Gifts

When you think of gifts, what do you think about? I think about all of the unexpected gifts I've been given, which manifest themselves in the most unlikely (to me) ways. I also think about the wonderful gifts I've been given and the people who have given them to me. I'm much more comfortable being the giver rather than the recipient of gifts. I'm often afraid that I haven't done enough to deserve the gift (I know ... sounds bad, but it's one of my quirks). Maybe that feeling makes me more appreciative. 


Now is the time of year that causes me to think about gifts, because I'd much rather focus on what I've been given rather than on what's been taken. Sometimes the only way to make an event and its consequences positive is to look for gifts.


My sister recently gave me a sampler that she stitched. To me, a stitched piece is always an enormous gift. This sampler is even more special because of the meaning behind it.

It's called An Angel for Rebekah, and it was designed by Kam and Barb at Ewe & Eye & Friends about 16 years ago. I was working for them at the time that my younger daughter died, so they designed it in her memory. She used to go to their shop with me once or twice a week to work on publishing charts and putting kits and charts in their packaging. 


To say that she was entertaining would be an extreme understatement, and she made friends of all ages wherever she went. All of us in my family still tell hundreds of hilarious stories of her adventures and exasperating (for us) moments. She's fresh in our minds because she was a gift to everyone she met, as I'm sure your children are gifts to you. Of course, we consider all of our children in our family gifts, but Bekah is our shared gift. Somehow, that makes things different.


To receive my sister's gift of this sampler is especially overwhelming this year, because Bekah would've been 21 this coming Sunday. I'm even more grateful to have this sampler because I haven't been able to get myself to stitch it. I've stitched other things for her, but this one was more difficult to start. It's just one of those things. My mom stitched Rebekah's sampler several years ago, and I wanted to bring it home with me, but my dad wants to keep it for now. I think that's why Sharri stitched it for me. 


So why am I telling you all of this? Since Sharri brought this finished piece to me, it's been on my mind so much. I think I need to share it, so here you are. I want to make certain that y'all don't think of this as just a horribly sad story. It's sad, but Bekah was wonderful, and what I've learned since she died has been so much more than I could ever explain to anyone (more for the memoir). The most important lesson is to learn as much as you can from the absolute worst things that happen, because those lessons are the only positive things than can come from a truly horrific event. I refuse to be a victim of life, and I am determined to live as full a life as possible. Remembering Rebekah by living a positive life is the least I can do. So that's what I hope you all take from this post. 


I think every day of how incredibly lucky I am. I have children, grandchildren, a great place to live, friends, family, a swain, and so many other wonderful things to appreciate. I can't think of anyone I'd be willing to trade places with. We all have hard lessons and difficult times. As my mom always said, "Life is an endurance test." We'd better make it as good as it can be, right?


So how about some gifts for you who read/comment/follow? I have a couple of things from Mom's stash left to give away to you. All you have to do is express an interest in any or all of the following items, and I'll enter you in a drawing to be held on Sunday evening, April 29. I'll be back to tell about the winners on Monday.


First is Blossom Time by Papillon Creations. This is a chart with some fabric that Mom bought for it. The fabric looks like a 28-count evenweave, but I haven't counted it, so it could be 32-count. Mom chose Gentle Art Sampler Threads in antique rose and grape leaf for this project, so I'll include those. Here's a picture:

Also for your stitching pleasure are Woodland Walk and Christmas Stitches from The Drawn Thread. Woodland Walk is a chart only. Christmas Stitches comes with gold blending filament, Mill Hill beads and three colors of silk floss. I'm hoping that there is enough to complete the project, but I can't guarantee it. These two will be given away together. Here are pictures:

Lastly, I offer you my Napa Valley Sampler chart, along with its kitted fabric (I used a different one) and some of the kitted threads (the ones I didn't use). I won't put a picture here, but you can look at my April 15 post to check it out.


