Stitch With Me

This is what I’ve been working on during my 15 minutes a day.

This is one of a set by Kathy Schenkel.  I have 8 or 9 of the pieces; Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, three Wisemen, an Angel, a Camel.  I’ve had these pieces a long time but have started only on this one.

I use the Stair-Step stitch with the shiny middles a lot.   I use the Nobuko stitch a lot as well.  The burgandy is Vineyard Silk’s new Wool thread, the shiny middles are Kreinik Braid, the blue of the undercoat is Vineyard Silk.

The left side of the robe looks different than the right side.  I struggled with it a bit.  Trying to get it to go in the opposite direction from the sleeve and the other side.    Finally, I printed out the stitch diagram, turned it over, outlined it with a pen and stitched from that diagram. It is the same stitch, but going in that other direction makes it look very different.

I’m not sure I like it.  I my take it out and stitch the left side going in the  same direction as the right.

The picture doesn’t show it well but the gift has a padded pillow made with Petite Very Velvet.  I stitched stitches up and down and then laid stitches across to lift it from the canvas.  The jar is a cross-stitch sort of thing, or as my friend Judy from Possibilities, etc! calls them, bump stitches.  The top of the jar, I didn’t stitch as painted, but instead stitched a long neck with handles.  The jar and the gold accents are Kreinik Briad.  I don’t remember which weight I used but it may be as thin as a #4.

I never remember this until I’m in the middle of it, but I wish I’d stitched basket weave stitches around the gold accents in the corners of the robe.  Trying to incorporate or compensate them into a more complicated stitch  always sort of absorbs them and just makes them look chunky.  I need to tattoo that to my forearm because I always forget.

I’m thinking the crown needs to be beads.  I’ve not decided about the hair and the beard but Ridgewood Needlepoint’s Blog had beautiful hair  on a cupid.  If I can figure out their e-mail, I may write and ask them about it.

I’ve started exercising again.

I intended to quit smoking and re-start my exercise program for Lent.  With all the stuff that’s been going on in my life, I decided to reduce my smoking and re-start an exercise program.  I’m down to about 6 cigarettes, or less, a day most days and I’ve been lifting weights three days a week and walking/running on the treadmill.

I hired a personal trainer to help me with the weight training.  At my health club I pay $200 and get 12 half hour sessions with my trainer, Kristen.  She helps keep me motivated.  Since I know she’s blocked out time for me, I get up and go because I hate it when people call me and make an appointment and then don’t show up.  She also is in control of what I do.  So when I’m at the point where I’d probably say, “O.K. I’m tired.  I’m going home now.” Kristen says, “O.K. Let’s move over here and make your triceps burn and scream for mercy work your triceps.”   I’ve been going three days a week for three weeks now.  I can actually see some muscle definition.

My cardio workout is going less well.  I found this Couch Potato to 5K Program on the internets.  Last August I got plantar fascitis.  It is very painful and hurt just to walk.  I got the steroid shots in my foot and inserts.  It got better, it sill isn’t the same as it was before the plantar facitis flared up though.  I am trying to take it slow, and have signed up to run a 5K race at the end of April.  So, if I can stay healthy and not get hurt again, I might just make it.

I feel better.  It helps

Whenever I get involved in something like this, until I get acclimated, other aspects of my life suffer.  In this case, it has been my stitching.  Some days it just seemed like I did not have the energy or resources to stitch by the time I got home from work, dinner on the table, Jacob in the tub and into bed.

I read somewhere that someone was doing a 15 minute “challenge” with their stitching.  The challenge was to commit to stitching for only 15 minutes a day.   I decided to try that system.  Every day for the last two weeks or so, I’ve committed to stitching for just 15 minutes.  I’ve got my projects in a basket sitting next to the sofa in the game room.  At some time before I go to bed, I dip into my bag, draw something out, look at the clock, and begin stitching.

It has been surprisingly successful for me!  I have been doing it, primarily between the time we finish dinner and the time we have to start getting Jacob ready for bed.  This is usually down time for Jacob; he plays with his Nintendo, or his cars or his Legos.  I forgo the computer.  And I stitch.

Some nights I just do my 15 minutes.  Most nights though, I end up doing more.  Last night, after we finished dinner, I had about 40 minutes before I had to be at a meeting at Church.  I set down to stitch and got 30 minutes of stitching in and still got to my meeting on time.

I’m not doing a lot of stitching this way, but I am stitching.  If you get into a stitching rut, you might give it a try.

Amy’s Golden Strand has their March Newsletter out.  Go check it out!  I has a very good review of the K’s Creation Needlework Stands that I enjoyed,  an article about Kelly Clark’s Halloween series Amy has done the stitch guides for and a new book by June McKnight that I’m going to add to my wish list.

I really do enjoy getting this newsletter!

On Friday morning, I walked out of my front door and found a blanket of snow on my front lawn.  It almost made me cry.  Here it is, almost March, and we STILL have snow.

Yesterday, I went out, and found these in my front yard:

Crocus.  They are always the first flower to arrive in the spring.  They always give me hope that winter will end.

Soon.

I’ve decided the answer to the title question is “YES!”

I finished this piece:

On the 4th of February.  It was a very fun, fast piece to stitch.

The Penguin is a Barbara Bergesten design.  I got the Penguin without anything across his belly and added the name and date using Barbara’s Letter Sheet and my fine point Sharpe pens.

The white is Vineyard Silk.  The black is Silk & Ivory.  The dark green is one strand of Trio.  The light green is Kreinik Braid.  The feet and nose is Petite Very Velvet.  They eyes are a ribbon floss.

This piece has been stitched completely from my stash.  I intend to do the background in a Dark Blue Silk Lame thread.  But I don’t have enough of that color to finish the background.  So, I’ve ordered more and will probably wait until I have them all stitched before doing the background.

So, even though I’ve not yet stitched the background, I’m going to call this one “finished!” for now.