What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary Day

A crisis last night

2008-07-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I stayed at SOs house last night. Went up after work, shredded up the chicken I cooked this weekend, and fixed the chicken stuffed shells I didn't have time to make last weekend. Baked him some cookies, because he loves cookies--they weren't anything fancy, just the cookies from the refridgerated section of the grocery store, but it's the thought, right? One of the pitbulls supervised. Don't tell his daddy, but I gave him some of the chicken and the shells because I stepped on his tail. I couldn't help it, it's a small kitchen and he has a long tail. I am unused to tails in the kitchen--the only dogs who've been in my kitchen in the last four years don't have them.

Anyway, we go to bed and my mom calls. She has no idea where my beloved Robbie is. First, I was like, "How do you lose a dog?" She thought she had let him in when the twins went out to potty, but had had the front door open to take the trash out and wasn't sure if he'd followed her out. He's pulled that with me one time before; I was halfway to the car before I realized the little black mass next to me was not my shadow. And she's been agitating him lately, telling him that I want to be with his Daddy more than him. I don't know how much English Robbie understands, but he gets upset when I'm not there. He's attached. Then she goes and looks in his "den" (Schipperkes have a thing about making a den, I don't know why), and he's not there. So panic kicks in. I start crying right in front of SO, who has only seen me that upset twice in our entire relationship. And then I tell him I gotta go. Of course I had to struggle to get redressed; SO thought it was wierd that I put a bra on, but he's never chased a Schipperke down the street and a bra is necessary.

Have I mentioned my SO lives an hour from my house? And that it was raining? Well raining is not the right word. Pouring is better for what was happening. So I am driving on windy back country roads, at ridiculously high rates of speed (yes, I know that that is not a good or wise decision, but I have full coverage, and my mother bear instinct was kicking in). I did slow down going through the really curvy parts; I get frantic, not stupid, and if I ended up in the hospital, that wasn't gonna do my dog any good.

All through the ride, I kept calling the house. My mother looked all through the neighborhood for him. She said some man saw her with the flashlight and asked if she needed help. She told him she was just looking for her dog. I've decided calling the house when you are frantic is not good. No one ever has helpful information and you have all that time to just come up with the worst case scenarios. By the time I got to my neighborhood, I had decided my son was either dead, someone had stolen him and he was going to have some crappy name, or he was wandering down Georgia Avenue, terrified and trying to find me.

Y'all, I actually slowed the car down and started calling his name. I even started calling him, Robbie-do, in case he was just not listening because he wasn't sure I was Mummy. I got home, walk in the house, Mom has the saddest look on her face and I don't hear him screaming that I am home. I asked her if she found him, thinking, even if he was dead, he was home, but she said no. So I decide before I spend all night looking for him, I will go back in my room and call him.

That sucka came running out from under my bed. It's dark under there and Mom can't see well, so she couldn't see him. I started SOBBING in relief, and took him out on the porch to cuddle with him, and tell him not to EVER scare me like that. He was licking my face, he was so sorry. I think what happened was that he didn't like the thunderstorm they had last night, so ran in my room. When Mom misplaced him, she went in looking for him. He hides under the bed when he thinks you're mad at him, and I guess he figured when she was yelling for him, she was yelling at him, so he wasn't bursting to come out for her. But he wasted two gallons of my gas. I could have killed him.

All's well that ends well. But it took forever to get to sleep. I have a headache today.

Finally, some stitching done

2008-07-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

My teeth decided, after the numbing wore off, to ache on and off all afternoon yesterday. That stunk. I worked late last night and started to have that feeling of, "What the bloody H#LL have I done to myself?" This is probably normal, because people on those plastic surgery shows always look like they regret whatever they have had done as soon as they come out of anaethesia. And then the next day, they are fine. I am better today, just the occasional twinge. I managed to eat some oatmeal and a biscuit today--more afraid that the temps will break than that it actually hurts, since it does involve front teeth and I am too vain to walk around with tooth stumps showing for any length of time.

But I did manage to stitch last night. I had to call my aunt and give her some last minute finishing instructions first. She went to the local quilt store and they helped her pick out some fabrics for a wall hanging. She said she hoped I liked them. Well, they did an awesome job picking fabrics last year, and they are super-nice, so I trust them.

Then I sat and worked on USA 1776 from Prairie Grove Peddler. It's stitching really quick--I should be able to get it done soon and then finished into the pinkeep next week. I don't work very much at the theatre after this weekend, and am grateful as I need the time to get things finished. But it was kitted up by my LNS and they didn't give me enough blue floss. Fortunately, they used DMC,so I was able to pull from my stash this morning. Gussie the tabby cat was lying on top of my craft cart and decided that, while I was trying to find that skein of floss, it was the perfect time to start airing some sort of grievance he had. I think he was mad because I finally got tired of his brother climbing up on a stack of boxes I have behind the craft cart, then jumping on him and biting him (I mean, come on, that's mean), so I put more stuff on top of the pile so he won't fit up there. I forgot Gus lays up on top of the stack too, so I think he was mad about that. Oh, well, rather he's mad at me than getting bitten.

So I stitched. I don't quite have it finished. Probably by the end of the work week. I am anxious to try the pinkeep finish. It doesn't look too hard.

Does anyone know of any good tutorials on finishing? I know Julie has some on her blog. Are there more? I know, those are closely guarded secrets, why am I asking, right? It's just nice to see them. There's a lot that don't involve sewing, but I sometimes wonder if the sewn finishes are better? if anyone knows, please let me know.

I also wanted to take the time to thank all you who come to my little world to read and post comments. I really do appreciate you! You make my day brighter

My Secret Sister exchange

2008-07-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

I am participating in an exchange on 123 this summer. It's been a while since I've done one. Not sure why, they're fun. I have the Halloween ornament my exchange partner made hanging at my desk at work. And this one is really simple. Card and floss, gift not to exceed $15, and card and floss. Easy!

I got my first goodie from my partner yesterday. Pretty card, with two lovely shades of Weeks I did not have. I bought my partner some of my favorite shades of Variations. She wanted to try silks, I will probably send those along with her final package. Maybe some Vikki Clayton silks.

