G - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch

Before I get started today, I need to make a small mention about my sadness over the death of Mickey Rooney. One of my favorite Disney movies of all time is Pete's Dragon (yeah, I know, I have a lot, but this one really is one of the top five). It's probably really the only Mickey Rooney movie I've ever seen. It's not a popular Disney film, in fact, I know very few people who have ever seen it (which is really sad), but I really associated with this movie as a kid and those songs are as ingrained in my heritage as much as the most popular of Disney songs. So rest in peace Mickey, you will be missed!

Now, back to business...

Let's get the admin out of the way first. Here are the new images of the corrected characters already completed from A to E:

Aurora


Belle


Cinderella


Donald Duck


Eeyore


And Flynn is the same as yesterday, so now we're ready for today and row 2.

My "G" choice on my chart from CloudsFactory is my second and only other member of the "fab five". It wasn't easy leaving out Mickey, but there is a much more important "M" to me (and I had a real problem with "M" because there were a lot of choices that were important to me). But we're still not there yet. My "G" pick used to be my sister's favorite Disney character. She grew out of him, but he still holds a special place in my heart for this very reason. One of my favorite pictures from Disney World is this one (although not the best quality picture...it was 2004 and it's extremely cropped because we were pretty far back):

And this is how I always think of me and Amber.

So I guess it's no secret that "G" is for Goofy:

F - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch

There is just one character left in row one. But there ended up being an unforeseen caveat with her and it's caused me to make some pretty drastic changes. In all the years I've been stitching, I've never actually modified a chart before, so I'm hoping it all works out. The font changes were pretty scary, but there has been an unsuspected but really exciting side effect that I'm really loving! It will be quite visible when I post the finished piece (but not till the very end).

I made the decisions about characters on my chart months ago. As I've been stitching this row, the number of Princesses has not escaped me (as well as future ones to come). But it started to occur to me that I didn't have a single Prince on my chart. I did consider one in particular, my absolute favorite Prince (which shouldn't be too much of a mystery), but, in the end, I decided in favor of another character for that letter because he was a companion character to a definite one that I wasn't willing to compromise (they are kind of two peas in a pod and I figured it would look weird having one and not the other). But I've been questioning that decision since the get-go. I had another CloudsFactory chart that would give me the tools for the replacement character...but that's a ways off yet.

I've already pre-stitched most of today's character, but the decision I made about the other Prince made me think of yet another Prince that I also really wanted. So I went to CloudsFactory site and bought the chart that would give me access to Prince #2. But again, I ran across another complication because it gave me access to yet another character that would be in conflict with the other Prince...but I think I may have found a way around that (I'll save that for another day).

At least all this wavering reiterated my decision to stitch a bit ahead, I never would have had time to make the necessary changes otherwise. I've been able to completely frog what I've done of my "F" choice (the Fairy Godmother in case you were wondering) and restitched it as:

"F" for Flynn Rider.


But then, my OCD got the better of me and stitching a bit ahead has bit me in the butt. The white of Donald blending into the fabric was killing me. So I took the most drastic of measures and pulled out some ivory fabric, re-cut, re-stretched, re-gridded and...yep...I started all over! Good thing it was a weekend and I had the time. That's why it's taken me so long to post today's picture. I've been stitching like mad. I'll re-post the other characters when they are finished (I figured I better finish today's character first). Granted, there doesn't seem that much of a difference between the white and the ivory fabric, but it made a significant difference with Donald, so I'm pretty happy. I also ended up changing the skin to a lighter shade. The Princesses were a bit too tan!

E - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch

For the end of week one, my "E" choice for my custom Disney cross stitch from CloudsFactory was part like of the character and part lack of any other "E" character. Even though I may "like" him, I don't "love" this character, in fact, I tend to dislike all things Pooh (even though it's my pup Zachary's nickname - but for an entirely different reason that is really hard to explain in a paragraph). There is just something about his sad little face and his sad little life that I identify with.

"E" stands for Eeyore:


Between Needle Club and working 14 hour days lately, I think that I am going to at least partially stitch on each of the upcoming characters. That way, if I have a long night, I don't have to worry about an additional two hours worth of work waiting for me at home. At least we have Sunday to be on a normal routine...I'm dying to stitch on Pea!

D - Disney Cross Stitch Alphabet

We've got some pretty bad storms moving in tonight, so I thought I'd better finish early. Rushing affected my stitching and it's probably the worst quality yet, but I can still frog it later and fix it.