I appreciate all of you who read, comment, follow, and trade emails with me. Even if I don't show it often enough or well enough, I'm grateful that you're here. The community that we have here in blogland is a gift we share. Thank you.


'Til next time, appreciate gifts that come your way, be kind to each other, make some fun. 

April WIPocalypse, Etc.

Well, I completely lost March. I had good intentions, took pictures, but I could never settle my butt into the office chair for long enough to post. So here I am two months later ... sheesh ... what's new?


Life has been busy, as always. Sweet Keagan turned two, and yummy little Blake is soon to be eight months. Here's a braggy grandma picture, because I just can't help myself. 

I actually have a stitchy finish to show you. Here's the Napa Valley Sampler from Ewe & Eye & Friends.

It was kitted with Anchor floss and Gentle Art Sampler Threads, but I switched out the Anchor for DMC. The Anchor greens were just too close to each other. I also changed the fabric from 40-count Sandstone to a little piece of 36-count R & R of unknown color. It's darker and blotchier than the Sandstone was, and I wanted the piece to be a little larger. Instead of doing Kam's coils in the trees (my most dreaded stitch ... ugh), I used two strands of floss and did some Smyrna crosses. Finally, I added our friends' initials and ours. It looks much better in real life.


Adding to my WIP list, I've begun a small sampler from E&E&F. There's so little progress that I didn't take a pic yet, so maybe I can show you a finished version next month (more positive thinking).


Knitting has been big lately, and I finished a new pair of socks for my sister.

The tag on the yarn says that "every sock is unique", which I think I proved. I was knitting a pair for myself at the same time (also unique), but I rushed ahead to finish her second sock before finishing mine. 


A new man came to live with me since I saw y'all last. He's very cute and will look perfect when sitting with his buddies on my mantle later this year.

He's the Ewe & Eye & Friends Limited Edition Santa from 1994 that I showed you here. He turned out so nice and fat!


OK, that's enough for today. Next time it'll be a finish to the giveaways, and I'll try to get on it sooner rather than later. Until then, make some fun.

Wild Weekend

The wedding is over. It was one of those you-had-to-be-there events that defy description, and if I ever do write my memoirs, there will have to be a chapter each for the night before (we were forced by the bride to number off and play Table Topics), the day itself (a lost-but-later-found ring and turquoise-sequined bridesmaids) and the wedding evening with my siblings, nephews and nieces. The good news is that Dad is married and will, hopefully, be happy and will never need online dating again.


To all of you lovely giveaway winners from the past weeks, your packages will go out tomorrow. I apologize for not getting them out sooner, but it took me a few days to recover from the wild weekend.


I've been stitching a little bit on the Ewe & Eye & Friends Napa Valley Sampler. It's going to be a gift for the friends who housed us in their guest cottage last summer in the San Francisco area. 

Thank goodness the painstaking mortar is finished! The satin-stitched shingles were fun.

The heavenly guest cottage ... to die for. The sign in the window is a joke, thank goodness, and we proved it. Look at how pudgy I look reflected in the door's window!

The path to the cottage, which is beautiful but could be difficult to negotiate after an evening with our friends.


I've also been working on Mom's Calico Cat a little. My next WIPocalypse post will probably be without a finish.


After reading Lee's past two Stitching Bloggers' Questions, I decided to combine them and tell you about my oldest project. January's SBQ asked about our oldest projects. Mine is this:

It's called "The Chase", and I've had it since the summer of 1972, when I was driving my mom crazy. I had my second full-leg cast in two years, and I desperately needed entertainment. It's a Williamsburg reproduction kit printed on muslin. No counting was necessary.

Look at those woven strawberries and chain stitch fill-in! The last time I worked on this piece, I was in college. It was probably 1978.

I really "urned" my stripes (no, I'm not sorry for that) with outlined satin stitches and every other stitch you can imagine (ok, no queen's stitches, which are my faves). This poor baby has been lying in wait in boxes during uncountable moves and in my cedar chest for decades. I've picked it up and looked at it, but no needle has pierced its surface for more than 30 years. You'd never know that this is one of the reasons I fell in love with stitching.


