Random Things

Here is my progress on my current "to go" project:

It's BBD Beneath the Sunlit Sky. I had stitched most of the flower on the top left and had to frog it because I wasn't paying attention. The frogs are alive and well in North West Florida.




Here is my minimal progress on Fenech's Sampler Large from HAED. The stitching is slow for many reasons. The "A" block has a gazillion colors in it and and I haven't found a rythmn yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the design come to life but feeling a bit of frustration at the moment.

I am surprised to discover that I really love 1x1 stitching on 25ct Lugana. I can't believe how much I like it. When I was stitching on Beneath the Sunlit Sky over 2 on 32ct, it was like needlepoint or rug hooking. The #26 Piecemaker needle felt so big in my hand, the the two strands of GAST was so thick! My stitching felt sloppy even though I was careful to railroad my stitches. My only regret with this project was not waiting to start it until I could order a hand-dyed Lugana from Silkweavers but it really wasn't in the budget and I'm sure this cream Lugana isn't looking bad, I just think some splotchiness would have enhanced the picture a bit. Maybe that's just me. Some folks like the left in a leaky attic look(I would be one of them) and others like the appearance of crisp, fresh fabric, and I don't mind that either.

I have been giving DMC's Stitchbow system a trial run on Sampler Large. I kitted it up using a DMC Large Travel Bag(thank you AC Moore 50% off coupon) and the binder sheets. I don't think using the Stitchbows is that much more time consuming than bobbins, but I'm lukewarm about the system at the moment. I love the bag and really want to like the system so I can kit up more projects in these bags. It appears to be well made and looks so much nicer than a two gallon ziploc baggie peaking out of the top of a tote bag or backpack. I thought after stitching all weekend on Sampler Large I would decide if I loved or hated it but I'm still lukewarm on the whole product. Must be the Libra in me.

The other day I pull in the drive and see this sign in my neighbor's yard:

( click to enlarge)

My one neighbor who thinks every man is looking at her, well who wouldn't when she mows the yard in her bikini, I find myself staring too(not that there's anything wrong with that), was talking to them while they were cleaning the retention pond. Uh, did she miss the sign, and on top of that they were prisoners with chainsaws. She must not have seen a little movie called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I went in and locked the doors I have seen that movie one too many times and it doesn't end well for anyone except maybe Leatherface. Did you all know that Viggo played Leatherface in a later version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

This is the sky yesterday afternoon:

I wish my crummy photography could do it justice. The pink just shimmers from behind the darker clouds. I know the sun sets everywhere but we have the greatest sun sets even being three miles from the beach. Sometimes in the afternoon the sky is just glorious, the colors all exploding in a hundred different directions. Makes me tear up. And speaking of tearing up, from the PMS files: the other day I'm driving down the road and Trace Adkins' song You're Gonna Miss This comes on and radio and I start sobbing. I thought I was going to have to pull over. You can find it on Youtube with a video from some girl from One Tree Hill. Two other songs make me cry and it's Randy Travis' He Walked on Water and Andy Griggs' If Heaven. The line in If Heaven about, "If Heaven were a town it would be my town in 1985, when all my hopes and dreams were out there waiting on me and everyone I loved was still alive." Breaks my heart every single time.

So this is the state of my life at the moment, a little stitching, some picture taking, and breaking down to songs on the radio. Perfectly normal!