My "D" choice for my custom cross stitch from CloudsFactory is my all-time favorite Disney character ever. There is a reason why an entire room of my house is called "The Duck Room", I've been collecting "D" things since I was little (even though most of the things I had as a child had to be replaced (long story involving step-dad thinking that I was too old for toys at age 10, so he gave them all to my sister...LYMI Amber!). That's a lot of years to collect a lot of ducks! Granted, from a collector's standpoint, his merchandise is the hardest to come by (and anyone who has been on the Disney website or to Disney World directly can understand that), but I think that's why they are my most prized possessions. Some of my very first memories are watching his cartoons (which, BTW, were far more popular than the head cheese himself...Mickey had nothing on my little guy!).

"D" is the one I'm most worried about blending into the background, but here he is anyway, Sir Donald Duck!!

C - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch/Needle Club-Week 5

This is another double duty post, so I'll get the challenge post taken care of first.

My "C" pick for my custom chart from CloudsFactory is yet another Disney Princess. Next to Sleeping Beauty, there are two other Princesses that I consider to be part of the "Holy Trinity" of Disney Princesses and my "C" choice is one of them. Where Sleeping Beauty had a profound effect on me from an artistic standpoint, my "C" choice had an entirely different effect on me, and it's a bit personal, so just scroll down if you only wanna see the pic.

I grew up with a step-dad that I thought was "wicked" (now I know he's just an insecure bully...but that's another matter for another day) and a step-mother who I thought hung the moon and the stars (boy, was I wrong on THAT front!). Up to a certain point, my step-dad was the only dad I really had (my real father was more of a visitor to my life versus a dad). Then my sister came along and everything changed. She was protected from everything I was exposed to, I no longer existed as a "real" child of my step family now that they had a blood link, and I felt like the neglected daughter reduced to the status of a maid. I think that's why my "C" was so important to me...she taught me to stay strong and hold on till things get better (and they did...eventually).

So, in case you haven't guessed yet, "C" is for Cinderella:

I'm also having issues with just working on one character a day. I initially thought I could override my OCD and switch to Princess and the Pea once a character was finished, but I should have known better. I'm just not built that way. So I think I'm gonna try working on other characters, but just not finishing them until their scheduled day. I'll just have to see.

Now time for Needle Club news...it was another small group, just two of us, but I did manage quite a lot of work. I'm still in pink hell, but hopefully I will be able to switch to something/anything else soon.

B - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch/Wednesday Hodgepodge

Before I get started with today's stitch progress, let me first say a big whoppin' THANKS! to everyone and your kind comments! Considering the way my camera keeps picking up the flaws in my stitching, I'm not sure there is much need for praise. I'm trying to work a bit cleaner, but on top of checking other A to Z'ers and dealing with my day to day, it ain't been easy folks!

I also need to post an update on Aurora. I decided I didn't like the lettering, so I outlined the main letter and switched the other font to one strand of floss instead of two. I'm still having issues with the lack of backstitching around the characters and, looking ahead, I can see a major issue with an upcoming character's color and the white background (hope that isn't giving too much away, but anyone who knows me won't have much trouble figuring it out).

Here's Aurora's patch:

Her smaller letters look much cleaner now.

On with the "B" show...day 2 is here on my custom made cross stitch chart from CloudsFactory. Unlike "A", I didn't choose this character because of her movie and it's influence on me. I was very much against the "new" batch of Disney movies back in the day for various reasons (which I have ranted about time and time again, so no need to rehash), and this character's movie in particular has been a sore spot with me for years. It wasn't until Once Upon A Time and a re-imagining of the character did my opinion of her change and I actually started to like her (although I still have difficulty with some aspects of the animated movie). So my "B" choice, although having the appearance of the animated movie version, is actually important to me because of Once Upon A Time and the fact that she's the favorite Princess of one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world...Kate over at The Suddenly Kate Show (and you really should check out her A to Z posts as well, her theme is way better than mine!).

So, without further ado, "B" is for Belle:


I'm adding today's Wednesday Hodgepodge at the bottom of today's letter as not to confuse.



1. Since these questions are posting on the first day of April it seems only right to ask-when was the last time you did something foolish? If you can't answer that one, try this one-when was the last time someone fooled you?
I do something foolish every single day of my life and there are too many to name. People around me know not to fool me on the 1st because it's the anniversary of my beloved pup Zander's death.