The renovations have begun

2008-07-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist this morning to start my dental renovations. We made pretty good progress. Not quite as radical as I had thought, but that is good, because I was getting antsy at the end of the visit. I now have a full set of teeth for the first time in 11 years, even if some are plastic for now. I am not sore, it just feels wierd to have teeth where I didn't have teeth before.

I was pretty agitated yesterday and last night and today over my teeth. I tried to stitch, and I have to frog what I did. I finished my ornament. I am pretty pleased with it. The beading is maybe not my best, but the stitching is superb. Now to just finish it. I started that Prairie Grove Peddler freebie everyone has been posting, and that is what I have to frog. I will probably finish it as a pinkeep. My LNS showed it in a tuck pillow, but they sold out of those. I think a pinkeep would work well for it and it's a pretty easy thing to make. I'm just trying to get in some stitching time now, since the hurricane season is in full swing now--3 named storms in one week--and I have a sneaky suspicion work is going to take off and we'll be working extra.

It's just too hot

2008-07-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

We've reached what I think are the dog days of summer. Only my dogs are too hot to enjoy them. Maybe if they (and me) were not so fat, or we had a pool, or lived at the beach, or had central air instead of a window unit and a box fan, we would enjoy these days more. But we are obese, we can't afford a pool, we live an hour from a beach, and our house is 80 years old, built in the days when you kept your house cool by building 10-foot ceilings and it wasn't 95 degrees in the summer with butt-high humidity.

I worked yesterday. 5 shows in 6 hours we seated, plus answered phones. It was crazy busy. So between that and the heat, it was just not a good weekend, stitching wise. I have one more rose left on my geisha's kimono, and then the top will be done and it will just be the underskirts, the ground and the cherry blossoms above to do, plus the backstitch. All in all not bad.

I showed the Halloween fairy to my SO this morning. I am in love with that design, seriously. All that would make it more perfect, in my unhumble and unrequested opinion, would be a black cat, but you can't be picky. He likes it. Which is a pretty good sign that it's a must-have. And I love that it only has 12 colors of DMC, and 5 Kreiniks. Of course theres a lot of beads, but not too many to be cost prohibitive. I am just trying to figure out what color fabric for it now. The toss up is a green or a blue. I am leaning towards green, but because of the moon and the orange in the pumpkin, blue calls to me too. Darn it.

I averted a minor meltdown, caused by my lack of ability to stay organized. Yours truly bought about $15 worth of Carrie's Creations threads a month or so ago. Really pretty threads, by the way, and only $1 each, a bargain and a delight to find when every other thread seems to have increased in price. So, some barely lit bulb in my brain went off and I decided that it would be wise to stick my precious self-dyed threads in that bag. Well, it would have been a good idea had I not come up with it, because I proceeded to LOSE THE BAG. For the past week or so, I've noted it was lost. Do the rest of you ever have that little voice in your head that says, "Hey, ya know, you haven't seen that chart/sweater/pair of diamond earrings/cat in a while, you might want to check on that?" OK, I am joking about the cat--when you have 3 of them and two dogs, you keep them in eyesight all the time, especially if it's two that have gone missing. 9 years of pet ownership has taught me that two pets missing simultaneously means something is either going down or being plotted or else the dog is eating the diamond earrings I noted I am missing above (yes, I've had that happen, it still hurts). So, anyway, I've been checking the usual places and it wasn't there. Guess where they were? In the back seat of my car in a bag with some charts. I've looked at that bag a couple times. Anyway, I am so glad to have my threads back. I am going to go fondle them tonight. In the hot dark, LOL.

Adventures at the LNS today

2008-07-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

I went to my LNS on Monday (feels like Monday was about a month ago) for their Christmas in July sale. My mom had wanted to go along, but my daddy had to go to the hospital, so she couldn't go. I know, the question remains, "Why didn't YOU go along." My dad goes to the hospital pretty frequently since the accident. It's usually not that serious. The doctors admit him in for a couple days, and then they release him, usually with a sheaf of new doctors to go to. This is the difference between having Medicare and an HMO. If he had an HMO, they would give him a band-aid and some Neosporin and an admonition that, if he needs follow-up care, he best not go out the network. but with Medicare, it's "Come on down, let's test you for every possible cause for your toe to hurt."

Anyway, so I didn't go. Mom was OK with that, but she still wanted to go to the sale. I am pit-sitting today because I have to work tomorrow and can not go to the beach with SO and his family. Bummer! He only took one of the boys, so if you are on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and see a Mustang with a pitbull hanging out of it, it may be my SO; tell him I said hi and that the other pit chewed the board fence. So, because I am afraid said pit will eat through the rest of the fence, I took my mom to the LNS and kept Shaka in the house.

It was crazy busy in there today! It's always kinda busy, but this was an extreme. They were having the Carriage House Sampler lady there as part of her trunk show. She was signing a book of Gude Huswife charts and her charts. I thought about running back out to the car and getting my SOHRH for her to sign, but I figured that would be not good as I AM changing everything around. She signed Mom's copy of "Visiting Bird", which I promised Mom I would stitch for her soon. That was pretty cool.

Another lady was selling this really neat jewelry. It's hard to describe, but it was like she took a print, backed it with a sliver of stitching, surrounded with glass, then sealed the whole thing in silver. It was so beautiful. I didn't buy a necklace--I am tapped out til after the fairs--but Mom did buy me a necklace that she'll give me for my birthday. I know cause I picked it out. It's pretty. It has a print of a little girl holding her doll on the front and a Quaker motif on the back. It was a hard choice between that and the one with the squirrel, but I did choose. The jewelry didn't look that hard to make, sorta like she bought pretty little things at antiques shops or estate sales and made collages, wearable collages. It was nice.

I tried to behave with my purchases. I didn't see the point of buying a lot of charts when I have so many started and not a lot of extra money. The LNS started carrying Thread Drops, so, since they were cheap and I have been wanting them, I bought a pack of those. We'll see how they work. And I bought, "And A Garden Grew." So pretty! Just lovely.

