Week in Review - 2/8 through 2/14

 

 

Last week was all about preparing for bad weather that was predicted to come our way.  I must admit, I didn't do much, lol.  Stayed out of the stores on purpose and stitched instead!  So let's see what I got done.  :0)

 

I've been determined to get a more respectable amount of work done on Garden Party for the Cross Stitch Collection magazine SAL.  So I worked with serious intent on the lady I had started.  I got her finished!  She has a lot of confetti that drove me a bit mad.  But looking at the other ladies in this section of the pattern, they don't have a lot of confetti like this one.  So perhaps I can whiz through them faster.  Here are two pictures of her from the week.

 

 

 

 

I'm also doing 12 (hopefully I'll get a full 12 done) smalls for the same SAL as Garden Party.  I'm doing Christmas ornaments for them.  Christmas never truly ends for a stitcher, does it?  I got another stocking done on my first small.  This will be an entire set of ornaments that tell the Night Before Christmas story.  I know it doesn't look like much, but with the progress I've made this week, I'm certain I will have this one finished this month.

 

 

I also did some work on a birth sampler that I'll be getting a commission on.

 

 

And just a teensy bit of progress on Lady Victoria.

 

 

Other than that, our week included some hearty and warming soups with homemade rolls:

 

 

Chocolate dipped rice krispie treats:

 

 

And games of "find the poodle" when he sits on the pillows that look just like him:

 

 

:0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A daughter's regrets

I have been a cross stitcher for 30 years.  I started when I was 9 years old.  Self taught and just figured it out as I went along.  I'll admit that my childhood and teenage stitching was sporadic.  I didn't start delving in head first and with serious intent until I hit my 20s.  But still, my teenage self did stitch and at any given time could pull out a WIP or UFO to work on.

My mother was a quilter.  A hand quilter and dedicated to her chosen art.  She even felt that using a machine to make a quilt was, "cheating."  (Please don't judge, we all have our quirks.)  She spent hours at her quilt stand my father had made for her.  ((Why oh why did I give that away when she died?  Such a short sighted thing for me to have done...))  She loved her quilting and was passionate about it.

But some how...for some reason...she and I completely missed each other in the world of needle arts.  I don't know why.  It makes no sense to me now.  I was never much interested in her quilting and she was never much interested in my stitching.  Which makes absolutely no sense because we were close and had a good relationship. 

Why....why did I not take my stitching and go and sit next to her quilting stand and stitch with her while she was quilting?  Why did she never think to ask me to do so?  As women in the needle arts, aren't we always looking for another woman to share this experience with?  Aren't many of us almost desperate for that experience?  It's why online groups are so popular and stitching retreats are held up as the very best end all-be all experience a stitcher can have.

And my mother and I could have had it every day.  And neither of us thought about it.  I guess I was too much of a flighty teenager to even think about such things.  And if she ever did think about it, maybe she didn't say anything for fear of rejection....from the flighty teenager.  And it's true, I probably could not have appreciated the situation then.

But now, oh what I'd give to be able and sit in that room with her again and stitch while she quilts.  You know what they say about not knowing what you've got until it's gone?

It's true.

So very true.

Drowning in the stitches!!

I'm feeling a bit in over my head.  Well, perhaps that's not the right phrase because I *can* do all the things I have going on in my stitching life, I just don't know if I have enough hours in the day for all of them.  I've got my own personal stitching and SALs that I'm in.  I've got my stitching charity to run and stitch for.  I've got a few pieces that will be paid work once I'm done with them (and I'm just starting on them now.)  And I also have a museum piece hovering around in the background that I'll be helping with, once all those in charge work out all the details and funding for the project. 

 

Soooo.......can I have a few more hours in each of my days?  Please??

 

Current progress: With the Garden Party SAL everyone has the option of doing 12 smalls.  So I'm doing them for Christmas, in addition to the Garden Party pattern.  I got started on this ornament the other night.  On 28ct Irish Linen.