Best Plan Ever...

 Hello, dear friends,

Once again, after a long pause, I am back -- with just a few updates. 

Life has been crazy  really busy - with work (I got promoted in July) and school (just two more classes until my degree is finished) in full swing, I barely have time to stitch. That is, officially I do - after work, I sit in my chair and pick up the needle. I make several stitches. Next thing I know - it is two hours later and I am feeling refreshed - after a nap with a needle in my hand and a piece of linen on my lap. I tried to stitch, honest. I even started stitching. I was just too tired to go on.

So, the updates I have are due to me being on vacation this past week. After the initial couple of days of (mostly) sleeping and drinking tea, I looked at my pile of WIPs and decided to make a plan. What a plan it was! I wanted to start - and finish - a new sampler I had just purchased, with a swan and a cute thread ring. I was determined to also complete my "Charles Dickens" by Bothy Threads. Finally, "Mary Mary Needleworker" just HAD to be done! And what about Year at Hawk Run Hollow - I needed to work on that too! 

I had a whole week - more than that, eleven days! True, I had a doctor's appointment, and a pile of homework to catch up on, and a couple of friends to see after a long time apart, but - eleven days, completely free! 

Here is what I was able to accomplish. 

Mary Mary... How long is your skirt?

Here is my "Mary Mary Needleworker", or, as I affectionaly call her sometimes, "the endless orange skirt." I tried to stay focused, but eventually just had to take a break from all this orangy goodness. 

Happy Halloween! 

I did finish the October square of Hawk Run Hollow - just in time for the festivities! The witch's face was too pale against the fabric, so I decided to add some backstitch. What do you think, should I also get her hair outlined, or would it be too much? 

And... that is it. Not much - especially compared to the plan, huh? Oh well. After all, it's just eleven days. I try not to be disappointed. 

My cat Crystal has the best attitude about all plans. Her general motto in life is: "Take a nap." Running behind? Take a nap! Can't remember something? Take a nap - and it will come to you. Frustrated about miscounting stitches? Tired of doing homework? Have I mentioned... 

Guardian of Diagon Alley

Somewhere along the way, I decided to be more like Crystal and stopped worrying about my plan. Instead, I stitch, drink tea, listen to the book, drink more tea, stitch some more... and take my time to enjoy it. 

For what it's worth - I don't have to be back at work until Tuesday, which is still three days away. Who knows, I may still get more done. 

Temptations

Until next time, 

Stitching Updates

 Hello, dear friends,

Once again, it has been... oh, only just over a month? Never mind then, I can hybernate a bit longer...  But I do have some updates to share, so here it goes.

After completing "Thirteen Colonies", I looked around for a new project and discovered myself desperately hooked on samplers. During Nashville Needlework market this year I loved several projects. 

"Seeking Refuge" by Scarlett House perfectly describes how I feel about needlework. Cross stitch is my therapy, it's a skill to combat my fears and anxiety about the challenges of the outside world. So - I had to have this pattern. I even got all the threads it called for. 

Next was "Heaven and Nature" by Teresa Kogut. This one was a bit more complicated. Several years ago I stitched a commission piece designed by Sandy Orton (I Believe) with words "Let Heaven and Nature Sing." For those who remember, it had a garden theme with angels wearing gardening aprons and with garden shears in the pockets. And now, seeing this same verse on the new sampler, I thought - continuity. Something about it spoke to me, perhaps reminded me of the previous project, - and I got the pattern. 

Then, there's the "monster" (because of its size) - "His Eye is on the Sparrow" by Heartstring Samplery. This one - first of the two - interested me because of the way Adam and Eve were designed. I noticed that in many (older) samplers Adam and Eve were pictured in a grotesque, very awkward way. This one makes them look... more human. Not to mention, of course, all the details. 

Finally, there's "Consider the Lilies" - another design by Heartsrting Samplery. Once again, Adam and Eve here look very much alive, not doll-like, and the snake looks like he's holding a conversation... 

Once I received the patterns, I started on kitting the samplers. Fabric was not a problem at the time, but some of the threads, due to COVID, I could not get. Now I know about substitutions and conversions and details that makes the sampler yours, so to speak, but... Truth be told, until now I often had to substitute threads - simply because I could not afford the ones called for in a pattern(s). So, I do want to know what the "original" version with all the called for threads looks like. I will wait on the (last three) threads to become available, then I will start the sampler.

In the meantime, I signed up for - and completed - "Jesus Wept" sampler by Elisabeth Cooper. It came from The Sassy Jack's Stitchery, and it was in many ways a new experience for me. 

I wanted to stitch it, first of all, because it was the first time I was going to work with silk. I learned that silk is a very pleasant material to work with, both soft - and strong. Then, there was something about this design that reminded me of the cave paintings of the ancient times. The birds and the plants, the animals - the way they were designed. It was a very interesting process. 

After this project was completed, I moved on to something more colorful. Mary Mary Needleworker from Lindy Stitches caught my eye. Once again, continuity played part in my selection - Old Witch Mary from Lila's Studio and this project definitely have some things in common. 

