Catching up on some SBQs

Here I am proposing all these questions (and I do enjoy your answers), but I forget to answer myself. So here goes:

January - What's the oldest pattern in my stash? I have a Girl Scout surface embroidery pattern that was my mother's when she was still a Girl Scout. It's probably from the '60s. I can't decide if I want to keep it, sell it, or see if GSA would like it as a donation.

February - Are you ready to break up with any pattern/project in your stash? In the past year, I've been trying to week out patterns I'm not going to stitch. The ones that I'm having the hardest time breaking up with are ones where I've started the project. The one I most need to release is a dupli-stitch sweater bought from JCS in the early 1990s. It's so country and 1980s and so not me any more, but it's 3/4 of the way done and one of my first BAPs, and so it's still in the closet. My mother would probably wear it if I got it to the point of being done enough.

March - Round Robins and Exchanges - nope, haven't done these. I did put in an inquiry about Fair and Square earlier this year, but haven't heard anything.

April - was there an SBQ? I think I missed it.


May - Favorite floral piece? I'm not into stitching large floral pieces. I love to see them, but they're not the types of pieces that I enjoy stitching. Hmm, maybe that's why Spring is underrepresented in my stitching. My favorites include a spring breadcloth I did for a friend of mine, probably in 1995. It was a small corner motif with daffodils. I also did a wedding sampler for my cousin that has a background of variegated trees.


June - Do you stitch patriotic pieces? I love the color combination red, white, and blue, and I've stitched a few patriotic pieces. I'm surprised I haven't stitched more.


July - "I don't have the patience for that!" - I hate when people dismiss cross-stitch, especially with the patience bit. And I never know what to say. For the most part, I think they have it backwards - cross stitch helps me be more patient. I find it soothing and calming. It is an oasis from the go-go-go part of the rest of my life. It also gives me a guilt-free excuse for sitting down and perhaps watching some TV. Some people run; some woodwork; others garden. I stitch.

Whew! Now I'm caught up, until Monday!

AMOT13 & SBQ

On Sunday, I had three friends over for a crafting afternoon. It was bliss. The project I'm working on at the moment is on Aida with overdyed floss. Today's thanks is for the variety of threads, fabrics, designs, etc., that are available.

Which brings me to the SBQ: what's my favorite thread color? My favorite color family is the pumpkin and terracotta range of oranges. There is something about them that I find warm and soothing. Since I have to pick just one, I would say that WDW Sweet Potato is the best representative of this family for me.
The other thread I find myself using frequently is WDW Cadet Blue.

Recording Projects

The Stitching Bloggers Question for this month is:

Do you keep records of your finishes? We are so lucky to have so many record-keeping tools at our disposal to record our accomplishments. So if you do, what recording methods do you use? What do you think is important to record when you've finished a design?

When I first started stitching, I had a small yellow spiral-bound notebook into which I recorded information about my projects. Name, designer, who is was for, start date, finish date, and any comments about the project. Since I was mostly stitching with Aida and DMC, I didn't record fabric or thread.

I'm sad to say that I have no idea where that notebook went. It's probably still in the house. It probably didn't get updated once I moved here to DC in 1999. It'd be fun to go back and review the projects I did.

This blog, which I started at the end of 2007, is now the record of my projects. It's incomplete, but it's what I have. I keep the same information as before, plus fabric and thread details.

I would say that I'm a bad archivist, by not keeping a record of my projects, but the job of the archivist is to preserve records, not to create them.

March SBQ

For March, Lee asks us:

Do you have a favorite Irish or Celtic stitched piece? If you don't, what about a piece that represents your heritage? Or maybe a family tree style sampler? Think about it, then tell us the story of your piece and show us your photos, if you have them.

I almost didn't answer this month, because I was stumped for an answer. I'm not Irish, and I haven't stitched anything Irish or Celtic. I do have a book of Celtic knotwork because it's mathematical.

The closest thing I have to heritage stitching is my Sister's Kitty piece. I haven't done a family tree sampler, but I did write this meme 3 years ago. Maybe I'll use it as the basis of creating a Tree of Me (Bent Creek).

Sister's Kitty

This month's SBQ is: We like to stitch things for people we love. Show us and tell us about one (or more) of your favorite needlework projects that expresses your love for someone.

I've stitched a lot of projects for my loved ones over the years, and when I thought about this question, the first one that came to mind is a project I did for my sister. The project was titled "Sister's Kitty" and it was a chart in the February 1994 Just CrossStitch magazine. When I saw the chart, I knew immediately I had to do it for my sister. I was still fairly new to stitching. This was a medium sized project on linen. My first linen project. I was living in London at the time and had to mail order the linen from the States because I didn't know where to get the supplies I needed in London. (I tried Liberty's, Selfridges, and one or two other haberdasheries, I think.) It was a big endeavor for me at the time but well worth doing. I'm still proud of the piece.

Image from JCS Feb 94. Mine was framed or matted in red to match the dress.

Why was this piece so special? The kitty's gray - just like our childhood kitty. The girl on the tricycle looks a lot like my sister in her 1976 bicentennial dress. The one in yellow dress looks like me in my dress. It's a perfect representation of a moment in our lives and a lovely piece.

