Just a quick one

I'm heading out the door to go visit dad for father's day, but since I had AL off the snaps to take to show mom, I figured I'd post a picture. :)


Almost there!! Sorry about the horrendous quality - it's so big it's hard to get a good picture of!

Venting, cursing, rambling...

Venting and cursing first...

Well first, I'm going to vent because my LNS is closing. Brenda has been talking about the possibility for months, but I had really hoped she wouldn't have to. I know I'll still see Brenda and visit with her, and we'll get together to stitch, but I'm sad to see the shop go. I still don't understand how the shops that sell at much higher prices are so much busier, but I'm going to guess that it's because they're in more populated areas.

One of the other reasons I'm venting today, and one of the major reasons shops are closing and sales are declining - copyright infringement. From the numbers on some of these sharing sites I can tell you that the interest in cross stitch isn't declining as much as some may think - they're just stealing their charts rather than buying them. Some of the sharing sites have over 100,000 members. I know it's always happened, photocopies being passed around and such, but with the internet it's getting worse and worse everyday. It's not just the sales numbers that hurt, it's the emotional toll it takes on us. More than a couple days spent in tears myself, and it's not happening to me nearly as often as it happens to some of the other designers. I can only imagine how they feel. Not going into a long rant. Those who do it, you know who you are, (and in some cases, so do we), those who do not, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support. :)

Having gotten that little vent out of the way, I have to say it's been refreshing to see the amount of support we're getting from a large number of people. Much of what we are able to have removed from internet sites is due to reports from stitchers, so a big thank you to all of you out there for dropping us emails and letting us know! We appreciate it more than you know.

Another small vent. Vikki Clayton is having a stitching exhibition over the next two weeks. I want to go so badly, but I just can't swing it. I'm incredibly jealous because one of my close stitching buddies arrived there yesterday and is spending the weekend, and I'm sure will be bombarding us with lots and lots of pretty pictures.

Finally, a really big vent. Canada Post, you suck. I have lost all respect for the union and company alike. The union is asking far too much in my opinion. They would never get anything close to that in the private sector, which is my basis for comparison. And the company locking down has completely pissed me off. I know it was probably so that the government would step in, and I can only hope that the back to work legislation passes quickly. In fact, so do the postal workers locally - they are livid with the union for pushing it to this point. Why am I so pissed off, you may ask? Because I am waiting for several parcels for model stitching. I have fabric and floss for the long version of Antique Lace on order, the threads for My Mother's Garden 2 in the sampler colours coming, and various other threads so I can finalize colours on Celtic Snow. And the model for Tulip is on it's way to me as well. Plus the threads for my brother's Growth Rings. Oh and of course my birthday charts. Service has been going downhill for years, though prices keep going up and up. 2 years ago I could get orders from vendors in the US in a week to 10 days. Now it takes closer to 3 weeks. I know it's not USPS, because they're getting to customs just as quickly as they ever did, it's on this side of the border the hold ups happen. Here's a question for you - why is postage in UK so much cheaper? The price of gas there is near double what it is here, yet it costs my MIL a fraction of what it costs us to send parcels back and forth. Plus theirs is much more efficient and quicker. Food for thought.

I know I can use UPS or Fed Ex, and in some cases I may go that route in future. In some cases that isn't an option, my vendors don't all offer that as an alternative. Plus, the cost of using these services can be pretty prohibitive. I scarcely make enough to cover materials now, in fact I used birthday money to buy supplies for the next couple of models, so additional costs for shipping isn't something I fancy.

The issue I have with them is their absolute selfishness, the company and union alike. Do they really not care how many people depend on them to run their businesses, and how much strain they're putting on THEM?

And an off topic vent... my hair. It grows much too fast. I caved and had it cut short a couple of months ago, and have had it trimmed back to chin length once already. It's already long enough to put in a pony tail again. I swear it grows 2 inches a month!! Suppose it's time to get it cut again.

Okay, venting and cursing over. I think.

