I've Moved!

Come check out my new blog home:

Annette's Acre

Please update your links!!!

Show your Scissors!

On the TWBB there was a call to Show your Scissors by a certain member [Terry]:

Here they are:



1 - Multicolor storks with a homemade fob
2 - Ginghers with a fob made by my buddy Erin
3 - More multicolor storks and purchased fob (bought in Santa Clara at CATS - IIRC, Suz made me do it!)
4 - Hardanger scissors - with a curved tip and homemade fob
5 - Brushed Dovos with another Erin fob
6 - My good Ginghers - fabric cutting ONLY!
7 - My blue steel Dovos
8 - Ladybug Dovos
9 - Multicolor Fish (Nashville CATS purchase)
10 - Purple Victorians - one of my first pair!

Not shown: My first pair - a simple silver embroidery pair :)

My next pair? One of Jo's (Dinky Dyes): See here

Also, I finished off another obligation piece this weekend and it has already been delivered:



For those keeping score, that makes two obligation finishes this month....YES!

Stitching: Sweetheart Tree - By the Sea Fob
Reading: Slay it with Flowers
Listening to (iPod): Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie

Plan B

Way back in January, I sorted through all my WIPs and was bound and determined to get to them all sometime this year.

Even made a schedule.

Yeah.

Well, here's the *revised* schedule for the remainder of the year. I have managed to pick up 4 so far (Dragon Ride, Autumn Queen, Emerald Mermaid and Fortunate Traveler) but if I have hope of getting thru the rest, I've got to keep track!

May (planned):
Fortunate Traveler - TW Done for May!
Quilt Mystery - Chatelaine

June (planned):
Neptune/Poseidon - Lynne Nicoletti
Noah's Ark - TW

July (planned):
Heirloom Christmas Sampler - Victoria Sampler
Christmas Elegance - Mirabilia

August (planned):
Stroke of Midnight - TW
Sampler of Unpublished Insertion Stitches - Martha Schmidt

September (planned):
L'Epoch Nouveau - Dimple Designs
English Garden Welcome - TW

October (planned):
Shiraz Sampler - Dinky Dyes
Santa's Midnight Ride - Dutch Treat

November (planned):
Egyptian Garden - Chatelaine
Edith Wolford - Silver Lining
Medieval Majesty - Leon Conrad

December (planned):
Catch up!

Stitching on: Ornament RR
Reading: Dark Tort
Listening to: Midsomer Murders

Exchanges

Today I received my 8-sided pillow (aka "biscornu") exchange from Anne and it is gorgeous!


The piece I stitched has also reached its final destination so I can show it off!

It's Mary's Pin Pillow by Indigo Rose - but with quite a few modifications - as in a totally different color scheme and I left off the alphabet around the edges and add our initials and date instead.

The button and I had a few disagreements. It didn't want to be in the center and after three attempts, it won.

I did add a few more bits to the package, but didn't take that picture....

I have succumbed to "exchange fever" and have even opened three on the Rotation BB. We're doing a Scissor Fob, Bookmark and Ornament exchange (from the JCS issues - the pending release of the 10th anniversary book was the catalyst). If you're interested in joining the group, please come by and check them out!

Of course....that's not the only exchanges I've signed up for. There's the Friendship and House Exchanges on the SBEBB.....LOL

Stitching on: VS Heirloom Anniversary Sampler
Reading (bus): Last Camel Died at Noon
Listening to: The Amazing Race finale!

As promised....

First, I must show off this gorgeous Exchange I received in today's mail! It's from Karen V and is my "Melanie's Exchange" piece. Paula sent the lovely deep purple threads and two tiny butterfly beads (on the ribbon "tails" on the bottom) to Karen and she stitched this lovely ornament. So gorgeous! She included a lovely ribbon bookmark (she knows me well LOL) that is just too pretty to use ;) Thank you!

This week's "Monday with TW" stitchalong winner: The Fortunate Traveler. I started working on him yesterday and added the "THE", finished the lattice backstitching and backstitched the border (hey, there was a 3-hour Survivor.....*plenty* of stitching time).

This is the *proof*! Chess Anyone? is halfway. 2 knights, 2 bishops, 44 pawns and 16 of 33 squares are DONE! [Extra square is for the white queen - a little stitching to do for that one]

Whew!

