go over to the Rotation Stitchers board, and get help in the "How to I start..." forum.

Anyway... I need to get to bed. It's 11:30, and I'm very sleepy.

'night.

~ Mel.

Stitching update

This week's Stitcher's Blogging Question:

9/21/05: What is the most challenging specialty stitch you have ever stitched?

To date, it's a toss up between a lazy daisy (I never get them to look right), and a really clean solid block of satin stitches (I also never get them to look right).

I don't do a lot of pieces that have multitudes of specialty stitches-- Egyptian Sampler is my first real sampler with them. But I'm thinking that eventually I'll want to start picking up all of those Victoria Sampler state/province hearts because each one focuses on a specific stitch.


-------

My stitching this week is going well. I'm plugging away on The Castle again, and doing a lot of little filler work on the rocks-- all of those one to five stitch sections of a single color that you really can't do correctly until you get all the other colors around them done. But those few stitches just make the entire project look closer to being done. I'm seeing a concrete definition of the outline of the dragon's spines as I form those quarter stitches that divide rock from dragon.

Yesterday, as I plugged a few of these stitches in and took a look at the big picture, it struck me-- this project is getting done. I have several hundred more stitches to go, but the overall picture is far closer to being done than to being started now. I have a tail, a smaller rock section, and some water ripples-- and it's done.

This project has been in my stash for nine years. I still remember purchasing it, and the comment of a woman at the shop-- "Those blended stitches are a pain in the ass. It's going to take you a couple years to do this, and it's so frustrating. Do you really want to commit the time?"

Hell yes I do (did). The blends were a bit of a pain to get used to, but now that I have a system down, they're not that bad. I just label a bobbin with that blend's symbol on the chart, and keep a supply of those colors together. No problem.

I have to laugh-- that woman was so serious about how evil this project would be. And now I look at my stash, and how many unfinished Teresa Wentzler pieces I have to plug through. By her account, all of my stitching is completely evil.

I'll take it. :)

Stitching Updates/SBQ #'s

I've been neglecting my questions, so I'm doing some catchup today on the SBQ's for the past few weeks.
But first, a couple updates on stitching, sans photos... (the photo below is not mine... it's a downloaded image for complete project reference)...

I finally am wrapping up my rotation on Egyptian Sampler this week. The center three figures (Horus, Osiris, and Isis) have all of their basic stitches completed. The eyelet stitches in the headpieces are not done-- I'll do those when I do a backstitching rotation. Over the weekend, I began working the over-one cartouches in the center panel. I've never done over-one work before, and I'm finding that doing them on raw-style linen is very, very tricky, since the individual squares are so uneven.

I'm at a bit of a decision point. I've completed my goal for this rotation (which was the stitches on the three figures). I'm thinking that perhaps, since I've taken so many weeks to complete this rotation, maybe I should hold off on the cartouches, and focus just on those next round. With how many counting mistakes I made just making the left-most cartouche ring, I imagine that the four cartouches might actually take an entire 10-hour block of time.

I think I have an organized approach to how I'll go about completing this piece, which makes me feel very good. Since I'm working this piece on a scroll frame (which is driving me insane, but that's a rant for the SBQ below) due to its size, I'm going to work horizontal sections of the entire piece. So both birds will be done at the same time, and matched sections of the border will be done together. Now that I have those three figures done, I can appreciate how big the final piece is really going to be. Each of the god figures is just about the length of my hand, from middle figure tip to wrist joint.

In any case, I'm happy with what I've done so far. And it's going to look amazing when done. :)

For the trip to Maine this weekend, I'm going to bring along The Castle. I'm stitching it on-hoop (what I feel most comfortable with), and despite all of the blended threads, it's an easy piece to port around. I do have a very good chance of finishing it by the end of the year, which would thrill me to no end, so I'm pushing to really get some work on it. Other than Ivanna's wedding sampler, this really is the piece I want to focus on. Depending on what happens in the next month or so, I may drop my rotation for a bit and just work between those two pieces exclusively until The Castle is done.

We'll see...


Anyway, onto the Stitching Blogger Questions...

9/14/05: Do you stitch for events like weddings, engagements, or other things that might not last? If you have been unlucky and the two people broke up, what happened to your stitched gift?

