mini-mystery finished

Finished Mini-Mystery E designed by the talented Martina Weber of Chatelaine Designs. Left most is directly from the scanner, which wasn't quite large enough to show it complete with tassle. That is my first ever attempt at making a tassle, and I think it came out well enough. I have a few ideas for improving the next one.


I also stitched the tiny matching ornament that Martina designed. I'm planning on putting the one that comes with Mini-Mystery F, and possibly G on the same piece of fabric.

Stitcher's Five 6/28/04

1. Do you take something new to stitch when you travel - a special travel stitching project?
I usually bring my knitting, I don't like to travel with stitching, too much hassle, all those baggies, and needles, and scissors to keep track of.
2. Do you plan your trips around stitching shops?
Do I plan my trips around stitching - no. Will I visit needlework or yarn shops if I just happen to find one in the phone book when I get there - sure do. Most recently, I stopped at the Yarn Barn in San Antonio and purchased Ginny Morrow's Nova, which I wasn't able to get in Dallas.
3. Do you believe that if you cross state lines you MUST buy fibers?
No
4. Where have you stitched?
That I can remember:
Jury Duty, Train trip to Canada, Plane between NY and San Diego, at several SOCS conventions (remember those?), in a moving truck between NY and Dallas with all my worldly possessions in the back.
5. Do your friends/family bring you stitching related gifts when they travel?
Nope, but my friends and family don't do too much traveling.

Funny!

Just when I needed a laugh, this link was posted to one of my groups.
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=8060.0

Joined a new YahooGroup The Sampler Life Big mistake! They are discussing about a zillion stitch-a-longs that I want to join, I've discovered several new designers that I have to collect, and I've made a mental wish list that is about 14 feet long. Must be strong, must be strong, if you start anything else new you will never finish anything old...

i'm a hit on google

Had some fun playing around with Site Meter, I can see what search strings have referred to Wildly Crafty.

My favorite was funky bathmat sets. I'm proud to say I'm number two for that search string on google. Another great one was Andy Warhol cross stitch. Both refer to a post I made last year after my trip to New York for the Zoo Vet Tech conference.

progress updates

Came up with a rotation that lets me work on everything in a time frame that allows me to feel like I'm getting something done on each piece. Instead of doing a ten hour rotation like most stitchers, I work on each project for a hour and then switch. It isn't a large chunk of time, but I get to see progress, and I never get bored.

Here are some progress pics:

Hawaii

Moving along, still not up to the underarms, decided to split the difference between the cropped and long sweater.

Socks
Flickering Flame Lace Cotton Sock

another Knitter.comSock of the Month Kit. Next up I'm knitting a pair for Dave out of some conservatively patterned Regia.

Mystery 6

Started putting some of the beads on Part 5, still need to do the outer border, and add the Part 6 gazebos. Am not keeping up with the group.

Mini Mystery E

Just have to add the beads to part 3, sew the end into a point and put on the bellpull hardware. Just in time for Mini Mystery F.

White Queen

Crappy first photo. This is the whitework drawn thread sampler I'm doing as a group correspondence course with the Cyberstitchers chapter of the EGA.

Stitcher's Five
These questions are really hard to answer, I started stitching so long ago I don't really remember.
1. What was your first finished stitched piece?
I'm not sure, I remember stitching a needlepoint of strawberries on a train trip to Canada. I think I was 9.
2. What was the first piece you used beads on?
Probably a Just Nan. I don't remember which one of hers I did first. Could have been the Spring Sampler, or it could have been an angel.
3. What was the first piece you used blends on?
I think this was TW's Magical Night. I got part way done and then "lost" it because I miscounted, and ended up with two parts that were like a quarter stitch off, and didn't know how to fudge it.
4. What was the first piece you used speciality stitches on?
Maybe a Just Nan, maybe Maureen Appleton's English Elegance. Or maybe it was something by Sweetheart Tree.
5. What was the first piece you stitched on evenweave or linen as opposed to aida?
This I have absolutely no clue, I started stitching on evenweave/linen almost as soon as I started stitching.