Lee's February SBQ asks if we have a project we'd like to break up with. I think I broke up with this project many years ago. I'm not certain when it happened, but it did. I like looking at it and thinking about what was happening when I stitched certain sections, so I can't imagine ever getting rid of it. But the desire to finish it has left me. If I were to work on it again, I'd have to start over. I know too much now, including how little I knew when I was working on it. I've always waited too long to break up. Yes, I'm one of those dummies who wait until they are absolutely miserable and can't remember ever being happy with ... oh, wait ... those were relationships! Thank goodness I can still remember being happy with The Chase. Erica finished it in 2008, and she has my respect and admiration. Maybe she'd like to finish mine. Just kidding, Erica, just kidding.


Next time I'll give away our last two items from Mom's stash. Until then, make some fun.

February WIPocalypse

It doesn't feel like it's been almost a month since I posted ... it seems longer! Yep, it's been quite the month. I think I'll start with the happy stuff, like a new finish. Look below and you'll see my newest finished EEF Limited Edition Santa.

So sorry about the dim and crooked picture. The sun came out yesterday and this morning, but I was unprepared for photography at all the right times. I put his backing fabric and cord floss in the pic with him. He's from a 1994 (geez, I'm slow) Ewe & Eye & Friends kit. I had previously given him an incorrect birth year, but I've edited my sidebar and the post he's pictured in. I hadn't worked on him since the last time I took my mom to chemo more than two years ago, so I feel like I've really accomplished something by finishing him. I'm gonna treat myself and take him to the finisher tomorrow.


For those of you keeping score, that's my second finish of a WIP this year. I haven't been resting on my laurels (such as they are) since I finished Santa. I started a new pair of socks (no picture yet) ... well, two new pair ... long story for another time. I started the EEF Napa Valley Sampler that will be a gift for friends, but I haven't made enough progress yet to show you a picture.


I have to explain a little about what I've been up to. My dad's getting married again, which has brought so many mixed feelings from our whole family that I can't possibly explain here. I guess it'll have to be in my memoirs (uh huh, when pigs fly). Anyhoo, we were told that we'd have to pick up some things (picture a room full of so, so many items) that had belonged to my mom and my grandma. We were also told that these things would be "unavailable" if they weren't claimed by a certain date. So my sister and I (in not-quite-panic mode) went over and started to weed out some things that no one would want to have, and then we've been parceling out the things that we know someone would want. We didn't want anything to disappear without looking at everything. 


I've become the keeper of many items in my basement, just in case someone wants the opportunity to go through some old pictures or would like something they weren't sure about earlier. Sharing was/is important to us, so we want everyone to have chances to decide. I've also become the proud owner of many beautiful things (an antique wardrobe, old quilts, needlework, jewelry, etc.) that had to be put away. It's taken some time to find space and clean out Nikki's (she thinks it's still hers) closet to make room. We've all come to the obvious, shared conclusion that we'd rather have my mom than have her things.


So why am I telling you all this? I've added a new WIP to my list. It's an old needlepoint canvas that Mom started in 1987 (we found the receipt ... the woman never threw things away!). My sister and I can both remember when Mom bought it at The Needleworker, a shop in Denver. She bought it with all the fibers and took a class to learn the stitches and techniques, and she was incredibly excited. Mom called it the Calico Cat (so did I in my WIP list), but Kitty Cat was on the receipt. Who knows? My sister wants me to finish it so we can share it. Is that like a little sister, or what? Take a look ...

Yep, the 80's called and we answered! Notice the water stains at the bottom? I could only find some of the fibers (they were a mess, which was such a surprise), but I'm gonna take it with me to a needlepoint shop to see if they can help me match one wool. The only areas that haven't been stitched are that wool and some DMC colors that I'm pretty sure I can figure out. All the hard stuff has been done. So why did Mom stop working on it? Why do any of us stop working on something? Another bright, shiny object comes into view ... y'all know how to complete that story.


