Gathering Place

Hail, Columbia!

2012-02-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

8601.28

2012-01-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

6701.27

2012-01-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy

2012-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

First Stitch Class of 2012

2012-01-08T17:10:00.001-08:00

It's kinda hard to get motivated to stitch on anything when your transportation is in the shop and it's looking spendy. As it turned out, it wasn't as expensive as it could have been, but I'm still facing having to replace my van.

So I didn't devote a lot of time to stitching yesterday, maybe half a dozen or so working lengths scattered over three projects. Here's where they stand as of right now:
Hannah Beeby:
I finished the border of the unfinished medallion on the left. Yes, I know it's upside down; that's the way I'm stitching it right now.

The Black Sampler:
I finished one flower, a couple of leaves, and added a bit of vine in the border and put a bunch of light green in a leaf in the upper segment.

and "My Stitching Treasures":
I finished the house (just had the windows to do), finished the left-hand tree in the block with the house, and stitched the tree trunk and fence on the right side of the house.

Yesterday was also the day for the Card of the Month at my LSS, Stamp Fever in Orange.

Endings and Beginnings

2012-01-01T06:43:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I needed to visit the LNS to take advantage of the punch card I'd filled up earlier in December, since there's a expiration date on the card. She still didn't have the AVAS floss I still need for Jeannette Douglas' "My Stitching Treasures," but I did go ahead and pick up nearly the complete set of Blackbird Designs' "Anniversaries of the Heart." No fabric, since I haven't decided whether to do them as a hay-uge single piece or as individual pieces. And I haven't decided just what anniversaries I'll commemorate.

Beatrix Potter Quaker is still in the floor stand, neglected pretty much all December long. No changes; there she stays until I decide to work on something else.

On the card-crafting front, after receiving a bonus at work I decided to purchase a CuttleBug embossing/die-cutting machine. I got the most basic version; I don't need anything fancier, since most dies and embossing folders will work just fine with this one.

It's also become time to buy a new desktop computer. No decisions yet, but WallyWorld has a HP with 6G of RAM and a 1T hard drive for a nice price. No monitor, because the one I have isn't that old. Mentally tossing coins now, trying to decide whether to go for it now or wait until later, when the taxes are done, especially since I'll have to buy Office.

Slacking!

2011-11-25T13:21:00.001-08:00

Large time!!

No cards this time, just a TUSAL catchup. Which, of course, includes a July redux.

TUSAL 2011 July

2011-07-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's the new moon, again, and time to post the TUSAL (Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long). I spent all of June's monthly stitch class frogging a project. Yes, the whole entire project. There's a long story behind it I've told elsewhere, and maybe I'll tell it again here. Anyway, huge, unfixable counting error, so I'm frogging everything. I also wasn't happy with the overdyeds conversion I'd tried on this attempt at this particular piece, so I'll go back, when I restart, to the original DMC, with just one or two conversions. And on top of the curly little frog bits are the orts from Teresa Wentzler's "Carousel," which has been languishing, until recently, for a couple of years.
And yes, I know: I'm way behind on posting cards! So much for resolutions.

Welcome Home, Endeavour and TUSAL 2011 June

2011-06-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Mostly a gift piece, with a few strands from TW's "The Carousel," which I put back into the floor stand after the gift was finished. "The Carousel" hasn't seen any attention in a couple of years!

Moon Shots and Magic, Day One

2011-05-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Just a travel day, really.

I decided not to take a chance on the Metro Green Line and ordered a shuttle. Which arrived shortly after 2 AM, after failing to follow the specific directions I put on the website. Hello? There's no parking on the north side of this street. Hello? Turn on C-------- St and then come up the alley. No, don't drive past the alley. Um, it's a dead end; you'll have to go out the same way you came in.

The flight was scheduled to take off a few minutes after 6. So we all (there were 4 of us in the shuttle van, besides the driver) arrived at the airport at 3 AM. Then the driver dropped my laptop as he was attempting to hand it over to me. Nothing's open at the Southwest Terminal. TSA agents start wandering by about 4 AM. Southwest agents finally start showing up about 5 AM. Then I somehow managed to miss taking the fingernail clippers out of my pocket, so I ended up with getting a government-sanctioned grope.

By the time we got through the Rethuglican "how can you call yourself a proponent of smaller government and then create another governmental agency?" nonsense there was no time to do more than grab a couple of croissants and a cup of Starbucks' crappy coffee before time to board.

Lousy weather, the attendant turbulence, then a late arrival in Denver because we were routed in from a different direction. With only about 30 minutes between scheduled arrival and scheduled departure and the late arrival, I had just enough time to hunt down a schedule monitor, find my flight on the list, and scurry over to the gate. Where, of course, my boarding group was nearly done and they were getting ready to call the next group.

M (the MH of last year's OKC/DFW trip) was trying to text me when we spotted each other. We had three seats to ourselves, since the flight was only about half full. And she, bless her, had picked up a turkey sandwich, a chocolate chip cookie, two bags of chips, and a couple of bottles of water. So once we'd settled in our seats and they'd taken the plane over to the de-icer (yes, it was raining in Denver and cold enough for ice to form!), and we were finally in the air, we had lunch.

More turbulence on the Denver-to-Orlando leg, with the worst of it coming as we were on final into Orlando--one of those heart-stopping altitude drops.

CR (the C of last year's OKC/DFW trip) was waiting for us at the food court, so the three of us headed down to baggage claim, got M's and my luggage (C had already collected hers, since she arrived about half an hour ahead of us), then went over to pick up our rental car. Then off to the hotel, where we checked in, dumped the luggage in our rooms, and then went to dinner at The Golden Corral. Which, by the way, isn't as good as the one in Greeley was back in the mid-'80s.

Back to our rooms, where we chatted a bit, then crashed.

Gardening 2011

2011-05-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Got a couple of patches cleaned up today and planted:
2 varieties of muskmelon, including Rocky Ford Green, a green-fleshed cantaloupe;
1 "Moon and Stars" watermelon; and
2 packages of heirloom carrots, "Kaleidoscope Mix"—white, purple, and a dark red-orange.

In a couple of weeks, we'll start some more heirloom carrots.

We also have a yellow pear tomato and a "Big Boy" tomato growing. The "Big Boy" is planted in a topsy-turvy planter.

I hope soon to be able to post about my Orlando trip.

Freedom 7

2011-05-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

23 days after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, Alan B Shepard, USN, became the first American in space.

Tin Soldiers and Nixon's Coming

2011-05-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

Kent State

TUSAL 2011 May

2011-05-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here it is: a bit of Hannah Beeby, a couple of ornaments (one for the ornament exchange and another to even off the space on the piece of fabric before cutting the ornaments apart to finish-finish them), and a special project.

1961/1981

2011-04-12T08:11:00.001-07:00

TUSAL: The Third Moon

2011-04-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty hectic at work, so not a lot of progress on anything since the last new moon. The projects included are Hannah Beeby, Dazzle, and an ornament.

Progress

2011-03-05T20:26:00.001-08:00

Here's the current status of "Dazzle," designed by our LNS's teacher, Margaret Bendig.

TUSAL: The Second Moon

2011-03-04T21:25:00.000-08:00

From the New Moon in February to the New Moon in March. Mostly at-home stitching, but also a few strands from last month at the LNS.