Stitcher's Five 6/14/04

I kinda like the stitcher's five. It gives me something to post, otherwise I wouldn't have anything to say. All my projects are coming along, but there's nothing exciting to show.

1. Is your DH/partner supportive of your stitching?
Extremely. He's a big time enabler. If I want something he talks me into, not out of buying it.

2. Do you ever stitch in company?
Knit yes, stitch not really, too much trouble to drag everything around, so I mostly just stitch on the couch at home. My knitting travels around with me, and I'll pull it out anywhere that it isn't rude.

3. Been to a GTG (Get ToGether)?
I went to a TWBB, DFW, GTG*, a couple of years ago, we ate at IHOP and then stitched at The Stitchin' Post in Plano.
*Teresa Wentzler Bulletin Board, Dallas-Fort Worth TX, Get ToGether

4. Does anyone complain about your stitching?
Not anymore. My ex-husband thought it took time away from him, and didn't want me to stitch or read or pretty much do anything but hang on his every word. Notice how I said _ex_husband...

5. Ever had a stranger comment on your stitching?
Sure, most times I get "Oh, I'd never have the patience". Sometimes people comment, usually positively. When knitting, I get asked to knit random people things or asked to show how it works.

Vacation, Part 2

On Tuesday it rained and rained and rained. We went to the Space Center, because we thought it would be indoors and safe. Well, partially. They have several exhibits inside, but there is also a tour of some of the other buildings that requires several stops on a tram. It seems like every single time we had to get onto the tram and be driven somewhere it started pouring down buckets. I was very moist by the time we were done.


Historic Mission Control - where all the space flights and moon walks of the '60's and '70's were controlled from in Houston. Made a historical landmark and preserved.


Another image of historic mission control. Kinda blurry.


X-38 Lifting Body without "skin", prototype of a possible replacement for the space shuttle, or escape pod for the space station.


X-38 Lifting Body with "skin"


Space Station Trainer


Another Space Station Trainer

After the Space Center we were tired and wet, so we drove back to Kemah and stopped for lunch at a great BBQ joint around the corner from the B&B.

Wednesday it was time to head home. But first we had to choose between the zoo and the natural history museum. Since the forecast was for more rain, the museum was the logical, safe, indoor choice.

They were having a fabulous exhibit of gemstone carved animals by an artist named Gerd Dreher. You have got to check out his website gallery of carvings. This stuff is incredible. If you're anywhere near Houston, I really recommend checking out the exhibit, it's just that good.


Statuette of a monkey


My personal favorite, a mouse in rose quartz


First you get a block of gemstone, for instance a large piece of obsidian


Then you start carving away everything that doesn't look like a gorilla


After a zillion hours of work, it really looks like a gorilla.

There was also a fantastic ancient Eqyptian exhibit, but there were signs up asking that no photographs be taken. The rest of the museum was pretty standard, dead stuffed animals, rocks, etc. We didn't go to the butterfly exhibit, or the IMAX theater. It was getting late, we were getting tired and we still had a four hour drive to get home.

Stitcher's Five

Just a quick stitcher's five, I'm not done uploading the rest of the vacation photos yet.

1. Do you give away any of your finished stitching as gifts?
I used to give away alot of my stitching, but not anymore.

2. Do you sell any of you finished stitching?
No, I've never sold any of my finished stitching.

3. Do you give any of your stitching away to charities?
I haven't given any of my cross stitching away to charities, but I knit hats for Ship Support, and crochet blankets for Critter Knitter's

4. Do you keep any of your stitching for yourself?
As of a couple of years ago, I keep all of it for me.

5. Do you stitch anything as part of exchanges or round robins?
I've heard too many horror stories about round robins to feel comfortable participating, and I don't like to stitch to a deadline, so exchanges are rough.

Photos from Kemah

First things first:

My Hawaii sweater, just past the FI detailing on the bottom, into the vast orangeness before the shaping. If I were Wendy I'd be done by now. Unfortunately, I'm me, so I'm looking at at least another month or two.

And now for the trip.