Stitching on: Fortunate Traveler
Reading (bus): Last Camel Died at Noon
Listening to: Braves baseball! Go boys!

Quick Friday Post

Chess Anyone? is officially half-finished! (Pic coming later this weekend)

Heirloom Anniversary Sampler is started!

Answering a comment - Dark Tort is ok. I *really* liked the last one, Double Shot, so not sure how this one will compare!

And finally:

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Redhead Poet. Where You Lived: Germany. How You Died: Typhoid fever.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Retail Therapy

There's nothing like a little retail therapy when you're feeling low.

On Wednesday, after throwing up my hands (temporarily) on a work problem (hint: Amazon + ebook + Adobe + firewall = ARGH!) I went to clear my brain with a bit of retail therapy at an LNS (or two). A lovely card of Cranberry GAST, a skein of some nice grass green yarn (baby gift) and a set of #2 DPNs (as I can't find the one "free" set I have in my stash) served to reduce the stress level just enough that I was able to identify a successful workaround upon my return to the office (benefit of having a spouse at home and a secure ftp).

This morning I woke up in a bad state (recurring health issue) and what better pain relief than a bit of retail indulgence? Thanks to the current Stitching Bits and Bobs sale I have on the way to me: Houses of Hawk Run Hollow (I've had this on my wish list forever), Queen and 1797 Ship Sampler.

I *needed* house patterns, ya see. I'm moderating a "House-themed" exchange and need to have some choices! I'm also participating in a "Foldable Book RR" and the theme for my book is "Stitcher's Neighborhood" - there's more bits to stitch than RR participants, so I'll need to stitch several of the remaining sections.

And to finish off the post today - a couple of meme questions.

Stitching Bloggers' Question:

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

I can only recall one instance when I ran short in a kit and that was a class project using only DMC (thus easily replenishable from the stash). I usually have *plenty* of leftovers! As to what I do with them....well....if it's DMC, I usually toss them and if it's specialty fibers, I'll add them back to my stash :)

Stitchers Meme (new!)

Have a case of startitis? What projects are you dying to start? Which would you start today if you "allowed" yourself?

Rosemarkie by LongDog is calling. Also a tiny elephant Lanarte kit came for my birthday and I really want to start it! Hatz Bootique by Brightneedle is softly calling, too.

Too much stash, not enough time.....

Stitching On: Chess Anyone?
Reading: Dark Tort

Mini Finishing Frenzy

I finished-finished a few projects this weekend but I can only show you one! The other two are for exchanges and will have to wait for revealing to the world.

Here is JBW Designs Ready, Set, Go! finished into a small pillow. It's a gift for a coworker's little one that will be a year old on Monday.



I've also finally taken pictures of a couple other recent finishes. The first is Sweetheart Tree's Blue Bargello Fob. I ended up finishing it "square" as I wasn't paying close attention when I attached the heart shaped bead on the one side. If I finished it as a diamond shape, the heart would be wonky, so square looked good to me!


Additionally, the last two JCS 05 Ornament RR pieces are now documented for posterity! The first is Full Circle Designs Christmas Blessing and the second is Erica Michael's Merry Yule.

A very productive Sunday!

Stitching on: JBW Baseball!
Reading (home): Dark Tort
Listening to: Diamondbacks baseball ;)

Back to your regularly scheduled blog...

A little bit of everything today!

First, I finished off the second JCS Ornament RR ornament, Merry Yule. Picture will come this weekend when I catch up with all those listed on the left there. Promise. Really.

I also finished a couple small knitting "things" but no picture as they are due to head to points east of me ;) When they arrive, I'll share.

Reading - finished Bitten & Smitten today and if you like Mary Janice Davidson's "Undead and..." series, you'll probably enjoy Michelle Rowen's book, too. I'm on the second book in the Belgariad. There's something very indulgent in reading a book you've already read several times in a new leatherbound edition!

I've missed a few Stitching Bloggers' Questions over the weeks....here's a couple to catch me up!

May 4 - Do you or have you stitched with over-dyed threads? (Weeks Dye Works, The Gentle Art Sampler Threads, Six Strand Sweets, etc.) If so, what is your opinion concerning them? If not, why not?