Inky Fingers Catch-Up Again Part the Second

2011-02-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

More from last year's card crafting.
BFF-J sent a package with an awesome haul from Kettler Capitals Iceplex (the Caps' practice rink) giftshop, for which, of course, I had to express my gratitude:
White base; pink cardstock stamped with either pink ink or watermark ink (I forget which); white cardstock stamped with an iris bouquet from Hero Arts circa 1989 in black and colored with Prismacolor pencils; the background stamp stamped again with a light pink on white cardstock then cut into "ribbon" with a punch of the same basic design as the stamp; the pink cardstock and the white central panel were trimmed with the "squiggle" blade and the edges of the white panel were smeared with pink.
And the innard:
The iris bouquet inked with light pink and stamped repeatedly to form a background for the plain ol' black "Thank You" block which doesn't have a source on it.
Another random card, stamped on scrapbooking paper with black ink. The stamp is one of the Visual Image Printery wizards:
And the innard, printed directly onto the same cardstock on the printer, from M$Word:
My supervisor's birthday was in April, and I popped this one out for him in an absurdly short time the night before:
One of the blue Colorbox Pigment inks with clear embossing powder on white cardstock, trimmed with the "Deckle" blade, stuck to a piece of scrapbooking paper, stuck to the blue card base. The Fist Full o' Candles stamp is from Stamp Oasis.
The innard was stamped onto the same blue scrapbooking paper used on the front with stamps from River City Rubberworks ("Rat's Ass") and the "happy birthday" stamp from a cheapy collection of common sentiments from one of the big-box craft stores.

Only one of the Valentine's Day cards I made last year survived, as BFF-J realized too late that I was on a roll and apparently wasn't aware that handmade cards are works of art not meant to be tossed aside like those mass-produced store-bought things.
White base; Valentine's Day-themed scrapbooking paper cut creatively on the diagonal; damask heart stamp from Craft Smart (who?) and trimmed closely with scissors, then popped with PopDots adhesive bits.
The innard: The "Missing U" stamp is from Hero Arts and the Beethoven signature is from Stampington and Co. The pink ink is likely Colorbox Pigment. Dunno where the dark smudge came from.
Our stitching teacher had a birthday, too, which is a very good thing as we'd all be very unhappy if she stopped having them. Chocolate brown seemed like a good idea:
The cupcake tower is from Peddlar's Pack, and was stamped with brown Colorbox Pigment on white, which was cut with a straight edge, layered onto dark brown cardstock, which was layered onto a brown fabric print cardstock (from a mat pack), on a brown base. The brown lacy layer was trimmed on the lower edge with a Martha Stewart punch.
The innard is on white cardstock with brown Colorbox pigment, and the stars in the greeting were highlighted with a glitter pen. The stamp is from Inkadinkado.
Stitchy friend Terri also had a birthday:
Yes, that Fist Full o' Candles again, this time in pink with clear embossing powder, on white cardstock tripped with the "Shortwave" blade and slid across the Colorbox Pigment pink pad. The argyle is a stitch-class group joke dating to the fall before; the pink cardstock lace with cut with the Martha Stewart lace punch. All layered onto pink cardstock. And bling, 'cause Terri's a pink bling kinda girly-girl. I'm not sure now what the inside was, and I apparently didn't photo it.

Inky Fingers Catch-Up Again

2011-02-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some more from last year.
This one actually started out to be a birthday card for BFF-N, but I didn't plan well and when I reached the point of stamping the main birthday image, it wouldn't fit in this layout. So I set this one, sans the carnation image and the innards, aside and re-did the birthday card. Which, naturally, I forgot to photograph. And which, naturally, I keep forgetting to ask BFF-N to loan out for photos. So this one sat around for a few weeks while I waited for just the right image to present itself to me so that I could finish this one up:
and its innards:
The colors don't show well in the photos above, but the ink is a light sage chalk ink and matches the printed cardstock, which coordinates with the light sage cardstock, all on a "confetti" cardstock.
I can't begin to guess how long I've had the chick-fight stamp used in this next card. I also enjoyed playing with this layout:
A dark grey scrapbooking paper with light grey distressed damask-style images with a red/black/yellow tartan scrapbooking paper and plain ol' black cardstock on white cardstock, with plain ol' black ink.
And the innards, which I just love:
I had to send something to my niece, who adores pigs, so what could I do? My hands were tied; I had no options. I also had the pig stamps. The front (on the right, of course) and the back:
The innards:
And the envelope (or at least the back of it):
More copying others' layouts, this time playing with cutter blades (deckle) and multi-colored stripes and making a paper "ribbon" from cardstock. Plain ol' white cardstock, plain ol' black ink, scrapbooking paper in stripes of browns and blues, and plain ol' brown cardstock.
and the innards:
How much more "clean and simple" can you get with this one? Images stamped with white pigment and green chalk inks on kraft cardstock layered onto green cardstock, layered onto the kraft base.
and the innard, where I got a bit fancier than normal and made a dandelion flower from three shades of yellow scrapbooking cardstock (Bazzill) and three sizes of daisy punches, and a jewel center to go with the sentiment and the repeated flower:
More later!

Inky Fingers Catch-Up

2011-02-19T21:35:00.001-08:00

More cards from last year.
First up: the card I sent to fellow Capitals fan Becky after she offered to order the 2010-11 STH (Season Ticket Holder) jacket for me, and its innard.

A random card, utilizing two stamps, one of which I've had for years (the dock):
Eunice will be see again in a later post. Or two. The innard:
its back:
and its envelope:
Another random card (which seems to be missing its corresponding innard), playing with a new corner punch:
And another random card, this time an experiment with striped cardstock:
and its innard (playing with a new ticket punch!):
One of the earliest cards I did, before I started photographing them, so I had to borrow this one back when BFF-J came home for a visit last Memorial Day. There's a bit of water damage on it.
and its innard:
This one involved a bit of experimentation:
and its innard:
More experimentation, with multiple layers of cardstock and border punches:
and its innard:
And the last one for this session…yep: more experimentation with border punches and a matching bookmark and a monochrome color palette. The square panel, using the border punch once on each side, came from a suggestion in a card-crafting publication. I'm not sure whose card-and-matching-bookmark idea I borrowed. The front of the card:
Card front with bookmark:
I don't remember what the innard was and don't seem to have a photo of it.

TUSAL 2011

2011-02-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

If I remember right, we're supposed to post our photos on the new moon. Here's mine, although it's actually all of January's orts and not just from the new moon in January to the new moon in February. 'Course, that was only a few days!
Contained herein are orts from three projects: Hannah Beeby, the first of three ornaments for a private exchange, and a gift. And the random "whyever on Earth did I bother to keep a length of floss this short?" snippet.

01 Feb 2003

2011-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

28 Jan 1986

2011-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

(looks like the "Post Options" didn't work as scheduled)

27 Jan 1967

2011-01-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Stitching Progress--Hannah Beeby

2011-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

As of last night, 13 Jan 2011:

It's Official!

2011-01-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

I'm number 202 on the TUSAL list! Unfortunately, I think that means I need to find a moment or three to put the link in my sidebar, as well as keep track of the New Moons, since that's when we're supposed to post our TUSAL progress. Well, it gives me an extra reason to make sure I keep up with posting this year.

