Incoherent Scribblings

I have begun to think about legal librarianship again. When I started library school I intended to take some classes in legal research, but my web interests replaced them and I never got around to taking those classes.

However, working in law enforcement has once again drawn my attention in the direction of legal librarianship. After all, why not use the experience that I am gaining now as a dispatcher and channel it towards my true calling?

Combined with the knowledge of a dispatcher, a couple of online classes like Government Documents and Legal Research would greatly expand my horizons and I could look at more than a life as just another General Reference Librarian…

It’s yard sale season here and for my mom and I, that means it is the season for unexpected treasures. The yard sale we visited yesterday listed “craft books” as one of their items in the paper so I arrived hopeful of finding something interesting - At a yard sale a couple of weeks ago I found a set of 11″ Q-snaps for $1.00! – but expecting that most of the items would be quilt-related.

The first thing that I saw when I entered the building was a stack of magazines: Cross Stitch Quick, Country Stitch, and Better Homes and Gardens Cross Stitch and Country Crafts from the late 80s all the way into the mid-90s. I didn’t even look through them. There were two stacks that were a dime and one stack that was a quarter. I decided to buy them all.

After hitting the clothing table (I got some stuff there too), I browsed through the “junk” tables and lo and behold, I found a scroll frame with floor stand for $5.00! I have never had a scroll frame, but have always wanted to try one and with the price, I couldn’t resist.

I briefly thumbed through the magazines and discovered some patterns that I would like to stitch: In fact, I believe I have found something for Catherine-Michele’s birthday exchange. Over the next few days I hope to look through the magazines more in depth because I have noticed instructions for a lot of finishing techniques too and I can’t wait to try them out!

I have also set up the floor stand with “Fairy Flora” on it, but it might be a few days before I actually try it out. I will be sure to try it out soon though… I may even use that double-sided needle that I got for my birthday a couple of years ago!

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Ish and is:

How do you choose a project for an exchange? Do you pick solely on what you know of the taste of the recipient or are there other reasons you pick the piece you do?

When I pick out a project for an exchange I try to stitch something that I will enjoy stitching based on the tastes of my partner. The reason that I choose my exchange pieces in this manner is because I want to stitch something that my partner will like, but if I don’t like stitching the piece the exchange becomes a chore, not the fun it is supposed to be.

If my partner is someone whose blog I read regularly picking out an exchange piece is usually pretty easy. After all, if I read her blog she probably has stitching tastes similar to my own or I wouldn’t be reading in the first place.

However, if my partner is someone who I am not familiar with, I browse her blog archives to get a feel for what she might like and check out her wish list if she has one. After that if I still can’t decide what to stitch for her I make a judgment call and hope for the best.

This weekend I spent some quality time with Flo and began the arduous task of stitching the background. I briefly considered starting the wings, but since the background had already been started, decided it would be more sensible to continue to work my way from the bottom up.

The background flowers at the bottom are simply gorgeous but are some of those motifs where you don’t get the full effect until you step away from what you have been doing. For the past two evenings all I have seen was a blur of pink. It wasn’t until this evening when I pulled Flo out to photograph her that I noticed how those blobs of pink were forming obvious flowers!

I hope that I can finish this piece before the end of the summer and as a result have decided to designate it my semi-focus piece. However, though I want to make sure I spend regular time on Flo, I am not going to focus on her exclusively. After all, there are so many other things to stitch at the same time!

A couple of weeks ago, Mom visited the newly remodeled LQS so she could buy fabric for a quilt she is getting ready to make and I tagged along. While we were there, I discovered these really pretty buttons that I just had to have… because I knew they would be perfect for a biscornu!

Ever since I got them I had been on the look-out for a biscornu pattern that would work for my buttons. I found one on Thursday and spent the following days putting together the charming little biscornu you see above.

The pattern is a freebie from a French site and because I thought it would be bigger than what I wanted, I modified it a bit. However, after finishing my biscornu I decided that the original pattern was, in actuality, not as big as I thought.

Oh well. I have some more of the buttons so I think I will make another biscornu using the unmodified pattern and call it a pair.