Heart Sampler Pouch

A while back I posted that I had come across these bits from a friendship sampler gone wrong--the group disbanded without the project being completed.

I finished the pouch pretty quickly and then forgot to post it. So here it is, just in time for Valentine's Day.

My sampler was a long band and the theme, obviously, hearts.

The plaid is likely a "personal plaid" with a code I have no idea any longer how to translate. Personal plaids were all the rage at the time we did this. I stitched the Celtic Knotted heart.

The pouch is sized to hold 3" x 5" photos if I should choose to so so. I added a pocket from extra evenweave and lined the front and back of the pouch with the pink ribbon from my previous (long) post. You can see the picot edge of the ribbon peeping out here and there.

I hadn't sewed in ages, nor finished something like this. I did endless ripping. I finally finished it on the sewing machine. Sometimes using the machine, going through the routine of setting it up, loading the thread, filling the bobbin, will help get my head on straight and I can figure out how it should go together. It's a bit wobbly but together.

Thinking It Over: I (long)

There are several things that have been nagging me for a while now and things seem to have come to a bit of a standstill with me so I think I need to address them.

They circle about why I choose the projects I do, what motivates me, why do I have so very many unfinished (or planned and unbegun) projects, on to bigger issues such as what do I value (and why) and how do I want to spend my time (and why). I’m trying to tackle it one "why" at a time. (of course it's all a bit more snarled up than that!)

I’m not generally an introspective sort of person and I’m finding this hard to sort out in my head and that’s partly why I’m writing it all out here. The other reason is I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. Things often get into a swirl in my head and one comment from someone else can really help sort it all out.

I'm going to include some images of antiques I purchased over the holidays to help break up what feels somewhat like a long whinge. (They are, top to bottom, antique ribbons, a lilac dresser scarf, a pink antique ribbon with a small piece of Teneriffe lace and a small piece of crochet on it, and part of a long band of exquisite Hardanger that I think may have been part of a sleeve.)

Some of this long post is part of Sharon B’s legacy from the TIF project year. The last challenge, which I haven’t completed, is on the concept of generosity. For many of us, especially at the holiday season, this includes gift giving. I’ve thought a lot about giving (and receiving). I try to be generous and I have a lot of wonderful examples out there to follow. It led me to thinking about giving handmade gifts, which I always try to give. Perhaps that’s not a good thing.

It struck me over the holidays that I don’t truly value what I make to give (not outwardly-I personally value it but I don’t behave as though I do), especially the things I make for others in my family. I realized that when I give a handmade gift, I also give a "real" gift like a book, cd, or dvd. I don’t quite feel that what I make is "enough."

One main concept regarding gifts that I keep coming back to is: Am I making the gift more for the recipient or more for me? I really like stitching, creating, making, trying new things. I feel I’m often giving gifts that are what I want to make-and not necessarily what the recipient might want to recieve. On the other side of this coin, making things that I’m not interested in just doesn’t work (witness some of those ufos).

I’ve been making my holiday gifts since at least the 1960s, so my family has had to put up with a lot for a long time. At one point my mom cautioned me "no more pillows." My nonbracelet-wearing sister owns a bunch of bracelets, because I really like making bracelets. My family tends on the whole to really understand and appreciate handmade gifts-we all do make and give them and always have. And I think I'm the only one who feels this need to supplement the handmade gifts with something else.

I must add in my defense I don’t go at it entirely willy-nilly. I do try to select things the recipient is likely to like and I don’t give things like a teacozy to a nontea drinker. (I used to not be quite so aware and I have improved on that front.) But, still, there’s a long span of years here and how many hats or scarves or bracelets or pillows can one person use? (We’re also not a throw-away family, things tend to last with us.)

So, in case I’ve chosen to make something the recipient might not be thrilled with or need, I give them another gift so they’ll still have a "real" gift to make up for it. And I get the enjoyment of making and giving things to them. I think I’m straight with that--it’a a choice I make.

I realized this year, though, that I’ve lost balance and am overcompensating. (Here, have this dvd for putting up with me giving you this felt doll.) Even when I’m sure the gift is something the recipient will really like, I still feel compelled to add on that other gift. And I think it’s not a good thing. The work of my hands and spirit is worth more than that.