It's the beginning of a new year, and a lot of folks on assorted message boards and in various blogs are setting new goals. So what are mine for this year? I'm going to try to blog more, and post more photos of cards and stitchery. I've also decided to join my dear friend Terri in her goal to spend our monthly stitch class time working on pieces for which we're likely to need the teacher's assistance. Today before I left for class I hunted down a piece that's been languishing since before the LNS moved to its new location (a few doors down from an older location!). "Dazzle" was designed by Margaret Bendig, our class' teacher. I didn't think to take a progress pic before resuming this piece today (January 8). The center motif and 3 of the dark-green-and-shiny-stuff arms were done when I set this piece aside. So today I completed the 4th of those arms, as well as the light-colored motifs, and have begun the next segment at the end of each of the arms. For those of you familiar with DMC numbers, the dark floss and the middle value are in the 520 series of sagey greens; the lightest green is a Rainbow Gallery Mandarin floss (made from bamboo). And the canvas is a light sagey green.
I certainly won't be limited to counted canvas pieces in this endeavor, since I also have Margaret's "Spot Sampler" started and have an Ellen Chester class piece suffering neglect, both of which are primarily counted cross stitch.

TUSAL 2010

2011-01-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Totally Useless Stitch-Along, wherein the participants bottle their orts and photograph them. The photographs are supposed to be monthly, but I never did seem to manage that in 2010. So here's the year's worth:
December was my most productive month by far.

Inky Fingers Too

2010-12-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

I've been making cards all year long and sending them to BFF-J, who wasn't able to find a job here in our home area and ended up relocating to Annapolis. I don't want her to think we've forgotten her (and I've been loving an excuse to stamp something besides cards for the winter holidays).
St Patrick's Day card:
Leprechaun image from the long-defunct Gotta Stamp. Green ink on green paper trimmed with the "Squiggle" blade on my Carl cutter, and the edges inked with the same green as the main image.
Easter card:
Bunny hug stamp from Inky Antics, stamped once on plain white cardstock and again on an orange specialty paper to make the carrot. The white cardstock was cut with the "Deckle" blade for the Carl cutter. The bunny stamp set came with the carrot-images stamp used to make my own background paper with orange ink on orange cardstock. The same ink was used to ink the edges of the white cardstock. The bunny was colored with Prismacolor pencils.
Spring card:
Daffodil background stamp from Peddlar's Pack, stamped on pale yellow cardstock with yellow ink. Daffodil bouquet stamp from the now-defunct PSX (Personal Stamp Exchange). Trimmed with the "Squiggle" blade for the Carl cutter and glued to a darker yellow cardstock. The inside featured a printed image of Darth Vader's head stuck flower-like on a flower stem (I used a rose stamp and masked the bloom so it wouldn't imprint) and the verse "Spring is sprung; the grass is riz. I wonder where Darth Vader is." I'll admit: I took the idea from a 'toon in a SW zine.
Independence Day x 2:
Three pieces of fireworks scrapbooking paper matted to ordinary blue cardstock, which were then layered onto red, which was layered onto blue, which was layered onto white cardstock. Lady Liberty collage by Paper Impressions in blue on white cardstock, layered to red, layered to blue. Red/white/blue ribbon glued (sloppily, I think) over the fireworks-paper trio. Lady Liberty's set was mounted with pop dots over the ribbon.
Lady Liberty collage in red this time, on white cardstock layered on blue. Red/white/blue patterned scrapbook paper layered onto blue cardstock, with the collage-stamp layers glued directly to the scrapbook layer.

That's enough for today, otherwise the post gets too picture intensive.

Inky Fingers: Variations on a Theme

2010-10-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

I decided I needed to send out some "thank you" cards to some people. Here are the cards I made:

and finally, the one I sent to Doug Reilly, the artist for NCIS (the guy who came up with Caf-Pow, among other things) and fellow shuttle fan:
And thanks once again to the actors and writers and artists and producers from NCIS and NCIS-LA who took the time to join us at FanFest 2010!!

No, other than Doug's and the one immediately above it (which went to Daniela Ruah of NCIS-LA), I don't remember which card went to whom. Jesse Stern (producer), Reed Steiner (writer), Daniela Ruah (Kensi on NCIS-LA), Doug Reilly, Peter Cambor (Nate on NCIS-LA), Muse Watson (Mike Franks), Joe Spano (FBI Senior Agent Tobias Fornell), Brian Dietzen (Ducky's assistant Jimmy Palmer), and Rocky Carroll (Director Leon Vance) were the recipients.

It was a test to see how many ways I could use one basic stamp. With the exception of three other stamps (two more shuttle stamps and a USS Enterprise stamp) used on the inside of Doug's card (and, of course, the stamps I use on the backs of my cards), only three other stamps were used. Some solid-colored card stock, some patterned scrapbooking card stock, an assortment of plain and decorative punches, a couple of different "heights" of dimensional adhesives.

And Happy Anniversary to the Mercury Project!

Stitching Progress

2010-09-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

At least on Margaret's Monochrome Madness, from the last 3 or 4 class sessions:

Charity Baseball, Bombing Sites, and the Grassy Knoll, Part C

2010-05-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

Finally: the last chapter.

On Saturday, MH, C, and I went back downtown to visit the OKC Museum of Art, which featured a visiting exhibit on Hollywood costumes and a resident exhibit of Chihuly’s blown glass, most of which closely resembles various seaweeds. The costuming exhibit included costumes from Gone With The Wind (I still say Carol Burnett did it better with the drapery dress), Sundance’s corduroy jacket from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Heston’s toga from Ben Hur, and a couple of the kids’ uniforms from The Sound of Music.

J and MC called to tell us to go ahead and get something to eat and they’d meet us at the Will Call window at the ballpark. So we got on the trolley at the MOA (after enduring a test of the tornado siren) and headed over to Bricktown and wandered over to Spaghetti Warehouse, which really occupies the ground floor of a former warehouse. They have an excellent sourdough roll there.
Then it was time to wander back over to the ballpark for the charity baseball game between Mark Harmon’s celebrities (Frank Marshall of Indiana Jones producer fame) and athletes (former Angel Wally Joyner and Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe, along with a bunch of football players including a longtime friend and classmate of Harmon’s from UCLA) against a team featuring local doctors and other medical professionals whose organizations benefit from the bowling event and the ball game. The batboy was a young cancer survivor. I didn’t try to get in the line for autographs and photos, but thanks to J we had prime seating for getting pictures of Harmon—who batted three times but never did get a chance to take the field to play in the game—while he signed autographs.
The Bombers (Harmon’s team) took an early lead, but the OSSA Outlaws staged a mighty comeback to win with a walkoff double that drove home both the tying and go-ahead runs. Yes, I actually did watch the ballgame! And it’s a beautiful little ballpark. J says the design is basically the same as the Big Club’s ballpark in Arlington, but on a somewhat smaller scale.
Very homey basebally little field, and it even has a playground out in right centerfield. Then it was back to the Spaghetti Warehouse for J and MC to have dinner, along with a couple of other NCISers we picked up at the ball park, one of whom we knew from last year’s FanFest.
C, MH, and I just had dessert while the others had their suppers. S was suffering from the effects of flights gone bananas—she’d made a last-minute decision to attend and had flown from Tampa to Houston, where they circled for half an hour then backtracked to New Orleans where they sat on the tarmac for a couple of hours to take on more fuel, then headed back to Houston, where they had to sit and wait for the connector to OKC. She finally arrived with just enough time to spare before game time to freshen up a bit in their hotel room before heading out to the ballpark.

