The Kind of Stitcher

The other day I was watching Psycho(thanks Sharon) and Norman Bates was telling Marion Crane how "a hobby should pass the time, not fill it". It really got me to thinking about the kind of stitcher I am. I now know that I am the kind of stitcher that is perfectly happy filling her time with little Xs. I discovered last week that I don't mind stitching backgrounds like you find on HAED charts. One of the reasons I avoided their charts for so long was the solidly stitched backgrounds. I didn't think I was the kind of stitcher that could do that kind of hardcore background stitching. I would go to the website, look at charts, go to fabric sites like Silkweaver's and look at overdyed fabric because the idea of all those little Xs was overwhelming to me.

Since starting QS A Night at The Pumpkin Patch [HAECCKQS 2514] - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Des I have discovered that I am more than happy filling my time with the stitches it takes to create a background. It's so therapeutic. Watching the background come to life on the fabric is just amazing. I thought I would find it boring, a waste of time, I mean why not just buy a hand-dyed fabric and get to the real meat of the picture, but I love stitching the background.

In Natalie Goldberg's book Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life there's a story about her or a friend of her's, I can't remember, going to a therapist and the therapist asks her tell her one thing she knows to be absolutely true. After sitting there for a while she says something like I know for a fact I love chocolate.

The one thing I know to be absolutely true in my life, I love the little X. Yes, I love my husband and the kids, but outside of the family unit, I dearly love my stitching. There are times when I talk to nonstitchers, I get a little, oh, excited, when I talk about cross stitch, they look at me like I'm crazy. Instead of thinking to myself, maybe you should be quiet, talk about the weather instead, I find myself feeling sorry for them because they are not as enlightened as me.

I'm a perfectly well rounded person. I watch the news(Hillary, Obama, McCain, Huckabee), I know all about current events(Did everyone see Nicole Kidman's baby bump at the Oscars last night? Did you all hear that Britney got married in Mexico to a guy that's already married? Angelina Jolie-preggers. I don't live in a cave.), I read books. But my conversations always end up back on the topic of stitching whether the person I'm talking to is a stitcher or not. I have a lot of trouble understanding why the average person doesn't think it's an exciting subject.

I am the kind of stitcher that worries about the bad economy, not because of that whole roof over the head or food on the table thing but what if the economy really tanks and I end up actually stitching all the stash and there's no money to buy more? Talk about a panic attack. It doesn't matter that I have many TW kitted up and those alone should keep me busy for several years, what if we go into a full blown depression? I might really and truly get all the stash stitched because there definitely won't be any reason to leave the house.

Me and Norman Bates, who knew we had so much in common? And who else could work Norman Bates into a post about stitching?

I wanted to post some progress pictures today but I can't find the camera. My desk fell last night during the Oscars and I'm hoping that the camera isn't under the pile of wood. That would not be good.

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments on 13th Colony Bay. I really appreciate you all stopping by the blog and sharing my passion.

13th Colony Bay

Yes, believe it or not I'm still around. Just getting over a horrible case of the crud that knocked me on my butt for over a week. But I'm back! With pictures too. Below you see my 13th Colony Bay, still not finished but it's displayed on a china cabinet that the spousal unit scored for exactly $0.00. Yes, nada, nothing, as in FREE. It's also got a matching table and six chairs that are currently in the garage and various points in the house until we figure out exactly what to do with this stuff. He wasn't thrilled when I told him we really needed a couch more. The response? 'They weren't giving away free couches." But now I have the perfect excuse to start acquiring pieces of Lenox British Colonial Tradewinds china. Here's a better picture of 13th Colony Bay:

Here is Part 1 and 2 and part of 3:

And here's a close-up of part 3:

I am still no where near finished but I am stitching as much as humanly possible. I would really love to have this finished by the end of the month.

Wish I had more exciting news to report but this is it for now.

A Letter To:

Business Owners- Village of Hawk Run Hollow-North West Florida Division

cc: Hawk Run Hollow Home Owners Association-North West Florida Division

Dear Business Owners

It is my duty to inform you that construction on the properties of the project known as the Village of Hawk Run Hollow will be delayed indefinitely as my attentions are currently focused on a new development, you may have heard of it, Shores of Hawk Run Hollow (see picture above). Acquistion of this new project is an absolute must.

After seeing my diligence and continued hard work on another coastal property, 13th Colony Bay, the people of the Shores know I am just the person to develop their property in a timely manner.

I am sending a copy of this letter to the HRHHOA. To ease their minds I want them to know that we here at Melissa's Construction From the Hoop consider their comforts and needs a priority.