My sister, Easter 1976, in front of my grandmother's house. I couldn't find a photo of me in my dress.

December SBQ

This month, Lee asks: Many stitchers really kick it up a notch over the winter holidays. Christmas, Hanukah, the New Year, Kwanza - whatever holiday you choose to celebrate usually means that we’re stitching something gift or holiday-related. Tell us your best story about some holiday stitching.

My family has always given a lot of homemade gifts, so it was natural for me to start looking for some projects when I was in college to give to relatives. Some how, some where, I bought a couple of cross stitch ornament kits. I hadn't really done much stitching at that point, but they looked fairly simple, so I bought them and stitched them up. My first attempts weren't exemplary, but my grandparents appreciated the effort. I did this for a couple of years in a row, and that's really the start of my stitching habit.

As my grandparents passed away and we cleaned out their houses, some of these projects came back into my possession. Each year, when I pull these ornaments out the storage box, I feel like I'm reconnecting to my grandparents.

November SBQ: Thankful

In this month's SBQ, Lee asks us to give an example of a specific instance when we've been thankful for our ability to do needlework.

This question is difficult for me. I've not had to deal with a difficult illness or terrible loss of a loved one. I've not had one of those "ah-ha" type happy moments either. Stitching really is just part of the fabric of my daily life. I tend to turn to reading, especially escapist reading, when I'm really stressed out.

Two stitching-related incidents do come to mind. Way back in 1997, DH and I were flying stand-by on a military flight to Hawaii from Travis AFB. We were on vacation, and the flight was essentially free if we could get on. We'd been checking the schedule and availability regularly, so we thought we'd easily get on a flight. What we didn't realize was that we were trying to fly the week before school started back in Hawaii, and all the families stationed there were trying to get back, and they had priority over us. Every morning, we'd get up bright and early to go check in, only to wait for hours to be told that there was no space. We spent the afternoons touring the local area. We did this for 3 days before deciding to book commercial flights out of San Francisco. I was very appreciative of having my stitching with me during all the waiting. I stitched in the waiting room. I stitched in the car. I made significant progress on this project. Coming back, we were able to take the military flights. Whew!

Last year, I wanted to do something special for a close friend of mine. We've been friends from a very long time, and she was with us all during my labor and delivery of the girls, and went way above and beyond in helping us out during the first year of the girls' lives. When I saw Casey Buonaugurio's Hot Cocoa Sampler, I knew that I had to stitch it for her. My friend was delighted to receive it as a gift last Christmas.

Birth Order

Lee has posted this month's SBQ. She asks:

Where do you fall in the birth order of your family? Do you think that birth order traits have had an effect on your choice of hobby and craft? How so?

Let's see. I'm the oldest of three, but because of the timing/spacing of us, I've often said that my mother has 3 "oldest" children. That's not entirely true, as my sister shows most of the traits of being the middle child, with a few of the oldest child traits. My brother, on the other hand, is truly both an "oldest" and a "youngest" in his characteristics. I also have 3 step-sisters, but they didn't live with me growing up, so they didn't affect the dynamic for me.

I think the need to craft comes from having to fill the time during long winters more than my birth order. And also maybe because we needed to make gifts instead of buy them. All 3 of us kids are handy or crafty. My sister likes to sew. My brother does woodworking.

On the other hand, two of my best friends from college are the oldest and neither of them is crafty. I once mentioned to one of them that I didn't think she had the "crafty" gene. She was terribly insulted. She can fix things, and she can sew, but she really doesn't craft as a hobby. She'd much rather spend her free time outside in her garden.

I do think my oldest child perfectionist tendencies led me to cross-stitching. I like things very neat and orderly. I don't like free form embroidery because I can't make uniform stitches. I'm not an artist or a musician, but cross-stitch allows me the freedom to create, which I very much need. It's also part of why I like baking over cooking (baking is all about measurements and timing) and basketweaving (lining everything up). I've gotten better over the years about "winging it", but I'm still out of my comfort zone when I don't have a plan/pattern/recipe/model to follow. I am pretty good, though, at adapting from the plan to make it uniquely mine.

Quirks

I proposed this question!

Is there anything that you do while you are stitching that is kind of weird or unusual? A quirky habit maybe? Or anything that you do that makes you think, Hey...I wonder if anyone else does this?

I asked Lee to use this question, because I have a quirk or two.

One of the things I do is push the needle backwards through the fabric, using the stubby end instead of the pointed end. I usually do this only when I'm near the end of a length of thread and need want to get one or two more stitches out of the piece I'm using. I know, it's terrible to use the last remaining inch or so of thread because it's been abused being pulled over and over again through the fabric, but I really hate changing out the thread for just a couple of stitches. I will go to great lengths to rethread the needle instead of just switching the thread out. Lame, eh?

Perfect Stitching Group

Time for the monthly SBQ from Lee:

Stitching is an activity that tends to be solitary. Sometimes I wonder if we choose stitching because we are more comfortable with pursuits that we do alone, or does our stitching cause us to be loners? So what do you think?

