April GG ~ Bat Cats and Skillets

Hello there, world!  I hope this post finds you joyfully productive with your Gifted Gorgeousness.  I've kind of had a slow crafting month so far.  The weather had moderated for a bit and I spent a good portion of my time outside cleaning up the yard, spring cleaning windows, and prepping the lawn mower for another year of working out on the slopes!  I am so happy to report I have daffodils this year!  YAY!  \:D/

I also made brownies because brownie sundaes. That is a Very Important because.

click for more info

before

after

For this month's GG, I give you a bit more on the 5th side of the Husband Cube; it's starting to look like the bat cat!  Or possibly like a bird of prey at the moment.  Also there is an awful lot of that particular dark blue; 53% of the piece will be that color and I would suppose I'm about halfway through using it here.  I wanted to move on to another color for variety's sake!  So far so good, even if it's a bit sparse this month for other crafty things to show.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
This last part isn't for GG unless I bring out the Almighty Shoehorn Power of which I am so fond.

I really like cast iron skillets. Whilst out and about one day, I found one that had been "gifted" to a thrift store. It wasn't old but it was large and I was on the lookout for one that size.   It needed some reseasoning so I took advantage of this absurdly cold spring and ran it and a couple other pans that needed some love through the cleaning cycle on our oven.

I hate glass-topped stoves.

Don't they look scary!  I always question my choices when I see them like this haha.  The one on the bottom left is the new-to-me one, a 10" Lodge from...?  I cannot seem to find info when Lodge started stamping the assist handle with their logo (this one does not have a stamped handle), but it does have the egg in the pan on the bottom so it has to be from at least the late 80s.  I would guess it's from the 90s.  The smallest one on the bottom right is a Wagner from at least the 60s (has the "Made in USA" stamp).  It's a fantastic egg skillet!  The top one is another Wagner, a #9 from the 1890s-1910s.  It was abandoned in a house we rented.  The inside was okay to use, especially at a time when I had no skillets!  The underside, however, is VERY pitted most likely from being used on a fire.  It is why I was on the lookout for another large skillet.  It sure cleaned up nice though!

old Wagner crud

old Wagner cleaned up

second layer of seasoning

Much better!  I wound up baking four layers of seasoning on these.  They are now ready for their bacon baptismal! :D  I will probably be retiring the old Wagner, though...  The underside is so, so pitted and slightly warped (but not cracked).  It's a shame though because it is as smooth as silk inside.  I love the old stuff!

Okay, enough from me.  I will see you on the next edition of Ishkabibble Babble, probably for the Smalls SAL!

End of the Month: Winners and Stuff

Hello again! October has slipped on by with more excitement than I can really take, more on that in a bit!  I hope you had a sufficiently wonderful Halloween and are not in too-terrible of a sugar coma.

e'e

Hello to all my new followers! I do hope I don't talk you to death. :) I have followed those who have linked up via Blogger in my feed reader but have run into a snag with using the actual blogger widget to follow you back! Blogger has evidently changed something in their system and it will no longer allow me to link my blog profile. Instead, it is trying to use my "real name" profile and I. Do. Not. Want. I'm starting to get fed up with Google trying to push having one's real name everywhere, even if I "lied" so my real name wouldn't be on the internet! Bah, humbug. I'll keep searching for a workaround.

Next, you want winners, right?!  :D  I was curious to see if one design would be more popular than the others but I wound up with six entries for each! I used the random number generator to pick the winners  drum rolls

GGG #1

GGG #2

The winner of GGG#1: Garden Samplers is... Christine!

The winner of GGG#2: St. Nicholas is...  Bea!

Yaaaay!  Please contact me with your addresses and I will have them out ASAP and they will be one less thing I have to pack because... we're moving!  O_O!

yikes!

So, I am going to be rather silent on the blog front for a while. My husband has accepted a new position which means things have really been up in the air and throwing everything they have at my anxiety. There is just too much going on with packing, finding a place, NOT finding a place, actually finding a place, planning for a trip that has been known about for a year that just had to be at the same time as all this, leaving the house and community I love, the new job, the new life, the new aaaaaaaaa seriously, I am so ready for 2016 to just be over!  I am a creature of comfort and stability. There is a silver lining though; the place we're moving to has a Jo-Ann Fabrics and a Michael's and a yarn store.  Priorities!

Haunted House

I did manage to squeak in a little something for Halloween.  I'm not sure if this yarn was a good choice for this but it is what it is!  The haunted house is most visible but the tree and bat were kinda ehhhh....  I did not block it as these cotton cloths take a bit longer to dry and it needed packed right away.


Technical Details

• "October Mystery Cloth" pattern by Kris Knits, found here on ravelry (free).
• #3 needles for cloth, #4 DPNs for i-cord loop
• Yarn: I Love This Cotton, amethyst
• Started August 17, finished October 31, unknown hours.

Hasta la vista, baby! panic panic panic...........

Gifted Gorgeousness, Maybe

Well! Hello! This silence went on for much longer than intended. It was time for a new computer build and of course it decided to be the Build from Hell. Long story short: Skylake and Windows 7 do not like each other.  Windows 10 is currently installed and I'm still trying to figure out how to get my soul back from it because boy-o-boy does it have a lot of invasive privacy defaults.  There are still some hardware issues to work out but at least I'm up and (sorta) running again.  Of course all my blog follows are still on the old computer which I am going to rebuild for my mother.

click me!

