The third try's charmed

This will be the third time I've tried to write a post here. I keep getting side-tracked.

There are teenagers coming and going all the time.

With all of this activity and with them moving in and out, there are boxes and bags and piles of things and nothing is in its rightful place.

My house is a disaster area.

And we're trying to cram in all of the things that we meant to do this summer but ran out of time to do.

But he sure looks relaxed, doesn't he?

Men. Steeler Training Camp. Relaxed happiness.

You undoubtedly see that I'm not in this photo.

Be still my heart

Look here, if I post twice in one day, you know it must be important.

Ho boy. I just found out that the next season of Mad Men premiers on August 16.

Don Draper = Hotness

Besides, you have to love a show that comes with its own cocktail guide.

Questions, questions

Melissa, over at Musings From A Three Bedroom Ranch, has some questions for us.

1. Why do you stitch?

I think that most of us have thought a lot about this over the years, and our answers will change from year to year. For instance, 20 years ago, I would have said it was because stitching to me meant following a pattern. There were so many other decisions that I had to make every day, and I liked that stitching took me to a place where someone else had made all of the decisions. Make 5 stitches in this color. Stop and make 7 stitches in another color. It was all laid out. Believe me...I never varied a color of thread or fabric. EVER. And I was completely cool with that.

Today, 20 years later, my reasons for stitching are much different. My life is different - I'm having to give up control over so many areas of my life. Aging parents, young adult children, the unpredictable pharmacy business, looming retirement...Now I kind of have to roll with the punches. So now I find that I swap floss colors and fabrics as easily as I change my socks and I love pre-project brainstorming. See? Totally different. I get to feel like the Queen of My Stitching Domain. Being the Queen is relaxing and stimulating all at the same time. And lastly, it also helps that I love the look of the finished product.

2) On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being least important and 10 being most important what is your cross stitch passion level?
This one is a toughie. I think I'd put myself at a 6 or 7. Stitching is a part if my identity. If something happened that I couldn't do it anymore - as in permanently - I'd be heartbroken. The only reason that I don't rate my passion level higher is because there were long periods of my life when I didn't lift a needle. I missed it, but not enough to stay up very late or get up very early to do it. So Level 6 or 7 seems like an avid stitcher, but not a life-dependent stitcher.

3)If your only option for cross stitch supplies and patterns happened to be the major chain craft stores would you just walk away from the little X? Kiss it goodbye?
If the chains were all that I had to choose from at the beginning of my needlework discoveries, yes, I would have become terribly bored and probably stopped stitching.

If tomorrow, all other shops (online and brick and mortar) and distributors and suppliers were to phhhht - vanish - into thin air, I would probably still continue stitching, because I'd be brave enough to take what I've learned about dying fabrics and floss and about re-working designs already in my stash in order to keep my stitching unique and exciting. The major chains would only need to keep lots of white and ecru floss and fabric, and I think most of us would hit the ground running from there. (I think this answers Melissa's fourth question, too.)

5)Finally what do the cross stitch magazines on the market offer you? Do they relate to you as a cross stitcher? Do you look at them and think to yourself, who do they think buys this magazine? I guess what I'm asking, when you see the current cross stitch magazines do they make you feel like they know their readers or do you find it's more of the same? What could they do to be ambassadors for the art of cross stitch other than putting a sampler on the cover with "F-U" on it? What are we missing on a PR level that could change the opinion of cross stitch itself?

I just don't like cross stitch magazines. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast - In order to sell magazines, the editors are trying to appeal to many tastes and skill levels and techniques and they're not being very successful at any of those things. So to me - magazines seem like a waste of my money.

It's an interesting concept that magazines could fulfill the role of ambassadors for the art, but I just don't see it. I believe that the only living, breathing stitchers can fulfill that role. To that end, we need to be OUT THERE.

I know that our finished product isn't like a scarf or a sweater that we wear and can say, "Oh this?? I made it myself!" But look at the buzz and excitement that still surrounds quilting, and quilters don't haul quilts around with them all day. What do they do? They meet for group quilting (bees). They have contests. They have shows. Boy-oh-boy, do they have shows! Big, crazy, lotsa-money-changing-hands shows. And it works for them. It could work for us, too.