And you know that I can never stop with just one question or thing to think about, so here’s something else that’s been on my mind.

Since we’re stitching alone most of the time, it seems to me that we get great joy from coming together with other stitchers. It can be such a good feeling when we find a group of people who speak our language and understand our stitching excitement and passion. But since not all stitchers are perfect, not all groups can be perfect either. So…if you could create your own perfect stitching group, what characteristics would make it perfect?

Well, I take issue with the first part of the question. Crafting has generally been a group activity for me, and I rarely stitch alone. Now, I tend to stitch at night while DH and I are watching television or, in my case, listening to the TV while stitching. It's a way to keep my hands busy and away from the chips. :-)

But it is nice to get together with other stitchers, others who understand what you're doing and to some extent why you do it, although I think we each stitch for our own reasons. For a perfect group, you need people who could be friends beyond their stitching, people with whom you get along. And no one who feels she needs to be the center of attention or instruct the group in how to do things her way.

I've been fortunate to belong to both a crafting group and a book group in the recent past. The craft group started out as a Friday lunch thing at work and then moved to Sundays and has expanded to include other archivists and librarians. While we're all professional colleagues, it's our shared passion for creating that brings us together. The group is split between stitchers and knitters, with an occasional sewing project thrown into the mix.

The book group is sponsored by my college club. I actually helped start it with another librarian. What's really appealing about this group is that alumnae from the 1940s to the 2000s attend, bringing a wealth of diversity of perspective and experience. There's one woman who comes who drives me nuts. She's very friendly and means well, but I find her very grating. So I try not to sit near her.

I like being part of these groups. Now if I just had the time to attend more often than I do currently... I love my girls, but they do put a serious dent in my free time.

June SBQ

For the June Stitching Bloggers Question, Lee asks:

So many great things happen in the month of June. Graduations, lots of weddings, the First Day of Summer (for those of us in the northern hemisphere, anyway). Flag Day in the U.S. and St. Jean Baptiste Day for our Canadian friends. And for many of us, the third Sunday in June is Father’s Day and it’s a pretty big deal. We celebrate our fathers, or we remember our fathers or we try to treat our children’s fathers to a special day. So I decided that this month’s SBQ was going to have fathers in it in some way.

And here we go:

Tell us about something that you have stitched or plan to stitch for any father in your life. Maybe it’s for your father, your father-in-law, your children’s father, your grandfather, your godfather, or someone who was or still is an important father-figure in your life. Why did you choose this particular piece of stitching? Tell us the story behind it.

And because a simple one part question is never adequate, let’s go some more:

Often times we identify our love of needlework and our skills with our mothers or grandmothers or other women. It’s understandable because often they were are first teachers or role models. Now let’s think about our stitching life as it relates to our dads. Is there anything about our approach to stitching that we can recognize as traits of our fathers? For instance, does your dad (or any other important man in your life) have an approach to one of his interests that you can observe and think, “Hey….if I substitute the word “needlework” for “fly fishing”, we’d be pretty darn similar!” So tell us about it.

Coincidentally, today would have been my PopPop’s 101st birthday. He’s passed away almost 30 years ago, but isn’t it so odd that I always remember his birthday? And I can barely remember my own phone number some days.

~~~~~

This set of questions made me realize that I don't really do any significant stitching for the men in my life, or at least not the one's who are fathers. Sure, I've done a few ornaments here or there as Christmas gifts and that type of stitching, but nothing truly special. I don't think wedding samplers really count, especially not in this context. So, no stories.

Now, the second part of the set is more interesting. All the men in my family tree were handy. They were mechanics, electrical linesman, and those types of professionals. In general, they were very precise and methodical in their approaches to projects and could build or repair nearly anything as far as I could tell. I'm nowhere near as coordinated or practiced as they were, but part of why I've chosen the crafts I do is because the crafts offer the types of projects that allow me to be precise and methodical while allowing me to express my creativity. So, I cross-stitch, rubber-stamp, and basket-weave.

May SBQ

Lee, the Lake Stitcher, has reincarnated the Stitching Bloggers Question. I'm so very excited. This is a terrific way to find new-to-me stitching bloggers. She's doing it as a monthly, rather than weekly, enterprise.

Her first question is Which kind of stitcher are you: a process stitcher or a project stitcher? Does this carry over into other parts of your life?

As Lee wisely points out, most stitchers are somewhere in the middle, which is definitely true for me. To pick one, though, I'd say I'm more of a project stitcher. I stitch a lot of gifts, so there are often timelines involved. I also fret (lightly) when something has been sitting in my work bag for a long time. I do get really excited when I finish a project.

When I first started stitching, it was all about the project. As I've become an experienced stitcher, I've learned to relax a bit and focus on enjoying the process of stitching. I particularly like projects in which I learn new stitch techniques.

I'm like this in the rest of my life too. I tend to focus on the end goal and not as much on the process. Again, as I've gotten more experienced, I try to remember that life is about the journey. Getting pregnant and having my daughters has really helped in this area of my life.