SBQ: Other Crafts

Are there other crafts that you have tried and abandoned? Why do you like stitching better? (Submitted by Kathryn)

I've always been interested in crafts and needlework from a very young age. My mother and grandmother sewed, so I was brought up around fabrics, threads, buttons, etc. I was also very involved in Girl Scouts, so there was always some kind of craft being done at meetings and camp. As a result, I got to try different things and experiement.

One of my favorite things is working with clay or modeling compound. I'm nowhere near artist level with it, but I still enjoy working with the material and shaping different things. I don't do it as much any more, but I could probably really get into making clay polymer things like beads. (I don't have the time, space or disposable income to invest though!)

I do a little scrapbooking but not in the traditional sense. I can't get into all the embelishments and fancy cutting, stickers, etc. I also don't understand doing elaborate layouts and putting one picture on a page. Rather, I use colorful 12x12 background papers and I cut and arrange photos in interesting arrangements on the page. I also use postcards, bookmarks, ticket stubs, etc. from our travels. It's more like a memory book than a scrapbook. I only work on these books occasionally - I have to work on our living room floor and it's a hassle to drag everything out.

I've tried knitting and crocheting and I don't know if I have the patience for either. My mother tried to teach me to knit, but she's not a good teacher and I quickly got frustrated with it. My grandmother in law crochets, and my husband can crochet a little (she taught him and his brother when they were very young to keep them quiet and occupied!) I have the desire to knit, and especially crochet, pretty things, but I don't know if I have the patience to learn it. Also, I am afraid I will like it too much and want to spend my resources on that!

New Ornament

I'm working on some ornaments for the SALs I belong to, and I finished up this one over the weekend:

House on a Hill by Chartmakers
Compliments of The Silver Needle
stitched over 2 on 28 ct. Pewter with DMC threads

This is for my husband's cousin, who is getting married this August. I changed the original K & B initials to J and C for the bride and groom, and changed the date to 2008.

I've been working on some other things, but decided I wanted to do some finishing before I post pictures.

Friday Feast #178

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet For Your Brain

Appetizer: What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Wheat Chex reminds me of Saturday morning with my grandparents, so that's always a nice memory, but my current favorite is Special K Fruit and Yogurt.

Soup: When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
Last major purchase was probably the quilt we bought for our bed last summer.

Salad: What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?
There was one a long time ago - I don't remember what it was for, but it was kids asking for unhealthy things for breakfast. "Orange juice, orange soda. What's the difference?" still makes me laugh. My current favorites include the Peyton Manning mini van commercial ("You're feelin me. You love it.") and the Microsoft Sync ("Door open") commercial. Also, most ESPN Sports Center commercials crack me up. Yes, I watch a lot of sports programming.

Main Course: Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).
Garlic Kangaroo

Dessert: Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
I haven't stayed up all night since grad school

Another Needlework Store Goes Out of Business

I just ran across this while looking for some patterns....

Designs by Lena Rose is going out of business...

Grab Bags for sale - $22 each, includes shipping (USA Orders only)

THE GRAB BAGS WILL BE MADE UP OF OUR CHOICE (NO EXCEPTIONS) AND WILL HAVE A VAREITY OF ITEMS INCLUDING:
LARGE CHARTS
SMALL CHARTS
LARGE KIT
SMALL KIT
AN ASSORTMENT OF FIBERS
AN ASSORTMENT OF EMBELLISHMENTS
AN ASSORTMENT OF FABRICS
AN ASSORTMENT OF FUN STUFF

It's SBQ Time!

1/23/2008: Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that mentions it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?

Why yes, yes I have. Several, in fact. Nothing "finished finished" but I have finished stitching on my niece's birth records (never mind that one is 4.5 and the other is almost 2). I've finished stitching on a few ornaments as well. Oh! And I finished LHN's Princess and the Pea. Yay me!

And now for some oldies but goodies...

5/16/2007: If you could only stitch one more piece what would it be and why? (Submitted by Juls)

The very thought of this question is stressing me out. One more piece? Are you crazy? I don't think I could narrow it down to just one. Seriously. I love the creativity, the process, the materials involved. Maybe it's a cop out, but I'm choosing not to answer this question.


5/10/2007: How do you choose a project for an exchange? Do you pick solely on what you know of the taste of the recipient or are there other reasons you pick the piece you do? (Submitted by Ish)

I haven't done any exchanges as of yet, but I have done quite a few pieces for gifts and I think I would approach an exchange the same way. One of the things I like best about needlework is the opportunity to personalize a piece for the recipient. Whether it's changing colors, adding initials or names, or selecting a theme that most closely matches their likes, I always try to bring something of the recipient into the piece. I find that it makes the gift far more meaningful and special, and really demonstrates the time and care that went into making it. (Which is why I don't stitch for people who won't appreciate it)

For someone I didn't know, I'd read their blog carefully, definitely keeping an eye out for their wishlist (something I think all bloggers should maintain if they're going to be participating in exchanges). I'd try to pick something that matches their tastes so they would enjoy the piece. I'd hate to give someone something and put them in a position of saying they liked it when it's really not their thing at all.


5/2/2007: How many WIPs do you have? How many UFOs do you have? When does a WIP become a UFO? (Submitted by Kathryn)

Hmmmm, let's see. There's at least 3 that I've started, but got sick of stitching on and put them away for a while: Celtic Welcome Friends, Pineapple Welcome by Amaryllis Artworks, and a Dimensions kit. They're in the UFO bin because I haven't touched them in weeks (months) and they're not in active stitching.

Then I have a few pieces in my active stitching box, mostly ornaments that I've been working on. Probably about 5 or 6 at any one time. I also have a few projects completely kitted up and ready to go, but I haven't started stitching on them.