And I believe it's working right now, right here on the internet. We're meeting loads of very cool stitchers online and seeing some fantastic stitching. More and more of us are getting together in real life. (I found both of my stitching camps online. Never would have heard of them otherwise) We're holding and participating in contests and challenges. It's all very positive and stimulating and I believe that the excitement generated by internet stitchers is finding its way to others we're in contact with in real life. If we are excited, we like to pass that excitement along. Obviously, I'm pretty optimistic about the future of our craft.

Phew...That's enough evaluative thinking about stitching for one day. Now I need to watch a Judge Judy rerun.

When Mother Nature Talks

So Saturday, I was outside stitching away on a very cool project - and I can't show it to you yet because it's for this challenge and it's supposed to be secret.

Anyway, there I was, and this bee came and landed right on my stitching. And he just sat there. Usually, bees completely freak me out and I jump around like someone in Riverdance. Well, a crazy uncoordinated version of Riverdance. But Saturday this bee and I just hung out for a little while, and he flew away after a few seconds. And then I remembered that last year I had started but never finished a project about a bee, so this became my Sunday project:

I stitched this side Sunday afternoon:

It's supposed to be a biscornu, but I'm thinking it's going to be mattress pincushion. I bought this before I realized that biscornus are most dreaded of all finishes.

Back to work...

How did they know?

I've been outside on the deck, stitching away on this beautiful afternoon, when I decided to take a break and check out what's happening today on the internets.

Look at the latest design offered by Long Dog Samplers.



Very pretty, but how did they know that my neighbors were idiots? Sheesh. It's uncanny.

Ahhhhh - Shopping

I'm willing to bet that there are a lot of you out there who are exactly like me. We simply don't shop.

Shoes, handbags, jewelry, clothes, electronics, cars...We really don't care. My one exception is good kitchen utensils, but like my contractor friend says, if you have a job to do, you should make conditions as favorable as possible.

Ahh, but needlework things? Now that's a different story. I'd like to think that I know the trends. I know what's new and exciting. I know what's hard to find and hotly sought after. Some ladies know shoes. I know stitchery! So if I'm shopping for needlework supplies, I'm in my own little heaven and I can find all kinds of ways to make myself happy.

Sadly, so many shops have closed over the years that I don't get many opportunities these days to spend time in my only shopping heaven. So when I found that I'd be passing within 10 minutes of The Stitching Post in Baltimore, Maryland, you know I had to stop.

In a word? Fabulous. No. Really, really, fabulous. As in a wonderful shopping experience. Seriously, I'd plan a day trip just to go there. (It's just over a three hour drive for me) Here is its fabulousness in list form:

1. Friendly and helpful staff. Two very nice women were working that morning. I was greeted, left to browse at my leisure, and helped very quickly when I asked for it.

2. Excellent selection of fibers, and well organized displays of those fibers.

3. Excellent selection of fabrics - custom cut AND pre-cut. I like being able to choose between those options. Also a nice varied selection of bits and pieces of fabric that were inexpensive to begin with and then discounted an additional 20%.

4. Good selection of local-interest charts, and well organized "families" of charts. Cubbies of samplers, baby projects, seasonal, etc.

5. Gadgets! Oh yeah!

6. Location - I mentioned that The Stitching Post is just minutes off of I695 in Baltimore, which is wonderful. But it's also in a small shopping plaza with a quilt and fabric store one door down! And a yarn and knit shop too, but I didn't go into it. (There was a time I thought I was a knitter, but that phase ended quickly.) Easy-peasy parking right out front and lots of places to grab a quick lunch.

And now you're all thinking, just Shut-Up-Lee and show us what you bought. I should preface this by saying that I had several charts that needed to be kitted up, and I took those charts with me. But I did treat myself to one new project. So here goes:

First up, my new project, a Quaker card purse - or whatever it becomes whenever I've finished with it! Here's the chart and the Belle Soie silks. Didn't buy the fabric. I have plenty of white and ivory linen. (I took these photos yesterday and it was kind of cloudy. The colors here are waaaaay off)
Next is a HIH project that I've had on my mind since our 25th wedding anniversary, but only just bought this winter and now I've kitted it up with Summer Khaki belfast and WDW and GA threads. Once I start it, I know it'll go quickly. And that's a new magnetic needleminder. I'll tell you, when I'm dead and gone, I know my descendants will wonder about my obsession with magnets....But is that adorable or what?