A little update, Antique Lace is almost finished. I'm starting on the last couple of pages this weekend, then there will just be beading and ribbon left to do. Excited!!! I know I've been terrible about posting new pictures and updates but I just want to get it done now. Of course being this close to finishing, my usual stitching ADD is kicking in and I'm spending all sorts of time dreaming about other things I could be stitching instead of just getting it over with. I will try to get Jon to take a picture of me holding it so you can see how bloody huge it really is! This will be a HUGE happy dance.

And Tulip is finished. May dropped it in the mail to me on Wednesday. :) So look for that one to be released soon as well, so long as CP doesn't hold it hostage for too long. You rock, May. I'll probably release all three together at the beginning of July - 3 months ahead of schedule in fact. :)

And finally, a big, huge, THANK YOU! for all the birthday wishes, and a hello and welcome to my new followers! Inching up to that 100 mark. ;)

It's can't possibly be...

...June? Already? Where did May go?

It's been a busy week. It was my birthday on the weekend, and I had a wonderful visit at the LNS and treated myself to a couple of new charts I'd been eyeing - Courtney Collection's Garden Fair and Prairie Moon's Red and the Black II. How could I resist? Brenda was working on it and I could fight it no longer. :) They had a cake for me and everything. I was absolutely touched. I got some stash money from my mom and which I'm using to pick up supplies for MMG2 ver 2.0 and AL version 2.0, and thread for my brother's Christmas present. AND I got a GC from Jon's mum so I ordered the Cricket Collections Spring, Autumn, Winter and Summer (thanks to Karen and Wil for their enabling) and Glendon Place's Sleepy Hollow. When will I stitch these? Lord knows. But I thought they were so cute! And Sleepy Hollow is just plain cool. I'm not usually one for Halloween stitching, but I love that story - it terrified me when I was kid!!

Speaking of MMG2 (My Mother's Garden II for those of you who are new to my blog), it's June 1st and that means that the new issue of The Gift of Stitching is available. I'm soooo excited because Tracy Horner has an amazing new design in this issue. I know I have to do Growth Rings first for my brother (I can say that here because he doesn't read my blog!), but this one will be hard to resist.

I'll be away for the weekend, having a little getaway with my mom. We're going up to Bancroft to relax and visit my aunt who I never get to see anymore since my grandmother passed away. It'll be wonderful to visit! Mom has already ordered to bring ALL my models. And I'm sure she'll insist on a bunch of other things too. I should just let her pack them all then! lol

And another small note - I'm having no end of problems with my email of late. Things I send aren't getting to their destinations and I'm also not receiving messages at times - yet they're not going to spam either. It's extremely frustrating. If you have sent a message and not heard back, it's because either A - I didn't get it, or B - I replied and you didn't get my reply. If this has happened, try sending again. I've been back and forth with the gmail tech support (who aren't all that helpful I'm afraid) and I'm looking into alternatives.

And finally, a little shout out to my new followers - I'm up to 49!! I might have to have a little draw when I reach 100. Thank you to all of you!

One month later...

I'm soooo completely overjoyed at finishing the centrepiece. It took a couple of weeks to finish, and between cross stitch, pulled backstitches and eyelets was around 25,000 stitches. OMG!!

I was going to continue on with this piece until I finished it, but to be honest, I need a break. I'm suffering from burnout!! I could have finished what I have a lot sooner, but I'm not one to work solidly on something for such long stretches, so my concentration level has not been great this last week or so. So I figure I'll take a "mini-vacation" from model stitching for a week. I'm way ahead of schedule so it's okay, right?

Now to decide what to work on. I thought about starting the next flower model but I'm torn between doing Rose, Marigold or Iris. So I put that thought away for now. I also thought about starting the alternate model for My Mother's Garden II in the sampler colours, but I need to order thread for that first because I'm not certain that one skein of each will be enough, and I don't want multiple dye lots. So I forgot about that too. Then I thought about starting Growth Rings (I'll be stitching it twice, once for my brother as a Christmas gift and once for me because I must have it for myself too!!). Bro picked out colours he liked for it, I just have to pick the fabric. He likes Gloriana's Antique Black and Holly Berry - so I'll do the majority in the black with the red as the interior. I'm thinking a light tan fabric for it - and I'm sure I have something in my stash that will suffice but I haven't gotten that far yet. And again, I need 2 skeins of the black and only have one on hand and would rather have matching dye lots... so that'll have to wait too. And Rosewood Manor's Past and Present has been constantly niggling me since I bought it, but I'd like to convert that one to NPI and will likely have to order some colours for it. So it too shall wait.

