Good Advice for a "Foblem"

You bloggy girls rock! I got so many sweet compliments and good ideas that I needed to let you know how much I appreciate you all (insert big wet kiss here). Annemarie had the perfect solution to my "foblem" (fob problem that wasn't much of a problem, but this is obsessive stitching, after all). Her suggestion is to use the big fob as a pin cushion and make another smaller one for a scissor weight, making a matching set. How smart! To that end, I made a little call to the Needle in a Haystack girls (love those girls) who are putting a little piece of WDW Seafoam (because the fabric makes the fob) into the mail for me tomorrow. How easy was that?

Because I have the "O" word (obsession for those of you with other things on your minds) and because of the BBD girls (who we all adore), I started searching for crushed walnut shells to stuff my new pin cushion and fob. When I googled said product, I found Sharon's blog, on which I learned all I needed to know about buying bird litter in seven-pound (weight, not sterling) bags. Even though I had an idea about what seven pounds of something would look like, it was still rather shocking, so here's a pic of Merlin (my little old man cat who refused to cooperate as I took his picture ... maybe next time you'll see his face) next to the bag.

Like Sharon, I now have what could be a 20-year supply of pin cushion and fob filler. Since I won't be asking a bird to join Merlin and me at home, I reckon we'll have to get busy producing cute little things that require crushed walnut shell filling. I think I just gave myself permission to acquire more stash! Did you like how I quickly justified future stitching expenditures? Please feel free to use that method at home.

Finally, thanks to Deb who sent me some new friends. It's always fun to meet and visit new bloggy buds.

Tomorrow night we're having a double birthday (sis and nephew) family dinner (yay, Mom), which just might provide a multiple ATS photo op. I'll do my best to get pics. Until then, make some fun!

The "O" Word

I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. It's not "O" for orgasm (although I could go on about that for a length of time), and (as I've already gone on about in recent posts) it's not "O" for odor. It's the "O" in OCD ... obsessive.

I got a wild hair at about 10 o'clock last night and decided to start something quick and cute, Shepherd Bush's 2009 fob. I'd been stitching on ATS, of course, and I wanted just a little bitty break. Here's a pic of my progress and a few of my pretties, so you can see that I'm a small fob (scissor weight, to me) girl. This cute SB fob is gonna be way too big for my usual stuffed-with-rice kind of fob. I'd already planned to try crushed walnut shells for a filler this time, but at the size this is turning out (ok, I figured out how big the design size was, but I was in denial), it's still gonna be heavy. I like some weight to my scissor weights, but this would be a little too much. I've been resisting the obsessive urge to pull out all the stitching and start over ... over one. Don't get me wrong ... I love Tina's and Teri's designs. I just don't like 30-count over two. So, after several large cleansing breaths, I've decided just to look at it for a day or two and then decide what to do. I'm gonna do a few little over-one practice stitches on the fabric, just to see how they look. It would be really cute over one, and leaving half an inch or so all around the design, I'd end up with about a two-inch square fob. Can you say obsessive? I knew you could! I'll keep you posted, but you can tell that I'm dying to unstitch it, can't you?

On a saner note, here's my progress on Lo How a Rose. I stitched a little on Thursday night and a tiny bit on Friday, because it felt like I was on roll. All letters again! It's kinda fun to think about getting all of the letters done and then having a free-for-all with the flowers.

While ranting about odors the other day, I completely forgot to tell you how much fun I had with my sister Wednesday night. We laughed at everything (it's what we do) for a couple of hours, saw a few old friends, avoided being asked to dance by a man who kept lurking threateningly by our table, and made fun of the pub clientele. That probably sounds mean, but we make the most fun of each other and ourselves, so it's fair.

Back to school tomorrow as the Sprink Break countdown begins ... four weeks to go, which include CSAP testing (a rant always on the tip of my tongue) and parent-teacher conference week, which is brutal. I love time off!

Odors, Etc.

Thank you to my health helpers out there. Because of your comments, I decided that I'm not crazy (in my nose, anyway) and I emailed my doctor. We'll see what he has to say about my stinky nose.

I have to tell you how the stinky nose thing started. Let me preface my little tale by assuring you that I'm not trying to be mean or ultra-judgmental toward anyone. What I am is shocked and appalled about a student's situation.