I figured I'd try to get a GG post up though I haven't much to show for it.  I'm sad that I didn't get to post last month; it really bugs me to skip out on things I sign up for which is why I don't sign up for much!

before - with bonus parked string

after - with different bonus parked string

I'm not going to beat myself up too much. The stand this project is on, while appreciated, is very uncomfortable to sit at for any length of time. Add the heat of summer arriving and I practically want nothing to do with it.  I am trying to be particular with the second leg of the cross stitch as there are only four colors going from green to blue.  I want the transition to be as unnoticeable as possible.  I hope I've succeeded so far!

Oh!  Remember those baby afghan squares that I gave away before taking a picture?  A lot of you cheeky people admired my invisible projects.  Well they are invisible no more!

such soft much wow

At our next get-together, I asked for my squares and took a lovely(?) shot of them in the library under perfectly ideal(?) lighting. :D They hadn't been blocked yet so they look a little squirrely around the edges.



Our teacher has started piecing them together which she says has been an adventure! I suppose that's what happens when you have many people with their many tensions.  Mine were fun because, you know, tight. :D

I received a wonderful RAK in the mail during the Computer Crisis which made grey skies blue again!

huck towel and bonus!

After hearing about my plight with Hancock Fabrics shutting down and the ecru huck towels vanishing into the world of darkness, Tiffany at Tiffstitches a Blog offered to send me one she got in a "job lot" (new term for me!) on eBay!  Yay!  Thank you so much!!  I'm determined to have the Flower of the Month series completed before I'm 80 haha.

bonus goodness

And look, a bonus! I'm tempted to display the skein on the wall, it's so lovely.  It's a Jodyri Designs hand-dyed thread in Alaskan Beauty.  I have not heard of this dyer before Tiff's blog so I went exploring their site; so many beautiful colors.  I am still a bit afraid of hand-dyed threads because they are not colorfast.  I think this particular skein would look wonderful on some sparkly Silkweaver fabric I picked up last year.

Welp, that's all on this edition of Ishkabibble Babble.  I think.  The heat has fried my brain.

Birthday Rambles and FotM - May Edition!

Hi! Did you survive May? Do you believe it's June? I'm still in denial. :b

I have safely made it through another birthday and even managed to get stitchy related stuff this year which is really exciting! I am never sure if gifters want to be announced "in public" so I have left out the names but I LOVE YOU GUYS! ;u;

The first was so completely unexpected that when I received the package I didn't understand why it was even coming in the first place haha. I opened it up and saw the little parcel wrapped in lovely blue paper and my husband, being the kind derp he is, decided that he needed to open it even though it was clearly addressed to me. o well, he opened it and I just gasped.

crystal whirlpool by picture this plus

:D Isn't it lovely?! I tried so hard to capture its loveliness but those of you with special fabrics know how that goes. It's a Picture This Plus fabric in Crystal Whirlpool, 28-count Lugana. My friend decided I needed it in my life and she was right!  It's such a big piece too! With SPARKLES~!  :D  Will I stitch one big thing? Will I stitch a million little things?! The possibilities are amazing! :D  I can even use this for Gifted Gorgeousness once I figure out what I'll put on it, eeeee!  :D

I may have blown up her Twitter feed in my excitement lol.


Next, way back in January I was RAK'd a $10 gift certificate to Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery! I knew (hoped) that they'd have their sale around this time of year and they did (code is SUMMER if you want to join in the fun too wink wink)! I have been wanting the Christmas Celebration Sampler since forever and figured since I had the gift certificate I might as well splurge a little and get one of the minis (lookit the kitty!). I did debate getting one of the SALs but I am very fond of display typography so the Christmas Sampler won out.  But when I went to check out, there was no where to enter the gift certificate code!  I think PayPal was glitching as it also said that I'd have a chance to review my order but nope, it just ordered directly.  I emailed them immediately after purchase because I was so puzzled why I didn't get a chance to enter the code. They were super sweet and applied the gift certificate amount after I sent it to them. 10/10 will definitely do business with them again!

three varieties!

Lastly, these aren't exactly crafty items though it is another hobby I love. I was complaining to my mom about a particular part of the yard that is awkward to mow/trim yet stays shady for about 80% of the day. She thought hostas would do well there so that's what she got me!  I look forward to mostly ignoring that corner now haha.

Also these lovely new pots. I teased my husband that I need more plants for them and he teased me that I should give the ones I have upgraded homes lol. We'll see who wins this battle. ;)

before

after

Now enough bragging and a shameful update on the still-incomplete February Violets. I did work on them more since Muppets are done.  I don't know what it is about this piece but they are very stubborn to stitch!  It's not a super confetti piece.  It looks cute.  What is it?!

I have also ran into a snag -- Hobby Lobby no longer carries the showcase huck towels! I liked buying them there (not only because they are the only store in ~50 miles to have anything needlework) because I could use the 40% off coupon. Now they don't have them! And they're not on the website! I have tried searching online at other stores with the cheapest being $6-8/towel. I feel unreasonably grumpy when supplies I like go out of production, how about you?

