Weekly Stitching

Granted, it still isn't great, but I did get some work done this week. I left off on The Bride Dollmaker last week with just a few minutes work:

I clocked out tonight at just 8 hours, most of which was done today:

I won't say that my stitchy bug is back, but I'm just trying my damnedest to get back to normal, even if I have to force it until it becomes routine again.

I will say though, I absolutely LOVE the thread that came with this kit! It's just supposed to be plain old DMC, but it's unlike any DMC I've ever used! It's so clean and solid and even. I also like the fact that the symbols are not just "standard" symbols. I haven't had issue with misreading symbols because there isn't a left arrow right next to a right arrow or an L right next to a backward L. These symbols are more like skull and crossbones, bombs, crosses, and airplanes.

This was also the first weekend that I have spent two full days at home in almost six weeks. Part of me really wanted to get up Saturday and drive to the coast. My car is in good shape now, but I doubt it will be if I keep driving a 1000 per week. I've got to find another outlet. I've got two years before my car is paid off, so I've got to make it last. Maybe one trip a month or something.

This week's F-U to the parent's pic comes with a side notation...I thought about giving her a name and the brilliant Jo jumped in with the almost perfect answer of Wilhelmina, which made me think of Wistermina, since she is, afterall, a Wisteria and I think that's the name that's sticking.

You will notice that the poor lilacs have almost been smothered. Part of me feels sorry for them, but apparently not sorry enough to stop watering them, which I'm sure that Wistermina is stealing anyway.

I Stitched!

...for approximately 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon, but hey, better than last week! I spent the better part of the first of the week trying to figure out what I was going to do to get my stitchy bug back and, in the end, I decided I was just going to have to start a new project. I decided that The Bride Dollmaker was the one to start:

And I wasted the remainder of the week piddling through winding bobbins and gridding up fabric (I didn't want to use the 25ct Magic Guide that came with the kit...I prefer my 28ct Monaco). As many scroll rods as I have, I've reached the bottom of the barrel and had a hard time finding ones to fit this project. Probably should have just gone out and bought new ones, but I didn't want to. Alas, after another trip down to the coast on Saturday (more on that in a moment), I managed a whole 22.5 minutes worth of stitching on Sunday before I got too interested in the movie I was watching (which required three views) and then I ended up getting a headache and that was that. But here is where I left off:

I did enjoy while I was stitching, I just got distracted. Maybe I can go home tonight and sink in properly, but I still have my headache, so we'll see.

I am having some trouble with the GeckoRouge kit. They are expensive considering. It's not a very big project and I went with the 1x1 because I knew I'd be switching out the fabric. I think I could have built the kit myself with a chart much cheaper. The paper they are printed on is just that, paper (although high quality). I prefer to use copy cover paper when I print my charts because it's much stronger (not as think as card stock, but can hold up to handling) and there isn't a digital version so, even though I scanned the chart in, I can't do my usual symbol search, only blow up sections. It's on that weird A whatever paper that isn't used much in the States, so that also takes a bit of getting used to (and didn't translate well when I tried to print it off on my beloved copy cover paper). There also isn't that grayed-out overage from page to page like most charts have, so I'm going to have to be careful and make sure I count properly or I'll wind up frogging a lot. The counts at the tops and sides of the pages don't go from 10 to 20 etc, they start at 140, go down to 0 in the middle and then go back up again to 140...that was a bit weird and then the same on the sides. The stitching edge doesn't start in the beginning of a block either, it starts on the 10th row of the first block. Weird.

I don't think any of these issues are difficult problems or deterrents, just weird for someone who's gotten used to things a certain way and has to learn to adjust. Aspers don't adjust well though, so it hasn't been easy. I'm trying to see it as more of a challenge rather than an adjustment...challenges trump adjustments any day! I am a bit worried that it's small size will affect the level of detail I'm kind of expecting. I do so love this design...I'd hate to see it not be the amazing project I was so hoping it would be!

Back to the gulf I went again on Saturday...this time with my Aunt in tow. I've got a bit of a project on at the moment. I want to collect enough shells and then a good section of sand to make "something" (although I'm not sure exactly what yet), but summer on the gulf just isn't good shell-hunting time. Plus, the water was pretty stirred up for some reason:

So I decided to push it and see if we could make it to Orange Beach. Of course, I10 through Mobile was a total cluster-fudge and we ended up getting stuck in near dead traffic for about an hour, but once we got back on track, there was apparently a motorcycle/bike thing going on and after watching groups of them doing wheelies, standing on the tops of the their bikes, and flipping in and out of traffic very dangerously all the way down, I made the decision that if they turned left toward Orange Beach, we would go right toward Fort Morgan. Needless to say, we ended up here:


Which is fine because, as Kate knows, I love a good fort! And, because I had my Aunt with me, I had the courage to ride the ferry back across instead of fighting that I10 traffic back and saved us over an hour of travel time! Sorry about the quality...any other time I would have taken a real camera.