My sister and I kept all of Mom's WIPs and not-yet-started projects we'd like to stitch, and we gave away some needlepoint canvases (nothing hand-painted) that had been started long, long ago. But we have some things that need good homes, and we'd like to offer them to you. So I'll be giving away a couple of things at a time, in upcoming posts, until they're gone. How's that?


First on the list are three 28-count (two are identified, and one we're pretty sure about) fabrics.

Ugh, that's a horrible picture! Sorry about that. There's Jubilee Amaretto (center), Jobelan Bay Rum (we don't know which one is bay rum), and an unidentified fabric. Each piece is 18-by-18 or larger. All three will be given away together.


Also, here is The Drawn Thread's Winter Whitework Sampler.

This sampler pack contains silk floss, beads, buttons, snowflake charm and silk ribbon.


I'll do two drawings. If you're interested in owning and loving either the sampler or the fabric, just let me know which you'd like to have, or if you'd like to be in both drawings, in a comment. I'll draw names the old-fashioned way on Thursday, February 9, and let y'all know about a winner on Friday. Sound good?


I have work to do! I'm off to get busy. Make some fun.

An Update? Really?

Are you surprised yet? I hope someone is, because I am! It's been so long since I updated pictures on my computer that I had forgotten how to do it. Where have all the brain cells gone (sung to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?")? I used to have some, right up until I went to college ... never mind. Anyway, I was successful at figuring out what I knew a while back, and here are some pics.

Keagan was the recipient of my first baby sweater. Do I have a picture of him wearing it? NO! Nikki has it somewhere, but she's a little too busy to bother right now. All I have is this knitting-complete-but-not-really-finished picture. You'll have to trust that it was finished and Keagan wore it and looked terribly cute (of course). I was amazed at how easy it was to knit. No kidding! I even knitted little button holes that worked. I feel smart every time I look at it!

Socks have been a big item for me since I started knitting, so I have to show you the few pair that I've completed. This first pair are top-down socks made of wool.

By the way, the pair I had started when I left you a year ago (the post before last) were finished and have been worn by the man in my life (there has to be something better to call him) for a year. He wears them and tells everyone that I knitted them. I think that's a good thing.


Next up are some toe-up socks. My first pair of this type worked out pretty well. The yarn is wool and a little bamboo, so they're very soft. They're mine ... heh, heh, heh ... and I'm very happy with them.

The lovely camo socks below were also toe-up using the same pattern as the pretty purple ones, but I had an issue. I knitted them for the man in my life (really ... new name needed), but they won't fit over his heel! The only way I know to fix this problem is to pull the bind-off out and bind off more loosely. Or should I pull out the ribbed part, add some stitches and re-bind off loosely? Staci, queen of knitting, if you're reading this, please give me a hint. I thought about screaming and ripping them to shreds just tossing them in a drawer, but they're a wonderful blend of wool and cashmere, so they're stupidly expensive incredibly soft and cozy. The color ... eh, not so great for me, but someone loves them. Suggestions about how to handle the too-small bind-off would be appreciated. I suppose I could take them to the LYS where I've spent a crapload of little money on yarn and ask for some help.

Finally we've arrived at some stitching. I finished the Ewe & Eye & Friends Small Sampler #6 and personalized it for a happy anniversary. I used the recommended DMC threads and 40-count Sandstone, and it turned out great. Oh wait ... I used an overdyed floss for the alphabet. It's hard to tell in my bad picture, but I satin-stitched the insides of the leaves and put my own stuff in the cartouche, including a queen-stitched heart. I used to think these pictures were all clickable to make them bigger, but that hasn't worked lately. Figuring it out doesn't fit into my plans for the evening. ***Edited: The clicking does work! Holy cow! As usual, I'm in the dark.***

That's enough stuff for now. I've got some stitching to do! Next time I'll show you what I've been working on but haven't finished (evidence of ADD).

