1. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?
I'd much rather take the pictures. I have to be in the right mood to have my photo taken. I particularly hate being videotaped.
2. Has anyone told you a secret this week?
Yes. Well, not exactly a secret, but something they weren't supposed to talk about. It has to do with office politics, a topic that's driving me nuts at the moment.
3. Do you get along better with the same or opposite sex?
In high school, I would have said the opposite sex. I didn't date, but I had several close male friends. Then I went to a women's college. Today my friends are about equally divided, but I would say I get along with women slightly better.
4. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
The last time I had a job interview, but I don't really get nervous until afterwards when I start to deconstruct how it went. The last time I had my heart in my throat was when DDL rolled off the bed and fell onto the floor. It was shortly after she had started being able to roll at all. I had walked out of the room and DH turned his back for 2 seconds. I walked back in and couldn't see DDL where she was supposed to be. We still don't know how she managed not to hit her head on the nightstand or in any other way hurt herself.
5. What one thing do you wish you had?
More inner peace. I can get very anxious about things. Strangely, becoming a parent has actually helped. I've been practicing staying in the moment a lot more.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Ladybugs
Here we are, all dressed up for Halloween. The girls had a great time at the daycare party. They weren't really into trick-or-treating, but they enjoyed standing on our stoop watching everyone come by. They were, of course, most excited by the dogs that came by.
Hope you had a great night.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Stitching Bag
Anna asked, "What's in your stitching bag?" Well, take a look.
(I'm not sure why some of these are posted sideways. Sorry about that!)
(I'm not sure why some of these are posted sideways. Sorry about that!)
Friday, October 23, 2009
Food blogs
In addition to following many stitching blogs, I've started following a few food blogs. One of the most recent I've found is Octoberfarm. Lately, she's been posting pictures of western New York from this fall, and it's totally making me homesick. I miss summer and early fall in NY. I don't miss winter or spring, though. She's also doing a basket giveaway of all sorts of yummy things, so go check it out.
Do you have a favorite food blog?
Do you have a favorite food blog?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
JSC Christmas Issue
I *finally* picked up my copy of the ornament issue from my LNS over the weekend. Nearly a month after Anna posted her review. For the most part, I agree with her points about the issue. It is rather ho-hum this year. If I hadn't pre-paid for it, I might not have bought it this year.
I have to say, I'm not impressed with the new layout. I *liked* having all the pictures in the front, so I could look at all the ornaments together. I also liked having the patterns in alphabetical order by designer, as it made it easier to find the pattern I needed. I totally agree with Anna that the positioning of the charts and instructions needs to be improved greatly. I would also like a picture of the ornament next to its pattern as well as in the front. I would skip the stories, unless they were directly relevant to the design (for example, the story about the skating in Central Park ornament).
Since they did decide to keep the recipes, I'm glad they're all together in the back. I might actually use some of them this way. I'd rather the magazine dropped the recipes altogether and devoted more space to pattern layout. The most egregious example of pattern non-collocation is in the one for Moss Creek designs, where the main pattern spans pages 60-61, and the specialty stitch instructions are hidden at the bottom of page 74, not even with all the other specialty stitch instructions at the back of the magazine.
One thing I do like is that it seems this year that nearly every pattern provides DMC equivalents for the specialty fibers. I remember having to guess or track the conversions down in the past. While I'll use specialty fibers if I have them to stitch these, I won't go all the way to Baltimore and buy a skein of specialty floss for 13 stitches. On something that's 4"x4", having the upgraded floss doesn't make enough of a difference.
On to the specifics - the patterns I might stitch some day. I've broken them down, as Anna did, by section.
For Let It Snow, my favorite is the Mosey 'n Me "Rejoice", and I don't even have a thing for sheep. I can also see myself stitching "Snow Wishes" by Cathy Jean or "Merry Wishes" by Blue Ribbon Designs.