Makes me want to go "mine, mine, mine!". Speaking of which, holy crap did Disney World find a few hundred billion dollars lying around or something? My goodness! I think they went nuts with all the announcements at D23 for future projects at Disney World! Gondolas, Epcot gutting, Magic Kingdom theaters and rides, Mickey ride at DHS and new info on Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land! Geez! I don't know whether to be excited or scared, but that's the way Disney is...just because you've been once doesn't mean you've seen it. In a year or so it's like a whole new world (pardon the pun).

Oh, and since I'm in a fairly good mood despite my headache...here's a big F-you to the parents!

This is getting a bit ridiculous...

Again, there really isn't any weekly stitching to show. I didn't post last night because I was too busy watching Miranda (aka I was too lazy to get up from the couch). I left off on Tartan B in January of 2016...I was working on it while babysitting my Grandmother when my Aunt was having surgery. I knew I screwed it up somewhere, so I gridded it, but I couldn't find the mistake and I just didn't deal with it again.

But when I picked it back up Thursday night, it was readily apparent where I screwed up and by the time I frogged all the bad stuff and restitched it, I pretty much didn't get any further than where I left off last year:

Sad and pathetic. I've got to figure out a plan to get my stitchy bug back. I don't want to start anything new until I finish something (I've got way too many WIPs going), but I've got nothing close enough to being finished to hold my focus. That's why I thought maybe Tartan B would be a wise choice, but I had forgotten how much I hate this piece. Besides, my whole "turning it into a pillow" idea is still a pretty sucky one considering I still don't know how to even make a pillow, let alone get a hold of some actual Blair Tartan material for the back (which was the original plan).

Both boys did get haircuts though. Bam has never actually been to a groomer before, I've always done it myself and he went full on drama king:

Et tu mommy

Bugs is an old pro now though:


I held my ground and refused to plant the lilacs, but my parents and Aunt took care of it. Ironically enough, my poor Wisteria hasn't given up just yet and she's almost as big now as the new trees! HA! That'll show 'em!

I'm still working on my second Jasmine Becket-Griffith wall. I got my new prints in today, but I've got to get them framed. Maybe I need to work on Alice and the B's since I'm in such a Jasmine mood. Not sure I want to change out the stand tonight though.

Weekly...well something

I don't think I can call this a weekly stitching week. It was pathetic stitching-wise. I should be posting this over at a New Stitchy Start Blog, but frankly I'm too ashamed. I left off on Happy Haunts at the end of April here:

And I literally got this much done this week (five minutes work one night and maybe an hour another):

Slackaroony Cheese! I say I'm going to work on it this week, but I still have no desire to stitch right now. If it wasn't for being the Blogger of the Week last week, I don't think I could have made it though and I can't thank you guys enough for all your kind comments, seriously!

I have spent most of the week watching Miranda over and over and over again (and I'm watching it as we speak). There is nothing to get one out of a "what I call" funk than Miranda. It's helping, but I'm not quite there so, yet again, I ended up back in Mississippi on Saturday:

Such Fun!

Rather stupid going to the beach on a holiday weekend, but surprisingly enough, everyone was at the malls instead of the beach, so I had free reign for quite a while. I decided, for a change of pace I would go down to Dauphin Island (because I'd never been there), but I wasn't impressed. I much prefer Gulf Breeze in Florida (there just wasn't time to go that far and back again). I am sure there are wonderful areas of Alabama, but I have yet to find them and their backwoods roads are quite frightening...which is saying something from someone from Arkansas.

I think I should probably wait a few weeks before going again (although I'd love to hop in the car and go again right now). Two 1000 mile trips in a week's time is pushing it, even for me. Besides, lots to do this week. We don't get Monday off, so I have to buy the stuff to fix my screens on Monday so I can do that on the 4th. The 4th was also my Grandmother's B-day, but at least all this tree mess has gotten me out of any family obligations. I will spend the day fixing screens with my pups and Miranda!

Apparently, my parents bought me lilac trees to replace my poor wisteria (like they could) and tried to get my Aunt to lie and say she bought them. It didn't take long to break her down though. She's been bugging me all week to schedule a time to come over and plant them with me, but I refused. My parents made the mess, they should be the ones to fix it. Even my therapist agreed with that (and she rarely agrees with my pig-headedness).

Maybe I need a Miranda-themed cross stitch project! I've been looking, but I haven't found one. Do I do a cast photo one, or do I do a quote one? Hmmmm...now there is something to be thinking about. Maybe I could make my own Gary Preston pillow to snuggle with! They really should have sold those, they would have made a fortune! Shame there is no such think as a real Gary Preston in my life...I could really use one of those right about now.

My Sister loves fan fiction...I love fan videos, so I guess that means it's time for one! I did find a new fan video that is a bit apropos, especially with the cut-in Miranda telling Penny to get out of her life bit, especially since I just did that to my mother (although a lot less tactile):

Although this one will always be my favorite:

Oh well, must dash back to my favorite TV couple and hope they bring my stitchy bug back.