Hmm.... I almost feel like a new start...

Around the World Blog Hop!

I was invited on the Around the World Blog Hop by the wonderful Vickie (her blog hop post is here) and of course y'all know by now I can't miss an opportunity to ramble~ We were asked to answer a few questions so maybe you British folks would like to have a cuppa before you start. I don't even know if I used that word right. I'm as American as a hamburger casserole.

chibi America
from Hetalia

1. What am I working on?
MY SANITY?! AAHHAHAHAaahhaha... ahem. It's never fixed.

I have a couple of projects going on in-between the random morale-boosting smalls.

First we have the neglected Dolphin Trio. This poor thing is definitely a UFO for, um, maybe 4-5 years now. Eep. I really should finish it some day, especially since it's so small and so close!

seventeen hours!

Next we have FFIII. There is (still) a grievous counting mistake in it that I haven't found the heart to pick out yet so it's been lurking on the stand for several months now, mocking me. I'll put on my big girl panties some day and get it back in shape. It's turning into one of those projects, you know, those ones that just give you all sorts of problems from fabric to floss to being unable to count...

Lastly, I have a couple of smalls going/planned as I'm participating in Mega Mini Month Madness along with a host of other wonderful ladies who are all glad to be getting their pile of minis worked on. I have made more progress on him but haven't gotten a new picture yet.

I also have a pattern on the computer I'm being very (overly?) picky about as it will be a gift for a friend.  It's very close to being completed but it will be interesting to see how it actually works up.  Eek!

itty bitty pumpkin... attempt

I am also learning how to crochet! My friend introduced me to ravelry.com and I've been hoarding free patterns in my library. This was one called Itty Bitty Pumpkin and it almost looks sort of like a pumpkin! Maybe!  It is very small; I should've included a coin with it (slightly bigger than a US quarter).  I wanted the stem to be a loop so I sort of made that part up as I went along.  It starts with a magic ring and as you can see, the magic wasn't in my ring (there isn't supposed to be a hole in the middle).  :(  I will keep trying though!

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I guess my work differs in that I tend to like stitching nontraditional subjects (eg video games/anime/manga). Please don't take that to mean I'm not interested in traditional subjects, I am! But I'm much more likely to stitch something nontraditional myself and cheer on all the traditional stitchers. :D  But for me, there is something about taking a traditional medium and doing nontraditional subjects. Does this make me subversive...?

3. Why do I write/create what I do?
I write what I do because I like to hear my own head rattle (cough). Once a motor-mouth, always a motor-mouth (cough cough).  In reality, I write because I will forget. I have a horrible memory and if I don't chronicle my adventures in crafts (personal blog is elsewhere), I will not remember the journey. And I don't want to forget it! Plus I like to share my creations with others and see their opinions and be inspired by their works.

I have a hard time creating because I have a stigma about the "usefulness" of a project. I love the relaxing feeling of creating but there is only so much I'm willing to put on the wall (and that is admittedly a very small amount). I like to stitch the video games and anime stuffs as a way of showing that love for the subject. I imagine that's true for a lot of people even if we don't obsess over the same things! :) That said, sometimes I just need an escape. Stitching allows me to organize my chaotic thoughts and still have something productive going on.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?
Writing = word vomit?  I'm much more reserved in-person but somehow the hyper-happy always leaks out online.  :)

Creating... hmm. It depends on the piece and who it's going to be for. Once I get over the usefulness aspect, anyway. If designing my own patterns, I have to find an image I like, run it through a charting program, get mad at it a few times, let it lurk in the depths of my computer, fish it out again and redraw, take the colors listed to the store, gasp at how none of them are correct, wing a floss toss, and then maybe I can stitch. Even then, when I'm working on a project I'll have a random whim to change something (whether color or shape or or or...). I am an expert at creating frogs so if you've been around long enough, you might recall just how Overly Excited I get when I have a (somewhat largish) finish. Amplify that 10x if the finished product gets a frame. So my creative process is pretty much a mess filled with ultimate highs and despairing lows. It's the highs that keep us going. :)

I hope you have survived and if you've gleaned anything from this post -- I'm just a little helter-skelter. I fly by the seat of my pants more than have a strict organizational thing going on.

Now I'm supposed to pass on the baton of the world so I picked these fun ladies:

Steph at Show and Tell - In the wilds of England! - The happiest blogger in the world; she knows the secret of finding joy in everything and then giving it to others. I think she might actually be a fairy because it seems she just makes magical projects out of nothingness all the time. If only I had, like, a tenth of her doing ability, I'd have so many finishes!

Tenille at Stitched Up! - In the wilds of Australia! - She's pretty new to the blogging world and works on crazy things like HAEDs and Châtelaines which I know many of you love (and they are gorgeous)!  She also has an adorable little boy who would love nothing more than to explore her craft bin, ehehe.

Amber at Last Yesterday - In the wilds of Oz! - I've known this hobo for probably around 10 years in the online world and she's one of those special snowflakes who's like "Hey, a thing!" and then makes the thing. Perfectly. She stitches, sews (when sewing machines aren't out to off her fingers), yarns (when her wrists aren't falling off), and quilts.