My hands-down favorite ornament in the magazine comes from the O Christmas Tree section. It is the ornament of the same name by Charlotte's Web Needlework. It's really the only ornament in the entire issue that calls to me. I might also stitch Amy Brueken's "Joy" (another sheep!), The Workbasket's "Christmas Forest" (finished as a biscournu), Erica Michaels' "Blessings", and Angel Stitching's "Santa's Buddies".
In Winter Wonderland, I'm drawn to finishing techniques. Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches' heart is beautiful. I'd be terrified to try to follow the assembling instructions, though. While I wouldn't stitch Thistle Threads' "Snow Globe", I like the finish and already have ideas for it. I can totally see myself stitching Ladybug Lane's "Plaid Greetings" (for a friend who's pet is pictured) or Brittercup's cat for myself.
I guess I'm not into the whole Blue Christmas idea. The only design I like is "Cross of Christmas" by My Big Toe Designs, although I'd probably play with the colors and maybe unemphasize the cross (I'm thinking it would be cute in alternating red and green). I'm surprised that I'm uninterested in Twitter Blue, but that bird is just funky. I tried picturing him in cardinal red, and he still doesn't work for me.
La-D-Da's "Merry Christmas" in the Old-Fashioned Holiday section is my second favorite in the magazine. My only problem with it is that those colors remind me of fall and Thanksgiving, not Christmas. I could see myself also stitching most of the other ornaments in this section, except Penny Angel.
Christmas Confetti - What's with that green? It detracts from the ornaments, making it hard to focus on them. Anyway, I like the quirkiness of monsterbubbles' "Day One". I would also stitch Ink Circles' "Pomander" and, adapted to represent the twins, "Visions of Sugar Plums" by Country Cottage. I like Prairie Moon's "Twist", but would never spend the time stitching it.
In Deck the Halls, "Caroline" by Miss Crescent's Crowne would be the only likely one. I discovered during the Bride's Tree SAL that I have a small thing for cardinals. I think it's the bright red that appeals to me.
I missed the section Joy to the World my first time through the magazine. Just another example of how bad the layout is. My favorite here is "Oh Christmas Tree" by Loopylou Designs (why isn't this with the other trees?). I also like Midsummer Night Designs' "Joy" (but I'd only stitch the ... sheep) and Nordic Needles' Hardanger Holly.
Hey, look, the Holly is stitched on white evenweave that looks suspiously like the unidentified white evenweave that I've been using out of my stash for the past two years for ornaments. Now I know that it's Lugana and will have to buy some more as I'm almost out of the stuff.
Thanks for playing along and getting to the end with me. Now you have a sense of what appeals to me. While many of the other ornaments aren't my style (dragons, anyone?), there are two that deserve comment. Charlette's Collectibles Candy Cane Horse struck me as soooo 1980s, which is really before I started stitching, and I find My Mark's "Christmas Stitching" to be downright creepy. What gives?
Did you have a favorite in this year's issue? Do you have one that creeps you out?
I have to say, I'm not impressed with the new layout. I *liked* having all the pictures in the front, so I could look at all the ornaments together. I also liked having the patterns in alphabetical order by designer, as it made it easier to find the pattern I needed. I totally agree with Anna that the positioning of the charts and instructions needs to be improved greatly. I would also like a picture of the ornament next to its pattern as well as in the front. I would skip the stories, unless they were directly relevant to the design (for example, the story about the skating in Central Park ornament).
Since they did decide to keep the recipes, I'm glad they're all together in the back. I might actually use some of them this way. I'd rather the magazine dropped the recipes altogether and devoted more space to pattern layout. The most egregious example of pattern non-collocation is in the one for Moss Creek designs, where the main pattern spans pages 60-61, and the specialty stitch instructions are hidden at the bottom of page 74, not even with all the other specialty stitch instructions at the back of the magazine.
One thing I do like is that it seems this year that nearly every pattern provides DMC equivalents for the specialty fibers. I remember having to guess or track the conversions down in the past. While I'll use specialty fibers if I have them to stitch these, I won't go all the way to Baltimore and buy a skein of specialty floss for 13 stitches. On something that's 4"x4", having the upgraded floss doesn't make enough of a difference.