There are nearby businesses just outside the Hawk Run Hollow community that can offer the same services as those in the planned Village. Instead of Opal's Boarding House we can offer the services of a big chain hotel. Sure it's not as cozy as Opal's but it does have a waterfront view.

Since the big chain hotel doesn't offer the home cooked meals that are offered at Opal's we highly recommend a local restaurant with down home cookin'. The country fried steak is a must. There's a McDonald's next door for breakfast and also if gourmet coffee suits your taste buds there's a little coffee stand right next to the hotel.

For life's little necessities the local grocery chain offers the discriminating shopper every thing she could need. There's also a Publix within walking distance and I recommend their eclairs.

So you see the delayed construction should prove to be no inconvenience to the residents of Hawk Run Hollow and should help boost the local economy.

As soon as construction on the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow is completed my plans are to direct all my attention on completing the construction of the Village of Hawk Run Hollow.

Sincerely

Melissa

Melissa's Construction from the Hoop

When Tomorrow Really Means

The next time I get around to posting. below you see part 2 of 13th Colony Bay. I skipped the photo of part 1 as it really hasn't changed very much I still have to stitch the clouds and the fence. Since my last update I've stitched the majority of the tree on the left and the finished the trunk and branches of the tree on the right. I've also filled in most of the water. Will get back to work on the second tree this evening.

And here is part 3. Since my last update I have worked my way over to the right side and up the hill. I completed the tree and the branches still have good bit of vines to finish, I believe it's a weeping willow. I also have all the water to fill in but I'm getting there. It's been my obsession the last few days. It's time to get off the island. I want to stress again, this project has been a joy to stitch. The charts are clear and despite all the large blocks of color the stitching never gets boring. I am a bit tired of DMC 730, 731, and 732 but it's ok. I have enough room still to move around and change colors. I do see the end in sight. My pictures do not do it justice. This is the point in the project when I see it on my wall and every morning I can't look at it in disbelief that I am still not done!

Shores of Hawk Run Hollow

(click on the picture to make the image bigger)

After you do that go to Carriage House Samplings and show Kathy Barrick-Dieter the love.

How gorgeous are the Shores of Hawk Run Hollow? I want to live there. I want to look upon the open sea waiting for my ship to come in. Whoops, waiting for my love's ship to come in. It'd be nice if it was a ship stocked with gold doubloons.

Updated pics of 13th Colony Bay tomorrow.....I know you're holding your breath in anticipation......

Pondering

Why We Stitch What We Stitch

Things have been a bit too busy around here for my liking lately, not a lot of time to blog, and while I haven't stitched much of anything--at least not anything I can show yet(I'm still playing catch up from an end of year swap and my partners love me and forgive me my tardiness) I have been having deep thoughts about why I choose to stitch what I stitch and stash what I stash.

For the record I have always loved reproduction samplers. I have the first three Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterlies and consider them treasures. I have always been a bit obsessed with the history of needlework and the women who created it. Sure many were ladies of leisure but at the same time many were women on the frontier. They worked from sun up to sun down, yet still by light of candles or kerosene lamps, found a little time each day to bring a little beauty into their lives.

I love fantasy designs. I'm currently addicted to HAED. Finding their BB and seeing pictures of finished projects has really inspired me to attempt at least one or two of the Quick Stitch designs. When I show the spousal unit various designs from the website that I want to stitch his response is usually, "Why not just buy the poster?"

That has got me to pondering why I feel a need to stitch what I stitch. Where does the desire come from? Plenty of people don't feel the urge to stitch these kind of designs. Why do I have a mile long list of HAED I want stitch when there is easily a thousand other things I could stitch and probably actually complete? I don't know. I'm not sure why I want to stitch so many of their designs but I know the urge has gotten stronger as soon as I started following links of people who have actually finished not one but two or even three HAED. I just like the look of the designs and the idea of stitching them. It's probably the same thing that makes me insist on stitching TW Fantasy Triptyche. I love it and hate it. I have to stitch it. I whine about stitching it, but heaven help me, I want to see this design completed one day. Different designs talk to me. They say, "You know you want to stitch me. I know you don't have a clue what you will do with me when you're done but you want me and you know it, so suck it up and add me to the stash."

Buying the poster is never my first thought. Am I the only one that sees a painting or picture and the first thought is, "Wow that would look really great stitched?" I do it all the time. It's not because I like a challenge, it's just I see everything as something that can be stitched. I guess it's the frustrated artist in me, ok I know it's the frustrated artist in me. I can't draw a straight line so I create art with needle and thread. Buying a poster is kind of like cheating in my mind. If I want it bad enough, I'll stitch it.

