Welcome!

A place for family and friends to see what I'm up to. Visitors welcome here.

Hail Guest, we ask not what thou art.
If Friend, we greet thee, hand and heart.
If Stranger, such no longer be.
If Foe, our love will conquer thee.
-Old Welsh Door Verse

Sunday, April 30, 2006

I think I've overcome a major challenge with this piece. I've struggled with the over two on linen because I don't see well. A couple of months ago I was thrilled to get a pair of bifocals that allow me to see the television while I stitch, maps while I drive and so on.

But the reading glasses part of the bifocals were only 200 and I still couldn't see to stitch on such fine fabric. Out of desperation I put a pair of 125 reading glasses over the bifocals and was able to work! Today I chanced onto a sale on reading glasses at the local drugstore and picked up a pair of 325. VOILA! I can see well enough to work.

Now the challenge is to be disciplined enough to finish this before my eyes get any worse!
This is the political buffer zone.
I have very strong feelings about politics.

I started this blog to share my stitchery projects, but have ended up using it for everything.

If you would rather see just the update on my stitchery, this buffer zone will allow you to do so.
And better and better...

Stephen Colbert.
The bravest man in America.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Better and Better

Rush Limbaugh was arrested on drug charges!





Monday, April 24, 2006

Sunday, April 23, 2006

It's Earth Day weekend and I'm missing John Denver. I was lucky enough to find a Greatest Hits CD set while shopping today and as I've listened old favorites like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High" and "Calypso" I'm struck by how huge a voice for this dying planet John Denver was. If he had lived, would we be in the danger we are now, or would he have been able to lead us and keep a vision of hope and commitment to our planet alive?

"Living, and loving and letting it be."

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Just Back From Eden

We just returned from Spring Break in Eden. I managed to fight off my It's Vacation! laziness and finish this piece. It's one of the Valerie Pfieffer trios called "Three's a Crowd." All I had left to do was the backstitching; I was delighted to see how those fuzzy little backstitched feather tips brought this to life.

I had also hoped to get some work done on "Firefly Faeries" by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum. I'm determined to have that piece, but it's proving to be a challenge! First, I unsuccessfully tried to dye three different pieces of fabric. Two years ago I found a piece of linen that had been hand-dyed for that design, but just wasn't very excited about starting on it. The next year one of my xstitchinprogress friends shared a source that had the perfect piece of hand-dyed. I ordered it and all the stuff (beads, braid, specialty threads and so on) to finish this piece and got started. I can do the work, but my energy level, nutrition and stitching light have to be just right. I dislike working on linen anyway (it's too much like work), but the dye on this piece makes it especially difficult for my old eyes to see, and the tiny stitches over two... well, let's just say it's been a challenge.