And that's all folks!

Cross Stitch Tag - Part 2

Here is part 2 of the cross stitch tag rambles! The first part can be found here~

Question 9: Do you stitch for gifts or keep for yourself?
As of late, it seems like it's been nothing but gifts! Don't get me wrong, I love making gifts for other people but I have very low confidence in my abilities. It terrifies me to give handmade stuff to people other than my mom (because all moms love stuff from their kids, right?). If the gift is going to a known-to-stitch person, I'm less afraid because I feel that they will appreciate it. I do keep all my Final Fantasy stuff; after all the designing and stitching and tearing out my hair I'm never going to part with them!

Question 10: Favorite finished stitched piece?

Southwest Spirit

I found this piece in a thrift store back in 2010 with the border and a bit of the background started. All of the floss was included in little floss-a-way baggies and the pattern was in pretty decent shape. It smelled horrible. I had to wash it at least twice because I was nearly overwhelmed with cigarettes. Admittedly, I purchased it mind of picking out all the stitches and using the fabric for something else. My mother saw it though and really liked it, so I decided to finish it up. I am glad I did because it was so much fun to stitch! My absolute favorite part was that little brown pot on the left. It was also the first piece I ever stitched on a floor stand and that may have contributed to the love, haha. It's so much easier to stitch using both hands.

Question 11: Worst experience while stitching?
Washing a finished project... that bled! After some panic and frustration with less harsh methods, I bleached the spot. Turned out fine!

Framed, and in sunlight!

Question 12: What do you love and hate about cross stitch?
Hate: FROGS. There is nothing that can demoralize me faster than a stupid counting error. It's like a downward spiral of frustration and despair until I'm convinced I'm the most worthless human on earth for not being able to count. Then projects get half-abandoned until I put on my big-girl panties and stop sulking. :)

Love: I MADE A PRETTY PICTURE! But seriously, there is something incredibly satisfying about making a picture come alive with nothing but a needle and "string" (as my husband lovingly calls it).

Question 13: Have you introduced anyone else to cross stitch?
Hmm, I don't think so. My friend recently picked it up but she's crafty anyway so I don't think it counts. She's already blazed way past me with all her Q-snaps and adorable needle minders and making her own Q-snap cozies ahaha.

Question 14: The first project, did you finish it?
Alas, no. The afore mentioned stamped kit is still unfinished and will probably never get completed. There's a childish sort of charm about it, I suppose.

Question 15: How do you store your floss?
Bobbins, bobbins everywhere. After picking up a 1000-pack of plastic bobbins off of Amazon, I find myself using them to relax between those odd jobs around the house. Harvest the garden? Wind a bobbin. Trim the sidewalk? Wind a bobbin. I definitely need more plastic bins to store my floss but I'm being horribly picky and wanting bins in different colors (I can only find clear around here.). A friend found purple and blue ones at a Micheal's or Jo Ann's but the nearest one of those is over two hours away. Not an easy trip by any means.

BOBBINS

Whew! I hope you survived my longwindedness. I need to get my tiny IHSW report up (timely as ever~) with an equally tiny stitch. I am happy to announce that the pink is completed on my slightly larger project and it didn't wind up being two full skeins. VICTORIES.

Cross Stitch Tag - Part 1

Well, I'm sure you have realized I like a good ramble and what better way to ramble than to be asked questions! I found these on Cathy's CraftyCat blog and of course couldn't ignore them. :D I added in a few pictures to break up the wall of text haha. And after typing up some answers, I realized that perhaps I like to ramble a bit too much and have broken this post up into two parts so as not to inundate y'all with a wall of words.

Question 1: How did you start? Who introduced you to cross stitching?
I started back in 2009 after deciding on a whim in a thrift store to try one of those tiny kits that come with a tiny plastic frame. I think my mother had attempted to get me interested in it back when I was just a wee little Rosey as I have a stamped piece with stitches started on it that would put everyone to shame ahaha. At the time, however, I was much more interested in being outside All The Time and one would never know where exactly I was in the woods at any given moment (perhaps contributing to some early gray hairs on Mom). Digression aside, that little kit from 2009 (which now hangs on my Mom's fridge) was the 2nd beginning. Then I discovered cross stitch on the Internet. From then on it was game over. :D

Question 2: Favorite theme or designer?
I do like video game themes as well as anime/manga designs (though I haven't really stitched any manga yet!). Iffin's I'm looking to buy, I like stuff found on SODA Pattern Mall/SODA Stitch Indonesia and the swirly designs by Alessandra Adelaide. Buuuut... I have never bought a pattern from anyone! All the patterns I've stitched were found in thrift stores or created by me.

Question 3: What brand of floss do you use?
I mostly use DMC as it's the only thing I can find around here. The nearest LNS is not-so-local 50ish miles away and while they actually carry the full line of DMC and Anchor, DMC is all I ever buy. I have, on occasion, used Sullivan's floss but I'm not overly thrilled with how it stitches. The exception -- it seems like Sullivan's black is better than DMC 310 but I may have had old skeins of 310 to reckon with. I am sure hand-dyed special flosses are wonderful but I have yet to run across any!

