July 9, 2019 Tuesday

The First Day of My Remodeled Website

Permanent Resolutions for Stitchers

1.  Take all the pent-up anxiety about perfection and redirect that energy toward creativity. Open up your minds and think of creative  possibilities you can bring to your needlework, ways that will personalize it and make it distinctly yours.  Here are two ways to start:

Oops you made a mistake and you face a lot of ripping.

Ask yourself, is it really a mistake or a variation?

You do have to rip if you crossed most of your crosses in one direction and suddenly you started crossing them in the other direction, yep no way around that. Why? The real reason for good technique is that it allows all your attention to focus on your design (where it should be).

You don't have to rip if you made a leaf one row bigger than the design called for. This is obsessive behavior that needs redirecting.

You do need to rip if you make something so large it is out of scale with the rest of the design; you do not have to rip if it is barely noticeable.

You do not have to rip if you mixed up colors and the design is not exactly as the designer's model. For heaven's sake, if it looks OK, stop obsessing.

You do have to rip if a color or texture is not in harmony with the rest of the design.

You do not have to throw away a design if you run out of a dye lot.

If it looks like you are headed toward thread shortage, don't use the thread to the last strand, save at least 1/4 of it. Buy some more and decide where and how to introduce the new dyelot. I actually prefer to work with multiple dyelots. If you pay attention to lights and darks etc., they can bring an added depth to your design.

2. In memory of Audrey Francini, my generation's greatest needlewoman, slow down. Needlework is not a speed contest. Audrey was the slowest stitcher I have known. She was also the best. I have a couple of great stories about Audrey and her speed, I'll tell them in the next couple of mornings.

3. Forget about the Needlepoint Police. They don't exist except in their minds. You may meet people who think they know it all. Good for them, I applaude their confidence, but I don't buy into it.

I have probably told this story a dozen times but it is worth telling again and again. Years ago a friend wrote to me and asked, will this Kreinik braid look good with this silk?

I replied, beats me, try it and see.

Friend: whadaya mean you don't know, you're the teacher.

My reply: if the Immortal Artists Of The Western World don't know without trying, how would I, one mere mortal needlework teacher? (There's a bit more to thsi story too, I'll tell the rest another time).

All this goes to say once again, there is no real right and wrong, there are problems of course. The best way to find solutions is to think creatively.

Those are my New Year's Stitching Resolutions for 2021, still good for 2022

Reminders for me as well as for all of you.

April 29, 2024, Monday               

My favorite day of the week has rolled around again and I am celebrating: about 3:00 yesterday afternoon, I finished my new pieces for proofing. In a day or two I will pick up the copies from the print shop and send them off.

The time has come today to put away EWeek for October and turn my attention to my Patriotica Sale.

Yes, I have to start deciding what to bring back to my sale. I have a few kits, a couple of Betsys and a couple of her sewing cases. You have requested I make a few more of both and I will if I have the supplies or they are available in a short time.

I will decide which Hearts to include very shortly, as soon as I feature four more.

And I have my Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Sampler. I would like to include it because of the timing this year. How important is it that we women have the vote and can have a voice.

So today I will pick up and start making decisions. I won't finalize them for a couple more days as I have a few more designs to post.

And I would certainly welcome your choices and suggestions.

April 28, 2024, Sunday               

I had a very productive day yesterday, with news that I  will indeed finish on or very near my deadline. I will send everything to the print shop tomorrow morning bright and early and will ship it off soon as they finish the printing. YAY!

Tomorrow afternoon, after workmen have left, I will officially start appraising supplies and making decisions about my Patriotica Sale.

As I have written, I have one design that over the years has been my most popular. Which one?  People guess it is Echoes, but it isn't. If you read this column, here is the answer:

Mmy Portrait of Elizabeth. It is 16 years old now and do you know when I got my last request for a kit? Yesterday.

Second to my Portrait of Elizabeth was Elizabeth's Heart. A friend suggested I make it so that people would have a chance to practice the techniques.

So why did I start thinking about popularity? There is a reason and I'll tell you about it soon.  And of course, with my explanation I have a question and I hope you will help me.