In a couple of hours J will be picking us up and we’ll head for Dallas, where MH, C, and I will be playing tourist on Monday before we all head for home on Tuesday.
Had I known about the bison parade in OKC, I'd have searched out the bison. As it was, I only saw three and only photographed two.
Once we got to the Dallas Fort Worth area, J promptly took us on a driving tour of Fort Worth, which I’d dearly love to see again on an early Sunday morning by bicycle. And, of course, there’s the Trinity River MUP (Multi-Use Path—bike trail, footpath, etc), which I’d also love to ride!!
There are some really beautiful buildings in Fort Worth! Our roamings also included a trip to the Texas Rangers’ home field, which is easily as beautiful as the AAA club’s home on OKC. Beautiful brick classic baseball stadium, and I’d love to see a game there.
The Cowboys’ stadium is unspeakably ugly and should be razed, particularly given that the city has done so much to keep the area around the Rangers’ ballpark in the same theme. The other stadium, in the same area, is a jarring eyesore. It might be comfortable for watching football, but then the Disney Concert Hall in LA is acoustically exquisite. It, too, is an unspeakably ugly eyesore.

On Monday we all got together again, along with J’s friend who is a student of the JFK assassination and who gave us a guided tour of the area where the assassination occurred, including the parking lot above The Grassy Knoll and the train switching house where two rail employees witnessed the whole thing, and the rail bridge over the street where the shooting occurred
(photo above shows Dealey Plaza from the rail bridge; the school book depository is just out of view on the left; the motorcade would be traveling toward the viewer)
(perfect position for a spotter to see all the way across Dealey Plaza and up the street the motorcade came down).
(photo above shows the grassy knoll; the motorcade turned left at this intersection and headed away from the viewer's position)
Then we toured the Sixth Floor Museum, which tends to stick to the Warren Commission’s version of the story, which apparently does NOT include interviews with all the witnesses.
(School book depository from the rear, showing the gift shop and entry compex and the elevator to the museum; the Grassy Knoll is just beyond the trees on the right, and the sniper's nest is cattycorner across the building)
Lunch was at a delightfully off-the-wall place called Dick’s Last Resort,
and we actually went there between the tour of Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, since the SFM doesn’t open until noon on Mondays and we were finished with the Dealey Plaza tour around 11. After the visit to the Sixth Floor Museum we headed back to our hotel, where we parted company with our tour guide and the rest of us—J, MH, MC, C, and I—headed into the bar area off the lobby to rehydrate and gab until time for dinner.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and said our goodbyes to MC and J and went up to pack. Couldn’t get online again because we couldn’t justify paying for an extra day of internet access since we wouldn’t be using it for more than a handful of hours and none of us was up to wandering back downstairs for the free access in the lobby area. We did go back downstairs to use the internet access there to do our online check-ins and print our boarding passes. I didn’t sleep worth a damn Monday night. MH, C, and I have also decided that if we come back next year, we’ll add a couple of days to our trip so that we have more time to see the museums and historical sites in OKC and nearby. None of us expected that there’d be so much to see. And we learned that the three of us are museum junkies. And a couple of days more on the Dallas end of the trip, too, for seeing more of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I know I could spend hours and hours on a bicycle in both OKC and DFW. We’re also considering other trips during the year, particularly if FanFest does not continue after this year. Already on our list: Boston, NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Denver.

Sucky part: I have two dear friends in the Dallas area and failed to take time with them into account when I planned this venture.

I also can't thank J enough for arranging the tour with her friend, and can't thank the friend enough for the gift of his time and studies.

Charity Baseball, Bombing Sites, and the Grassy Knoll, Part the Second

2010-05-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

A couple more pictures from the memorial:
The Survivor Tree had been in a backyard before the residence was torn down to build the Murrah building. Arborists struggled to save it after the blast.
The Survivors Wall: one of the last remaining walls of the Murrah building, with the names in granite salvaged from the building (the walkway here is also salvaged from the building).
The building ID, from the side opposite the blast. The plaza here, including a less-than-relaxing water feature, remains essentially the same as it had been before the blast.
Okay, I admit it: I simply forgot to include those in the previous post.

Shopping done, we headed over to a Sonic for a restorative bite (we’d had nothing since breakfast), then caught the bus and the hotel’s airport shuttle (it was very kind of them to provide us with transportation to and from the bus stop!!!) back to the hotel where we freshened up a bit while waiting for J and MC to arrive through the torrential downpours and the road construction from Dallas (although we still haven’t had more than ugly skies and a bit of drizzle here in OKC since the downpours during the night Thursday). Got to the bowling alley in Edmond and a prime parking space, and fortified our kids’ menu Sonic selections with the free offerings from various local restaurants. Possibly the worst “Indian tacos” I’ve ever had, but the pineapple from the fruit trays was at the height of perfection—not too tangy, not too sweet.
I have some better pictures of Harmon from the game. The guitar and the lounge chair are auction items; the guitar was from JAG cast members.

Got through the crowd to Mark Harmon to have him sign my “Chimera” tee-shirt. This is one of the official cast-and-crew commemorative tee-shirts celebrating NCIS’ 100th episode, which I won in a raffle at FanFest a couple of years ago. I’ve slowly but surely been collecting cast (including guest cast, even though they mayn’t have been in that episode and in one case the character's been dead since the third season) and crew and staff and consultant autographs ever since. He commented to me that it was an official tee-shirt and asked where I got it (and if you didn’t catch that part, go back to the second sentence of this paragraph!). Harmon’s is the only Main Cast autograph I have so far. The others are Doug Reilly (who designed the tee-shirt, among other things including Abby’s Caf-Pow cups), Chas F Johnson (producer), Avery Drewe (producer, and a truly outstanding and entertaining production facility tourguide), Muse Watson (Gibbs’ mentor Mike Franks), Rudolf Martin (Ziva’s half-brother and Mossad double agent Ari), and consultant Craig Harvey of the LA County Coroner’s Office. Here's the part where Harmon signed, just above Rudolf Martin's signature (he also renamed the ship "Ari," as you can see on the bow).
And the outside of the card I made to thank Harmon for signing the shirt. It went into the mail Monday.

Happy Anniversary

2010-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

to Great Niece Lisa and Great Nephew-in-Law Bradley Young. And my parents. And my grandparents.
The Parental Units, circa 1942:

Charity Baseball and Bombing Sites and The Grassy Knoll, Part 1

2010-05-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Three of us arrived Thursday afternoon and evening and got settled into our rooms, thanks to C, who works for the hotel’s parent company and has made us all “sisters of different mothers.” Didn’t do much Thursday evening except catch up on chatter and rest after the travels (C from Kansas City; MH from Denver; Yours Truly from Anaheim). Friday saw us transported via hotel shuttle van to a bus stop which took us to the transit center in “Dowtown” OKC.

From there we walked up to the site of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building. Our journey took us right by this piece on the grounds of the Old St Joseph Catholic Church.
This was placed on the site of the destroyed rectory. We mostly skipped the outdoor part of the memorial because of the rain and headed straight into the building which houses the museum. Enlightening and moving. This glass piece is in the museum gift shop; no photography, with or without flash, is allowed inside the museum.
Then we headed back outside and roamed around the site of the Murrah building itself. These "bookends" are on the sites of the crosswalks across 5th St, one labeled 9:01 and the other labeled 9:03. The blast was at 9:02.
The reflecting pool occupies what once was 5th St in front of the Murrah building. This blast-damaged fire escape was across the street from the Murrah building, in the building which now houses the museum (to the left and out of frame in this photo). Below is a view of the memorial chairs, one for each person killed in the bombing, one row for each floor of the building, viewed from the 9:01 bookend, in the rain as we crossed the site to the museum entrance.