Question 4: What is your fabric of choice?
I use hardanger for anything that stays with me, it seems. Other than that, I'm not really picky. I have plenty of 14-18 counts lurking in my stash that I dream up plans for and never do haha. I have (always had) bad eyesight, so higher counts like linens are difficult for me even though they look so magical once stitched.

Question 5: Do you use a needle threader or are you a floss licker?
Lick that floss! I'm hopeless at keeping things within easy reach or in one place so it's much faster to use things that are conveniently attached to me -- like my mouth.

Question 6: What brand of stitching frame (or hoop or otherwise holder) do you use?
I have no idea what brand my floor stand is. It was an open box item at Hobby Lobby but it came with no paperwork nor was it stamped with any brand. Hoops are just your standard plastic ones (obtained from yard sales or thrift stores). I 1000000000% prefer stitching with a stand though. I have not-so-great wrists that protest after a lengthy stitching session with hoops. Plus, I can stitch two-handed on the stand which makes work much faster!

O_o

Question 7: How many projects have you finished?
According to my finishes page, 20! Of course, not all are cross-stitch and I have several tiny finishes that never got photographed so that number could be more or less (super accurate answer, right?).

Question 8: How many completed works are hanging in your house?
One! No, two! I bit the bullet and got FFVII professionally framed and it hangs in out in our living room. I have yet to get FFVIII to the framers and because it's a bit bigger and awkwardly shaped, it will be even more pricey and I have to work up the courage to spend that much money. The second is a tiny kit with plastic frame (thrift store find!) that declares to all who use the kitchen sink, "all work and no pay makes a housewife". Just as a public service announcement. :b During holidays, the count tends to go up, especially Christmas! I love stitching little ornaments (An actual finish? How could I?!) so even if they're buried amongst the boughs of a Christmas tree, they still count. :D

I didn't take a picture of it actually on the wall, but I can assure you it blends in quite nicely with our small collection of video games.

Welp, that's it for part 1! I hope I didn't bore you too much. I'll put in a little teaser picture of my current WIP just to prove I am doing something besides hearing my own head rattle:

behold, pink

Makes it easy, right~? I must admit that pink is not my favorite color in the world and after going through a skein of it (and possibly another skein will be used up as well), I'm a little pinked out! This project is around 2/3s complete though, so I will keep plowing along. I shall not be defeated!

Zombie Apocalypse Averted

Wow, okay. It's been almost a year since I've last posted here -- and almost just as long since I've last stitched! It seems like it has been a crazy sort of year (I got married amongst other things, eeeeee!)

Fall housecleaning is out of the way and I'm starting to feel desirous of hibernating under a blanket til spring. This usually leads to needing something to do with my hands so I am currently plopped at the computer working out the pattern for my next Final Fantasy project. Which one? You'll find out! Eventually! Maybe! I have also been playing a lot of minecraft lately. I need to stitch a small creeper that I can hide around the house and scare my husband ahahaha.

I feel sad about not having a shiny WIP but there's been no P'ing. I will try hard to remedy that! :)

Small and Late IHSW!

Well first of all you guys need to kick me in the pants!! I had no idea that the spectacular Jo had offered to put $10 toward getting a piece framed! Her entries don't show up in my reader. Nor do Daffycat's. I hope there aren't more people not showing up -- if so, I'M SORRY!! I just thought you all were quiet posters, lol! But now that I know people are hiding from my reader (LOL) I can google the blogs. If I've been missing anyone else, let me know. I may have to create a bookmark folder so I know I'm checking them all! :)

BUT YAY I can get something framed! I have e-mailed a local framer for info regarding FFVII options. We'll see if she breaks the bank. I hope not, 'cause then I can get FFVIII done too! And then I can really call my home The Home of a Needleworker! :D

And now, IHSW! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get anything done this weekend as it was the Fall Festival and I'd be out of the house quite a bit. I got something finished even though it was technically finished before, haha. I got the felt backing sewed on, yay!

Front & Back

I think next time I will leave the edges straight omygoodness! That was some crazy stitching all around there. I'm not sure orange was the right choice but I think orange and black for Halloween and that's how that happened. I'm not so good at floss tosses, I suppose. And of course after I stitched the back on, took pictures, and admired her I realized I forgot to stitch her little cape ribbon on!! Aaaa. *facepalm* It'll be an easy fix as long as I'm super careful...

She was stitched on black 14-count perforated plastic in six colors plus the orange blanket stitch for the edge. I backed her with a piece of black felt. She's modeled on my chopstick lamp and is 3.5" tall. You can find the wonderful pattern on Carolyn's blog, along with a whole bunch of others! :D Also her dA has more!

Now I'm off to catch up on everyone's posts~ I'm sure y'all will have productive fingers again this week, much more than mine, haha. :D

Blog Hop #4: Society Assumes

Hooray, another blogging prompt~ This one is quite a sensitive topic for me as I find myself on the other side of the spectrum. Without further ado, the question:

• Do you experience this same assumption from society in general that just because you’re being crafty you're also driven by some unseen force to be in constant 1950s housewife mode? And then... Who actually does the cooking and the cleaning in the household? I’d also really like to hear some words from the men in the crowd who stitch on this topic. What sort of societal reactions do you get and what ridiculously wrong assumptions do people make towards you when they see you working on needlework?