Of course I have multiple WIPs I could work on too. I'm leaning towards Strawberry Sampler but Alpine Garden is yelling at me. Might end up a close my eyes and pick one situation.

I finally decided on colours for the long version of Antique Lace, with the help of bro and mom. Fabric will be either Silkweaver Heritage or Lakeside Vintage Pearled Barley. I decided this time I'd like a softly mottled linen. I love both of these, but I have both in 40ct and I know 36ct tends to dye darker so I'm not sure which I'll like better when I order those in. For floss I'm going simple with Gloriana Ecru. Much more tone on tone this time. A Sassy's colour or two may yet sneak in there before it's time to order too - if her 36ct order arrives before then. I really want to go 36ct this time. I like 32 for Mirabilias but I really do prefer higher counts. Heck I'd use my 40ct but then the pearls won't fit. I've spent way too much time obsessing over this one I think.

I think it's time to do some stitching now. :)

Lots of little tidbits...

But no pictures today, I have lots of stitching to do before I update again!

Yesterday was floss tossing day. And I'm still very undecided. Instinct tells me that light floss on light fabric is the way to go because it's traditional and classic and elegant and very much in the spirit of antique lace.... however, the adventurer in me tells me that it's my design and I can go with the classic or I can be adventurous. And honestly, there are merits to whichever I choose to do.

Classic and Elegant - read cream on cream, white on white or natural on natural - It's beautiful. It's a chance to really show off the different textures in the threads. I looks very cool. The two drawbacks for me are that I don't want to do white again - I know I'll be bored of it and thus will likely not be motivated to stitch it quickly. And second, it's very hard to photograph. Up close and personal, the textures and designs are very apparent and look wonderful but showing this off in a photograph is difficult.

Midway between - I could stay close to the classic, choose a pastel colour and still use a neutral fabric. A beige pink for instance, or a silvery blue. It's still light enough not to be over the top bold, but the hint of colour adds some fun and depth to the piece and makes it much easier to photograph.

Fun and Bold - In this instance I'm thinking of reversing the original colourway and going red on natural or a deep rose on natural. It would be lots of fun to stitch, and it would look lovely. However, it's about as far from lace as one can get! But it would photograph well.

Currently, I'm leaning towards the classic because it's the safe option and thinking that I'll just have to come up with more new designs so I can stitch one in red. ;)

In other news, it's May, so the new issue of The Gift of Stitching is here! This issue features some absolutely lovely smalls, and of course, part four of My Mother's Garden 2. Kirsten has also put together kits for the design, which are available from her shop.

And some shameless self promotion, but I'm excited so you'll have to excuse me - the talented Tracy Horner of Ink Circles has featured my Cirque des Triangles on her blog! I'm honoured and touched at what she had to say. :) I'm also honoured that next month, I get to share a magazine with her, as she has a wonderful new design that will be June's feature in The Gift of Stitching! I can't wait!

And finally, I want to say a big thank you to everyone for your lovely comments. I do so appreciate them even if I don't always get time to answer them. Believe me, they are an incredible inspiration when it comes to getting things stitched and designed! So Thank YOU!

2 weeks in...

...and nearing the halfway point already. My hand is officially aching from pulling stitches all day. This section is going much more quickly than I'd hoped!

I've pretty much decided that I'm going to stitch the second version as well - though I might take a few weeks off in between the two. So I've been trying to figure out a colour scheme for that one. I've narrowed it down to raw linen with white floss, chocolate brown linen with cream floss, or possibly cream linen with a pale colour of floss (not sure what pale colour though). I'd love to hear any suggestions!!

While I'm moving the q-snaps

I figured since I had to move the q-snaps I'd post an updated picture of Antique Lace. I finished this section up last night - okay officially today, since it was about 3am... I'm really pleased with how it's coming along, this is six pages completed, or about 1/3 of the way through. :) The middle section will probably take much longer as it's more densely stitched, but who knows, that might go quickly too? I hope so!!