Over the last three years that I've worked at my morning school (I drive from one school to another at noon), we've had a student who has often smelled absolutely horrible (words can't describe it). It got so bad a couple of weeks ago that every room she was in smelled horrible also. Parents and students who were at school for the science fair were asking, "What is that smell?" This poor nine-year-old girl comes with four other kids to a small reading group in my room, and at times all of us (including me) have had to find ways to cover our noses and/or scoot inconspicuously away from her. The kids in her class have started making faces and ostracizing her. (The counselor has stepped in with some tolerance education for the other students.)

Teachers and the counselor at our school have spoken to the student (over four years) about the benefits of bathing and wearing clean clothing, generally to no avail. The principal has also had conversations with the student and her mother (many times) about the problem, again with little relief. In fact, the mother refuses to take any responsibility for making sure her daughter is bathed and that her clothes are laundered. She's too busy. As a mom who probably over-bathed her kids, I find this entire situation unbelievable. All I can do is imagine what their house must be like (but not for long). And how could you ignore the fact that your child is filthy? What is wrong with this mother??? (And some info: We've been informed that Social Services isn't interested in grooming. They will step in if the child is in danger due to neglect or abuse.)

So, back to the stinky nose (sighing and stepping off of soapbox, but I could step back on at any moment) ... I thought that the smell in my nose was the smell of my student that I couldn't stop thinking about. In short, I thought that I was imagining the smell in my nose. Then I thought that I was smelling myself.

This isn't the first time that I've thought I was imagining something that was wrong with me. In fact, I try for quite a while to talk myself out of whatever is ailing me. I know other women who do the same thing. I'm not sure what this means, but it makes me think too much. Do we just hate being sick? Do we hesitate to bother a doctor with our complaints? Do we hate to spend the time and money to have a complaint investigated? Do we hate to spend the time being sick? For me, it's yes to all of those things. I wanna feel fabulous all the time, and I'm pretty sure that I can play a large part in making that happen by talking myself into feeling good and/or talking myself out of feeling bad (this does not work with shingles).

Sorry this has turned into a rambling blah-blah-blog. I'm truly distressed by the fact that so many kids are handicapped or enabled or just plain ignored by their parents. This has been just one story. There are many, many others. Tomorrow I'll find something happy to say about stitching.

Too Much Fun

Well, kids, I have so little stitch-type stuff to report because I've been involved in having some fun (gasp). I know! I'm one of those people who think that, to quote Commander Cody, "You can't never have too much fun!" In my warped and twisted brain, almost everything can be fun, but sometimes it takes a little effort. And then there are the times that require much effort. But I digress.

I was busy most of the long weekend dog-sitting and hanging around with the man I hang around with, so that was pretty fun. Nothing terribly exciting, mind you, but I did purchase two fancy carbon monoxide alarms (woop tee doo) and priced a new, very quiet, garage door opener (yawn). Don't you hate to spend hundreds of dollars on things you can't stitch? Having fun while buying a garage door opener will be a situation that requires some work to enjoy. I'm thinking about that so I'll be ready when it actually happens.

Speaking of hundreds of dollars, the bills have started arriving for my unviewable-because-it's-on-the-inside nose remodeling of about a month ago. Who knew that becoming headache-free would cost so much? Truly a surprise to someone who has so successfully avoided surgery for decades. And here's a strange problem: I've been smelling a bad smell almost constantly for about a week. I usually have a great sense of smell (which can be a handicap when sitting next to a person of the pungent variety), but I can't rid myself of this odd, yucky smell. Just to let you know that I've covered all the angles, I've asked people I know and trust to smell me to see if it's me. It's not, and they would tell me if was. Could it be my upper lip? The inside of my newly remodeled nose? I have no idea! So anyone out there who has some advanced degree in odors and their origins, please fill me in.