I’m not sure what I want to do about this issue, other than be aware of what I’m chosing to do instead of compulsively buying-and compulsively making. Giving something I’ve made is important to me but perhaps I need to find other ways to show caring. Perhaps I need to take me out of the equation more and limit the gifts to those that fill both needs: what the recipient would like and what I would be interested in doing.

One world draw--fine print

I need to back track a bit, apparently, and add some fine print here. First off, I'm blown away by the response to the One World-One Heart Giveaway. Pretty cool. I've been doing more surfing than usual, checking out the blogs.

Looking at posts on other blogs, I noticed that that most other participants had included more detail on how to enter than I had. You don't need to have a blog, but even if you do, I must have a way to contact you in case you win. I need an e-mail address.

I have made it easy for people to contact me, but I've gotten a number of comments that leave me no way to respond. Most have blogs, but the blogs don't provide contact information. I've tried adding my own comments to a couple of the blogs, requesting contact information, but since I haven't received a response I'm not going to continue.

Here is a list of the people who have commented to be entered into the draw here but didn't provide contact information. If you're on this list, please contact me with your e-mail.

Please do enter the draw but also please be sure to send me your e-mail address. You don't need to put it in the comment, but may e-mail me privately. (see my profile)

Sadly, I cannot include the two individuals with no blog links in their e-mails in the draw (Kitty and Betty Jo) unless they contact me. I have no way to get in touch with them. I'll include the entrys with blog links and if they are drawn, I will leave a comment on their blog. If I don't receive a response within 48 hours, I will draw another name.

One of the individuals who didn't include contact information asked about how to obtain Caron Waterlillies Overdyed Silk. The Caron site has a shop locator. Online, Nordic Needle carries it.

Winter Hibernation

I seem to be hibernating this winter. I haven’t had much to say lately. I’m working on the needlepoint Santa and am just about finished with the embroidery. I’m thinking ahead to the finishing, which I plan to document and post here. I enjoy finishing and I know many people don't.

I've been browsing this book, a surprise gift from my boss. He and his wife are moving and clearing out and he noticed she had set it aside in the discard pile, grabbed it and brought it as a gift for me. Is that sweet, or what? (that he even noticed is amazing to me!)

I’ve set aside the trees where I can see them. I’m not sure about the leaf color I’ve selected for the current tree but not sure if I want to rip what I’ve done or continue on. This design requires a painted background and I’m thinking I may want to do that before deciding that the embroidery is complete. Most people did it in class but I decided to wait until I got home to try it. The painting in class was done on foamcore. I slightly changed the dimensions of my opening so the precut boards in class wouldn’t work. Plus I’m thinking about painting on thinner board or fabric covered board and using a spacer between the trees fabric and the background. Lots to think about.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, which is not normal for me, about what I'm stitching and what I want to be stitching and why. I've been writing some of it down and hope to condense it a bit and post it. If I get it sorted. maybe.

This past weekend we visited the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University to view their exhibit "The Art of Dining on Rails (The Christopher Railroad China Collection)." It is amazing to me the variety of china patterns from the railroads, the beauty of some of them and, most of all, the varied and unusual pieces in a setting. The collection included a wide range of patterns from several railroads and from a couple of hotels serviced solely by railroads, a small collection of silver pieces (teapots, compotes, finger bowls), a large group of prints of illustrations of diesel train paint schemes, some menus and other ephemera and memorabilia, and a really sweet adjacent exhibit on the Valparaiso University "kissing bridge."

The railroad china exhibit is accompanied by a very nice booklet with notes on the different railroads whose china is exhibited and full of lovely pictures. It sounds like a really strange thing and I the exhibit wasn't on my "must-see" list but I really enjoyed it and I'm glad we went. Nothing to do with needlework but you never know what will inspire a idea or project.

A holiday gift arrived yesterday and it was a most welcome one. Tea Cosies is full of all sorts of knit tea cosy patterns, full of wonderful creative ideas. (cabled patterns, spare and modern, flower covered, pet themed, landscapes, and a few really strange concepts) The book is well worth checking out.