Well, I'm weird. I am a housewife, but as one that is under 30 years old, I find a lot of pressure, disbelief, and/or ridicule for my choice. "Don't you get bored; what do you do all day?" "You're so lucky, you just get to sit around all day!" The snide hints that I'm unable to do anything else with my life. It's incredibly frustrating and painful. "Just do what makes you happy" only applies if other people are happy with your choices.

As for who cooks and cleans, well, I do everything~ I like to cook and as cliché as it sounds, I love having supper ready when B gets home from work (though it's hard to get the timing right as he'll come home at a different time every day). I like that he can come home from work, eat food, and then vegetate the rest of the evening (as do I). I also do the yard work which includes all the lawn mowing (love to do that) and gardening. The only thing that's "his" domain is car maintenance. Obviously if there's something beyond my physical ability (hey, I can't move all the furniture by myself), he'll help out. I try to keep the house sparkling and as we don't have kids (do the crazy cats count?), I might have it quite a bit easier than others, but that still doesn't mean I sit around and do nothing. There is ALWAYS something to be done around the house, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed a break! And if that break involves stitching, so much the better!

I'm certainly no 50's housewife though. Can you imagine the dress and heels? I'd faceplant all over the house while being strangled by pearls, haha! I have gotten some strange looks from B when he comes home from lunch and I'm in horribly dirty work clothes which are anything but glamorous. I'm much too practical to wear clothes to look nice while scrubbing floors and whatnot. I need to be able to move comfy as I'm wriggling all over the house. :D

Perhaps because my other interests include video games, computers, etc., I haven't encountered too many "old lady hobby" dissenters for my crafting desires. I can be a crafter, just not a housewife.

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
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S.E.X. Update!

I apologize for the radio silence; near the start of the month we had a trip to Chicago for an extended weekend of family and dinosaurs! We had a lot of fun in the Windy City (I didn't find it windy, how sad~) with going to the awesome Field Museum, eating epic pizza, and finding a Jamba Juice near our hotel.

If I had planned it better, I would have inquired about nifty needlework/craft shops up there as I was completely unfamiliar with Chicagoland. Despite my unfamiliarity, we managed to find a number of Goodwill stores up there, and they yielded a number of exciting finds for my Stash Enhancement eXperience!

Because the phone pics load up so tiny with the app, I'll list what I dug up! :D

I managed to find some white hardanger (12" x 18") for $1 and that is what I use for the Final Fantasy stitches! Next is a piece of ivory 11 count Aida (also 12" x 18") f or 50 cents. I haven't a clue what I'll use it for, but hey, 50 cents! Next is a sheet of navy blue 14 count AidaPlus (9" x 12"), something I've never heard of before. It appears to be regular Aida with interfacing on the back. It's quite nifty but I need to think of a suitable project for it. Lastly, I picked up two small kits, both Christmas decorations. One is a cute Santa crewel kit with a plethora of French knots, and the other is a little kitty under a Christmas tree.

Goodies from Goodwill~

While I had fun with the needlework supplies, I also managed to enhance my "everyday" plate set! I love the Spring Blossom pattern from Corelle and I'm working on acquiring service for eight. I found the large and medium sized plates, and already had the saucers. It seems impossible to find the bowls and dessert plates! Maybe one day! I also found two Farberware saucepan that match the lonely one I picked up at a yard sale a couple of years ago. I love that saucepan so finding the others was squee-inducing! :D

Well, that's all for today's rambles.  I have the next blog hop prompt addressed but I have to wait for the weekend to post it correctly. Too much extra coding necessary to post from the phone. Until then! :D

My new old plates!

Edited June 24, 2012!

owhat!

omygosh, remember that last post where I mentioned moving? Yeah, we moved. Again. Long story short, the first house was horrible and I'm more than a little irked at the landlady for not disclosing the problems involved with the house. We got out of there ASAP into a delightfully crafty-inspiring farmhouse out in the country. The downside to this awesome new house is no internet yet and possibly ever! (I'm currently updating while visiting family for the holidays.)

Of course all this moving means I've failed to get my Christmas goal(s) finished (and everything else Christmas really!). This makes me SadRosey because I've made myself a small ornament for the past couple of years and I didn't get one this year! :( I'll just pretend our new awesome house is my ornament. Once I get settled, I'll be able to post some progress pictures, even if it has to be through library internet! I already have plans for a craft/hobby room, yay! I feel like it needs to be decorated terribly geeky but I might save that for the computer room. :D

I hope y'all have a magnificent 2012 and that all your stitchy goals come true! ♥

Where did I go?!

I've moved! And have found out the hard way that this is an absurdly awful time of year to move! I did manage to unpack my stitchy things (what, we need kitchen utensils? Nah...) and make progress on my moth angel! I've actually attempted to modify the pattern a bit and I think it looks acceptable and possibly unnoticeable if one doesn't know the pattern! I have pictures but no way of uploading them as I haven't unpacked the transferring apparatus!

I've also taken pictures of our "Christmas tree" that I've created just to have something, haha. I taped some yarn to the wall in the shape of a tree and have it "decorated" with Christmas cards. It's a little ghetto but I have been so overwhelmed with packing and unpacking to put up a real tree (too much farm girl pride to have a fake tree). I shouldered aside my prejudice and went with the yarn.