On to the specifics - the patterns I might stitch some day. I've broken them down, as Anna did, by section.
For Let It Snow, my favorite is the Mosey 'n Me "Rejoice", and I don't even have a thing for sheep. I can also see myself stitching "Snow Wishes" by Cathy Jean or "Merry Wishes" by Blue Ribbon Designs.
My hands-down favorite ornament in the magazine comes from the O Christmas Tree section. It is the ornament of the same name by Charlotte's Web Needlework. It's really the only ornament in the entire issue that calls to me. I might also stitch Amy Brueken's "Joy" (another sheep!), The Workbasket's "Christmas Forest" (finished as a biscournu), Erica Michaels' "Blessings", and Angel Stitching's "Santa's Buddies".
In Winter Wonderland, I'm drawn to finishing techniques. Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches' heart is beautiful. I'd be terrified to try to follow the assembling instructions, though. While I wouldn't stitch Thistle Threads' "Snow Globe", I like the finish and already have ideas for it. I can totally see myself stitching Ladybug Lane's "Plaid Greetings" (for a friend who's pet is pictured) or Brittercup's cat for myself.
I guess I'm not into the whole Blue Christmas idea. The only design I like is "Cross of Christmas" by My Big Toe Designs, although I'd probably play with the colors and maybe unemphasize the cross (I'm thinking it would be cute in alternating red and green). I'm surprised that I'm uninterested in Twitter Blue, but that bird is just funky. I tried picturing him in cardinal red, and he still doesn't work for me.
La-D-Da's "Merry Christmas" in the Old-Fashioned Holiday section is my second favorite in the magazine. My only problem with it is that those colors remind me of fall and Thanksgiving, not Christmas. I could see myself also stitching most of the other ornaments in this section, except Penny Angel.
Christmas Confetti - What's with that green? It detracts from the ornaments, making it hard to focus on them. Anyway, I like the quirkiness of monsterbubbles' "Day One". I would also stitch Ink Circles' "Pomander" and, adapted to represent the twins, "Visions of Sugar Plums" by Country Cottage. I like Prairie Moon's "Twist", but would never spend the time stitching it.
In Deck the Halls, "Caroline" by Miss Crescent's Crowne would be the only likely one. I discovered during the Bride's Tree SAL that I have a small thing for cardinals. I think it's the bright red that appeals to me.
I missed the section Joy to the World my first time through the magazine. Just another example of how bad the layout is. My favorite here is "Oh Christmas Tree" by Loopylou Designs (why isn't this with the other trees?). I also like Midsummer Night Designs' "Joy" (but I'd only stitch the ... sheep) and Nordic Needles' Hardanger Holly.
Hey, look, the Holly is stitched on white evenweave that looks suspiously like the unidentified white evenweave that I've been using out of my stash for the past two years for ornaments. Now I know that it's Lugana and will have to buy some more as I'm almost out of the stuff.
Thanks for playing along and getting to the end with me. Now you have a sense of what appeals to me. While many of the other ornaments aren't my style (dragons, anyone?), there are two that deserve comment. Charlette's Collectibles Candy Cane Horse struck me as soooo 1980s, which is really before I started stitching, and I find My Mark's "Christmas Stitching" to be downright creepy. What gives?
Did you have a favorite in this year's issue? Do you have one that creeps you out?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
TUSAL
I've been an infrequent poster on this topic, but I have been keeping my orts. This time you can at least see that there's thread in there.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Pumpkins
I like fall and Halloween. It's a fun and colorful time of year. That may explain why it is that I've done far more fall stitching over the years than for all the other seasons combined. Here's my latest effort. This is a fairly easy pattern. I basically stitched this up while watching two college football games.
JBW Designs, Alphabet Pumpkin
Judy Whitman, Designer
Stitched on unidentified 26 ct. white evenweave over 2
with 3 strands of WDW Terra Cotta and Seaweed.
I also carved pumpkins this year. These are the girls first Jack-o-lanterns, as I didn't get around to carving our pumpkins last year.
Wishing you all a happy pumpkin season!
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