Recent Finishes
Posted by Cyn | Filed under NaBloPoMo, Needlework
I’ve been stitching away lately, and while I can’t talk about my most recent project yet, I did add my most recent two finishes to my long-neglected Finished Works page today. The first piece is a for-no-reason one, the second a baby gift which was also my first cooperative project (and a big success).
I’m currently working on a Mother’s Day gift (why yes, I’m late getting it finished), the hymn “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.”
What are you working on?
A New Hobby?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under NaBloPoMo, Needlework
Plinky asked, “What new hobby would you like to try out?”
Camille Silverman — warp and weft
I would love to try weaving. I mean the great big loom sort of weaving, done with handmade fibers — maybe even with fibers I spun myself. The entire idea of weaving has always been so very attractive to me, and I adore all manner of fibers. The idea of having another way to play with colors and textures that would lead to big tapestries or rugs is so enticing that if I knew anyone with a loom they’d probably find it impossible to get rid of me.
Barring a big loom, I’d take even a lap loom, just something to get me going on it. I went to town making those potholders back in Girl Scouts!
Tags: hobbies, Plinky, weaving
Setting Up Shop
Posted by Cyn | Filed under NaBloPoMo, Needlework
Plinky asked, “If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell? Food? Clothing? Books?”
Books and needlework items! My former partner and I used to dream about opening a combination book/stitching/gaming/coffee shop.
Of course, independent bookstores are nearly dead, and even Borders is dead now thanks to Amazon.
Little needlework shops have almost totally disappeared, because they can’t compete with the prices Michael’s and Joann Crafts can offer, or provide the same range of products that internet shops can provide.
I’d need a partner to run the gaming side, and I doubt there’s a whole lot of profit for that. The one gaming shop I ever visited regularly was The Warroom in Norcross, and it is long gone. The people who ran that place certainly seemed to know what they were doing.
Coffee shops have to compete with Starbucks, but that part was less for itself than as an adjunct to the rest. They only seem to have any hope of success if they have some kind of special draw, like live music (which I love anyway)
We talked about combining our passions knowing that any one of those things wouldn’t stand alone, and thinking that perhaps they could make it in combination.
We knew it was a dream, though — just a dream, nothing more. It would take a lot of capital to even start such a thing, much less keep it going. Then there was the little matter of me being 1) disabled, and not up to working even a part-time job, much less putting in the hours it takes to making a go of a small business; and 2) an introvert who doesn’t deal with a lot of people well.
It’s good to have dreams, though.
Gratitude
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Needlework
1) Time with my daughter
2) Delicious dinner with Katie and some lovely people
3) Stitching time!
Um, Thank You?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Needlework
Look! TWO posts in ONE day! Maybe I’m finally crawling out of my pit of depression.
My very helpful child disapproved of how I was treating my small stitching project, so she sweetly put it in a huge Ziplock bag and “put it away.”
I have absolutely no idea where “away” might be, but it isn’t in my stitching bag, or near my recliner, or in the area where I’ve been sitting in the living room. Now she says she didn’t put it anywhere. Buh?
And we stopped at Michael’s yesterday to get the DMC I needed for it!1
I also got the fabric for two bigger pieces, though, so I can start one of those. Technically, I know that I have the fabric for Deep Peace around here somewhere, but I couldn’t find it, so I got a new piece. Now the original fabric will, of course, make itself known.
Smaller, less involved projects are better to do while in company, though. And it’s date night. The girl is, herself, out on a date, so I can’t even shanghai her into helping find the small project. Grump. She found supplies for a couple of different art projects while we were at Michael’s, too, so I expect heavy arting from her shortly.
We picked up dinner for the three of us at Little Azio’s on the way home, which was as delicious as usual. That was a lovely way to end a tiring, but rewarding, day.
1 I prefer shopping at an LNS, but my favorite went online-only and this was an instant gratification thing.
Tags: Deep Peace, Katie, Little Azio's, Sam
New Year’s Eve
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Family, Needlework
I hate coming up with titles. Can you tell?
Happy New Year to all of you. I hope to see more of you in person this year!
I’m still not feeling well at all, so I haven’t been online much. Despite that, my wrists have been aching as if I were working again. How does that happen?
Our Yule was quietly pleasant. I hope your winter holiday was as good.
I did finally finish stitching the Fairy Tale Sampler for Sam. It didn’t take that much stitching (so it can’t be blamed for the wrist pain), but I did have to re-purchase some Mill Hill beads. That gave me an excuse (like I needed it) to talk to Susan of Nease’s Needlework, which is always lovely. But now it’s finished!
My camera battery won’t recharge anymore, so I’ll have to convince the girl to take a photo of the piece for me.