After that we headed back to the transit center to catch another bus so we could do a bit of shopping, since we’d all arrived wearing/transporting spring/summer clothes and had decided we needed umbrellas and long-sleeved shirts or lightweight jackets. I got to visit a Hobby Lobby—only the second time I’ve ever been in one—and couldn’t find a thing to interest me! Only visited the papercrafting (scrapbooking, which I don’t do but do use papers and tools, and stamping) and not the stitching. And didn’t find a thing that wanted to come home with me. Okay, I didn’t look that closely at the papers, since that would be harder to transport without proper packaging. And while we ended up not needing the umbrellas, the long-sleeved shirts/lightweight jackets came in handy. Even when I got home!

Godspeed, Atlantis!

2010-05-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

On the final mission of a career ended much too soon!!

Stitching Bloggers QOTM and Card Pictures

2010-05-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

That's "Question of the Month," and it comes from Lake Stitcher:
Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.
There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.
Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.
If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.
It's all about the journey for me. And the finished piece at the end is a bonus!

Now for those cards I promised:
The outside:
The inside (complete with a spelling error; too bad they didn't discount the stamp!)

And then a Kliban cat:
The outside:
Didn't realize until too late that I'd stamped the score upside down. Also the first time I'd used my oval cutter.
The inside (type composed on the computer):
And a flowery one:
The outside:
First use of my square punches.
The inside:
Should've stamped some grass along the bottom of the inside....
And the most recent one, which she may not have just yet but will soon:
The outside:
The inside:
My first attempt at something resembling a monochrome and my first attempt with an edger punch, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. And now we are current.

I know...

2010-05-05T18:34:00.001-07:00

…what it is about those Magnolia stamps I find creepy. And if you'd ever read Harlan Ellison's post-apocalyptic short "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" you'd find 'em creepy, too. I'd post pics of my most recently mailed cards, but while I can access Blogger just fine at work, I can't get to my Picasa account.

Forty Years

2010-05-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Needlework!

2010-04-26T08:18:00.001-07:00

The most recent progress picture of Mary Wigham, taken nearly a month ago at the LNS' All-Day Open Stitch Class:
This is being stitched on PTP's "Heritage" in 32-count Lugana with overdyes primarily from my stash, 1 strand over two.

The birth piece for my younger niece's older son's son:
This is "Blue Jean Teddy," which is what the mother requested for the layette, and stitched from a kit with the kit floss but with an overdyed fabric I pulled from my stash, 1 strand over two on 32-count Lugana. I personally despise pictures shot on an angle like this, but I was having a terrible time with reflections on the day I photographed this one.

And the wedding piece for my older niece's older son and his wife:
They all get the same sampler, done in the color(s) of their choice. This one is done in a hand-dyed red by ThreadWorX and DMC 304 (for the personalization and quote), on 25-count white Lugana, 2 strands over two.

Cards!!

2010-04-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've actually dumped the pics in the camera into the computer! And resized a bunch of card photos and uploaded them to Picasa. But you don't get to see them until the recipients get them. Except for Brother Ron's birthday card, since I don't think he even knows I have a blog, much less actually reads my blog! So here it is.
The front:
The innards:

Welcome Home!

2010-04-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Discovery!!

April 12

2010-04-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

Godspeed, Discovery!

2010-04-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Great pictures of the launch in the usual place. And, of course, NASA-TV.

Sad Days

2010-04-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

My favorite general crafts store (not to be confused with my LNS or any craft-specific stores) is closing its store nearest me, the one that's between home and work and so very convenient. Tall Mouse Arts and Crafts is closing the Cerritos store. That's my framer, too. So I'll have to hoof it all the way over to the Yorba Linda store from now on for framing. Bleah. Stupid economy. Stupid Shrubya.

Crafty Me

2010-03-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

I love rubber stamping. Been doing it—off and on, of course, like all hobbies—about the same length of time I've been counted cross stitching. And because it's been that long, it's a counter-culture thing, on the "weird" end of the "cute v weird" wars in stamping. Back in my letter-writing days I loved using stamps to decorate both the letters themselves and the envelopes. Then came the electronic age, and it's kinda hard to stamp an email. More recently, I've been participating in holiday card exchanges and took up stamping the cards for those (and, of course, the cards I send out to friends and family and family friends).

Then BFF-J relocated to Annapolis because the economy is so very seriously sucktastic here in what used to be a truly massive military-industrial complex. So besides keeping up with each other with emails and Facebook, I've been on a mission to keep her snail-mail box occupied with stamped cards, shooting for at least every couple of weeks, and not just holiday-ish occasions, to let her know she's missed and not forgotten. To that end, I've spent a chunk of my tax returns on a new storage system for my stamps (and I'm very happy with these cabinets!) and a variety of new tools and papercrafting toys and papers. And found, through a stamping magazine, a blog, which of course leads to other blogs.

What I've found thus far falls very heavily in the "cute" end of the spectrum. Which is okay, really, because what I'm looking for is more in the realm of layout kinds of things more than images. I've seen some really beautiful stuff. And some ugly stuff. And some genuinely ugly stamps. One thing I honestly do not understand is the fascination for the stamps from Magnolia—mumps-cheeked faces with little black beady eyes (think Little Orphan Annie filled in) and neither noses nor mouths. Frankly, I find them creepy looking. But that's the nature of things: one woman's "creepy" is another's "adorable" (insert hurling emoticon here).

I also haven't had much luck finding stamping bloggers/blogging stampers who lean toward the "weird" end of the spectrum, leaving me with some nice layouts, but otherwise insipid works.

I really need to start photographing my efforts. I sure hope BFF-J is saving my masterpieces for posterity.

Finally Done!

2010-03-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

No pictures yet, since I finished it about 7 Sunday night, and haven't washed it either, but the birth piece is done.

Saturday was the All-Day Open Stitch Class at my LNS, where I've been working on Mary Wigham, partly because she calls and partly as a relief from the Obligation Stitching. Well, I made a counting mistake in the motif I was working on and Terri and Margaret (the teacher) searched for a half an hour or more, trying to find it. Then Terri looked some more after our lunch break. Then Melissa took a turn at it. And found it!!! Many, many thanks to all three for their efforts! I had to frog only a half a dozen or so stitches to fix it.

Today is...

2010-03-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

…National Grammar Day!

It's also the anniversary of the birth of the Red Priest, Antonio Vivaldi.

Welcome Home, Endeavour!

2010-02-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

STS-130. Pics over at nasa.gov!

Godspeed, Endeavour!

2010-02-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

NASA Image of the Day

2/01

2010-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

1/28

2010-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

1/27

2010-01-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

5301.22

2010-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Fort MacArthur circa 1953

Happy Birthday

2010-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

Update (at long last!)

2009-12-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

The latest stitching finish, a gift, has been handed over to its recipient. Who claims she's delighted and has Just The Spot for it in her room. First, a look at the design in its original version:

Then a look at the modified version (apologies in advance for the bit of glare, and the bits of exotic background of assorted stamping supplies):
Yes, there's more than just a change to the color of the lettering in this one. I recharted it to use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer version of the Lord's Prayer, the one BFF-N and I grew up with. Which meant changing "debts" and "debtors" into "trespasses" and "those who trespass against us." And "Our Father Which" into "Our Father Who." And slipping that "and ever" in after the "for ever." And lengthening the whole thing to allow for the additional wording. And changing the color of the lettering, of course, because that purpley-blue is just so not BFF-N.