Oh, they had the newest issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework. There is a beautiful Halloween fairy in there by Nora Corbett. Just gorgeous! She makes the magazine worth buying, but she's not the only thing that was pretty. It's all autumn-y designs. Lovely. Pumpkins and a fall farmer's market design. I haven't made my final read through, but it's a can't miss.

And I bought the Kreinik for my geisha. I am almost finished with the gold in her scarf, and it hasn't taken long.

Pulled out an old UFO

2008-07-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have gone as far as I can go on my ornament til I get a beading needle, so pulled out my long-time UFO, Elegance of the Orient by Dimensions Gold Collection. I started it, umm, 7 years ago, and it's been languishing, mostly because I found it so intimidating after I had been working on it for 7 months. So I put it away and started something else. At least this proves I am consistent in that my changing projects isn't new.

I have no clue what was intimidating me. I was stitching pretty happily at lunch today, thinking, "Wow, this isn't that hard. I can do this." And yet, the only reason the poor little lady has a head (which is a recent addition) was that I was kinda bothered by the fact I had a headless geisha girl as a WIP. But it doesn't look that hard and I think I can get this finished soon.

But I am impressed with the fact that I was 24 when I did this. The back looks terrible, but all my backs back then were awful. It wasn't til I model stitched that I got that under control. But the front is pretty complicated. I haven't stitched much like this since then, other than the Stoney Creeks. But this is a good indication that I've progressed that I could handle those Stoneys, and they have reciprocated by making this a possible finish now, not just a kitted up chart.

The only reason I can think of as a valid explanation for why this took so long is the hideously awful metallics that came in the kit. They look cheap. My now-practiced eye feels that. They were stiff and not easy to work with. They were a pain. They are coming out. I think I can do better with braid from my LNS. It would look richer.

So we'll see how it progresses. It shouldn't really take that long. There isn't a huge amount of color changing in it, at least not anymore. Just the backstitch. I am saving that all for the end, because I have a system I follow now, that I wasn't doing back in. I start from the parts that are furthest away and outline those first, then work dimensionally forward. But I do see people's points when they complain about how little space they leave on the sides. I guess it makes sense to not put a lot of extra fabric on the sides to keep the cost down, and that really becomes the framer's problem, but some of these kits, especially if you are overseas, can be kinda costly, so it would be nice if they gave you more fabric.

I don't know,people complain about kits and how shoddy they are. I have to say, I don't remember ever having a crappy kit. At least not a commercial one--I had a crappy Lorri Birmingham kits about 4 years ago. BTW, Ms Birmingham, I am still waiting to hear from you re the issue I had with the floss in that one. The charts been done for 4 years, but I am still hopeful you will reply, LOL. I guess time will tell on these other kits.

I love me some backstitch

2008-07-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

I am at the point in my ornament where it's just backstitch and beading. Happy happy joy joy. I feel like I have been backstitching for a week now, but it's only been three days. I think I can get the backstitching done tonight, after I get back from my nail appointment and taking Chancey for a walk (she's the one in back in the picture below, though I do have to say, that is a strikingly good photo of her as she does not look fat in it, just hot).

I had intended to work on the ornament last night, but I went to the gym. I am trying to get back into shape, seriously I am. So I went. And I used the treadmill for 25 minutes, and biked for 20. When I got home, I was still keyed up (I ran a quarter mile and I haven't run a quarter mile in years, so I was kinda hyper), so I decided to do yardwork since the sumac tree in our flowerbed was threatening my lavendar bush. And the bed was full of grass--my gladiolas were all choked out this year, and I love my glads, my lovely bought at Walmart gladiolas. Anyway, so I was out in the front yard pulling up grass and whacking at a tree with the loppers. And the most pathetic thing was the Mongrel Horde, who claim to be fine guard dogs. My son is a champion, a fine example of the Schipperke breed, bred to provide security on barges, his sister, well, she just gets easily irritated, and what is the point of having a Rottweiler/border collie mix if she doesn't hear me outside the house? They did finally notice I was out there and started barking, but that was only after I tripped on the electric cord I couldn't see for the sumac bush, fell forward into the bush and the house, and started cursing. So they barked their "stranger get out of my yard" bark til I went around to whack on a different part of the bush, then Robbie saw me and started the, "My mummy's home, she's home, I love her, I worship her, come inside and play with me," bark, which I ignored. I wanted that tree out. I did get it out finally and dragged it around the house (someone else can throw it in the trash, I did the hard part), then I went and admired my tomato crop. I have a suspicion I will be able to open a tomato stand in a few weeks, LOL, but how was I to know that ALL my tomato plants would survive and thrive? And could I really sit and stitch after all that excitement?

So it was a long time til I sat down and stitched. The little ornie is almost done. I just gotta finish this little bit and then bead it. Oh and finish it, almost forgot. I am trying to figure out if I want to do it as a stiff ornie or a pillow. I am leaning towards stiff for now, but not sure. A pillow would be pretty simple to do, even hand-sewing. I spent a good portion of a staff meeting today pondering this issue.

It's three weeks til the fair. OK, three weeks and a day. I think I have everything under control, just have to do my finishing. And figure out what cookies I am baking. I want to try the cookies I did last year again. I thought they were good . . . but I also have a couple new ones, including a zucchini chocolate chip one. I figure that's a pretty hard class to judge anyway, because, realistically, if you aren't adding something to the cookie, how many differing recipes are there? And I am still hoping to get an entry in the box cake mix class.

Lookeee looookeeee, pictures

2008-07-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry one is sideways!

Note to self

2008-07-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

When you tell the LNS that you need a picture by a certain day, it will inevitably be done well before it's due. If you don't, it will be late.

Of my 7 pieces I took over to be framed, 6 were ready yesterday. They never called me, just told me they were there. I had been budgeting that they would be ready by the first week of August, and they were early. It was a little touch and go, financially, and I am pretty short this paycheck, but I'll make it work. Of course I only knew they were ready because I went over to go to the Christmas sale. I had to put some things back, but I was proud of myself for being the stronger woman and I didn't have to borrow money from my mom to get all the framing done. I'm poor, but I'm proud.