For me, a WIP becomes a UFO when it moves into a storage box instead of my active stitching box. Anything in my active box may be picked up to be stitched on at any time, so I consider them WIPs.

Friday Feast #177

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet For Your Brain

Appetizer: How many times per day do you usually laugh?
About 5-6 on an average day. More if I'm around my nieces and nephew. I try to watch something funny every day as a stress reliever.

Soup: What do your sunglasses look like?
I am obsessed with sunglasses, mostly because I tend to lose them. I start out with the best intentions of keeping them in their cases and keeping the cases accessible so I put them BACK in the cases, but sooner or later, they all get lost. Which is why I have 4-5 pairs in various places at any given time. I am very light sensitive, so I wear them almost everytime I step outside. I usually stick to glasses in shades of browns or coppers, though I do have a few black pairs. And the pair that slides on over my regular glasses is silver with dark grey lenses because that's all I could find to fit over my glasses.

Salad: You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?
I'd have to say out west to the Rocky Mountains because my DH has never been there. We'd have to have a sleeper car though because we're pretty private people and we like our own space (which is why we usually travel by car for vacations)

Main Course: Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.
It's within 2-3 hours of several major metropolitan areas on the east coast, but it's not that crowded around here, and it's the home of tax-free shopping.

Dessert: If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?
I happen to like the blue sky just the way it is, thanks.

Ornament Frenzy

I've been stitching on some ornaments, partially to keep up with the 2 ornament blogs I'm on, and partially because I have a very short attention span. Ornaments are good for this because by the time I get bored with them, I'm almost finished. I've finished the stitching on a few, now I have to get to the finishing finishing.

For my Bride's Tree SAL, I'm trying to work on 2 sets of ornaments, one for me, one for my best friend and her husband. I finished stitching the one for my friend, and now I have to get a piece of fabric to put behind the stitching because the weave is kind of loose and I don't want any batting showing through. I stitched a freebie pattern, La petite maison de campagne de décembre, and changed the Decembre to the family name (blurred for privacy)

I stitched it over one on 25 ct. linen using mostly the recommended DMC threads. I did use up some Toasted Marshmallow I had left from another project for the snow, and I added a little gold star on top of the tree using metallic braid.

I'm also making a little progress on my own ornament, the 3-D Lavender house.
As you may or may not know, my DH and I are HUGE Dallas Cowboys fans, and every year, we try to add another Cowboys ornament to our growing collection. I saw this one as a design on etsy.com and thought, "Hey, I could make that", so I made up a pattern and customized it for one of my DH's favorite players, Roger Staubach. It's not finished yet - I'm stitching on plastic canvas which is sheer torture to my fingers, so I only do a little each night.

And in case you were wondering, DMC 823 perfectly matches my blue Dallas Cowboys jersey. 415 is a pretty good approximation for the silver on the jersey as well. I had so much fun designing the Cowboys one, I made one for most of the rest of the teams (I still have a tiny grudge about the Patriots. LOL) If you want one, let me know and I will send a pattern to you.

I've also been working on some Princess ornaments, based on a free pattern I found on Cyberstitchers. My 5 year old niece is very into princesses, and ever since she heard my DH refer to me as "Princess", she calls me Princess Aunt Jenn. We also have a cousin who is a "Princess" herself, so I thought it would be fun for all three of us to have our own Princess ornaments! Here are 2 so far.

The pattern calls for small stitched stars, but I substituted some sequins and seed beads instead for the one on top. I might change it up a little for the second one, I'm not sure yet.

Stitching PSAs

Just a few things to share....

DMC has a new varigated floss called Color Variations. I haven't stitched with it yet, but it's quite pretty and I picked up a skein of blue yesterday. It's more on the expensive side - I paid $1.29 for the skein at Michael's, but we'll see how it works out.

Speaking of floss, check your local Joann's sales flyer. We got one advertising a 2-day sale this Sunday and Monday (Jan. 20-21) that had DMC floss on sale 5 for $1. I've noticed the prices have gone up lately - hovering somewhere around .30-.33 a skein, so I'll be stocking up on the sale.

And finally, Elegant Stitch is having an AWESOME sale on Little House Needleworks - 40% off on the Fruit and Inspirational series

Friday Feast #176

In addition to a revamp of my blog, I offer up another Friday Feast.

From Friday's Feast: A Buffet For Your Brain

Appetizer: What is your favorite beverage?
I don't really have one - it depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes, I like hot tea with honey. Other times it is iced tea with raw sugar. I'm a big fan of white tea with blueberry, but sometimes I like a Vanilla Diet Coke (can easily be made by adding sugar free vanilla syrup to regular diet coke). And sometimes I like a good cup of coffee with plenty of cream and just a little sugar.

Soup: Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
Chargers for my iPod and camera batteries, deck prisms and a lamp

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
Probably about a 7 or 8 most days. I'm all for honesty, I just don't like hurting people's feelings.

Main Course: If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
I'd change Istanbul to Constantinople. What kind of question is this?

Dessert: What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Money, driving in bad weather, and ill-behaved children stress me out. Listening to music, spending time by the water and my cat calm me down.

SBQ: Favorite Pastimes while Stitching

1/16/08: What is your favorite past time while stitching? Do you just enjoy silence, listen to music/audiobooks or do you “watch” TV/movies? Do you have specific favorites you listen to/watch while stitching? (Submitted by Outi)

I am a multitasker, so I almost always stitch while I'm watching tv. During the season, DH and I watch a LOT of football, so I stitch during games. Unless of course it's the Dallas Cowboys, and then I pay more attention to the game than I do to the stitching, so occasionally it will get set aside. I can stitch through almost anything on television and I feel a little weird if I'm NOT stitching, which is why I almost always take a small project or two with me whenever we travel.