It came to me that a tea cosy could be an ideal swatch--it's a good size but not huge, there's often ribbing and some shaping. And I think my family has enough hats to last a few years by now (or decades, perhaps).

One World-One Heart Giveaway

Update: I will draw and announce the winner on Thursday, Feb. 12. I will stop comments (if I can figure out how) or not accept new comments after 8 a.m. U.S. central time on the 12th. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and entered. I have been blown away by all of the visitors. Please stop back. I plan to hold giveaways all year as I review and reduce my stash.

I have decided to join the One World-One Heart Blog Giveaway. My giveaway, for one winner, is both the stitched butterfly and the stumpwork dragonfly kit.

I stitched the dragonfly with DMC metallic threads on perforated paper. It has a pin back and a wire antenna. The Dragonfly Kit is from an Australian company, Jennifer Bee and is a complete kit to stitch a stumpwork design with a dragonfly, frog on a lilypad and a waterlily.

The draw is to be held on February 12, 2009. Please comment on this post before then to be entered. Please make sure to include your e-mail address or provide some way for me to get in touch with you especially if you don't have a blog. If you do have a blog, if your profile is hidden or doesn't include an e-mail address, please make sure to include your e-mail in a message to me.

Entries from individuals with a blog who don't provide an e-mail and who don't have an e-mail link on their blog will be notified if they win by a comment on their blog. I will wait 48 hours for a response and then draw another name.

This year's One World-One Heart group of blogs with giveaways is HUGE. It's really amazing. Please go to their site to check it out.

Button Giveaway Draw

This morning I typed all of the names into a document and printed it, cut out a strip for each name and folded it twice. I put them all into a cup and then went hunting for someone to do the draw. I found a researcher and she shook the cup and drew two names: Sadie and Leila!

I'll put together two baggies of buttons and get them off to you within the next week or so.

Stars!

This wonderful Star Temari ball was a gift from World Embroideries. I couldn't wait to get my paws on it! It now resides in our living room where I can see it all of the time. It's surprisingly heavy and solid and very cool--thanks!

Well, the transmission problem looks likely to be the expensive one, not the cheaper possibility. We're now looking into who we'll have fix it and where. My husband has a scanner that reads codes so we knew it was the transmission, but a friend has a better one that reads more specific information and he used it to diagnose the more specific problem this weekend.

We took ourselves to see Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino Sunday. It was a very good movie. It hit me hard, but then most things do. But it was very good.

I've worked my way through about 7/8 of Drums of Autumn. I find myself picking up words and speech patterns from the book. By the time I finish rereading the last two I'll likely have a Scots accent! Even knowing what happens, it's a riveting read. (I generally rocket through Diana Gabaldon's books the first time I read them because I have to know What Happens. My second time through I go slower and savor.) The movie and book filled up a lot of my weekend.

I did pull out another older project. Actually, this one is newer than most in my pile, but it's been on my mind. I began this piece in a class by Catherine Jordan last April at the EGA Great Lakes Region Seminar (blogpost here).

(BTW, this year's seminar is coming up soon--check it out here. It is very definitely well worth it.)

I made a lot of progress, but since it's mostly layers on top of layers, it may be hard to tell. At seminar I completed most of the tree trunks and began to stitch leaves on the trees. I began with the biggest tree in front and then realized that may not be the best idea.

I left that stitching in but rethought the rest and began from the back, stitching the leaves I thought would show through or be taller than others. Then I added leaves for the middle layer of trees. Now I'm back toward the front and am working on those leaves and have begun thinking about the foreground. Even if I mostly cover an area that's already been stitched, things peep through and add a feeling of depth.

Last night, just as I lay down in bed, it came to me how to stitch the mossy path--underside couching. It worked well with the very fragile velour thread. I got up early this morning (very rare for me) to stitch the path. (I was tempted mightily, but I knew that if I got up last night to do it, I'd probably botch it from being too tired.)

Taking photos like this is also very helpful. Looking at it I can see areas where I want to go in and add more background or change the shape a bit. I was worried that the little tree on the far left would be too bright but I think it's okay now that I've seen the photo.

I've found it interesting to note that most of what I'm picking up now is on canvas. I wouldn't have put needlepoint at the top of my list if asked but, well, there it is!