And finally, something a little different. I don't normally post pictures from my rides in this blog, but this stop today was a special one: The Columbia Memorial Science Center in Downey CA, on a segment of the old Rockwell Space Division site. There isn't a whole lot in the center yet, just a few activities and displays, but this photomosaic was more than worth the $5 admission to the finally open facility. This photo doesn't begin to do it justice and doesn't show the whole thing. As near as I can tell, every photograph in this piece has something to do with Columbia. And not her sisters, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Launches, landings, developmental illustrations, inflight photos, mission badges, construction, assembly. The photo itself is, of course, the launch of STS-1.

Welcome Home, Atlantis!

2009-11-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

From your penultimate journey in a career which will conclude much too soon.

Launch!

2009-11-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Godspeed, Atlantis!

Mary Wigham Update

2009-11-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here's my progress on Mary as of this morning when I took her out of the QSnaps so I could reposition her:

Stitch Class Today

2009-11-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

This is it was the regular monthly class, and I chose to spend the whole day on Hannah Beeby. Here she is so far:

Hallowe'en Stitch Class

2009-11-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

I decided to concentrate on a Hallowe'en piece for my LNS' Fifth Saturday All-Day Open Stitch Class yesterday. Here's the current progress on "Smell My Feet," from last year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en issue:
This is a companion to the "Something Wicked" piece I finished on the cruise earlier this year, and is stitched on the same hand-dyed fabric (Monster Mash from Picture This Plus) with the same floss changes I made to the other piece. Eventually there'll be another boot and the words "Trick or Treat" stitched onto this one (and the border completed). And there's another companion piece, "Toil and Trouble," that I bought yesterday and ordered another fabric for (because of the colors in T&T the "Monster Mash" won't work).

We also have the schedule for next year's classes, and I'll miss the very first one, because that's the day the Capitals will be playing the Kings at Staples Center.

Samhain Greetings!

2009-10-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Way cool image from NASA's Image of the Day:
And, of course, don't forget the final day of Missy's 13 Days of Hallowe'en!

It's Day 12!

2009-10-30T11:09:00.001-07:00

Of the 13 Days of Hallowe'en. Not much time left to get your name in the pool!!

Get on Over...

2009-10-29T08:04:00.001-07:00

…to Missy's blog to see all the cool things she's given away so far in the 13 Days of Hallowe'en!

And another reminder...

2009-10-27T11:23:00.001-07:00

...of the 13 Days of Hallowe'en giveaway.

Mary Mary!

2009-10-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

A little more progress:

These were both taken with the new Crackberry's camera.

And don't forget the 13 Days of Hallowe'en!!

Great Giveaway!

2009-10-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

And it's going on over at Deep Inside Missy!

What A Weekend!

2009-10-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

The big news, of course, is the Angels' sweep of their (historically) single greatest nemesis, the Boston Red Sox. And the beauty of this one is that the winning game was a late-inning comebacker at Fenway.

The monthly stitch class at my LNS was yesterday, and boy, did we laugh a lot and hard!! Three pieces of mine saw some progress: Hannah Beeby, Beatrix Potter, and "Smell My Feet," the ornament from last year's Just Cross Stitch Hallowe'en issue. It's by La D Da and is a companion of sorts to "Something Wicked," the witch's boot piece I finished on the cruise earlier this year.

Here's Hannah:
Here's Beatrix:
And here's "Smell My Feet," which is being stitched on the same fabric as "Something Wicked," Picture This Plus' "Monster Mash":
I also uploaded all my FanFest pictures to an album and labeled them.

The Right Stuff

2009-10-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

51 years ago today, NASA announced the Mercury project.

Спутник-1

2009-10-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

52 years ago today, 04 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first manmade satellite.

Banned Books Week

2009-09-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Read a banned book! From a librarian's blog. Celebrate the freedom to read.

Progress Pics

2009-09-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

I finished the piece I'd been concentrating on at home and brought Mary Wigham in from the van to make her my focus piece. Here's a teaser of the finish:
And here's a reshoot of Mary's status as of last weekend, although she's seen a bit more progress today:
The shell-pink medallion squeezed in there alongside the blue half medallion and the dark red half medallion is now complete and the next half medallion to the right of the dark red one is now about half finished (and the color for the half medallion next to that one chosen!).

The finish has been washed, pressed, and hauled away to the framer. I also made it down to my LNS to pick up this year's Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. And then Tuesday I head up to North Hollywood to gather with my fellow NCIS fans at the annual FanFest.

Happy Birthday!

2009-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Александр Михайлович Овечкин!!!!!!!!!!!

Stitchy Update

2009-09-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I've been so bummed about the camera's memory card crashing that I haven't discussed last Saturday's all-day open stitch class at my LNS. Terri had been sick during the week preceding and wasn't up to the drive, so we missed her. Melissa had been sick, too, but hers is a much shorter commute, so she was able to make it. Thank goodness for that, because even with L and D and K there, it would have been most lonesome without my BSF. So anyway, I took the three in-progress Quakers and Margaret's Monochrome Madness in, but only the three Quakers got any lovin' this time around.

I made a little progress on both Hannah Beeby and Beatrix Potter, and a bit more on Mary Wigham. I'd like to call Hannah a monochrome, but she really doesn't have enough colors in her to call her a polychrome, either, since I'm only using two colors for certain, and only possibly a third (there are three used in the original). Anyway, I stitched a bit more in the predominant color, although I'm a long way from having page one done.

Beatrix is being done as a true monochrome--two shades of a terra cotta. And still on the first page.

Mary is a true polychrome, and I pulled a bunch of overdyed floss out of my stash for her. I finished the off-white half medallion that I'd started at the last class, and chose the blue to use for another half medallion, and got that one all done. And oh! am I happy with the way the blue I chose turned out!! And then I got started on a full medallion in a color called "Conch," which is a pale terra cotta/antique peach sort of thing.

The ongoing project at home is nearing an end, and boy, am I happy about that! I've reached the point where I just want that one to be done! Not counting backstitching and a handful or so of beads (in lieu of French knots), I have fewer than a hundred stitches left on that one. Wheeee!

This weekend is going to be busy as I get ready for NCIS FanFest, or I might try to take new pictures to replace the ones I can't get off the SD card. And no pics of the at-home project 'cause that one's a gift. So maybe I'll get before-and-afters at the October class.

Welcome Home, Discovery!

2009-09-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are lots of pictures on the NASA website!

Hug a Condor!

2009-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

I've just learned that September 5 is International Vulture Awareness Day. I don't have any other spiffy connections, but this link will take you to my brother's blog on the topic.

Godspeed, Discovery!

2009-08-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

And best wishes to you on your 25th mission. Today's NASA Image of the Day really rocks. If you don't already have that widget on your iGoogle, head on over to the NASA website for a look-see.

And in more mundane matters: today was the first of the new "Fifth Saturday" all-day open stitch class at the LNS and I made a little progress on three Quaker samplers (Hannah Beeby, Beatrix Potter, and Mary Wigham) and on Margaret's Monochrome Madness. I have pictures of the Quakers, but for some reason the MMM picture is corrupted. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Here's Mary, with the upper left half medallion finally complete and the next half medallion, down the left side of the piece, started:
Here's Hannah Beeby, with the tan stitching done today (after going to a slightly darker shade of Anchor floss).
And here's Beatrix Potter, with a bit more progress in a half medallion on the left side:

Why do I stitch?