I didn't buy much Christmas-y yesterday. Of course, who could with a $241 balance due on framing? I bought a treasure for an ornament I am doing for the Bride's Tree SAL. $7 for a wreath and bow. That is more than the magazine the design came from cost. That is more than the other supplies cost all together. And I kitted up a design to do for Brea for her Christmas present. It's not huge and yet it requires 4 skeins of GAST, a package of some crazy expensive beads, and Kreinik. I drew the line at the hand-dyed fabric. I love you, Brea, however, I am not buying a fat quarter of flourescent green linen when I only need a little bit of it. I know you don't want me spending money like that . . .

My LNS was having a trunk show of Carriage House Samplings. *drool drool droll* I had to go look at SOHRH for a while. Mine isn't as neat and pretty as the model. I guess it will be once it's stitched and stretched. I did get Sally's Feather Tree. It was too pretty not to.

Other than that, I had a pleasant day off. Went to Joann's, and browsed the Christmas fabric. I did pick up some dog and cat fabrics to back things with. I got two different dog prints. The dogs are getting tired of all these cat designs I stitch, they've informed me. They feel like there are two of them, and, even though there are three cats, the ownership of Lily is up in the air as to whether she is mine or Mom's (I still hold she is mine because I am the one who named that cat and I buy her collars--naming and clothing rights equal ownership) and they are not totally convinced she is not a Schipperke as well--Chancey went over and was trying to get her to play this morning--so they feel there are more dogs than cats in the house. So I must stitch dogs. I bought a new hot glue gun and hot glue to do some finishing. Woo hoo. They were even having a sale on scrapbooking papers, and since I have a star box and have an idea for a finish for a small patriotic thing, I bought some to play with and do some decoupage. So I am going to read up on that and do some decoupage.

I'll post the finishes that I got back from the framer, but the dogs wanted their photo on here today. They say jump, I ask how high.

Not very foolish this Friday

2008-07-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

Not much is going on around here. I'm off on Monday, so looking forward to that. I found out they are taking entries for a small local show in Laurel, at Montpelier Mansion this weekend. I exhibited there 6 years ago and enjoyed it. Their only rule is that you can't have shown the entry before. That's fine. And at $5 per item, it's not too expensive to enter.

I will say, I am just plum worn out. I'm not sleeping well, and have been stressed all week over silly things. Maybe not so silly, though. I guess if they were silly I wouldn't be up over it. Anyway . . . I had to work at my part time job last night. And that can be such a drain. There are some really rude people on our subscriber list. And I realized, listening to someone scream about a problem you can't fix, and criticism of your organization, is tiring. I always try to not lose my temper in public, because it just looks absolutely stupid to pitch a hissyfit. And I look ugly when I cry, LOL.

At least I only work 4 hours tomorrow. I can go to the gym on the way home to decompress. SO wonders why I only go to the gym when I'm mad. It's a good question, but I guess my answer would be I do a lot of thinking at the gym, and if I don't have something to think about, I get to thinking about walking in the same place for 40 minutes, or touching equipment other sweaty people touched and may or may not have wiped down, and well, that bothers me. They say cardio is good for you, but it just brings out that part of me that worries about things no one else thinks about.

But Monday, I plan on relaxing. I will be back at Joanne's ETC, getting fabric, and my LNS is having a Christmas in July sale. I am going to buy those Lizzie Kate Flip-its and some fabric to do a Pam Kellogg ornament that's been kicking around my house and needs finished.

7 deadly sins, stolen from Libertybelle's blog

2008-07-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

1. LUST: Besides your current Significant Other who do you lust for or have you lusted for? My dentist. He is so cute and has the most gorgeous blue-green eyes. And a guy I liked in college named Rob. He never looked at me like anything, but he was adorable. Adorable

2. GLUTTONY: What food brings out your inner glutton?
king crab legs, caramels, a lovely rare steak, BLTs

3. GREED: What are you greedy for? I would love to have a house near the water.

4. SLOTH: What is your plan for an ideal day of sloth? I don't know, I haven't had a day of sloth in so long. I think any day where I spend the whole day in bed, watching TV, and sleeping, is a good day.

5. WRATH: Describe a time that you let out a can of whoop ass on someone.
I got in a very minor car accident, and my insurance company was supposed to help me out. I put in a claim and two months later, they had still not sent me my check, filed the paperwork, and were calling with questions. It had been so bad that I asked to have the claim cancelled and the rep talked me back into keeping it open. And then I got no check. She called again with a question and I went off. I left a message for her supervisor, he didn't call me back, then I called and told his secretary or assistant that I would sit on line til he came on the phone. And then it was on. I went up and over him and back around about this claim. I told him that it was pretty simple to figure out what happened, I had sent paperwork, and I had no idea why the rep or whatever she was had more questions. I told him it had been whatever number of days that it was since the accident and their commercials said they cut a check the day they came out to look at the car, which they had done at the garage the day it happened. He told me she was a new adjuster, and that she had been in training for a lot of the intervening time. I told him that if she needed that much training, perhaps she shouldn't be handling claims yet. I told him I got the car fixed the week it happened, and that I had to borrow money from my parents and it was pretty crappy to have to do that when I paid for full coverage on a 15 year old car, and that they were making way more money off me in premiums than I would ever get in a claim (this was true, I drove a hoopty, but had been getting in accidents). We came to an agreement.
6. ENVY: Who or what do you envy? Why?
People with pretty teeth. I have horrible teeth (but just for 12 more days-holla!), and I always feel like I would be really pretty if I just had better teeth.
7. PRIDE: Have you ever had to swallow your pride? What are you proud of?
All the time. I've had to ask for old jobs back. And it's OK to be that way.
I'm most proud of the fact that when bad things happened to me (and there have been times when some shit hit the fan and spattered. Sorry to curse, but that was how it happened), I never used them as an excuse. I just kept going, even when it took all my strength to do so. I spent a lot of time faking it, a few times when I had epic meltdowns, but I made it through. And I am stronger for it. Now when something happens, it's more like, "Whatever, I'll get through it."

My RR

2008-07-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

I think I have made it clear I am a hot mess when it comes to keeping track of things. I've managed to lose my RR. The one I was supposed to be sending out last week. Oops! At least it's mine and not someone else's. Thank God for that.