I've had this La D Da chart for a couple of years. You are my Sunshine was Colleen's favorite song when she was a baby, so you know I had to buy it. Now I have it kitted with some gorgeous WDW linen and GA threads. It's going to be a great project. The needleminder needed another photo op, too.

I've had Beneath the Sunlit Sky since last year - a perfect summertime chart. So now it has fabric and thread to keep it company, too. That's Confederate Gray linen and Crescent Color threads. My own conversion....I think it'll work.
I've been itching to try some larger count fabrics for some of these simple charts. I think it'll give them some "pow", if you know what I mean. There was a nice selection of 18ct Cork Linen (I'll stitch over two and make it 9 stitches/inch), and some workable pieces of Tula. I already have most of the perle cottons. Oh, and the white piece is lovely and glittery.
And speaking of glittery, here is some opalescent Jazlyn and Cashel. (Just arrived from Silkweaver via mail order, but I thought you'd like to see it anyway)
I was very happy with my haul, and despite the way that I bragged in the post I wrote before I left, my credit card barely got warm. Oh, but if I lived closer....I'd be in big trouble.

Moving on, I visited the quilt shop, too. The Seminole Sampler had some beautiful fabrics, and I wish I had taken time to read their blog before I went because I would have hunted more for the Williamsburg Sampler Collection fabrics. But anyway, I found some nice fabric to finish-finish these projects:



OK, so after all of this exhilarating shopping, I hopped back onto 695 and drove through to Cape May, where I had hoped to visit Stitch by Stitch, but I never made it there. It was a combination of family, friends, drama, and the fear of rush hour traffic on I95 through Philadelphia the next day. It all conspired against me, and I had to skip shopping there. I had some beach themed projects in my head, but maybe next time....

In other news, I have lots of family stuff going on right now, but that will be fodder for another day.

Drama? You betcha.

Dead as doornails

My camera batteries, that is. So today I have no pictures of my wonderful, wonderful purchases from the weekend. Tomorrow probably.

Meanwhile, I remember seeing a blogger who had stitched BOAF's Kindness Sampler. Not the fabulous Nina...hers was very beautiful, but there was another that was interesting, too. This blogger had stitched it without filling in the dark background around the flower. I thought I had "starred" it, but now I can't find the post or the stitcher.

So if you happen to be that stitcher and if you happen to be reading this, would you leave a comment? I'd love to re-visit your blog and look at it again.

Hey...today's post is my 600th! I never thought I had so much to say...

Here is something you should never write in your stitching blog:

"I'm going to cut back on my spending now."
"No more stash buying until I...."
"I'm finished buying for a while."

Because just exactly as those words are sent spinning off into the internets for everyone to read and see, you will be presented with shopping opportunities that never in a million years would have come your way otherwise.

Now remember - I live in the sticks. If nowhere had a middle, that'd be my address. I have to drive 50 miles to get to any lame-ass JoAnns or Michaels store, and forget Hobby Lobby. Way too far. And for the past several years, I've forced myself to be content with internet shopping and a yearly trip to Camp Wannasew and The Silver Needle in Tulsa.

SO - how did it happen that this weekend I have the chance to go to not just one, but TWO nice shops? I know this only happened because I publicly declared that it was time to draw my purse strings. I'm headed East this weekend, and my travels will take me 5 minutes from The Stitching Post in Baltimore, and 5 minutes from Stitch by Stitch in Cape May. Can you feel my pain?

Well, if you think I'm going to let pride and the need to mean-what-I-say stand in the way of shopping in two real stores, then you all don't know me very well.

So after the weekend, I'll tell you at what specific temperature credit card plastic actually melts....

Pictureless post

After all of my earlier picture-laden stories about vacation and stitching and so on, I fear that this post will seem a little bare.