For me, it's got something to do with those mushrooms. I could not resist them in Witch Mary - and now I cannot say no to them in Mary Needleworker. They had to be stitched! Not to mention the thread spools, the shoes, the flowers... and the verse of course. That one is still coming, along with more details.  

Until next time, 

News From The Island: Reading, Finding Purpose and Pulling Myself Together...

After yesterday's post about depression, I felt like I had to do something... something to find reason and purpose. I mean, I am still alive. Therefore, there must be a reason for my being here.
Solutions came in the form of online reading - as they have often done recently. After reading some posts out there, I realized that, by comparison, I am not doing so bad...

1. I am not injured. 
Several of my online friends are going through some serious health trials right now, suffering from pain and lack of mobility. I can walk. I can move. I am not in physical pain. I am OK.

2. I am independent.
Yes, I may be stuck at home most days, looking for - and not finding - reasons to leave the house, but I get to make my own decisions. I realized today, that not all people my age have that right, and for many it is almost a luxury. They have to live with their parents. I am lucky not to have to live under others' rules.

3. I work doing what I love most. 
While I am not exactly able to support my family with my "business", I am able to help - and that's a start. Of course, the main ingredient in this process is  - work. Anyone who believes that "home business" equals a relaxed woman drinking coffee in her kitchen is being taken for a ride. (The picture I am describing was seen by me at Costco on some product ad - with words "Create your own business" or something like that... )

And now, having done with the "self-encouragement", I am going to take my daughters out to lunch. True, it's not The Ritz, it's Panera Bread, but - I prefer casual style anyway.

P.S. I am, of course, still struggling with the same issues as yesterday. It's just - I have to find something, some way, to deal with all this. No amount of "there, there, it'll get better" comments can change the things I don't like... I have to find will and strength to change them myself.

Once again, thank you for reading my ramblings... Especially if you've read them until the end.
Until next time - I will be stitching... on my island. :)

New Year starts with...

My new year has started with a hope for a job, followed by a sudden drop of disappointment. At the last moment, the client cancelled the assignment. And I was all ready to go!
I suppose that is the down side of working temporary assignments: anything can change at any moment. So, I am back to my life: stitching, crochet and housework. I will just have to remember that... anything can change at any moment!
As for the stitching, at the end of December I finished a small Thanksgiving ornament, but never had a chance to take a picture. Here it is.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 The cross stitch design is by Joann Elliott, stitched on 14-ct Fiddler's Cloth. Originally, it was meant to be a card, but the ornament seemed more interesting. I am thinking of making the whole series - Independence Day, Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.

Updates - stitching, life, drama, etc.

It has been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything - busy with things to do, schedules to keep, housework (yes, that too)... Ah what the hell - there was nothing to write about, that's all. Scrubbing the kitchen counters may be something necessary to do, but it's hardly worth mentioning on the blog for the whole world to see. As for the thoughts in my head - they are too quick and flighty to capture on paper - or virtual space.
There is one update worth noting, though: I decided to go back to school. I changed my major to Business/Accounting - no more teaching for me, ladies and gentlemen. I just do not think this field is all it is described to be... By the time your students realize they had a good teacher, they are generally raising their own kids, and you are ready to retire. In the meantime, you put in hours at work and more hours at home planning lessons, living on coffee and self-inspiration... Oh, worse yet, one of your students goes out and does something horrible... And, although the responsibility is not yours, it still feels like there is something you could have done... And that is just too much.
The world of numbers, accounts and ledgers is more quiet, more definitive, and has clearer expectations. It does not invite you to change the world, but then again I am not up to that task anyway. It only asks you to balance the accounts.... Fairly clear.
If I start this summer, I will be done and ready to transfer to Cal Poly in two semesters. All that General Ed I took while working on Child Development degree is paying off. So nothing's wasted.

The Stitch-Along I am participating in has died out, so it seems - no one is posting their updates. I guess everyone is busy doing things. That's understandable, although it would be nice to hear from someone once in a while.
Toodles.

Update

Hello, everyone who cares,
For a while, I did not want to write anything, because there was nothing good to write - or, at least, nothing good enough to bother opening the web page. Our computer is very slow, and it takes nearly ten minutes just to open the Internet Explorer, so by the time I log in to the site, my motivation to write anything is often gone.
Today I have a piece of news good enough for posting: Community Action Commission hired me for a position of a substitute teacher! Plain English - I will be a pre-school teacher at Head Start in Santa Maria area, substituting for teachers that are sick or on vacation. Apparently, Santa Maria has around 18 locations (I was surprised), so the work will be coming soon. Also, the Head Start will be working with my schedule, and I get to choose which assignments to take and what schedule to work.
Although the potential to make money and work my own hours is exciting, the main reason I feel good is because I finally get to do something I have had training for, something professionally sound. The flexible schedule and the potential to advance are nice perks, but it will give me a chance to determine whether I am made for this work before I commit to a full-time shedule.
In addition, I submitted my poems and short story to "Harvest" - Allan Hancock literary journal. We'll see what happens...