2009-08-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Melissa (we've "known" each other since the old AOL MBs) over at a three-bedroom ranch was musing recently:
1)Why do you stitch? Because I'd go crazy if I didn't.
2) On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being least important and 10 being most important what is your cross stitch passion level? Variable, but currently, it's a 9-12.
3)If your only option for cross stitch supplies and patterns happened to be the major chain craft stores would you just walk away from the little X? Kiss it goodbye? I'd probably still be stitching, but the point is moot: with an excellent b&m LNS and an online presence, I don't have to worry about things like that. To say nothing of the stash.
4)Also are you so passionate about cross stitch that if indeed your only option was the major chain craft stores, would that inspire you to create your own cross stitch pieces because you have to stitch and you've stitched your way through the whole of Dimensions catalog--because you must stitch and the thought of life without a relationship with the little X leaves you feeling empty? Yep.
5)Finally what do the cross stitch magazines on the market offer you? Do they relate to you as a cross stitcher? Do you look at them and think to yourself, who do they think buys this magazine? I guess what I'm asking, when you see the current cross stitch magazines do they make you feel like they know their readers or do you find it's more of the same? What could they do to be ambassadors for the art of cross stitch other than putting a sampler on the cover with "F-U" on it? What are we missing on a PR level that could change the opinion of cross stitch itself? Not very much. A few of the ornaments have appealed to me, but other than those, there are very few magazine designs which appeal to me, and Mary Beth what's-'er-name who writes those articles in JCS seems to think she's the Queen of All XS Knowledge, so her articles don't often offer much to me. I'm also not seeing much variation in the designs--JCS has their in-house favorites who keep offering variations on a theme (and how many floral pillows do you need?), while others seem to favor the so-called primitives (the simplistic designs), only a few of which have ever appealed to me. I think the magazines are geared more to the beginning stitchers than to those of us who've been doing XS since the days of hand-drawn charts. And Subversive Cross Stitch's designs don't say much to me, either. Can't imagine going to the expense of having one framed. But here again, they're pretty much in the primitive/simplistic style.
6) And finally, finally, do you do other crafts and if so what are they and why do they pull you away from cross stitch? I have quite a stash of quilt fabrics and a massive collection of rubber stamps.

Rocking Day!

2009-08-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Stitch class today totally rocked! A truly wonderful surprise: Melissa's and my dear friend Terri joined our all-day open stitch class today!!!!! My face still hurts from all the laughter, but what a good hurt it is!

No progress on Margeret's Monochrome Madness this time, nor any on the Ellen Chester class piece from June, but I did get a bit of stitching done on my three in-progress Quakers: Beatrix Potter, Hannah Beeby (I love love love the colors Terri is using for this one!!), and Mary Wigham (which Melissa just re-kitted for a re-start, and I love the overdyed flosses she chose, very muted, very faded-samplery).
Here's the current progress on Hannah Beeby:
There are three colors used in the chart for this one, but so far I've only chosen two, of which only one has yet seen any use.
And the current progress on Beatrix Potter:
Beatrix is a true monochrome in my version; I'm using two shades of the same color.
And Mary's current state:
I'm stitching Mary as a polychrome, from overdyeds I pulled from my stash. And this half medallion seems to be taking forever.
I anticipate lots of laughter during the Fifth-Saturday class later this month and am hoping for lots of cancellations for the rest of the classes this year, to shorten the waiting list for Terri.

Welcome Home!

2009-07-31T07:47:00.000-07:00

Endeavour, from your 23rd mission, the 29th to the ISS! Beautiful landing, even if it was at the Cape!!

San Diego Weekend

2009-07-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a bunch of pictures uploaded and labeled here. I'd love to go back to see more the museums at Balboa Park.

Fun Weekend

2009-07-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

But, unfortunately, I don't have all the pics renamed and resized for uploading. Watch this space!

40 Years Ago

2009-07-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

APOD.

Progress on Mary

2009-07-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

I started her in the motel on Friday night, then got more done on Saturday during our little GTG.
This table is just a few feet inside the door, so there was lots and lots of natural light streaming in…so much that I never did need a lamp! Here's a bit closer view:
The fabric is Picture This Plus' "Heritage" in 32-count Lugana, and the fiber in use is Gentle Art Sampler Threads' "Mulberry."
There are more pictures of my trip to Alameda over at Slouching toward Rivendell, taken during my all-too-brief cycling tour of the city.

GTG in Alameda

2009-07-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

No photos for later blackmail, if you can believe that! But saw the Gidget of Whiz again (for the first time since CATS Las Vegas), and met in person on-line stitching buds 'chelle and RaphaelRay. Made a bit of progress in my newest start, the Mary Wigham Ackworth Quaker. 'chelle is even more enjoyable in person than online, an absolute delight! RaphaelRay (Jill) brought along some pieces to share with us, and is quite the bunny nut, like another bunny nut I know and love. AnnaMarie isn't a part of our little online community, but is also a stitcher of Teresa Wentzler projects and brought along her in-progress "Stretch" and her recently completed "Tradewinds." Needle in a Haystack is a very nice shop, in lovely downtown Alameda, which is chockful of Victorian and Craftsman-style buildings.
Edited to add: I also picked up a few more possible threads for the counted canvas project, since my LNS doesn't carry these.

Santa Clara

2009-07-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am, in a Motel 6 in Santa Clara, relaxing after the long drive up from Anaheim. I didn't even think about charging the pump for the air mattress, so it's taken several hours to fill the air mattress. Tomorrow we'll have our GTG at Needle in a Haystack in Alameda. Sure wish I had more time for the touristy stuff, but I have to be back at work on Monday. Dinner tonight was Beef Stroganaff at a little Russian deli and cafe in Campbell, not too far from Winchester Mystery House. And managed a couple of drive-by snapshots of that, into the setting sun, so I'm not sure yet how they'll turn out. And the mouse for my laptop seems to have died, so I have to use the pad thingy. Ack, but that's annoying!

Too Hard to Believe!

2009-07-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's been 40 years since the Apollo 11 launch. There's a great image here of the launch. The lander was named Eagle; the command module is Columbia.

Godspeed, Endeavour!

2009-07-15T19:44:00.001-07:00

NASA Image of the Day is a shot at the T+11 seconds mark. And, of course, there'll be more shots on the NASA website, and rockin' cool video on the NASA channel.

In other news, I got the call from my LNS that my Mary Wigham fabric arrived, so I cut my morning bike ride short and picked up my fabric!

And the 2009-2010 hockey schedules have been released. I'm baffled that the Caps will be in my area to play the Kings but not the Ducks. Seems silly to me. But on this California visit they'll also be playing the Sharks. Can you say "road trip"? Hello, Bay Area!!