Ivanna's wedding sampler is the first special celebration gift I've ever stitched. Thinking about a break-up to me is a bad-luck thing, and I simply don't do it. I realize such events happen in life-- both Erich and I are children of divorces (both sets of parents married at least 20 years), but I'm not going to focus on the negative because it's counter-productive and just seems... wrong... to me. If anything, as I stitch her sampler (and next year, my own), I'll be trying to infuse the stitches with good tidings for the years to come.

9/07/05: Which way do you stitch (/// and then \\\ or \\\ and then ///)? Can you (or if you haven’t done it before, do you think you could) change the way that you stitch temporarily if it is asked of you?

I stitch /// then \\\. If I were asked to change my stitching for a specific project (like a stitching round robin) to match the owner's stitches, I know I could. I've stitched both ways, and really only stitch the way I do because it was the way I decided to align my stitches to keep them going the same direction. If I were asked to change, it would probably be easier for me to just turn the fabric 90 degrees so I'm stitching sideways. I'll stitch in my normal direction, but the end result would be reversed. *shrug*

8/31/05: What do you use to hold your fabric while you stitch? A hoop, a Q-Snap, a scroll frame, something else, or do you stitch in hand? Have you always used just the one thing or have you tried one or more of the others? Which do you like best? Why?

I prefer a hoop. No discussion. It's what I learned on, and I simply feel more comfortable with it. I was thrilled... THRILLED... to take the plunge and try plastic hoops this year, rather than the cheap balsa wood ones from Michael's that I'd been using. I even have an old metal hoop that my mom gave me when I first started stitching. But I keep it more for my stitching history's sake and as a novelty, since I haven't seen one on the shelves in years. Due to how nasty metal hoops stain fabrics, I won't use it.

But I have about a half-dozen plastic hoops in different diameters, each a different color so I can quickly tell them apart. They're durable and easy to tighten. I love 'em.

I bought a scroll frame and lap stand, after seeing Michelle's work on her frame. As I mentioned above, I'm using it for Egyptian Sampler, but I'm finding it very awkward to work on. For one thing- the fabric does NOT stay tight on the frame. It's constantly loosening, and amounts to really being stitching in-hand with the assistance of a frame to hold it up. I've tried rolling it in different ways to see if anything helps, but it's just not working.

And sadly, the lap attachments for the frame are just BARELY wide enough for my hips to fit in. I have a fat ass, and the lap stand really forces me to stay in ONE position as I stitch. I'm debating a floor stand because I know there are many larger projects, like Egyptian Sampler, that would work better on scrolls so I don't have to wrestle the extra fabric out of the way. But I need to figure out how to keep the fabric on the scrolls better.

I've never tried Q-snaps. Since my hoop works fine, I haven't had a reason to try them. I have tried stitching in-hand before. For really small projects on stiff Aida cloth, I don't have problems with it. But otherwise, I'd find it difficult to keep my stitches clean.


Gotta get back to work...

Stitching happy dance

I've finished my first piece since 1996. :) It's little, but it's quite cute... and the photo honestly sucks... I'll have to redo it in the morning when I have better light. New photo added. :)

Fire Elemental Dragon by Dragon Dreams. It's a freebie pattern on their website, and the first of five in the series that I'll be stitching. Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit are the other four.

It's so nice to have a finish. Adding some really little pieces into my rotation was definitely the right idea. At this point, I may finish all five by Christmas, which would be fantastic. And with The Castle coming along nicely, too, it could be a very big year for me stitching-wise.

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And since I didn't get to my Stitchers' Blogging Question on Wednesday due to an absolutely horrid day at work...

8/3/05: Have you hand-dyed your own fabric? Why or why not? Would you like to try to do so? No, I haven't. Until a month ago, I really wasn't in a living situation where I could have even thought of doing so-- renting an apartment doesn't lend itself to a lot of creative fabric work. :) Now that I'm in my house, it's more of a possibility, although I don't expect to do my own anytime soon. I'm enjoying the professional work in my fabrics-of-the-month too much!

---

I've been working furiously on Egyptian Sampler this week. I should be finishing my current "official" rotation on it sometime next week/weekend, but I think I may work on it for about 20 hours to really get some work done on it. I'd like to get the center three figures done (save backstitching), and possibly the outline frame. I'll get a photo up of it sometime after I finish its rotation round.