Tomorrow would've been my mom's 75th birthday. The special day reminded me that a few of you have asked about my dad. He's doing rather well, despite the case of Shingles he has. If, like me, you've had them, you know that isn't a happy way to spend your time. He's been dating, which is fine but weird. I could tell you stories, but you'll have to wait for my book to be published (don't tempt me). Life changes often, and we adjust in whatever ways we can, right? For those of you who have asked about him, thank you. That was extremely kind of you to remember him.

TGIF tomorrow! Is it just me, or do these short weeks seem long? Enjoy your weekend and make some fun.

Whoopee ... Shores Block 3

Finally, Block 3 is finished! What's taken so long? It would take forever to list all of my excuses, so I'll just say that I've been distracted. There's so much going on here, and I'm ready for the more boring part of my life to reappear. For now, just lots of sighing and a very crooked, dark (it's dark all the time!), wrinkly picture of my accomplishment.



I tried to get a picture of just the mermaid, but I couldn't seem to hold the camera still enough to get the job done. I love her.
I had good intentions of showing you some progress on my most recent start, but I really wanna wait until the face (yes, a face) is finished. Until then, you'll have to be content with the supply picture:
Doesn't it look fun? I know! I'm so excited to be working on another Ewe & Eye & Friends Limited Edition Santa. If this guy ever gets finished, it'll be my third. Gee, that makes me sound like a Santa slut, doesn't it? This Santa is from (get ready) 1994. Yes, kids, you read it correctly. It's been in my stash for 14 years (eeeeek). I know! Am I the worst person you know? The really bad news is that this isn't the oldest item I should've already stitched. There are several kits that are older and probably hundreds (no, I don't think I'm exaggerating) of charts that are older. Do you think an intervention is in order? Or do you wanna come over and check out my cedar chest and file cabinet? Uh huh, I'll bet you do! Anyway ... I took a picture of the picture so you could see what Santa will look like in a few weeks (yes, Delusional should be my middle name) ...




My new plan (really? a plan? me?) is to work on him when I'm hanging out with the man I hang around with. We usually end up watching football (sniff ... poor Broncos ... sob), and I can work on him (Santa, that is ;)) during that portion of the weekend. Another good place to work on him will be when I'm visiting Mom during chemo sessions. We always stitch together then, and this is a perfect take-along project. I'm also gonna give him one evening a week while I work mostly on Shores Block 4. I'm afraid that if I set down Shores for the holidays, it'll somehow work its way more deeply into the dreaded WIP pile, so I have to stick with it. Then, just to give myself some variety (a way to ward off distractability), I'm gonna give Sarah Esh an evening per week. Will some organization in my life help to keep my nose pointed toward my stitching? I reckon we'll see.
Another exciting bit of stitchy news is that I got to pick up my son-in-law's stocking from the finisher (who must be working at the speed of light) on Saturday. As soon as I can remember to get a picture of it when it's still light out, you'll see it.
Finally, yesterday I completed another trip around the sun. My 54th! How can that be? Do you ever feel like you're still in your 20's? Never when I look in the mirror, of course! But once in a while, when I'm skiing or riding on the back of a motorcycle, I feel too young to be in my 50's. That's one of my favorite feelings, and I'm thinking it's a good thing.
Make some fun.

Try, Try Again

Thanks to all of your comments, I now know that I'm not alone in my frustration with Blogger f***ing up my last post. That thought is somewhat comforting, even if it doesn't fix anything. Maybe it's a sign that I spend too much time on one post. I'll stop analyzing and just move on.

First, here's how I spent some of my free Friday hours.

I know! I resurrected something from the WIP drawer (ok, ok, one of my WIP drawers) and finished it. Yay me! Exercising extreme self-control, I chose Small Sampler, 3rd in a Series, by Ewe & Eye & Friends. I can remember charting this one way back in the olden days, so it's kind of an old friend. I stitched all but the lazy daisy leaves and sheep wool way back in 2004! So why did I wait five years to finish it? Sadly, that's probably a question for a trained mental health professional, and there's no use discussing it here.