I have stitched with all the ones listed and then some! I like the threads that have a definite color change and have used them for monochromatic designs with good results. I'm not a fan of designers using the overdyes as a "crutch" for not doing the work to put the shading in a design element to add that touch of realism. I'm also disappointed when a designer uses primarily solid colored threads but does not provide a DMC equivalent. WDW and GAST cost roughly six times DMC (at regular price....8-10 on sale) and I will mix DMC and overdyes to keep the cost of a design reasonable.

April 19 - Do you do obligation or deadline-based stitching? Why or why not? If you do, do you tend to get in over your head and why?

As you may notice from this month's goals, I do a tiny bit of obligation stitching. I rarely agree to "hard" deadlines of specific dates and prefer "soft" deadlines that have some give in them. Exchanges don't fit that, but in those cases I usually have plenty of time to work that stitching into my other WIPs and I always keep those projects small!

April 12 - For those of you that stitch while riding in the car or on the train, how do you cope with the bumps and the motion? Do you have any tips for others?

I don't stitch in the car - no place to spread out my tools! I do knit on the bus, though. I limit myself to simple projects with either a simple enough pattern to memorize or one I can refer to just a few times to keep going.

Stitching on: Ready, Set, Go! by JBW Designs
Reading (home): Queen of Sorcery
Listening to: Diamondbacks baseball!

The Power of the Post

Do you know the power you wield with your keyboard? And if you do know (as I know *many* of you do), do you use it wisely?

A few words… in a certain place… at a certain time… read by a certain person… the difference between joy and despair is but a few keystrokes away.

We've all seen examples of this. If you were on the TWBB when there was still a JPC section, there were times it was an unpleasant landscape of folks typing before thinking. Members disappeared rather than call anyone to task for their posts, sometimes with much fanfare, more often with barely a whisper.

The pain inflicted is real, regardless of the "virtual" aspect of an online community. You didn't intend it that way? Well, you might wish to soothe the ruffled feathers - privately. You *did* intend it that way? "Do not believe that you can possibly escape the reward of your action." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my opinion, those that take the opportunity to criticize in a public forum demonstrate more of their own character than pointing out the flaws in anyone else's. I have to ask "Would they say the same thing if the person was in front of them?" Most cases, probably not. And if they did, the results may be more damaging to their own physical health than their mental state. It's the ultimate cry of "Look at *me*! I see something and must tell *you* how to think about it!" Ummm….no, no thank you. I'll make up my own mind based on what I know of that poster…. in both cases.

Think about it - there are plenty of opportunities for perceived slights - we really don't need to add to the list with intentional ones. I know of folks who notice what blogs are listed on a blogroll (and sometimes more cutting, which ones *aren't*). Heck, I've caught myself looking at blogs I read and wondering "What did I do to not make the list?" LOL However, I usually get over that pretty darn quick….usually ;) On the boards it was always "Who responded to my thread?" That one got lots of attention at times and in many cases, I rather doubt there was anything intentional going on (ok, at least on my part!).

Shall we dredge up the ever-flameworthy "in crowd" discussion? How was that ever begun and why does it persist to this day? Because posts give it power. The odd inside joke between those "in the know" will be noticed by many - far more than get the joke. The sense that there is communication among a group offboard - which is fine, except when those discussions bleed into public forums. I've been involved in discussions on other stitching boards that migrate to other boards in the online stitching community. If the discussion gets too cryptic, I'll add a link or summarize the original discussion in order to keep the rest of the folks informed whether they like it or not!

What you see in this blog and in my posts on various boards is me - pure and simple. I do not criticize or point fingers as you are all intelligent folks and certainly don't need me to tell you what to think! Wait…let me stipulate that I do not do that to others online… the rest of the world is fair game ;)

That said, you must realize that there's more to me than what you see online, right? I have a job and a family and other more private thoughts and knowledge that I choose not to share. I've met many board members in the last few years and no exceptions I would happily spend more time with each and every one of them. I've seen more of who they are in person rather than simply what they choose to share online. I feel privileged to call many of them "friend" ;) Yes, there are still several folks that I consider friends that I've simply not met yet in person - someday!

The point of this? Well, as I mentioned to someone recently in an email, "blogging is stream of consciousness on a computer" - and this is where my stream has taken me lately with past members returning to the boards and others disappearing. I sincerely hope that I have conducted myself online in a way that would make my family proud and if I don't, ya'll have my permission to tell me ;)