A plethora of stitching stuff...

Yay! I found my uploading cable for the camera. This is a good thing. :) So lots of updates tonight...

First off, I have two weeks of Stitchers Blog Questions to answer... for some reason, I'm not getting the questions in my mailbox, despite being set up for individual mail on the group. Gotta love free email sites. *sigh*

Anyway... July 20, '05: Have you ever done a color conversion? If so, what did you think about your results and would you do it again? If not, would you like to try
someday? I have not yet done one, but definitely want to. Being a bit isolated in my stitching hobby until this year, I didn't realize it really was possible to do them. But then I saw variants of The Castle by Teresa Wentzler, and absolutely loved them. While I doubt I'll get around to it for many years, I'd love to do a conversion copy of The Castle someday on a dark fabric. At some point, I'll definitely be trying it on some project.

July 27, '05: What is your most unique/interesting stitching quirk? (This could be
something concerning the way you stitch, how you organize your stash, etc.) Since I really have nothing to compare it to, I'm not quite sure what my most unique quirk is. I suppose in the age of q-snaps and scroll frames, my preference for old-fashioned hoop stitching, perhaps? Or maybe the fact that I almost always stitch patterns upside down, and then flip them right-side up to backstitch (out of instinct). I don't have a real method to my organization yet, given that we've only been in the house for a month. Perhaps I should readdress this question come December or so. :)


Okay... thus endeth the questions for this week... now onto photos of my last rotation, which lasted from March 1st until the end of May... and then I had a "floating" session on The Castle, which lasted all of June.

Egyptian Sampler restart after one rotation. The linen looks a lot better (and more authentic) than my original start. I'll be working on this again come next week. Stitching on extremely uneven linen is tricky, but this piece is going to be worth it when complete!

The Castle after my normal rotation in April, but before the June floating focus. I'm now working on the rocks at the bottom. They dragged on this rotation.

The Castle after the floating focus in June... which included a 10-hour backstitching stretch, plus a lot of little color fill-ins in the rocks. The rocks didn't seem quite as bad this time... but I didn't have a lot of stitching time, either. The rock line is now down to the spine of the dragon tail in a few spots. I'll be completing the rest of the rocks above the dragon tail in my next rotation round.

Cats on a Staircase after work in May. The stairs are the trickiest part, since it's stitching white-on-white. I've been having a ton of problems with miscounts on this piece, and spent a good portion of the last round frogging stitches that I did four years ago. *sigh* Thankfully it didn't destroy the whole piece, but it wasn't fun.

Smoky Mountain Cats after work in May. Stitching this project is easy-- it's large swaths of the same color. However, the thread is craptacular and keeps breaking. And unfortunately no DMC options were given with the kit. So this might wind up being one of those frustration pieces due to the materials.

That's the last rotation round. I started my new rotation on July 15th, and decided to get a couple small pieces into the rotation so I could perhaps see a finish sometime this year. It's a bit disheartening to be in July of these rotations without a complete project to show for it... particularly since I technically haven't had a finish since 1996 (eep!).

So this rotation, I'm doing this:

1) NEW: Elemental Dragons- Fire (Dragon Dreams)
2) Egyptian Sampler (Teresa Wentzler)
3) Cats on a Staircase (Bucilla)
4) NEW: Astrology Sampler (Witches Stitches)
5) The Castle (Teresa Wentzler)
6) Home is Where the Cat Is (Leisure Arts)
7) NEW: Apache Wedding Blessing (Kooler Design Studio)

The last piece is a wedding present for my friend (and sorority sister), Ivanna. It won't be done by her October wedding date... but I'm going to be working as fast as I can on it so she can hopefully have it sometime next spring.

The Elemental Dragons are a freebie set of patterns on Dragon Dreams' homepage (located under samples). I decided to work on the Fire dragon first, but have kitted all five. To my delight, it has stitched up extremely fast. This is eight hours of stitching, as of the end of my commute time tonight:

All of the cross-stitches are done. I'm now doing the backstitching, and should have my first finish by the end of the weekend. (yay!) I'm stitching this on Silkweaver's 28ct. Golden Promise cashel linen. The rest of the dragons will also be on 28 ct. fabric... some evenweave, some linen, but all are Silkweaver.