Anyway, rather than start over, I realized that the project I would most love to have a RR done as is my Diane Graebner cat afghan. I finished the one square last week and I like how it looks. I thought the small kitty motifs from Kitty's Day Out would make the perfect RR, not too strenuous for anyone to stitch, very cute! My RR group said it was OK, even though they haven't stitched on an afghan before. I told them it's not hard and I will even send my qsnaps along to make it easier. I don't stitch afghans on hoops--pulls the threads funny, I've found--and q-snaps are perfect. So that should help them.

I also decided that I am stitching Julia Lucas' ornament from last year's ornie issue as my entry for the fair in the ornament category. I think it's pretty, it needs to be finished, and i think that it will show some skill in that it uses metallics and beading. Since the judges didn't think the dragon ornament I did last year deserved first place, I have decided to not go with the fantasy theme this year, probably safer. I figure the house ought to do well, and it's another bride's tree ornament finish and I need to get back on track with those. And I had an inspiration for an ornament for Brea, but I won't share that til it's done.

My Santa's Journey afghan is on it's way to me, priority mail. I am so tickled. It has to be washed and fringed, but that's OK. I can handle that. It's backed and ready to go! I can't wait to see it. Can't wait to enter it in the fair.

A pleasant discovery for me

2008-07-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention this, and it actually seems like a freaky thing to be surprised by, but I am!

I picked blueberries on Friday at a little orchard north of Frederick. It's a tradition that we celebrate Independence Day by picking fruit (I guess cause my parents were off anyway that day). We picked cherries two or three weeks ago, but Friday was blueberry day. So I went and did that. Picked 5 pounds, which doesn't seem like a lot til you actually are rolling blueberries off the bush for an hour. Note to self: you are planting blueberry bushes at someone's house next spring.

Anyway, on the way home, in my continuing effort to conserve gas, I stopped at the huge Joanne's in Frederick (on the Golden Mile) to get the backing fabric for my stocking. And I walked around to see what they had. They don't have the best selection of stitchy stuff anymore, which made me a little sad. I used to find the best stuff there. Absolutely the best. Not so much anymore. So I went back to the fabric section to look around.

I wish I could sew. I think the one thing I would love to have in my wardrobe would be a sheath dress in a beautiful rich Chinese silk brocade. I think that would be the most lovely thing, very sophistocated. So of course I had to walk over and look at those, LOL. And the eyelets. OK, I looked at all the fabric. One of these days I won't be so fat and I can have dresses made, right?

I wanted to check to see if they had muslin for me to make some of those primitive stitchery patterns I bought recently. I think they would be kinda fun and different from my usual stitching. I had looked for some in the huge fabric store by work, G Street Fabrics, which I highly recommend if you love to sew because they stock couture fabrics, but they didn't have any that I could find.

Joannes had it. Lots of different shades. Lovely.

And they had the most beautiful fabrics suitable for finishing. I was in heaven. It was way better than a regular Joanne's--they only seem to stock current season fabrics--and the prices were reasonable. I stood, transfixed, by fall fabrics. Fall fabrics in July! Not only fall fabrics, but fall fabrics one could actually USE and they were PRETTY. Last year, when we were looking for supplies, I couldn't really find a lot that I liked, and here it was. I restrained myself and didn't buy any fabric . . . but I will. Oh, yes, I'll be back!

My weekend . . .

2008-07-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

was pretty tame.

For once, I had three days off. I spent most of the weekend watching TV, I am ashamed to admit, but it was cloudy and rainy all weekend. We did see all 4 Harry Potter movies, 3 of them yesterday. I can not believe I spent over 6 hours in a chair, watching Harry Potter, but I did. I don't know about y'all, but the 4th one is kinda too intense for children. At least to me it was.

I was actually slightly productive. I finished the first square of my Diane Graebner Cats and Quilts afghan on the 4th while watching a marathon about food Americans love. It only took several months. I hope the next squares don't take so long, LOL, or that there isn't some food-related marathon on, because I would have smacked someone for some North Carolina pork barbeque on a bun with coleslaw by the time that marathon was over. I worked on Medieval Mermaid while I was watching the fireworks on TV.

I know it's a shock to know that a devoted 4th of July ophile like me doesn't go watch fireworks. It's not that I don't love fireworks. I do. I do. But I don't have children, heat makes me cranky (and, let's be serious, would you want, at some point on the 4th of July to deal with a BIG girl with a loud and heavily Western Kentucky-accented voice, who is hot and cranky,I don't think so), and I no longer am that fond of sitting outside, worrying that we will have either a thunderstorm, like two years ago, or a tornado, like last year. Plus, there is always the hassle of getting home, either on the subway from the fireworks in DC (and I am about to impart some knowledge--the Farragut North Metro station is a little further of a walk back from the mall, but it's quicker to get on a train) or the two hours it took for us to leave the city limits of Littitz, Pennsylvania, the last time we went to their display. So I have discovered the unadulterated pleasure of sitting in my own home, watching a Capitol 4th on PBS, and eating ice cream. I feel it's a better service to everyone involved, plus, this year, staying home meant I was conserving energy and the environment.

I headed over to my LNS to drop off the Christmas stocking to be finished on Saturday. They were having their 4th of July sale--15% off of patriotic things, 10% off the rest if you wore red, white and blue. I did--on my feet. I had to show her my flip-flops, but I did it proudly. I got the graph of the month, a patriotic freebie, The Littles Uncle Sam, Lizzie Kate's USA Squared, a new Jeannette Crews book, "Friends", and a new design from a designer I haven't heard of called "Three Black Kitties." On top of my discounts for showing her my feet, I had a full Supersaver card, so I got an extra $6 off. Nothing like saving money. There were a couple patriotic charts I really wanted, but money is pretty tight til I get everything back for the fair, so I left them there. I figured they would be there, and if not, I had other things. I think this is showing a great sign of maturity on my part, LOL.

I worked on Cricket Collection Sleepy Hollow while we watched Harry Potter. It's progressing nicely. I worked on the tombstone and it's coming along. I really like this chart. There are areas of broad expanses of color, but they aren't too too bad. And it really will be cool when it's done!

Do you know when your fondest dream will come true?

2008-07-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

I do. July 22nd.