April 27, 2024, Saturday               

April, always one of my favorite months, is winding down. Besides the increasingly long days and all the birdies and spring flowers, April is special for a very personal reason: years and years and years ago, we fell in love in April and happily it has endured all these decades.

I always love seeing April on the horizon and regret when it finishes for another year.

More to the point of this column, I have the answer to my question, will I make my deadline of May 1? No, but the good news is, I will miss only by 2 or 3 days. Everything should be in the mail before the end of next week. Fingers crossed.

I am close enough to the end that I am sighing a happy sigh and beginning to look ahead.

Patriotica design choices on the horizon and I hope you will help me make the choices for my sale in June. I set the date officially: save June 20th.

A few more designs still to come.

April 26, 2024, Friday               

This week jumped from Monday to Friday in the blink of an eye. How did this happen so quicky?

I am working away, my goal to put my new designs in the mail for proofing on or before May 1.  So how am I doing?

So far I've put together beads for each of the designs; today I will start counting threads for the kits and I'm guessing it will take me today and tomorrow.

Bottom line: will I make it? I think so; if I miss, it will only be by a day or two.

Then begins the task of deciding which designs I should choose for my Patriotica Sale in June.

And stitching? So far I haven't picked up my needle in a long while. The last project I stitched was a fob; the first design I will work on when I start again: a crown. I have a rough drawing for the crown; I will make some adjustments here and there when I start autditioning beads.

Soon, I hope.

April 25, 2024, Thursday               

Counting today, five days to go if I am to meet my self-imposed deadline. Will I make it? Jury's still out.

Will I almost make it? Jury is back with a resounding 'yes.'

I have to wait for a bead. Yes, single bead is holding me up.

Everything is written, I've even read through all but one set (tomorrow morning's task). Now I am making prelim bead kits; over the weekend I will do the threads.

So what comes after this? Starting May 1 I make decisions about Patriotica Sale. I will fold up EWeek's Prelim work and haul out everything for Patriotica Sale.

I will bring back Betsy.  I have 2 Betsy kits for sure. I will see if I have the supplies to make a few more. Ditto Betsy's Sew Case. I have 2 for sure but hopefully will make an additional 2.

And after Patriotica Preparations?

Time to start my new Queen. Hopefully the day will come.

April 24, 2024, Wednesday               

Yesterday I had early morning workmen, so was up and scurrying around and forgot to do my webchores.

Minute the workmen finished, I spread out beads for two days solid (yesterday and today) of counting beads! It was a long haul through two days and oh what a mess, but I have made some much welcome and encouraging progress.

So what beads am I counting? All sorts for my new sewing case. One of this, five of that, fourteen of another and so it goes. It is a bit tedious but a welcome relief from writing instructions for a while.

My goal is to finish kits for proofing by May 1. Jury is out on whether I will make it (I need crossed finger emojis here.)

On May 1 I have to start kitting designs for Patriotica which means I have to make up my mind.

My Patriotica Parade will continue until May 1. If you would like to help me make up my mind about kits, I would welcome the help. How to contact me: look for the green button underneath my little computer avatar, above right.

April 22, 2024, Monday               

Real life intruded yesterday -- it is always something, that's for sure. I managed to read through and  preliminarily correct one set of instructions in the early morning then I lost the rest of the day.

Now here it is, my favorite day of the week and maybe I will prove more productive.

Meanwhile, I have posted the most recent and for now my final Red, White and Blue designs, a Patriotic Cap and Mittens.

Earlier I looked at my Dressed for Christmas Hearts and thought, I should make a Tux Heart and Dress Heart in Red, White and Blue.

This morning I thought, I should make a Christmas Cap and Mittens. Fun to think up ideas back and forth, and maybe one of these days.

But for now I keep looking at photos of my next big challenging design and think, come on, Gay Ann, get busy and earn some time to start. So off to the race against time: 8 more days in April....

April 21, 2024, Sunday               

I finished writing instructions yesterday!

Today and tomorrow I  will read through them and see what errors I can catch, then it will be time to make kits for proofing.

