Incoherent Scribblings

I haven’t actually stitched too much in the past couple of days because I have been getting ready for my Round Robin. I had to go out and buy some fabric because our rules require 14 count Aida cloth and I didn’t have any Aida cloth anymore! Obviously I have become a complete Evenweave convert!

I have decided that my theme will be “Watering Cans” and there are four people in my group. With that in mind, I did some layout sketches and after many different arrangements finally chose one; the first and the simplest! It will be a simple four block layout: two on top and two on bottom. I chose to make my squares 60 by 60. The watering can I am doing is 48 by 40, but I also wanted the squares big enough so that if someone has a larger design she can fit it in. I think 60 by 60 is a good size: I don’t feel like it is too big, but it definitely isn’t all that small either. I also added a 30 by 120 strip at the bottom where I am going to stitch “Watering Cans” and “International Round Robin 2005″ as a way to commemorate my first foray into the Round Robin World.

Yesterday I prepared my fabric. First I had to cut it and then I had to secure the edges. Sometimes I secure edges on pieces I am doing, but not always. However, it is in the rules and since it has a long way to go, I think it is a good idea. The funny part was that I decided to use the zigzag feature on my sewing machine for the first time to do this. Now, my sewing machine has about 20 more programs and stitches on it than I need, so instead of choosing your “run-of-the-mill” zigzag stitch, I think I accidentally used something a bit more fancy! Oh well, one way or the other the edges are tacked down…

I don’t think I will put a border around each square because something tells me that with all of the pretty watering cans and the bottom with its fancy lettering the piece won’t really need one. I did, however, put in a “running stitch” to mark off the squares.

I am planning to stitch the bottom first and then do my watering can… and I will have this all done by February 28! I am sure glad I only signed up for one Round Robin, because otherwise I think I would have bitten off more than I could chew!

There is a commercial here for Nescafé’s instant cappuccino. It features a flamboyantly-dressed man with a huge black pompadour and an even bigger moustache.

Honestly, the first few times I saw the commercial I thought he was dressed this way to make fun of the French. I suppose it was because there was this French restaurant in the States that I used to go to (Chez Moustache — how’s that for the name of a French restaurant?) that had a very similar figure on their sign. Plus, the commercial guy just had a look that I associate with a stereotypical snobby French bourgeoisie who thinks he “knows” his coffee. This would also explain why I thought the commercial was amusing: Here we have this “French”man who thinks his cappuccino is “all that” and it turns out to be instant! I think you can see the humor here.

Some time later I saw the guy dressed the same way on the Home Shopping Network. At that point I wasn’t sure what to make of him. I thought perhaps his “character” was some well-known German figure that I wasn’t aware of, but seeing him dressed that way out of the commercial sort of creeped me out and I never really enjoyed the Nescafé commercial again.

Well, it turns out this guy (Rudolph Moshammer) was a Munich resident, fashion designer complete with a boutique on the most expensive shopping street in town, Maximilian Straße, and quite the celebrity. And not only did he really dress that way, he normally carried around a little dog named Daisy with him! I am using the past tense here because, unfortunately, the guy was also murdered Thursday night in his Munich home. Daisy, however, was unharmed.

Kind of sad that I only learn who the German celebrities are after they are murdered, isn’t it?