Meme of Reading Questions - Part 1

I got this from , who got it from Lorette‘s blog. I'm going to break it into several posts, since I haven't been posting much lately.

1. Favorite childhood book?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle was the first one that popped into my head.

2. What are you reading right now?
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson series)

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None

4. Bad book habit?
I buy books instead of checking them out from the library, and when I do check them out, I'm inevitably late in returning them.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Nothing

6. Do you have an e-reader?
No

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
One at a time. If I have several going, it's either because I'm not liking what I'm reading in one of them (fiction) or that I'm slogging through some non-fiction/self-help type book.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
No

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
No idea. I've stopped wasting my time on fiction that I don't enjoy.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
I've been re-reading a lot of old favorites since we finally pulled all of our stuff out of storage. I just finished the Belgariad series by David Eddings. On the new-to-me front, the one that sticks out so far is I Do Not Come to You by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. It was a very funny book.

Stitching Technique: Half-Crosses over One

Anna wrote a compliment about my use of half-cross stitches. One of the commenters asked about it. It's a technique I've used often, and it's very easy, so I thought I'd share. I first learned of it while stitching a Hillside Samplings design many years ago.

On linen or an evenweave fabric (I generally use 28-32 count), use 2 threads of floss to half-stitch over 1 fabric thread.

This works best on designs where you don't change colors often. Not only does it shrink your design in size, it more than halves the time it takes to stitch something. I really don't like doing full crosses with one over one, especially with overdyed threads where I need to do a full cross for each stitch rather than working in rows, so this technique is a real treat for me. Just make sure that all of your slants go the same way.

The framers at my LNS were very impressed when I took the piece Anna has seen in to be framed. They'd seen others try the technique, but there had been ridges between the rows. My rows stayed flat. I think the trick may be that I use the up/down method of stitching rather than the sewing method. That is, I put the needle down through one hole, pull the thread through, and then come up through the next hole and pull again. I don't put the needle down through one hole, up through the next, and then pull the thread through both.

The angel ornament that I'm stitching for the Bride's Tree SAL uses this technique. You can see if you look closely at the original pattern that the design takes on a slightly different look, but I don't think the change is drastic enough to matter. I'll post more pictures once I find them.

One design, three cards

The girls' second birthday is coming up, and I've had an idea for the design of their thank cards in my head for awhile now. It would have coordinated beautifully with the space where I thought we were going to host their party. Then the space wasn't available, and I woke up this morning with a completely new idea in my head. So this afternoon, I took some "me" time and stamped up the following super-simple cards. The best part of these is that they used up a lot of my cardstock in discontinued colors.

Colors used: Pixie Pink, Yoyo Yellow, Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Real Red
Inks: Yoyo Yellow, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Real Red
Stamp Sets: Little Layers, Warmest Regards

6 Girl birthday cards (2 daughters, 4 nieces, including one born just last Sunday!)

6 Boy birthday cards (6 nephews)

12 Thank you cards

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.

Happy 4th Everyone!

The girls had fun watching the fireworks from our stoop.

We hope you had a great day too.

Angel Update

Two years ago today, I showed you my progress on my Angel ornament for the Bride's Tree Stitch-a-Long. While I continued to make progress, this project was put on hold around November of 2008. Here's a photo of where it was then.

I'm planning on working on this some more over the next two months, as I have a fair amount of travel happening and will hopefully have some quiet stitching time.

On Libraries

Two articles about libraries came to my attention today. The first brings some joy.

4 Reasons Why the Library Should Affect Your College Choice

The second makes me see red and purple.

Libraries fading as school budget crisis deepens

The second is particularly maddening since public libraries are also suffering deep cuts in staff and hours, making access to information and resources even more difficult. Grr.