First task: printing and cutting up labels. Next task: finding all the beads. Third task: crossing fingers that threads arrive.

I would like to have kits and patterns in the mail before May 1 and it looks -- hooray! -- like it will be possible. I have 9 days more in April.

No time yet to pick up my needle, but it is waiting for me -- I see a glint of it out of the corner of my eye. If all goes well, its time will come.

April 20, 2024, Saturday     

This very morning I came across a photo of my two Hearts called 'Dressed for Christmas' and as I've been posting Red, White and Blue Hearts, I thought right away, I could design a Patriotic Tux and Dress (stars and stripes on the vests, stripes on the sleeves) and call it 'Tux and Dress for Uncle Sam and His Wife' or some such.

Just an idea. Actually, playing with all my Patriotica has given me a couple of ideas for the future.

Meanwhile, some of the beads arrived for my Crown, the next thing I want to stitch, so now if I work hard this morning, I can play with my Crown Drawings and see if I can refine and start. Late this afternoon IFF I get an admirable amount accomplished.

Yet to be seen.

April 19, 2024, Friday          

In the last three days I have posted my Red White and Blue Patritotic Hearts, the first from 2001, the second about 2010 and from 2019 US UK Heart which I just posted this morning.

I have gathered together the photos of the Hearts but which can I bring back? I have to check supplies and see what I have to order and whether I can get the supplies in time. Happily I have 2 months to go till the sale.

I finished writing my new needle book; now I have to finish assembling and writing the two fobs and then put together kits for proofing. In short, I am working ahead for my October Sale so that there is time for proofing the instructions.

At the same time I am watching the clock and calendar for my promised Patriotica Sale planned for the latter part of June.

Soon as I finish writing the designs for October and send them for proofing, I will turn my attention to making kits for June's Sale.

I was checking dates this morning and I am thinking  June 20 for my Patriotica Sale.

It's still early to decide on the dates for my October Sale but I peeked at that month too: it is still early  but I'm thinking of October 17. I won't fix that date in cement yet.

April 18, 2024, Thursday          

Yesterday I started posting Patriotic Hearts and Smalls I've made, beginning with my original Patriotic Heart from 2001.

This morning I added Peace Heart, a pair to my original Patriotic Heart that a good friend and adviser asked me to make.

I know some of you who have followed me will know that this is the tip of the iceberg and sometimes I wonder, how many hearts can I make? Reply from a friend, 'infinite' to which I often think, 'I'm near infinite now.'

But I'm sure there will be more. I love to make them -- one side, small, yet with enough room to have some substance. Each isn't a lifetime's hours to stitch.

I wish I had Jan's tree which is metal, hangs on the wall, is flat like a picture and holds a lot of hearts.

And some people have framed them too, and they look elegant that way also.

So in the following days I hope you will follow along as I post my collection.

April 17, 2024, Wednesday          

This morning I begin the second half of possibilities for my Patriotica Sale in late June. My earlier half included Betsy Ross and her sewing case, plus Betsy Ross Scissors Heart and a geometric called Fireworks that I had all but forgotten about.

This half is all about Hearts and Smalls I've made over the years. I begin with the very first Patriotic Heart I made back in 2001. People asked and asked me to make something related to 2001 and I made this heart.

In the years since, it has gathered friends and now I have the task of deciding which ones to bring back.

I hope you will help me decide.

It is also a nice trot down memory lane for me. I have made ever so many hearts and I suspect there will be more. I know there will be: I just sent two off to be finished.

My task today: writing instructions once again. Happily I should finish by April 30; then I will begin deciding on kits for Patriotica Sale.

April 16, 2024, Tuesday          

Great morning of productivity this morning, I got through all the beading instructions on the Sewing Case! Yay!

I am starting to think beyond this set of instructionsl. Yes, starting to think what should I include in my Patriotica Sale?

I've displayed a lot of it, certainly my two big pieces, but I have a lot of smalls still to come.

If you have ones you wish would show up in the sale would you let me know? I will likely post Patriotica for the rest of April, then come May 1 I have to start kits.

For once, although pushed for time, I am relatively right on schedule. YAY!