Happy New Year!

 Hello, dear friends,

Another year over, the new one is starting. Traditionally, it's the time for drawing the line, making conclusions, reviewing results, and making new plans.

I feel 2021 has been a good, productive year for me. In the past year, I ... 

• Got a promotion at work. I got promoted from Receptionist to Accounting Clerk - quite a change! New responsibilities, new challenges... New and interesting things to do.
• Got my citizenship. I am now an American citizen. I can vote! I feel like Pinocchio: "I am a real boy!" (well, girl).
• Got my passport. I applied for the US Passport - and received it just before Christmas. I can travel abroad (although with pandemic rules right now it is more hypothetical than real, but - all in good time). 

Though the list itself is short - three points, but they are substantial ones. Looking back, I realize that in the past year I have achieved more than the year before, and in the past six years (since my separation and divorce) - more than I have ever achieved in all previous 18 years of my family life/marriage. It is as if to start achieving my goals, I had to first get divorced. 

I have been going to school, and in July of 2022 I will have completed my degree. Just one more semester, two classes. My textbooks for the Spring semester are already here, school starts at the end of January. It will be challenging - two classes with the full time job - but it's not the first time I have to do it. At the end of this challenge, another thing will be accomplished, another thing "ticked off" my "to do" list.

Speaking of lists... I am really into them. "To do" lists, schedules, plans - daily, weekly and monthly, and then yearly, and then "lifetime" goals... I break my challenges into smaller bits, and then work on each bit separately. That way, I am not intimidated by the goals I set for myself. Water breaks stone. 

With all the work, school and life there is one list I have been completely neglecting - my stitching WIP list... As of a week ago, I did not have even one finish to show for the year. I have been trying to stitch, but mostly I just ended up falling asleep in the chair, with my needle in my hand and my project having maybe fifteen stitches added to it...  In December, school vacation started, and with that and the holidays I was able to at least have one finish for the old year - and then the first finish for the New Year. 

"Autumn" by gazette94

I finished it on December 30th. Then, encouraged by the result, I started a new project - "Snowmen" by Durene Jones - and here it is! Finished it at 2 am on January 1. 

"Snowmen"

Here's to finishes! No matter how small they are. They all count!

Until next time, 

Merry Christmas...

Hello, dear friends,

It has been, as always, shamefully long. What have I been up to? Working - of course, can't go without it. Taking a class towards a degree in our local college - online. Working out... Reading... Watching movies.... And, of course, stitching. 

School proved to be a bit more stressful than I expected, to the point that, towards the end, I swore to myself that I would not take another class for a while... Things at work got busy, quizzes and homework assignments became due one after another, life changes piled up - I thought I was going to lose it. Then, just like that, the day of the final came, so I got up, dressed up, showed up - and passed it. Now, just a week and a half after the final, I am thinking - hmm, maybe I should take another class in the spring... Perhaps, I am (secretly) a glutton for stress. 

In my reading pursuits, I have discovered for myself books by Toni Morrison. I started with "God Bless The Child." It gripped me right away because of the subject - a strained relationship between mother and daughter. The daughter does not want to be in contact with her mother, save for the occasional post card or check, and she has her reasons. The mother, while respecting her daughter's wishes, believes that she has done the best she could, everything she could, for her child, given the situation they were in. 

Next, I read "Sula." The novel is about lifelong friendship between two women, - but, once again, it's the portrayal of motherhood in the story that spoke to me. Motherhood is doing what you have to do to keep your children alive, safe, and healthy. This is the job, the responsibility, the purpose of it, and everything else beyond that purpose is non-essential fluff.  I could relate to Eva, the mother, when in response to her daughter's question, "Mama, did you ever love us?" answers, "No, not the way you think." The daughter, all grown up, wants to know how come her mother never played with her as a child. Eva answers, "What would I look like leapin' 'round that little room playin' with youngins with three beets to my name?" Taking care of essentials equals love. Providing for your children equals love. Kissing booboos and playing hopscotch is good for a commercial. It has nothing to do with real life, or real love.

Next on my reading list is "Beloved," and I am gathering all my gut strength to read it. 

As for my stitching, I have turned it from a job (as was once upon a time) back into a hobby. I stitch what I want, when I want, with... what I want. 

"Pilgrim Couple" - The Primitive Hare. 

Here is a small Thanksgiving finish - a freebie from The Primitive Hare. I used specialty/variegated threads I had in my stash, and I think it turned out well. 

"Behold" by Subversive Cross Stitch

This pattern I have had in my stash for ages, always thinking, "One day..." Well, that day happened to be just a couple of weeks ago. I stitched it while thinking about the class, the test, the final... and it helped. Now, I think I will frame it and put it someplace private, just so I can look at it once a day and remind myself of what's important.

"Old Witch Mary" WIP by Lila's Studio

As you can see, this one is not quite finished. I saw the row of toadstools and simply fell in love. The threads are from Gentle Art sampler (as per pattern key), stitched on 32 ct Blue Moon Linen. 

The verse is stitched two over one, and at times I want to pull my hair out... but it's all worth it. 

"Year at Hawk Run Hallow" - Carriage House Samplings

Here's another Halloween fragment - from a much larger piece I have been working on for... oh, over a year now. I love the detail in this piece. I keep coming back to it and stitching a little bit at a time... I hope to finish it in the new year. 

Oh, I also tried my hand at baking! Quite unexpectedly. Let me tell you, I am no pastry chef, and even when it comes to everyday cooking, I prefer something "quick and easy" to anything remotely complicated. But, a friend shared a Lussekatter recipe, and it looked delicious and at the same time uncomplicated. So... I did it. By my standards, I did great - that is, the smoke alarm did not go off, nothing burned, and I did not get poisoned.

They don't have much sugar, but the raisins and the saffron make up for it... At first when I tasted one, it seemed like just a regular scone, but with every bite it grew on me. 

Finally, it looks like I have finally become that crazy cat lady I tried to run away from... Oh well. Crystal does not seem to mind. 

Merry Christmas! 

A Stitching Post

Hello, dear friends,

It looks like, finally, I can share some of the projects I have stitched in the past couple of years. So, beware - this post is picture heavy.

First of all... "The Old Rugged Cross"  - perfect for Easter holiday! Oh, wait.. the Easter was a month ago. Oh well... I enjoyed stitching it, and here it is.

The Old Rugged Cross

This project felt like a work of art - all the colors, and the skies looked so realistic, I could almost sense that chill in the air right before the storm. The details of the cross make it look three-dimensional, almost real.

I have taken quite a few pictures of this project, front and back, but these two are my favorites.


Next- quite a different topic: vegetables! This one made pictures of the ordinary vegetables into an art form... It was like re-creating Still Life paintings with needle and thread.

Carrot

While stitching it, I thought it would look good in someone's kitchen - inspiring people to drink carrot juice? The taste of it kept popping up in my mouth all through working on this piece...

Eggplant

With the Eggplant, I loved the colors! Looks like the sun is bathing one side of it... While in real life I find eggplants boring, this one was anything but. Another decoration for someone's kitchen, or perhaps restaurant.












For the final piece - my favorite miniature...

A hedgehog with the mushroom! Don't mind that the mushroom is poisonous - it is a decoration, not food. I could imagine it in a handmade card.

Now, I have been told that all these pieces have been released as kits in Hobby Lobby stores all over the country. Unfortunately, there isn't a store like that anywhere near I live, so I cannot see the "final result." Stitching them was a pleasure, though, so I know those who work on them are going to enjoy the process.

Until next time,