I know this is supposed to be about my stitching, but I need to get this out!

No, I'm not getting married. At least not that I know of. But more than being married, more than having a family, more even than having a home, my most treasured dream (and it's sad that it's such a basic thing that I haven't been able to accomplish yet) is to have a nice smile. A pretty white smile with perfect teeth, all in a single line, no gaps, no holes, no ugly fillings. I am obsessed with teeth, I admit it. That is the first thing I notice about a person. Probably like people who want breast implants look at other people's assets, I look at teeth, and I wonder what it would be like to have gorgeous teeth.

I've been fighting to get to the point where I have that since I turned 18 and started making my own medical decisions. And I've never been able to accomplish it. I've been too scared, too worried, too . . . something . . . to actually stand up and say, "This is what I want. This is what I need to become the best me that there possibly can be. Whatever it takes, I will make this happen."

And then last summer, when I was in my "between times"--ya know, that time between the last time and the next time--I finally had enough and told my dentist that this is what I want, and I am tired of living with an ugly smile. And we started fixing it. I ran out of insurance pretty quick, so we've had to hold off a little to maximize my benefits, and that is OK. My teeth look better, and I feel better, but now I want more. I want to have the perfect smile.

And I am finally getting it. I made the appointment today. For July 22nd. It's not a small undertaking. My dentist asked me how long I want to be in the chair. We're doing 2 1/2 hours. But when I walk out of that office, I'll have 3 temporary crowns, a temporary bridge, and the startings for veneers. We're bleaching, too.

But I can't believe it. By the time my next car insurance payment is due, this will be started. Wow. All this waiting and it's finally going to happen. I can't wait. So if I'm a bit like a whirly gig for the next few weeks, it's cause of that.

Sore fingers

2008-07-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

One of the few vices I allow myself (other than stash and Rita's) is that I wear acrylic nails. I've worn them for three years. Never those garishly long ones, fairly short and they look pretty realistic, they just make me feel polished and ladylike. Plus, I use my hands a lot when I am at the theatre, selling tickets, so it's important to me to have nice nails. I usually tend towards the vibrant reds and cool colors used as a French manicure, it just makes me feel better.

Well, I realized the other week, it had been 2 years since my last new set of nails. Apparently, this is highly frowned upon, as the acrylic gets "old," though I must really question just how old the acrylic gets when my nails barely get over the tips of my fingers, so we're talking the oldest it could possibly get is 3 months. Anyway, my nail girl has been complaining, so I decided last night to go and get a full set. It took 2 hours to get them done last night. I was so tired when I got out of there.

And my fingers are killing me this morning. The sides right around the nail are so sore. I think she nicked me in a couple places. And some of my nails are so thin that I could almost feel the drill when she was smoothing it out. Plus, since she put on that plastic nail that they put on, my nails have been molded into a new hump that does not match their natural contours. They don't particularly appreciate that. They are probably going to ache until the weekend. It's OK, though. I figure this little bit of sore once every two years is OK. They are a little long, though, but I can get em cut down next visit.

I did take a few minutes last night to start another new project. I know, bad! but I've Midsummer Night Designs Medieval Mermaid kicking around my to-do pile for a while, and I decided to start it. I am using Vikki Clayton Salty Sea. One strand on 22 count Hardanger fabric. It's stitching up pretty quick for as little as I've worked on it. Now it's just an issue of keeping the cats and dogs off of it.

But I do have to say, I am sitting here with Turkuaz right next to me, and it does feel kinda good to finger the eyelets. I had to pick it out and restart yesterday at lunch, but I am making really good progress on it. The instructions said for a lacy look, pull the eyelets tight. Well, if there is one thing I am good at, it's pulling tightly, and I am loving how that looks. The little bit I have done looks so dainty, and it's going quick. I can't wait to see how it progresses.

Happy July!

2008-07-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

The year is half over. How's your 2008 so far?

I finished my primitive elephant last night. He's really cute and I'm really happy with him. I'll figure out how to get him and the donkey finished this week. So I decided to go all out and start something new. I pulled Miribilia's Blossom Harvest from my to-do pile (or at least one of them), and started her.

So far, she's not been too bad. I am a little bit stymied by the beading. I don't know if I should bead as I go, or save it all up to do at the last. Both have their advantages, both have their disadvantages. And of course I didn't buy any of the beads--I kitted this up while I was temping, and I didn't have money for beads or treasures. Maybe I'll have it soon. I don't know. But I am trying to go without beads for now. She's very pretty, and I chose Water Lily linen to stitch her on, a soft green. Hopefully she won't take too long.

I also started a design from the Gift of Stitching magazine. It's from an old issue, the November one. It's a design made of eyelets. I figured that was enough of a change from little x's to keep me interested. I'm not very far, but I like it so far. I didn't use the colors they called for in the magazine, aqua and chocolate. I chose grey blues and grey browns. I like how those look together, so this should be pretty and personal. I don't know where I'll use it, but that is a side issue.

I found this blog on my inter-Internet ramblings. It's got lots of cute photos:
http://www.cuteoverload.com/

Too hot to stitch

2008-06-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

It was rottenly hot this weekend. The heat, along with my lack of caffeine and the fact that when it's hot and bright, I squint, gave me a monster migraine, and the thought of making little x's was not a pleasant one. And I realize, I've been stitching like a demon lately, and not getting a heck of a lot of pleasure out of it (I'm ashamed to admit that, but that's pretty much how it is when the fair gets close), so I thought I would take most of the weekend off.

Once my migraine went away, it was a pretty enjoyable weekend. SO and I ran errands on Saturday morning. I got a new brand of dog food for the twins. Chancey seems to like it OK, though, not flipping out over it. That's OK, she's way too fat, and I'm worried about her, so if she is not bouncing to eat breakfast, she'll lose weight. Robbie is, of course, loving it because I gave it to him (we shared a Rita's raspberry gelati last night, I never knew dogs liked raspberries, but he loves italian ice, whoda thunk?). So we'll see how it goes. I know they have to lose weight; they'll be 9 in a month and, while that's still young for a Schipperke, I want them to move into their senior years fit and healthy, and I suspect a better diet can speed that up. We also went to Walmart--not the best idea for a Saturday morning right around when the Social Security checks go out, but we needed stuff, and Walmart was closer than Target. I bought a flag for the house (it was $60 for that flag, so it better get used!), and then went over to the wholesale club for lower priced gas (3.94 a gallon vs. 4.01), a lifetime supply of aluminum foil, and some Skittles.