I think I’m finally ready to do Deep Peace. It’s a gorgeous piece, and some people I love dearly got all the supplies for it as a gift for me a few years back. Unfortunately, we broke up right after that, and every time I started to work on it, I cried. I think there’s been enough time now that I can focus on the happy memories instead of the hard stuff.
I think I need to start a smaller project, too, that I can carry around with me. Complex projects don’t lend themselves to productivity while doing anything else, anyway. Sam tends to get me so interested in gaming that I can’t get much stitching done. Multi-person games are better for needlework, because I stitch while the focus is on someone else.
I’m not really into New Year’s Resolutions, and if I made them seriously, I’d be more likely to do so at Samhain than the end of January/beginning of December. Still, I’ve been realizing how much I’ve missed needlework. My eyes are still giving me trouble, but I got out an old, portable magnifier/travel light and that helps. I think it may be worthwhile to check into a magnifier attachment for my Ott Lite (after getting new glasses). I’m going to try stitching more regularly, and I’d really like to learn needlepoint and knitting and/or crocheting. I think I can manage the needlepoint on my own, but not the yarn stuff. Hopefully I can find someone local who is willing to teach me. Apparently there’s a group meeting at a local library that may be a possibility.
I thought my DMC was getting too old for use or something, because it kept fraying apart while I was stitching. I finally realized (after buying 3 new skeins of black floss) that I’d been using those needles that doesn’t require threading (which I love), and that they stress the floss (and the floss slips out easily). I switched back to a regular tapestry needle and presto! the problem was gone. I can’t find those no-thread needles anywhere online, so I guess other folks figured that out far more quickly than I did! I have a two-sided needle that came with a magazine or some such, but I don’t know that I can quite figure out how to use it.
Sam and I are staying in this evening, avoiding all the obnoxious drunks in favor of our own celebration. The girl is here, too, because her beau is in Europe with his family and most of her other friends are also out of town (something about a Flaming Lips concert?).
After getting caught up with all the shows I enjoy, I went looking for something else to view. I enjoy Bones, but I find the sizist comments (and plots) highly offensive. I tried to watch the first episode of The Mentalist online, but it keeps timing out. Sam got the first disc of The Tudors from Netflix, and it’s interesting at times. I tend to get annoyed with the liberties they’ve taken with history, though.
Tags: Bones, cross stitch, Holidays, Katie, RPGs, Sam
SBQ: Overdyed Floss or Hand-dyed Fabric?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Needlework
I’m quite late with the current Stitching Blogger’s Question, which is:
If you had to choose, would you rather spend money on overdyed floss
or hand-dyed fabric?
Overdyed floss, certainly. I’ve only purchased one piece of hand-dyed fabric, and nobody is likely to go, “Oh, wow!” about the effect in the finished piece (although I’m happy, because I couldn’t find any other fabric that was exactly right). I seriously doubt that anyone but another devoted stitcher would ever know that the fabric is hand-dyed.
The overdyed flosses I’ve used, though, frequently lead to incredible effects that are apparent to anyone who views the pieces. They’re usually a joy to work with, as well.
Tags: hand-dyed fabric, overdyed floss, SBQ
SBQ: Balance?
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Needlework
The Stitching Bloggers Question of the Week (really last week) is:
That isn’t really an issue for me, as I haven’t been stitching lately. I really need to go buy some floss so I can get past a stumbling block on my most active current project.
Other than that, the only times I’ve ever really stitched have been when I didn’t “need” to do something else, and usually when I’ve been multitasking. It’s rare that I’m not gaming or otherwise engaged while stitching.
SBQ: Stitching Publications
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Needlework, SBQ
The Stitching Bloggers Question of the Week:
Do you currently subscribe to any stitching publications or have you in the past? (Either in print or online) If so, which ones?
I don’t subscribe to any at the moment, and I rarely buy them off the rack. I have hundreds of them in my stash, and I keep meaning to go through and just keep the designs I’m still planning to stitch, but I never get around to doing it! I stopped buying them because I realized that I haven’t ever stitched one single pattern in any of those hundreds of magazines.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cross stitch, magazines, Needlework, patterns, SBQ, Stitching, subscriptions
SBQ: Stitching Terms/Acronyms
Posted by Cyn | Filed under Needlework, SBQ
This week’s Stitching Bloggers Question of the Week:
For seasoned stitchers: Define a stitching term or acronym for new
stitchers.
Gah. I don’t play in the needlework newsgroup any more, so I don’t think in acronyms. Railroading is the only term that I can think of that wasn’t obvious or explained in a pattern’s instructions. There’s a decent explanation here, and an article with good photos here.
Tags: cross stitch, railroading