We've had a quiet week so far. The weather has been unbelievably beautiful, with warm days, cool nights, and low humidity. I even went and hung out at the lake beach this past Sunday - something I haven't done for a while. I took stitching, intending to sit quietly and work on my latest small project, but I sat with neighbors and before I knew it I was talking the afternoon away. It made me realize how much I missed their company.

(In the past, I've always blamed other people for my inability to stitch at the lake, because they'd always come over to talk to me. After Sunday, I can see that it's entirely my own fault. I blab as much as the next beach bum.)

I did a little online shopping last week. As if I needed to buy more things to stitch...But I decided that I had to have the BOAF Kindness Sampler, seen here as stitched by the lovely Nina. Sometimes stitchery just reaches out and GRABS you, you know?

I also ordered a little BC chart, "I Do". Nice for weddings and anniversaries, I think. And I finally ordered Waxing Moon's "My Needle and Floss". I know it's the Traveling Stitcherhood chart...but I'm convinced that it will never come to me as part of the blog drawings, and then what's a girl to do?

And now I think it's time to draw my purse strings, because I'm saving up for CAMP! I've chosen a different stitching camp this year - one that I can drive to. Don't get me wrong. I loved my trips to The Silver Needle in Tulsa. The shopping and the stitching were both great, but the travel was long and even with using airmiles, the plane fares and car rental fees were expensive. And since I cashed in every single one of our air-miles for the trip to California, I'm air-mile-poor for a while.

So this year I'm going to Camp Gottastitch in Charm, Ohio and sponsored by Cross My Heart in Columbus. It's totally drivable, and then I can spend my hard earned money on stitching rather than airfare and car rental. The only drawback will probably be the weather. Tulsa in November was lovely. Ohio in November? Well. It'll be familiar. Brisk. Maybe even bracing. Good for sitting inside and stitching.

My next quest will be for a beach retreat. Anyone...Anyone?

Oh dear. Time to get back to work. Ew.

Our last vacation day

So, we had our last day in San Francisco and our last vacation day (insert sad face) on that Saturday. Dave decided not to go back into town with us, because he was kind of towned-out and besides, there was a car show at the bowling alley near the hotel that he wanted to see. (Obviously, you can take the man out of Fayette County, but you can't take Fayette County out of the man).

So, Colleen and I went together and we got off the BART at the Civic Center...and because we were doing all of the touristy stuff and not paying attention to the news, we unwittingly stepped right out into the LGBT Pride Celebration, where my 18 year old daughter got her first look at a live and entirely naked man. Well, except for the hat. So, we walked here and there to see some of the stunning architecture, and even found our way into one building with an interesting art exhibit. But ultimately, between the Naked Man Sighting and the amount of drinking that I saw going on that early in the day, I thought we had better move on.

So we walked up the hill to look at the Victorian houses and made it all the way up to Alamo Park and the Painted Ladies. Beautiful!




Then we headed to Japantown, where I had promised Colleen a sushi lunch. We had a marvelous afternoon just shopping and eating and looking around.

Then back to Union City for a little more shopping and that's where I found the Giant Wall of Silk (in Needlepoint Inc.) Here's the photo again for some of you who may have missed it the first time. Yes folks - that's a wall of silk thread. To. Die. For.

Then back to Pacifica where we had a wonderful pizza dinner at Luigi's and we said goodbye to some of the things we'd miss, including:

Hot Surfers

Stunning Pacific sunsets:

And goodbye to a wonderful vacation with two (out of three) of my favorite people on the planet.

Also, thanks to my new blog friends from the San Francisco area who have chimed in or commented here and there! I wish I had posted about our trip before we left so I could have had some of your advice and ideas. I hope I remember them if and when we go again.

Let's see, will I stitch this weekend? See you Monday!

Either you're just being polite -

- Or you really mean it.

I remember when my parents went to Ireland years ago, and Dad took hundreds of photos that he had processed as color slides. On a rainy afternoon, they LOVED saying, "Hey, let's look at the Ireland pictures!", and they'd bring out the slide projector and screen and we'd all groan inwardly but sit through it anyway. And hope to catch a nap until it was over.