And then we started watching movies. We watched a goodly portion of both Charlie and the Chocolate Factories. I am finally going to get my teeth glamourfied, whitened and straightened, and I advised SO that I was going to tell the dentist that I absolutely did not want my teeth to look like Johnny Depp's. I started making that face he makes, it looks a lot like that Fireman Bill character Jim Carrey made up for In Living Color; SO pretty much agreed that was not a good look for me. And we watched Outsiders. SO loves that movie. I was surprised, as he is not the kind of person I picture as an Outsiders fan, but he watched. Movie still holds up; all the stars in there are still as yummy as they were when I saw it as a 12 year old. Except we can't understand why Stevie Wonder sings the theme song. A little wierd. But they always cut out a lot of the parts with Darry in them when it's on TV, and I LOVE Patrick Swayze. There's a whole part where they go to court, and that is like the bulk of his lines.

And then we watched Silence of the Lambs. That was a good one. Not one of my favorite movies, but pretty good.

And I just didn't stitch. I stitched last night a little bit, more so my elephant is finished faster than because I wanted to stitch. I'll get it done. But I think I am gonna look through my stash and find me something that excites me and work on that for a while after Friday. I was looking at my Hummingbird Trellis afghan last week, and I need to put some stitches in that.

Update on my pulltoys

2008-06-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

Buoyed up by my own grandiose self-back patting yesterday, I decided at lunch to head to Michaels to see what they had in the way of supplies to make my pulltoys happen. My coworker Gloria (Gloriajeananne to all those who sit in our row) came along to provide moral support and to look for silk flowers.

Michaels pretty much had everything I needed. It took a little bit of looking though. But, so we're all clear, they don't carry wagon wheels. Don't ask me why I thought they did, but I spent 5 minutes looking for wagon wheels before I realized they didn't have them. They did have little plain wheels with holes drilled in them, though, so that was awesome. I decided that, since this is a decoration, and a fair entry, it has to be decently sturdy. I hate to trash our local fair staff, but they haven't taught all the volunteer kids to be respectful of other people's stuff (hence the reason I had to had to raise my voice last year at the girl who was intent on sticking a t-pin directly into the stitching of a framed piece), and some of my stuff came back a little damaged, so things have to be built Ford tough. So I decided that it would not be acceptable to simple glue the wheels on, they needed an axle that can be pushed through, and glued. It will look better, trust me. So I found some dowels.

A side note: Every stitcher needs to keep dowels and an Exacto knife in her stash. If you have dowels, an exacto knife and a glue gun at the ready, you can pretty much accomplish ANYTHING with stuff you have lying around the house. You can make wall hangings, ornaments, and, apparently, pull toys. And, since wall hangings are an inexpensive way to finish and have your walls look good, anything that makes them easier to do is a great thing. I bought 10 for 99 cents, a bargain!

So I took my little bag o' goodies back to the office and started playing. I realized right away I had bought the dowels too big, but it was OK. Because I had the Exacto knife, see? So I was sitting at my desk, waiting for a phone call, whittling the end of my dowel so it fit in the hole. I realize that it wasn't the best idea to do that at work, but no one said anything. I think they just opt to leave me alone sometimes. And it fit. Pretty tight. I am going to secure it with glue though. Not hot glue, though. That really is a kinda messy way to put projects together. It's OK for fabric, but not the best otherwise.

I am enlisting my brother's help in putting together the platform. He's an experienced modelmaker, and very detail-oriented, plus he has power tools and works with computers, so he can probably figure out how to get it to attach the safest and strongest way. I am debating about using pins with superglue to hold the stitched part down, but he might be able to do a little better. I thought if I got gold pins and put them on the bottom, that would look pretty.

Now I did come up with an idea to edge the platform. I was driving home last night in particularly heavy traffic, and realized that I can't paint foamcore, at least not the foamy part in the center. It'll just suck the paint in, glop up and look like crap. WAY easier to buy very thin ribbon and pin it along the edge of the platform with gold pins, then attach an eyehook to put the pull part in.

So we're getting there. I did finish the donkey last night. The dogs declared the side porch a cat-free zone, and we sat out there. I stitched and they barked at the neighbors, and the cats when they came to the door and meowed to be let out. I started the elephant while watching GhostHunters, but I just have his blanket done. I'll get him finished though pretty quick, he's smaller than the donkey.

I learned something today.

2008-06-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin asked why the donkey and the elephant are the symbols of our political parties. I had no clue, but I love collecting me some donkeys, LOL. So I went looking today and found this:

What is the origin of the donkey and the elephant as the symbols of the Republican and Democratic Party? How did the parties select these mascots?

They didn't pick them - they got stuck with them! Their origin as symbols for the parties is attributed to a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who used the donkey and the elephant in cartoons drawn for Harper's Weekly in the 1870's. Why Nast chose the donkey and the elephant is a pretty complicated story, and requires some understanding of the politics of that day.

Nast combined these two symbols together for the first time in an 1874 cartoon for Harper's Weekly, called "The Third Term Panic." He drew a donkey disguised in a lion-skin, trying to scare away the animals in a forest. One of the animals frightened by the donkey's roar was an elephant - a symbol for Republican voters, who were abandoning President Ulysses S. Grant's quest for a 3rd term, and in Nast's view, were falling into a trap set by the Democrats. You can see the original Nast cartoon on this website:
http://libweb5.princeton.edu/Visual_Mate...

The cartoon was based on a scandal of the day - a hoax which had been foisted on its readers by the New York Herald newspaper. The Herald ran a deliberately false story about animals breaking out of the zoo and foraging for food throughout Central Park. Around the same time, the Herald was running a series of editorials against a 3rd term for President Ulysses S. Grant, calling the possibility "Caesarism." In Nast's cartoon, the donkey disguised as a lion is roaring out "Caesarism," and scaring away the elephant. The donkey was a stand-in for the Democratic-leaning Herald newspaper, and the elephant stood for the Republican party.

