Incoherent Scribblings

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Jan and is:

Do you ever get to a point working on a project that you’ve had for so long, you start to wonder what possessed you to start it in the first place?

Oh yeah!

However, when I reflect on the projects that make me think this I usually find that I don’t really have trouble remembering why I started them. Instead the question becomes, “Why don’t I want to work on X-Project anymore?”

I have had short-term projects that have raised this question and the answer usually has something to do with the fact that after I started the project I decided that I didn’t like it that much after all.

However, for this question we are talking long-term projects (i.e., projects that have been in my rotation for over a year… your definition of “long-term” may vary) and for these types of projects I typically find that the reason that I don’t want to stitch them anymore is because my stitching style and tastes have changed enough since I first started them that they no longer hold my interest.

New Bedding
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

Well, I think I can say that my birthday is officially over.

Today I got the last birthday cards in the mail that I was expecting and the rest of the presents I bought myself arrived. (Can you believe it? I bought myself NO cross stitch stash for my birthday this year!) It’s been a good birthday if I do say so myself. If the rest of the year is half as enjoyable as the past two weeks have been, it will be a hell of a year.

Of course, one of the highlights of my birthday weekend was going to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with Him yesterday. (I have decided to drop the He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named for something shorter… albeit much less creative.) I am not going to write a movie review, but I will say this: I liked and didn’t like the movie. As a stand-alone action movie with Harrison Ford it was fun. As an addition to the Indiana Jones franchise, it wasn’t really what I was hoping for and frankly I was a little disappointed.

However, after the movie yesterday He and I went shopping for bedding for my new bed. (Yes! He went shopping with me! Could He be a keeper?) As usual, I wanted something nice, but was feeling too cheap to pay the big bucks for what I wanted so I hit the sale rack. And I wasn’t disappointed either. There was a “bed in a bag” set that I liked, but I found a comforter/sham set that I was partial to as well.

The “bed in a bag” was a very pretty set with purple flowers on it, but when I showed it to Him and asked his opinion he did that man-stutter thing that means he didn’t want to disagree but he clearly didn’t have too high of an opinion of what was being presented to him. Lucky for Him, I agreed: The “bed in a bag” was kind of girly!

In the end, I decided on the comforter/sham set in a pattern called “Summer Rain” and bought some 350 count Pima cotton sheets in a bluish-green-gray to match.

He must not have minded that set too much: After all, he did help me make the bed when I got home!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I have to be honest: Due in large part to He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named, this year’s birthday was one of the best I have had in many years. And we aren’t finished celebrating yet! The birthday activities will conclude on Monday with a trip to the theatre to see the long-awaited return of Indiana Jones.

And now… on to the stitching report!

This week I have been working on Margaret Sherry’s “Cool Cats” and managed to finish up Summer this evening. I don’t really have much to say regarding Summer because in typical Margaret Sherry fashion it is a fun and smooth stitch. I really like Summer’s sunglasses and her ice cream cone. The only thing that would make her more stereotypical summer would be if she were wearing flip flops!

Well, because of the Kreinik situation, Dawn and I weren’t able to finish “Harvest Witch” by my birthday. However, since they finally arrived tomorrow we will be heading back to our SAL… Of course, I am not sure how much I will get done since I am attending a wedding reception with He-Who-Must-Not-Yet-Be-Named (Boy that is getting to be a pain to spell out! I either need to name him or abbreviate him, huh?) tomorrow evening, but I am sure I can at least get a few stitches in.

Today is my birthday.

For quite a few years now I have stopped caring how old I am on this day and just enjoy it as my day. I make myself a cake (usually German chocolate with coconut pecan frosting) and if I don’t eat anything else besides cake on this day I don’t care. If I am working I take the day off and do something special… even if that means nothing more than lazing around in bed all day in my pjs.

However, my special event today was the delivery of the new queen-sized bed that I bought with my tax stimulus check. (Yes, I am doing my part for the economy by using that check for one of those “big ticket” items! ) In order to make room in my tiny apartment for my new bed I had to spend most of last evening and this morning rearranging and cleaning, but now that my new bed is made and calling me to it, I couldn’t be happier. I have been waiting almost 2 years to make this, my first “grown-up” purchase, and I can’t wait to go shopping for new bedding soon.

Nevertheless, my new bed will have to wait on me for a few hours because I am off to celebrate at the local watering hole with a few friends now. Cheers!

I was going to post this picture of my latest finish last night but I was experiencing technical difficulties.

Anyway…

For those of you who may not be familiar with this motif, it is Sunbonnet Sue, one of the most widely recognized quilt block patterns of all time. However, in this case Sue has been stitched instead of quilted. The pattern comes from the November/December 1993 issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts and is one of several traditional quilt block motifs in the issue.

I am sure I have mentioned it before, but I have always thought it would be neat to take several small cross stitch pieces and put them together for a quilt. Unfortunately, I have always run into a number of difficulties with this scheme; the main problem being that I don’t want take the time to actually learn to quilt. However, after reading the instructions for this project and seeing these motifs finished into a wall-hanging/doll quilt in the magazine, I think I may have found a solution to my dilemma.

This Sue won’t be for that though. I stitched her over one on 32 White Belfast for one of my PIF gifts. I had originally intended on finishing her into a fob, but I had a different idea last night so now I am not sure.

However, the thing you will probably notice as I am stitching up my PIF gifts is that I have decided that I am going to show them on my blog when they are finished. I am not going to say which gift is for which recipient though, so that will be the surprise. I figure this is my PIF and I make the rules, so I will show them when I want!