So that's the experience that I think of as I'm showing you all of my vacation pictures on this blog, and it really surprises me to read that some of you are enjoying my ramblings. Surprised, but glad, too! Well, I only have a couple more days to write about, then I'll get back to writing about my normal, day to day stuff. Wait - that's kind of boring, too. You readers just can't win, I'm afraid.

Now back to vacation. We had decided that Friday we'd go to Fisherman's Wharf. Instead of driving in, we went to a Park and Ride place and took BART into town. (Bay Area Rapid Transit), then rode one of the historic streetcars to Fisherman's Wharf. As it turns out, this one had been in service in Philly before it was sent to San Francisco. I used to ride streetcars a lot as a kid, mostly with my grandmothers and I had to wonder what the chances were that I had ridden this one back in ancient history.

Here's my take on FW: It was like a lot like the Wildwood NJ boardwalk, only bigger. And more expensive, yet for some reason you still buy stuff. (For instance, why did I pay $4 for this cupcake?)There were some interesting street performers, including one guy whose gig was to hide himself behind some leafy branches and then lean over and scare people and afterward ask them for money. I know, I know, it sounds lame, but it was hilarious and we watched him for the better part of an hour. And there was this fellow:We don't know what he was, but Colleen was hypnotized by the glitteriness.
And of course, there are bars and places to eat. Dave and I needed a break so we went into a blues bar, where a very drunk woman offered to take our picture. What do you do when a drunk woman offers to take your picture? Smile and hold up your beer.

Turns out that she also wanted us to take pictures of her and her boyfriend while they were dancing, and she kind of liked erotic dancing and it was totally weird. At one point, she actually went to her knees and bit/licked his crotch.

Ahhh. Vacation memories. Luckily, Colleen had left us for a while so she could do some souvenir shopping.

Shopping-wise, this was the only place that made us ooooh and ahhhhh - an adorable tea shoppe in Ghiradelli Square, The Crown and Crumpet (not my photo - this is from their website)
But at the end of the day, Fisherman's Wharf isn't worth the effort. Especially since the ride home was like this:

Oh - two sights that we really enjoyed that day were up the hill quite a bit. We loved Lombard Street (the worlds most crooked street) and the other street - the world's steepest street.


Tomorrow I'll show you the last of the vacation pictures. Colleen and I left Dave behind in Pacifica and spent one more day in San Francisco. (Where I found the Giant Wall of Silk)

My Quaker Exchange and Chinatown

Finished this as a small pillow. The lace is out of a friend's sewing box that I inherited when she was cleaning out before she moved. I think it's fairly old. That button on the right? Camo for a few mistakes...

So now we're back to vacation photos!

So Thursday morning we said goodbye to Bass Lake and headed back to San Francisco, but we stopped for lunch in Oakland. We stumbled upon The Cheese Steak Shop, where we had the best Philly Cheese Steaks we had eaten in a long time. Really! I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

An aside about Philly Cheese Steaks: I know that everyone thinks of Pats Cheese Steaks when they think of that sandwich, but I had never had one of those in my life until after I had lived in Pittsburgh for quite a while. And they use Cheez Whiz? Sorry, none of my Philly neighborhood sandwich shops would have used Cheez Whiz. They used white American. Cheez Whiz, in the words of Theresa from HW of NJ, is skeevy. And for the record, the very best cheese steak isn't actually found in Philly, but at Pat's Lunch, in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. It's on Stone Harbor Boulevard and Pat, who is in his late 80's, has been there since the beginning of time. Let me tell you, if you go, plan to spend some time with him. He's a jewel.

(Sorry. Never get a Philly native started on the subject of cheese steaks)

Back to vacation. The one thing that Dave absolutely wanted to do was ride a Cable Car. So we waited in line behind a hundred or more people, but we were entertained by street performers and it was a fun experience.
We explored the Cable Car Museum a bit, and I think it's a must for anyone who is interested in transportation history. (We've been to lots of car, train, and plane museums)

Then we walked over to Chinatown and saw both the touristy and the non-touristy sections. The food selection in the non-touristy stores was...perplexing. Really. I even saw Chinese people who looked confused. But it was fun. Then we headed back to Union Square so Colleen could do a little shopping and then back to Pacifica for the night.