Other cartoonists of the time picked up the idea of the timid elephant representing Republicans, and that symbol for the party became widely recognized and accepted by the general public. Nast's cartoon showing a duplicitous donkey attacking a weak-minded elephant, became a handy symbol for other cartoonists wanting to represent Democrats attacking Republicans.

Popular recognition of the image overrode the party's own wishes - the Democratic party has never officially adopted the donkey as its emblem, but came to accept the reality that the symbol had stuck. The donkey had been used earlier in our history as a political symbol. In the 1828 presidential campaign, Andrew Jackson was labeled a "jackass," for his populist views. Jackson proudly seized the label and began using donkeys on his campaign posters. During his presidency, cartoonists sometimes used the donkey to illustrate President Jackson's stubbornness on certain issues. After Jackson, the donkey symbol largely faded, only to be revived again by Thomas Nast in his 1870's cartoons.

Over time, Republicans came to view the elephant emblem as a sign of strength and intelligence, and officially adopted it as their emblem, while their opponents portrayed it as a timid and clumsy behemoth. Democrats seized the "jackass" label, and transformed it into a clever and courageous donkey. As is still true today, it's all in the spin!

The best ideas come to me in the car

2008-06-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

I was driving to Rita's after work last night for a gelati (the only place that makes better gelatis is the Polish water ice place in Ocean City, and that's 3 hours from here and I needed a gelati yesterday), when I came up with what I think is a pretty cool finishing idea for my donkey and my elephant. I am going to make them pulltoys! Not real working pulltoys, that's too hard to make, but wouldn't they be darling as standup pulltoys? I decided not to stitch the wheel part of the design, and I can mount them on foamcore, back that with something a little stiffer and sturdier and see if I can find wheels. I think it would work. I could even make a little pull with floss. That would be awesome!

And that wasn't my only bright idea of the day. One of my favorite songs or recorded pieces is Baz Luhrman's "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen." It came out right after I graduated college, and I can not begin to tell you how that recording has affected me. It's even up at the top of my blog, LOL. Anyway, so I got to thinking last night. I think it would be kinda cool to stitch the lyrics (words, whatever, it was a newspaper column prior to being a song, anyway, not the point, and make a quilt. Not a traditional quilt, but as a crazy quilt arrangement, with several different counts of aida and scatter the phrases around. Does that sound silly? I don't think so.

My afghan is getting finished

2008-06-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

I got an email from the finisher that my Margaret Sherry Christmas afghan is gonna be finished today or tomorrow. Woo hoo! I've been waiting for that email! I completed the stitching last year, but I wanted a backing on it, so it wasn't ready for the fair last year. Hopefully, I'll have it for this year.

I got an order I placed with 123 last night. Nothing huge. Some floss I needed for SamSarah's, "It's More Fun to Dance than to Watch," fabric for Blue Ribbon Designs Good Karma, and some Diane Graebner charts. I am kinda done spending money on stitchy stuff for now, I think. I've been spending too much lately, and gas is so high, and I really do have so many lovely things to stitch that it's kinda stupid to keep buying, unless it's something that makes my heart sing. But my LNS is having a sale July 4th weekend, 10% off if you wear red, white, or blue, so I may take advantage of that--10% off is 10% off.

And another new start

2008-06-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

I started the Donkey from Prairie Schooler's American Primitive this morning. It was my late day at work, so I had time to sit and stitch this morning, while watching the Golden Girls--one of my chief guilty pleasures in life. It's a pretty simple stitch. I want to do both it and the elephant as matching little pillows, kinda like
Native Texan did. Isn't her elephant sweet? I also want to do the Uncle Sam and angel from the same leaflet, but I think I will do those over 1.

So far I am liking stitching this piece. It's surprising to me that I have a lot of Prairie Schoolers, but don't really ever stitch that many, I think I've finished 2. (cringes), but I am trying to get some more done. They are so simple and pretty. It really is a joy to take plain DMC and stitch on plain fabric and make a thing of beauty. I may just end up stitching a lot more simple things like this this summer, but I don't know yet. Don't hold me to that. I have so many things to finish. I did pick up my cat afghan and thought about working on it, but I promised that I would only stitch patriotic things, and I only have 10 days or so til July 4th, so I can wait a week.

Another finish!

2008-06-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

I finished LHN Stars and Stripes last night. I think I am going to finish it as something pretty simple, probably as a cube. That is, if I can find a cube that this will fit. I do have quite a bit of patriotic fabric in my stash, so at least I have that.

I don't know what I want to work on now. I have my patriotic sheep to work on, but I found a bag of un-sorted stash on Friday (and I am just as shocked as the rest of y'all, I thought I had this stuff organized), and there are some goodies in there. I found a Sue Hillis Santa, and a pretty little thing of pine branches. But I think I am going to stick to my original plan to only stitch patriotic stuff.

Friday night was the Summer Solstice. I am not pagan, but there is something about the longest day of the year that speaks to me. I always try to pay attention to it and to mark the day, and somehow it slips away or it just doesn't work too well. But this year, I made a plan and I stuck to it that I would sit outside til the sun went down. And to make the day more memorable, I decided that I would dye some floss and pass the time. And I did.

I do have to say I am not so pleased with these colors. I am trying to dye a deep mauve, and plummy brown combo for my friend Shannon, and it's not working right. It can't be that hard, dang it. I'll get it figured out. One of these days. I did get a turquoise greeny combo that I am giving to another friend who likes bright. Frankly, I am very impressed with the turquoise dye I am using. It's very cheerful and a little makes a good usable color.

I did do a little tone on tone color with pink and got a really cool combo.

Oh, and I have an idea for a color combination. I saw the most beautiful planting of flowers in the median yesterday on my way to go pick cherries (whole nother story, that is--I picked 17 pounds of white cherries in an hour, oh, but they were good). It was made of gorgeous velvet-y purple, hot pink, coral, pale pink and white snapdragons (or some flowers like that). You wouldn't think those would be so pretty together, but it was so stunning as to take your breath away. Wouldn't that be an awesome floss color?