2. What's the last biography or non-fiction book you've read? Was it any good?
I haven't been in the reading mood for a long time, and I rarely ever read non-fiction. I should say I read John Taylor of Duran Duran's autobiography since I won a signed copy of it from the Duran Duran fan club (and it's the only thing I've ever won in my entire life), but I haven't even touched it (well, other than to rub my hands over John's signature). The true answer is the last biography I read was Gary Barlow's autobiography and that shows how long ago it was because it was published right before Take That officially got back together. Oh, and yes, it was very good! I have since read part of Miranda Hart's, but her's wasn't a "real" autobiography, so I'm not counting it and I haven't finished it. It's the first e-book I've actually paid for and reading on a tablet is very hard for me, so I can't focus long enough to finish it without my head hurting. Give me a "real" book any day (well, a hardback anyway...I hate paperbacks).

3. Garlic-friend or foe? What's your favorite dish made with garlic?
Absolutely LOVE garlic!! Probably salsa or bruschetta is my favorite garlic dishes of all time, but I love to put it in everything. I prefer it fresh than that the crappy powdered stuff.

4. Several Spring flower festivals happen in the US during the month of April. Of those listed, which would you most like to see in person...The Skagit Tulip Festival in Skagit Washington, The Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville Tennessee, The North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington North Carolina or the Daffodil Festival Weekend on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts?
And just where on this list is the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot in Disney World? That would be my first choice, but if I have to choose from the list, I would have to go with the one on Nantucket...a place I've always wanted to go.

5. How do you choose which blogs to read? What is something that will make you stop and read every time? Something that makes you say, 'eh, think I'll skip this one and move on to the next'?
If I like someone's stitch work, if it's a Disney site, a fellow Asper-girl, or just something that interests me, I'll check them alot. I typically tend to stay away from writer's blogs (except for my friend Kate) because they typically take up too much time.

6. April is National Mathematics Education Month so tell us, when did you last use math?
I try very hard to never use math, but I do have to pay bills every two weeks, so I guess last payday.

7. In honor of the A-Z challenge kicking off on April 1...choose one word beginning with the letter A to describe your yesterday.
Annoying. My job isn't a very happy place for me right now.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I'm still having a terrible time at work and I blew up this morning. In the middle of blowing, I hear bagpipes faintly in the distance. At this point I'm thinking that either my Scottish blood has gotten so hot that I'm actually hearing bagpipes in my head or I've actually completely gone mental. Luckily, the co-worker I was venting to heard them as well and, when we went outside to check, someone was piping at the building next door. Yep, in the middle of bum-fudge Arkansas, on a medical street, someone is playing the bagpipes right now...needless to say, my blood pressure dropped back down to its normal level in a matter of seconds! Nothing like a piper to sooth a hot-tempered Scot!

A - Disney Alphabet Cross Stitch

It's April 1st, which means the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is finally here! I described my planned theme and a bit of back story for the Theme Reveal post, but before I reveal my first finish, I still need to give a bit more info (and this should be my longest post of the challenge).

You see, there is a lot of work involved in prepping for a stitch start, especially for the likes of me. Fabrics, methods of racking, floss, a lot of decisions have to be made before any stitching can even begin. I chose 18 count Aida fabric in white basically because the design is not advanced and the simplicity of the Aida would work better than linen (linen is harder to use and I wanted this to be as easy as possible). White is my preferred color of fabric and I don't have a lot of different colors in Aida (I have tons of linen colors, but I tend to hoard it instead of use it). I don't like to use hoops because you can only stitch one-handed, so a scroll rod was pretty much the only choice if I wanted to be able to finish nightly in a timely manner. I chose to grid the fabric to save time on counting.

So I started picking from my stash of material and rods:

And wound up here:

Because of the length of the project, I went with a floor stand instead of my preferred lap stand (no picture here...nothing exciting about a stand).

I've been hoarding floss for way too long and it's about time I started using it, so I really didn't have to make much of a decision on that front. But the floss has to be combined into a box and labeled accordingly. My stash is more than one complete set of DMC's here:


And the final result all boxed up for this project:


Once all that work is done, then stitching can start. But there is still one more thing I need to explain...why I chose each character. This was a custom chart designed for me by CloudsFactory, and most all of the characters I picked because they are my favorites..."A" was definitely no exception.

Like most girls, I have a favorite Disney Princess. Her movie is one of the main reasons I'm a Disney freak in the first place. So without further ado, my choice for "A" is Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty in my preferred choice of a blue dress instead of pink!

The grid lines didn't look crooked from afar and my work really doesn't look this shotty from a normal distance, but here she is anyway:


And that's "A" done! Each day I will reveal the character and why I chose it, but I won't show the entire work until I'm finished with it. I still haven't decided whether or not I want to add a header. Maybe you guys can help me on that!