Finally, I'll be stitching on Lo How a Rose tomorrow night instead of tonight. I've decided to have a little fun with my sister instead! Yes, kids, I'm going to leave my house on a school night and go listen to some friends play music and maybe enjoy an adult-type beverage (another gasp). I know! It's rather shocking! Wonder if anyone I know will still recognize me. I think I'm gonna have to chant on the way there, "It's good to get out ... It's good to get out ... "

Lo How a Rose - Week 4: Letters Only

As you can see, it was letters only that were stitched in LHAR ... with no boo boos ... or none that I've found yet. Since it worked so well, I may have to continue with letters for another day and then have a flowers-only stitch day. Whew! Thank goodness there's a plan in place for the next two weeks! ;)

I'll bet I don't even have to report that I'm back in Eden, in the last section of ATS. I've been discussing the filling-in of the grass with my sister, and I think I have myself settled on what I'd like to try. Siobhan also told me what she did, and I've seen a couple of other finished pieces online. If you have some experience with that last section you wanna share, please feel free.

It's one of those cold, cloudy, breezy Saturdays. Since it's Valentine's Day, I'm baking the man I hang around with an apple-blackberry pie. We're gonna have some tasty chile, cornbread (of course) and some of that too-yummy-for-words pie with ice cream. It'll be nice to sit in front of the fireplace on a cold night and maybe watch a movie ... or not.

Thank you to everyone who leaves kind comments. They're fun to read, informative and much appreciated.

Happy Valentine's Day

Final Phase

I couldn't resist a quick update. All day yesterday, I could think only about finishing that next-to-last section of ATS. So I got home as soon as possible (gee ... almost 7 o'clock), put my ass to the purple chair and finished the pretty little scene (woo hoo!).


Just to give it a little perspective, here's the whole Garden so far ...

Sorry for the blurry pic ... I think I have a problem standing still enough while clicking. But you get the idea. And don't you love the wrinkles and the tangle of threads and needles on the left? Stitching in-hand creates wrinkles, and keeping fibers ready to stitch on needles stuck into my work is my version of convenience. Prettier, wrinkle-free, uncluttered pictures will come at the end. So on to the last section! People have been telling me the ways they've chosen to fill in the last section, and they've caused me to start plotting my own fill-in plan. Before sharing I'll try a little to see how it looks.

Last night was supposed to be Lo How a Rose SAL night, but Adam and Eve and friends tempted me away. Now I'm off to spend some hours on LHAR, take a break from Eden, and think about the upcoming long weekend. My hopes for a blizzard with accompanying snow days will remain unrealized for the near future ... dang it.

Here, Kitty Kitty

While I was stitching that cute lion with the monkey face, I kept thinking, "here, kitty kitty", and eventually he appeared. The only things missing from this lovely little among-the-flora-and-fauna scene is the lady, a ginger-colored sheep and a blue bird sitting on the lion's butt. I like it, and I won't subject you to a long-winded explanation about what I did (or unsuccessfully tried to do) to the moon. Let's just say that I have a left-brain issue concerning symmetry. But then you know this because I've already told you how I readjusted the whole damn border. This pic shows my progress on page three of the four-page chart. My mom, who is retired and has become Super Stitcher (I think she's secretly stitched SS on her undies), is quickly moving through page two. And she just started the sampler at Thanksgiving!!! Can you believe that? I'm working to keep ahead of her in an attempt not to be the slowest stitcher in the family ... even though I am (sniff ... I feel so genetically cheated). My sister is on the last section but we haven't had a progress report lately. Maybe we can eventually do a three-way finish pic.


See the grassy area at the bottom? That's eight out of ten rows of dull fill-in. I've read about how many of the stitchy bloggers hate to fill in, and I'm right there. So, in an effort to make it not-so-dull, I've been stitching a few cute little fun-to-stitch things and then filling in a needleful of grass. Then I go back to the fun stuff for a little while. I'm the queen of deal-making with myself, so that's the deal. I'm not sure what will be arranged when I get to the last section pretty soon. It has lots of cute little things to stitch, but it's completely filled in with two colors of green. I've seen one completed piece with just the cute stuff and no filling. Anyway, thinking about all the filling-in to come got me to thinking about these two stinkers ...

They're both solidly stitched on 36-count linen over one, and that was more filling (yawn) than I've had to do on anything else. In fact, these two little samplers turned out to be true BAP's. So if I finished these two, certainly I can get through one section of ATS, right? By the way, I have another one of these ready to go but other things have cut into the projects-in-waiting queue.


And to you experienced (or just younger) bloggers: I really wanted to put these two pictures next to each other, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I continue to be technologically challenged, so it's not as cool as I wanted it to be.

I'm off ... school tomorrow, and not a snow day in sight! We really need a good blizzard around here.