Just A Quickie!

Daughter asked me to make a scarf to complement her coat. Grabbed this from the yarn-fairy stash & worked it in the carpool & on my lunch hour this week. Looks like the yarn may have been saved from the 70s so I guess it's officially "retro". Well, TGIF!! My weekend goal is to finish the Alphabet Heart Sampler as well as my grandson's knitted blanket featuring Spiderman. The weather's really cooled down just in time for the first day of fall, so this weekend will be perfect for stitching, knitting and football.

Stash and Progress

Took a quick biz trip to New Orleans last week then spent the weekend with oldest DD in Shreveport. She's settling nicely in her new apartment & new job. It's such a blessing that both of my girls are grown & on their own - it brings me joy to see their lives unfold. While in the Big Easy I visited Acadian Corner, a LNS in Metairie, that has quickly become one of my favorites. My first visit was a few months after Hurricane Katrina - the owner said the store faired much better than her home, so they were keeping part-time hours. If I had to guess, I'd say that all the beautiful Mirabilia angels that line the walls of the store had something to do with it.......... Anyway, I ran through one day during lunch break to make sure they were open & to my surprise they're back to regular hours. Of course I managed to do a little damage (to my wallet) in under an hour. To satisfy my new linen fixation, I picked up vintage cashel linen, hand-dyed linen, & jobelan (somebody has to educate me on these fabrics - I just go for pretty). Also added "Emma's Garden" by Lavender & Lace and Lanarte's "Butterfly Fairies" to the chart stash. I'm partial to angels, but the detail and femininity of these angels are gorgeous. Didnt find a LNS in Shreveport, but there was a Hobby Lobby - and they were having a 50% off sale (does it get any better?) Only had one suitcase so I limited myself to their framing mats. Got about a dozen very unique textured mats that will go well with all my finished WIPs. So I better get back to work. Speaking of which, here's my progress on the Alphabet Heart:

The Ensemble

When Terry McMillan's first edition of Waiting to Exhale was published in 1994, the front cover was a painting by artist Synthia St. James called "The Ensemble". I immediately loved that book & that picture. In 1998, I sent Ms. St James a handtowel stitched with the image. She loved it and responded with instructions on licensing her images for cross stitch designs. I hope to pursue the whole chart design concept when I retire in a few years & have unlimited time to commit to my creative side. Last night I came across a tee shirt that I started using the same design. It's still one of my favorites reflections of sistah-friends. I plan to finish it to wear as I do this season's holiday craft shows.

My Own Yarn Fairy

I stopped in my local craft store to purchase the red yarn needed for the Spiderman duplicate stitch in grandson's (almost-finished) afghan. When I got to the register the salesclerk asked if I was a big knitter (Duh, is the sky blue?)? We chatted about knitting, crocheting & cross stitching - thank goodness there was no one in line behind me. She said she had cleared out the odds & ends in her yarn stash with plans to donate it to the store for their classes but the amount that the instructor took didn't put a dent in what she brought. She really didn't want to haul it back home (her husband was soooo happy to have it gone) and would like to gift it to a fellow crafter. She took a quick break & we went to her car. When she opened her trunk I gasped........... we're not talking about a corner stash of yarn - the trunk was full!!!! She said she was embarrassed that over the years she had managed to collect so much & we laughed because of course this was only the odds & ends (1 - 2 skeins) of each color - not her main stash. All I could think was that she certainly had plenty of "Stash Enhancement eXperiences (S.E.X.) over the years. I was proud of myself - I showed great constraint - I did not take all the yarn (to her disappointment) but I've added significantly to my own stash. To celebrate this random act of kindness from the Yarn Fairy I am taking a cue from Renee and setting a goal to make 30 knitted/crocheted caps for newborns for Save the Children's Caps to the Capital Project . I'm tagging each cap with both my name & my yarn fairy's name - without her there'd be no stash.

Progress Pic

O.K. - I have converted. After years & years of aida & evenweave, my first experience with linen is "da bomb"! I've had to make a couple of changes in my stitching style though. My daughters gave me a lap stand for my birthday last year which was gathering dust in the corner. I've always held my stitching in my hands but the stand makes working on linen so much easier (let's face it - these eyes ain't what they used to be & stitching "over 2" can be hard to see!). Took a minute to get used to placing hands in front & back of work but I'm up & running now. Here's my progress pic. Lovin the DMC variegated floss!! I've always believed that stitching on linen looked soooo professional. This spurs me on to finally tackle a couple of the Lavender & Lace charts in my stash. But first let me finish this up. So back to my new best friends - the stand & lamp........ Oh yeah & thanks Sharon for inspiring me - you're a gem!!

Getting Organized

I am loving this empty nest!! I had really planned to spend the Labor Day holiday up to my elbows in stitching but got side tracked after a trip to Target. Decided I was ready to transform one of the kid's rooms into my office/craft storage room. The office part was easy - just a desk & a couple of tables for my scanner, fax, and laser printer (can't believe I had all that stuff in the corner of my bedroom). The fun part was the craft space - Found this great 2-drawer wire basket, just perfect for storing floss. I've bundled the floss by number so the colors are easy to find. Then bought some really cute flourescent magazine & file boxes and organized my cross stitch, crochet & knitting patterns. Even found a clear storage box for the stash but I'm not crazy about that - will keep looking for something better. It all came together with the wrought iron shelving units I use for my craft shows. So here's how it ended up. I'm on to the next room. Would love an actual crafting room with a big old comfy chair, Ott light, sewing machine and crafting table, but I guess it's only proper to have a guest bedroom for the kids to sleep in when they visit. Oh well, a girl can dream,huh?? Should have more pics to post of the alphabet sampler in a few days.