My current screaming project list is 13th Colony Bay Parts 1-3--it will not be finished by the end of the month but maybe I'll be a lot closer to finished by February 1st.

Village of Hawk Run Hollow-barely scratched the surface.

Sonne Spotte--this piece talks to me a lot. It actually yells quite loudly from it's ziploc baggie. I'm ignoring it until I finish 13th Colony Bay. I know that when I pick it up again I will not put it down for a very long time.

Mouline Rouge-I want to work on this, I really, truly do. Maybe I will get back to it when Sonne Spotte is completed so I might see it again in oh, 2010.

TW Fantasy Triptyche-I have not put as much work in this as I should have. I need to give it at least an hour or two's attention each week. That is so little to ask and I dearly love this project.

Here are links to a few of the HAED Quick Stitches that I'm wanting to stitch:


QS Accidental Witch-Cat - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The Art of Cross S


QS Kitty Mermaid Ahoy [HAENTQS 3908] - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The A


QS A Night at The Pumpkin Patch [HAECCKQS 2514] - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Des

QS Have a Sweet Dream - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The Art of Cross Sti

QS Mermaid and The Frog Prince [HAECCKQS 5432] - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Desi

QS Girly Gothic - $9.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The Art of Cross Stitch

and this isn't a Quick Stitch but I love it anyway:

Patch Fairy [HAENT 2944] - $15.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The Art

Oh and I really love this:

Pirate [HAESF 3905] - $15.00 : Heaven and Earth Designs, The Art of Cross Stit

I know. I'm a bit insane aren't I? As much as I love samplers, I love stitching pictures, art. I always have and while I've gotten away from it the last year or two I want to get back to adding more of a variety of projects to my workbasket. I also like stitching girls and I think it's because I'm the only girl in a house full of guys and I feel like a few girls(or women) on the walls helps me balance out all the testosterone in the house. We shall not speak of all the Mirabilia designs I have here to stitch. Mirabilia's Villa Mirabilia and Garden Verses have really been creeping into my thoughts a lot lately.

I should also state that the "I can make that" philosophy isn't limited to cross stitch. I feel that way about everything, quilts, crocheted tablecloths, knitted items(I'm really not a knitter, just a poser) but I will one day knit lace because I just want to and it's so pretty. But as you see, I should probably be committed because in my crafty life I dream large all the way around. If I see it, I can make it. It doesn't matter that I technically can't sew, can't knit, really don't crochet much beyond ripples and granny squares. I always think "I can make it". Never I'll buy it, always, always, always, I can make it.

Hmmmm, maybe that's why my life is one major frustration after another. But I love the process, I love figuring it out. I love the trying. With HAED I have to admit the "we recommend stitching over 1 on 25ct" has always been what has kept me from attempting one of their designs but I have decided that this is the year of just doing it, whatever I want to learn, whatever skill I want to acquire, this year I'm not seeking perfection, I'm just looking for the satisfaction of knowing that I tried something I know I'm not good at, or always avoided(the over 1). It's not about finishing something quickly, it's not about trying to get things finished so that I have some art on my walls, it's about getting back to the basics, getting back to why I love cross stitch in the first place. It's about the process. About threading a needle. It's about quiet moments. It's about making little Xs that come together to make a beautiful picture or connect me with history. It's about getting lost in the project, it's about dreaming.

Thanks to everyone for the comments on the spousal unit's art. He's a bit hard to live with now!

Some Stitching and Some Painting

I have been crazy busy lately so here's a quick update. Below is my current progress on Blackbird Designs Beneath the Sunlit Sky:

I thought I might finish it this weekend but I never stitch as fast as I think I can.

OK--I love art, but never really have the cash to actually go and buy real art but my husband has this skill, he can copy almost anything so I found some picutres of art I liked, bought a couple of canvases and said "please paint these for me", or maybe it was "paint these for me or else". What's the or else? Or else I'll empty out the bank account purchasing art for the house. The pictures below are the spousal unit's vision of the art I showed him. These are for use in our home, he's not going to sell them, so I hope showing them here is ok.

Yes, the pictures are wonky. I thought I had a picture of this finished mermaid fraktur alone but I don't so accept the fact that I threw this arrangement up on the wall to see how it would look and didn't really worry about if things were hanging straight. The cross stitch surrounding are CHS Mairmaid's Song to the left, Barrick Sampler's The Mermaid at the top and CHS Sirens of the Sea to the right.

The canvas size is 16x20.

Here is the one he finished last night. Once again the canvas is 16x20:

Anna tagged me for a meme and I'll try to get to that tomorrow.