Onto the next rotation! :)

Stitchers Blog Questions...

A few weeks back, I joined a yahoo group designed specifically for cross-stitch related blog questions, called SBQ. Since I was busy with "the moves", I wasn't participating... but now I can finally get to them. :) Questions are posted roughly every Wednesday.

Since there are many in the archives, I'll probably work backward through a couple of them every week. This week's question, "What do you do when you have some sort of obligation stitching to do, but don't want to do it?" doesn't apply to me, as I've never done any obligation stitching to date... so here are a few others from the archives...

7/6/05- Do you think that you stitch neater on Evenweave than you do on Aida cloth? If so, why?

My quarter stitches are definitely neater (for obvious reasons to anyone who's reading this that knows what Aida and Evenweave *are*), but otherwise I don't think my stitches are that much neater on Evenweave. If I have one strong fault with my stitching, it's that I'm not as adept at keeping my thread tension even, so my stitches often are uneven, no matter what I'm stitching on. Hopefully that will change with time and increased experience.

6/29/05 When starting a new project, do you start in the middle? If you do, once you've worked down to the bottom, do you turn your chart and fabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwards again or do you just stitch upwards from the middle?

I always start in the middle. I don't work to the bottom, though-- I honestly kind of go all directions from the middle when I work. I try to find identifyable forms to set stitching goals, and work that way.

As for turning my chart and fabric-- as odd as it sounds, I always work with my hoop upside down when I stitch (the chart stays upright), but turn it back upright when I am backstitching. It's really, really odd. But the artists and designers in my department at work have suggested that I do it because I'm focusing on the individual details of the stitches when I'm actually stitching crosses, rather than the finished image as a whole. When I'm backstitching, I'm finishing the image.

It's really screwed up, but if I turn my hoop upright, a lot of times I get completely messed up as I read charts. Clearly, my brain needs some rewiring.

6/22/05 Are there any types of designs that you won't stitch?

Unless it were for an obligation piece for a friend, I won't stitch Christian or Bible-related pieces. I'm not Christian, so I have no purpose for them.

The ONLY exception to this rule would be a stitching of the Footprints poem, which is Christian in origin, but has a bit more universal appeal. I find the poem inspirational. I expect to eventually have some form of this in my rotation, most likely as a gift to my mom (who really loves the poem).

Mid-rotation Stitching Update

I'm having a very difficult, emotional day today and really don't want to talk about it because I'll start crying again. So instead, I'm going to post craft pictures and talk about something that doesn't involve chewing me out because I don't think in the same mindset as males do.

*sigh*

Anyway... onto my work over the past two months or so... my rotation's been going much slower due to the house purchase, but I have managed to get through three spots on my rotation since early March...



(I had trouble with the camera and fabric here-- hopefully I can fix it in Photoshop later...)

Egyptian Sampler, restarted. I put about 20 hours into this to catch it back up to roughly where it was before I realized my fabric size fuckup back in January. The new fabric is 28 count antique tea-dyed *unevenweave* linen from a great little stitch shop in Plymouth, Mass. It was a bit tricky at first to start stitching since the squares are slightly uneven, but I'm liking how the uneven stitches give it even more of an authentic "ancient" look.

This will, by the way, look like this when it's done.




The Castle, after another 10 hour rotation. I'm working on the bottom, developing the rocky cliff below the castle. It's not the greatest photo, but taking a full picture of the work at this point is much better than focusing just on the rocks at the bottom, which are a bit of a mottled brown, grey, and green mess. :) My prior updates are here.

In a couple weeks, I'll do another backstitching rotation on this. During that, I'll finish outlining the dragon's head, anything left on the castle, and the small wing.

If all goes well, I'm still hoping to have this finished by the end of the summer. But the house restorations will really determine that.




I just finished my rotation on this tonight, working through hours of white on white stitching (UGH!). I've had to make some corrections for miscounts, but so far I'm going to be okay. I'm not sure where my head was when I started this pattern because there have been miscounts all over. This rotation wound up being a lot of ripping old stitches... but I did make a good deal of progress over last time.

Anyway.. there are my stitching updates. Hopefully I'll have another set before the end of the month to share. After that, stuff needs to get packed up for a good portion of June...