Anyway, 3rd Small Sampler is stitched as kitted with Anchor floss on 40-count Sandstone, but I changed the stitches for the sheep wool from Kam's coils (pains in the ass, IMHO) to large, loose French knots. Because of Murphy's Law of Changing Kitted Stitches, I ran out of floss, and it was one of the few colors not in my stash. That issue caused two things to happen: 1) blog reading/commenting sucked up some of my morning, and 2) I had to go to the LNS and buy other things along with the floss. So it turned out rather well!

For those of you keeping score, I returned to Shores Block 3 on Saturday. I'm making rather slow progress, and I'll have a pic for you next time. I'm gonna have to hold the Broncos partially responsible for my lack of progress. Their games have been so unexpectedly exciting that I find myself sitting in my chair with my needle in the air. Sometimes I even have to jump out of the chair and holler. All of that fan action tends to distract me from my stitching! That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

My TUSAL picture for the month was technically on time, because it was in the post lost in internet space. I was so proud of myself for doing something on time! Take a look at all those perle cotton orts from Reed's Stocking. They take up a little space. huh?

I was at Mom and Dad's a couple of times over the weekend, and look who's been hanging around over there!

These turkeys have absolutely no idea how determined my dad (alias, Mr Gun) is to remove them from the premises. The abundance of droppings they've left on Dad's wooden deck and paved surfaces could eventually motivate him to use extreme measures. So far, he's only used the leaf blower and pellet gun, but he owns quite an arsenal. I'm a little worried that one of these birds is gonna end up on my Thanksgiving plate. Before I shooed them out of harm's way, I pulled out my phone camera to get a shot (so to speak).

A few of you have been kind enough to ask (via comments and emails) about Mom. I decided back in June that I was going to try to give only good news, especially since Mom reads here from time to time. Sadly, there hasn't been much good news to report. Mom's been pretty sick (dizzy, weak, feeling generally shitty) for more than a month. After her last scan received less-than-shining reviews from the docs, they decided that they'd gotten all the good they could from the first chemo recipe, and they gave her a month off. She's on a new chemo recipe now, and it's much harder on her. Dad's taking care of Mom, and the rest of us are trying to help, and we're all hoping that this new recipe does some good work. If you have any prayers/good words/positive thoughts left in your hearts, we'd very much appreciate you sending them Mom's way. I know for certain that she'd welcome the help.

Hope you're all having a good week. Tomorrow it'll be half over! Make some fun.

My New Man

Yep, that's him ... my new man. He's a little chubby, but I loved him as soon as I saw him. And he's not just a stuffed shirt! No, there aren't many like him around. I knew he was meant for me, so I picked him up the other day ... at the finisher's. It's been ages since I picked up a man, so it felt kind of strange. I brought him home to meet the last man I picked up.

Don't they look great together? I think it's the beginning of a wonderful friendship (huge sigh). They're both the strong, silent type. In fact, these two might be the perfect men. I'm anxious to add another one to my collection, but I'll have to work him into my WIPs. If only all men were such willing WIPs (enormous sigh).

You've probably seen these men before. They're limited edition Santas from Ewe & Eye & Friends from ages ago. I've had some hanging around, waiting to be stitched into real stand-up guys. But you all know how that goes. Life happens and priorities change, and before you know it, they're at the bottom of the waiting-to-be-stitched pile. Poor guys. They've been ignored for so long, and they've waited so patiently. I try to make it up to them in important ways. First, I didn't try to finish them myself (we don't wanna imagine what could happen), and then every Christmas season I'll bring them out and put them in a place of honor. Hopefully, they'll forgive my negligence.

I'd better get back to the boys. They're gonna watch "Saving Grace" with me while I stitch. It's good to have company once in a while.

Happy St. Pat's Day! Make some fun.