We stayed at the Sculpture Garden Bed and Breakfast in Kemah. Kemah is a small town between Houston and Galveston, not far from the Space Center. I forgot to get photos of the cottage we stayed in (the Horizon), and also didn't get any photos of the rock waterfalls or other sculptures. I did get a photo of Dave on their really old golf cart, complete with venetian blinds and periscope.

Each cottage comes with a street legal golf cart that can be used to jaunt all over town. This one is has been retired from service, and is permanently parked in front of the office. We had a great time, and are already planning to go back since there was so much to see and do that we didn't have time for. It also rained almost the entire time we were there.

The first night we dined on the Kemah Boardwalk. At the Aquarium which is a concept restaurant owned by Landry's. Several huge saltwater aquariums with lots of healthy, happy fish grace the dining area. We we lucky enough to get there right before feeding time.

This is a school of large fish in the 50,000 gallon centerpiece tank.


A couple of stingrays cavorting.


Not so very clear shot of the barracuda


Diver handfeeding the enormous moray eel


Close up of the enormous moray eel


Close up of the sea turtle with a missing flipper being rehabbed


Feeding time in the 3 story circular tank in the entrance way.


Dave said that since I put up a picture of him on the golfcart, I have to share the one of me posing with the shark bench at the restaurant's entrance.

I'll put up photos of the Space Center, and a couple from the Natural History Museum in my next blog post.

change is good

Commenting by Holoscan now. I really didn't like the Blogger commenting very much. Very unwieldy, opening up a whole new page instead of a cute comment box, and not allowing people to post any info automatically.

Other than that, and losing a few links on the way, I think my template change was a success. The orange of the old one was getting to be a bit much. Actually the font size was annoying me. It was too big. No seriously. I'm one of those people who picks books not only by their content but by the font size, if the font is too big I'm not at all attracted to the book. Who says you can't judge a book by its font?

Someone on the Mystery IV group posted a link to a great cross stitch site. http://www.amonamipierre.com/ It is in French, so a translator comes in handy. I love redwork style alphabets, there are a couple of kits at European Cross Stitch that I have my eye on, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this designer offers not one but two free redwork alphabet samplers on the freecharts page.

Change

I'm changing the template, hope I don't lose everything...

Hawaii progress

More progress on Hawaii. I'm up to the second to last section of FI patterning before I have to do the vast expanses of plain orange that make up the top. After I worked through all the casting on difficulties, it's been pretty smooth sailing. Knock on wood. The Svale is a bit of a pain in the ass. It splits like crazy, each strand is made up of four plies, so it's really easy to stick a needle tip between the plies. It reminds me of LB Microspun.


Another sock finished. In Mountain Colors Barefoot Wild Raspberry, from a sock of the month club kit. The pattern is called something extra cutesy, like Butterflies and Berries, but I left it at the office so I don't remember exactly. Fortunately I remember the repeats so I can knit sock two without it.


I'm officially on vacation for the next ten days! Woo hoo! Prime knitting time. If I can drag myself away from this computer. Monday we're heading out to Kemah (near Houston) for a three day stay at a bed and breakfast. I hope I remember to not only bring the camera, but to take some pictures.

Just when I get a chance to start moving right along on my Mystery Sampler, I get the box from the EGA. Oh yeah, I signed up to be coordinator for a Group Correspondance Class for White Queen. I'm a member of the Cyberstitchers Chapter. I joined so I could take advantage of the classes, there's a non cyber group here in Dallas but they meet at a time when I'm at work. I haven't started yet, that wouldn't be fair, since I still have to mail out everyone else's booklets (later today) but I did take a peek at the directions and it looks like fun.

Ok so, it's the Monday Stitcher's Five, not the Friday Stitcher's Five. No matter, I still can't keep up:

1. What is your most treasured needlework possession?
I treasure most of my stash pretty equally.
2. What is your greatest fear when doing needlework?
I'm stumped for an answer to this one.
3. What is your greatest extravagance in needlework?
The Chatelaine Mystery kits.
4. What is your stitching motto?
Just five more stitches.
5. What do you dislike most about your needlework?
Not being able to stitch everything I want all at one time. That rotation would be so vast, I'd never get around to a second time on anything.