Tomorrow: The World's Steepest Street, The World's Most Crooked Street, and Fisherman's Wharf!

Wednesday - Relaxing at Bass Lake

We were pretty tired out after our day in Yosemite, so we spent the next day being as vegetable-like as possible. Except that I went to the laundromat in the morning and did a couple loads of laundry. Really....not very picture-worthy.

The Bass Lake beaches weren't very beach-y, but luckily our house rental came with dock access, so we relaxed on the dock. Besides, the beach was waaaaaay over there.

The dock was quite pretty.

Dave always pokes around about getting in the water.
But not Colleen - always the first on in!

And then there's me. Luckily this isn't a video, or else you may have heard me snoring.

In the evening we had John and most of his co-workers over for spaghetti and meatballs. It was so wonderful. They all seem like very nice people and interesting people, and the conversation was a nice change of pace, (after having spent the past few days with Wordless Dave and Perpetually Annoyed Colleen). I was glad that we got to meet them and know who he's living with through the rest of the summer.

Thursday - back to San Francisco! I'll show you my Chinatown pictures tomorrow.

But now...back to the present! I framed two more pieces over the weekend.
Here's something I stitched a few summers ago, and this winter I found a neat white-washed frame for it. Still, it looked too bare, so I went to JoAnn's looking for some yellow cording but I liked this rickrack better.
And finally....Souvenir Sampler is framed!
And if you're reading via a reader, click over to my blog and click on the music player in the left sidebar and play the song by Vienna Teng. Lovely voice.

I'm giving you a break...

From my vacation pictures. But just for today. Then you'll have to suffer for a few more days.

Yesterday I had the day off. And amid several teenage crises, I managed to frame these two things from the Basket of Old-But-Not-Forgotten Stitchery. I've collected odd frames from flea markets here and there, and these two worked out nicely.

First up is a little stitching from two summers ago - a Little House design.

Next is a freebie from Blue Ribbon Designs. I stitched it last summer, and liked it so much that I went on to order some other charts. They're relaxing and fun.
I worked on a third project, too, but it needs more than just the frame. So I'm headed to JoAnn's some time today or tomorrow...I hope. That is, unless my children cause me more headaches.

Yosemite!

Tuesday we were all up bright and early for a day in Yosemite. It sounds crazy, but between us we have hundreds of pictures. If you've never been there, I'll tell you that there is gorgeous scenery around almost every single corner. If you have been there, you understand how hard it is to sort through those photos and choose your favorites. But since this was a family day, you all are going to have to put up with pictures of my family in most of the photos.

First stop: Mariposa Grove and giant sequoias.

Then on to Tunnel View.

There are waterfalls everywhere. It was a short hike to Bridal Veil falls.

And later in the day we saw Lower Yosemite Falls. And loads of tiny, tiny people.

We fiddled around a lot in other places in the park, including heading down to the river and taking off our shoes and socks for a little foot refreshment. As in ice bath. That water was COLD! Then the kids wanted to hike the four miles to Glacier Point. We would have gone with them but for the heights and my inevitable panic attacks that would send us all tumbling down the trail again. So instead, Dave and I dropped them at the trail head and we went to the Ahwahnee Bar so that I could have a Lupine Lemonade and steel myself for the ride up to Glacier Point.

And we all made it to the top...

Where, while I was busy patting myself on the back for being so brave and taking pictures, I noticed these climbers on this rock. I think if you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see them more clearly. There are three crazy people up there. Let me tell you, there's not enough Lupine Lemonade on this earth to get me up there.

Meanwhile, my children were completely unimpressed by this. As if it happens everyday in their life. This last photo cracks me up. There's scenery out the wazoo behind them, and they are taking pictures of a common lizard. You could leave my house any summer day and see one of these on the road. Kids. Feh.I'm going to give you all a break from my vacation pictures tomorrow. I'm not working today, and I have three framing projects in the works. Boy - if I can have them finished by tonight there will be fireworks for real!