I'm sad to have missed the IHSW this month. I'm so close to finishing so maybe there is hope for something before Christmas. If the beads don't kill me first.

I think they are determined to do so.

A Giveaway, Pattern, and Meme!

First of all, thank you for your kindnesses regarding last post's issue. I'm feeling better, although still worried about my friend.

Next: A giveaway! Leesasaur makes totally awesome amigurumi and is having a giveaway for her super cute French Toasts! Go check out all her stuff; everything is really cute and appropriately dorky. :D

NextNext: A new pattern on the patterns page! I saw an advertisement in the Dec 2011 Game Informer magazine that I thought would translate well to a cross-stitch pattern! Clicking on the picture will take you to the SpriteStitch forums if you're interested in downloading it. I still haven't found a suitable way to host my patterns. Can anyone tell me if Google docs would work for this sort of thing? I usually post in PDF formats.

Christmas Shooter!

Since I don't have any progress shots to post (still!), I thought I'd entertain (myself?) with a conglomerate of stitching memes~ I forget where they all came from so if the original writer stumbles upon this, I'll give you credit!

Where did you learn to stitch?
I taught myself how to cross-stitch by picking up small kits in thrift stores. Those little bitty ones that come with the plastic frames. They've either become Christmas ornaments or decorations for my grandmother's kitchen.

What is your favorite type of stitching?
Finished. XD
I assume this is talking about what kind of stitches...? I like cross-stitch the most because I'm very fond of pointillism / stippling / divisionism styles in the art world. I suppose I could French knot a piece. (*hears gasps and shudders from around the world*)

How many years have you been stitching?
Summer of 2009 is when I picked up the kits, so almost two and a half years, yay~

Have you tried any new techniques in the past year? If so, which?
Blanket stitching! It makes for such a professional looking finish. Now if only I could cut straight!

Do you prefer small or large projects?
Usually I prefer large projects because they just look so darn cool. Small projects are good for morale though ("Hey, I finished something!").

Any particular subject matter you prefer for your projects?
I really like video game and anime/manga subjects. Anything that's not exactly traditional. I also like holiday stitching so I should incorporate that into the other genres.
Then sell them on Etsy.
And rule the world.

Where do you get your inspiration?
A lot of it comes from either deviantART or Sprite Stitch or MrXStitch. I'll get inspired, then Google everything. Sometimes, I'll just be reading and think, "Oh, now wouldn't this be fun to stitch!" I need to get an Idea Book that I can keep on my person at all times.

How do you hold your fabric?
With my toes.
...:D
I'll do small projects in a hoop, really tiny ones (like a badge) without anything but Magic Finger Tension, and large ones on my floor stand. An 8" hoop is the largest size I can comfortably hold in my hands without my wrists freaking out. I really, really, really prefer the floor stand and will baste extra fabric on projects just so they'll fit it.

Floss licker?
Oh yeah baby~<3 I'll slobber all over that strand if it gets it through the eye, especially of a beading needle! I have multiple threaders but they're usually over there and I'm usually over here. Licking is much more convenient.

How do you thread your needle?
Lick and poke. I'm almost always doing the loop method so it's two ends poked through the eye.

What needle do you like best?
I must be too much of a n00b. I like pointy but not very pointy that they stick in me every time I so much as glance at them. I think they're called embroidery needles. Whatever size comes in kits. 24...26...? I've recently discovered the magical world of needle sizing (it's like piercing ears!). I do not like the beading needle. D:

Are you a needle loser?
I try extremely hard not to leave anything out after the horror story of my friend having to rush her cat to the vet for consuming three(!) needles. Plus, I'm horribly forgetful so if the needles aren't put away, they're forever gone, lost in the dregs of my fuzzy memory.

Do you stitch on the go?
I have a little travel kit I take with me! I've found I can only stitch for an hour in a moving vehicle. I don't get carsick but I do get a headache trying to count in a wriggling vehicle. But stitching is a great activity for traveling -- people are usually interested in what you're doing and it's such an easy craft to do and still have a conversation.

What fabric do you prefer to stitch on?
Um. Stitching fabric? :< So n00bish. I've worked with 14- and 18-count Aida, hardanger, and now 28-count Zweigart (linen? how do you know?!). The Zweigart is so nice and soft compared to Aida, but it's much easier to miscount.

Bobbins or floss bags?
Both. All. Everything. Just give me floss. I have bobbins in floss bags.
I have a bunch of floss that I know nothing about (brand or exact color) as I thrift shop and buy up everything I don't need. One trip resulted in a project that came with floss bags and I've kinda fallen in love with them. It's so nice to just stuff the skein in the bag and any loose bits of floss can go in there too!

Are you a scissors collector?
Not really. I have two pairs of embroidery scissors -- 1) a vintage stork pair that my grandmother gave to me, and 2) a generic, cut through anything pair.

Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin?
It's like a slap to the face to realize this, but everything I've ever finished hasn't been finished! Unless you count those little plastic frames from my "teaching kits" but those were neither pinned nor laced! Badges are finished so maybe they count for something? :D

Are you a floss floozy?
I'd have every single floss ever created in the history of ever if I had the money. The extremely vast majority of my stash comes from thrift stores so I imagine I have quite a collection of vintage floss without realizing what it actually is.