Stitch Class Today

2009-07-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

It was the monthly all-day open stitch class today. The first project I worked on was the piece from the Ellen Chester class we took at the end of June:
Eventually this will be a ship, which will eventually be made into a scissor fob or something along those lines. Then I made a little more progress on the Hannah Beeby Quaker:
This is over one fabric thread with one strand of DMC (for now; there'll be some Anchor used later), on 25-count Lugana "Vintage Country Mocha." After that, I did some test-stitching for the Beatrix Potter Quaker and completed one half-medallion and got a fair start on another:
Beatrix is being stitched with plain ol' DMC, one strand over two threads on 28-count Lugana, an overdye I've forgotten the source of. And after lunch I put in some time on "Margaret's Monochrome Madness":
I worked first on the far right segment, and put three rows (I supposed they're technically columns, since they're vertical and not horizontal) and then started the block on the far left.

Forgot to Mention...

2009-07-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

…they had one of these at the Base yesterday. I loved every moment of it!

Well, this just bites!

2009-07-05T09:06:00.001-07:00

The BFFs and I went to the Joint Forces Training Base (formally NAS Los Alamitos [the Navy still holds the lease] but currently being run [down] by the Army, hence the name "change") for their annual Independence Day celebration. We had a good time, but on one of my bicycle tours of the base, I got a flat tire. So today I'm off to the bike shop.

The more I look...

2009-07-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

…at that piece of fabric I have and at my floss choices, the more I like the combination, even though I wanted (hoped) to go with a finer count of fabric.

Half the Year!

2009-07-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Gone already!!

So far this year, I've completed: two Quaker Quarterly Exchanges and a graduation sampler. Still in progress are: a gift, Margaret's Monochrome Madness counted canvas, the class piece from last weekend, and Hannah Beeby. Still languishing are: a Curtis Boehringer Wildflower of America (it's been so long, I've forgotten which one is started!), a Drawn Thread Garden (I think it's Wildflower Garden, but again, it's been a while), and TW's "Carousel" (which piece I'd actually begun with the intention of entering it in last year's county fair!). And my fingers are aching to begin Mary Wigham and Beatrix Potter (both are Quaker pieces and I'm not sure of the history of the Potter piece, nor why it's called "Beatrix Potter").

I'm still waiting for the fabric for Mary, which I had my LNS order from Picture This Plus. And I have a piece of fabric at home that I could use for Beatrix, but it's 28 count and I'm not sure I want it that big. Decisions, decisions.

It's a holiday weekend here in the US, but I have to work tomorrow. On Saturday the BFFs and I are going to the facility formerly known as NAS Los Alamitos for the Independence Day celebration hosted there. Any stitching this weekend will be on projects at home.

Progress Pictures

2009-06-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today was a follow-up get-together at the LNS for "Margaret's Monochrome Madness," and about half the class was able to make it. One woman is very nearly done with hers! It's done in a variety of pale aquas on like-colored canvas and is really lovely. I managed to get three more areas stitched in mine, along with another one started. The image below is the close-up of the three finished and one started boxes.

This image is the whole piece in its current state of progress.
Tomorrow is our Ellen Chester class, so another whole day of stitching, this time counted cross stitch. And this time BSF Melissa will be there! We missed you today, my friend!

Stitchy Weekend!

2009-06-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday the MMM classmembers and teacher are scheduled to meet at the LNS to see each others' progress on this piece. Then Sunday is the class with With My Needle's Ellen Chester. BSF Melissa and our LNS' teacher (and designer of the MMM) are fellow students.

Quaker Quarterly Exchange

2009-06-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

The current one is something like the seventh of these I've participated in. Of those, two of them have been mailed within a reasonable time from the designated mailing date. Another was mailed on time, but disappeared in the Post Awful somewhere—in the same city I live in! The rest have mailed late. Every. Single. One. The mailing date for this latest exchange was May 31. I'm still waiting.

And I'm profoundly disappointed. I don't think I want to play this any more.

Progress on MMM and a New Start

2009-06-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

I really love it when BSF (Best Stitching Friend) Melissa and I can get together at our LNS for some drop-in stitching, and today saw us there again. Melissa did a lot of floss-pulling and floss-tossing for a couple of projects, while I completed one more of the boxes in "Margaret's Monochrome Madness" and started another. Here she is, hard at work on her "Mary Wigham" Quaker repro. Eventually we'll both be working on this one, but I'm waiting for my fabric to arrive at the LNS from the hand-dyer, Picture This Plus. Hop on over to her blog to read about her fabric and fiber choices. Mine will be on PTP's "Heritage" on 32-count Lugana, and I'll be stitching over two with one strand, with an assortment of overdyed flosses pulled from my stash.
And here's the latest completed box on "Margeret's Monochrome Madness":
It's the box done in diagonal blocks with an overdyed fiber very similar to a perle coton. This one is Caron Collections Wildflowers "Rye."

My new start is a piece Melissa, our stitching bud Terri, Melissa's buddy Tracy, and I are doing as a stitchalong. It's another repro Quaker sampler, "Hannah Beeby." Mine is over one thread on 25-count Lugana "Vintage Country Mocha." I'm using plain old solid-color DMC floss for this one, although I had to make a change to a slightly darker shade when I started stitching and realized that the 3013 would be way too light. Melissa and I agree that the 3012 works much better!
The quarter is there not just so that you can tell how tiny the stitching is, but is also a needle magnet put together by a wonderful lady who also is a fellow stitch-class student, fellow MMMer, and fellow Surf City 5K participant.

Sadly (for me, anyway!), Melissa will be off to visit Tracy later this week, so I'll be missing my BSF for the next couple of weeks. We'll see each other again for the Ellen Chester class at our LNS later this month, and then she's off again, to visit Nick in Detroit! The store will definitely be quiet for the next several Saturdays.

Star Cup Stanley Wars

2009-06-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

A link to this Bruins blog showed up in one of my favorite hockey message boards (the Caps official board). I don't agree with the Malkin/Han Solo matchup, but the others are pretty amusing. I have to admit, though, that I heartily agree with the board poster who compared Sindey Crysby with Jar-Jar Binks.

Quaker Quarterly Exchange 18

2009-06-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

One of these days I may learn the secrets to posting photos on Blogger how I want them posted. Following, in who knows what order, are pictures of my latest finish both in stitching and card-crafting. The card accompanies the stitched piece when I send it out, telling the recipient what fabric and fiber(s) I used in the piece, and I think it's one of my better efforts—I liked it so much I actually photographed it! It's just a stamped image on a light-colored scrapbooking paper, adhered to a grey card made from scrapbooking cardstock with a linen-like finish to it.

The stitched piece is on Lugana 32-count White, stitched with Needle Necessities "Ashes to Ashes" and a couple of DMC greys for the personalization (the recipient's initials in the darker shade and mine in the lighter one). The other photo shows the backing fabric for the pinkeep. I "made" the pins (which can't really be seen, unfortunately, in these photos) by purchasing two different styles (round and teardrop) of corsage pins and those long sewing pins with the yellow "flower" heads on them, then dipped the pinheads in flat-black model paint. The theme for this particular exchange was "charcoal," and I think I succeeded. (It looks like I might finally have the pics in the right order! Let's hope they stay that way.)

New Framing, New Finish & Framing

2009-06-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

First is the last of the graduation samplers, for my younger great niece. It's Lynnyn Designs' "ConGRADulations" [sic], on White Lugana 25 with a combination of DMC solids and assorted overdyes. Sorry about the craptastic photo; I was having problems with reflections.

Second is With My Needle's "Quaker Samplings 1," on Mushroom Lugana 25 over 1 with a light chocolate DMC (38-something), finished in 2007, but just framed this year.

Another finish, for Legacy board's Quaker Quarterly Exchange, can't be shown yet, since I just mailed it this morning.