Silk?
I haven't stitched with anything but cotton (and now metallic, eee! I'm so advanced. :D) but I picked up some lovely rayon floss to drool on try.

Railroader?
On occasion. Sometimes it happens spontaneously natural-like and I think, "Ooo, look at that pretty stitch!" and congratulate myself on a job well done.

Are you a pattern or designer snob?
I don't think so...? If I like something, I like it. That being said, however, I like a lot of designs but stitching them is something else. I think some HAEDs look lovely but I'd never stitch them. I'm very fond of Alessandra Adelaide patterns, though (she has a blog too!).

Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift?
Kinda. Not everyone can appreciate the time that goes into cross-stitching and everyone is so monetary that assigning a 'value' to a stitched piece is difficult.

Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.?
If you look at my freebie folder, yes, o good gravy yes. I also have a pattern box, as well as a couple of totes of actual materials. I can't help it; gotta have them all! :D

Do you wash your projects?
Yes. Country living with feline helpers does not always make for the cleanest stitching environment.

That's all! I hope you weren't blinded (or horribly bored) by the wall of text!

I'm usually a happy, cheerful (flighty?) person online and this is strictly a stitchy blog, but I feel compelled to post about the radio silence. The mother of one of my best friends suddenly passed away so neither the SAL or IHSW happened. I haven't touched anything remotely stitch-related since last Tuesday. I'll pick it back up when I get the house and my heart back in order.

That's all.

New Project & Coolness

Mrs. Amberghini over on Last Yesterday left me a pretty awesome link yesterday which fired up all sorts of imaginings. It's a Cross Stitch Wall Mural! Seriously, now how awesome is that! I told the boy I'm going to paint Nyan Cat across our whole living room. :D
昨日に、Last YesterdayのAmberghini－さんはすごいリンクを私に言っていました。 クロスステッチの壁の壁画です！　真剣に素晴らしいです！　 私の全体の居間に「ニャン猫」をペイントしたいです。(≧ω≦)ｂ

I also started a new project~ It's a small Mill Hill kit I picked up in a thrift store. It has a wintery-Christmas feel to it. And beads! And metallic floss! Stitched on 28 count Zweigart fabric!
私はまた、新しいプロジェクトを開始しました～　　それはリサイクルショップで買った小さなミルヒルキットでした。　冬の - クリスマスの感じています。 とガラスビーズ！　とメタリックフロス！　と28カウントのZweigartの布にステッチします！

Beading needles are scary! I mean, jeez! That thing is like 2" long and skinny and so sharp! It's like a dangerous weapon!
ビーズの針はとても危険です！ まったく！　５ｃｍ長い、細い、鋭い！ 危険な武器ですよ！　怖いよ。

Hoop Art?

Oh, gosh. I'm so tired I clicked "View Blog" twice instead of the new post button. Why so tired? Fall Housecleaning. I hear the screams of terror. After an exhausting three days, I have a sparkling living room. Now for the rest of the house...

While I was cleaning, I found a hoop buried in the depths of my stash box. After the glee settled, I wondered how I could possibly not lose it again, along with my other random hoops I seem to have accumulated somehow.

O_o

I don't use all of those hoops; the darker ones are rather old metal ones with spring tension. They're pretty (I really like the oval one) but they're so rusty, they'd stain whatever fabric I'd load in them. They look nice with the others though~

Also included is the ALOHA art from Hawaii (I lived there for a few years so I have random Hawaiian goodies sprinkled around the house) and EVA Unit 01 standing sitting guard on the little stereo.

The Soul Pumpkin is almost done. I just got distracted by life. Weee~ :D

Hao I Du

Hmm.  I will get Blogger figured out... eventually.  Coming from LJ, it hasn't been easy trying to get things set up the way I'd like.  I have suspicions that something is up with my feed as I wasn't showing up in my dashboard despite having followed myself.  I hunted around in settings, changing nothing but re-saving my original choices.  I then unfollowed myself, re-followed publicly and voilà.  I switched back to anonymous out of curiosity, but I'm still there.  So, I'm not entirely sure what the issue is / was.  I can't imagine public vs anonymous had anything to do with it, but that's about the only straw I can grasp.  The images don't seem to preview on my dashboard, though.  Scouting around Blogger help makes me think it has to do with off-site hosting and the resulting link.

No pictures today, but I've completed the remainder of the color, yaaaaay~  Now for miles of black lettering and possibly redoing Rinoa's hair.  And adding Squall's poof, if I decide it is suitably awesome to do so.

Eeeeeeee.

Will I wash this piece?  I'm not sure.  It has some fairly bright reds and although DMC claims to be colorfast, red does seem to be a problem.  I'd probably go up in flames if I washed it and it bled.  I probably should have washed the floss before starting, just to be sure.  Luckily, the project isn't dirty as it has been exclusively on a stand allowing me to two-hand stitch with minimal fabric touching.

ETA:  Hmm, it appears to be not working again as it didn't appear in my dashboard.
ETA2: It appeared ~1.5 hours later.  I'll assume (for now) that this is the norm.