A Wonderful Read!

I just finished reading a book that should be required reading for everyone. I sure most people have heard of Randy Pausch. He's the young professor from Carnegie-Mellon who gave a lecture in their Last Lecture series. Only his really was a last lecture as he has terminal pancreatic cancer. I would say he's dying of it but from the book, you realize that he is living with it. Yes, he's living on borrowed time but he is making the most of it. The book, The Last Lecture, expands upon what he said in his last lecture. It's all about achieving your childhood dreams. More importantly, it's about how you live your life now. I'm sure all of us have unfulfilled dreams from the past. I know I sure do. But it's what I'm doing now, in the present, that matters. This is something I've only recently learned. Too many regrets for things unaccomplished can make a person restless and unhappy. There was a line in a movie I watched recently about settling. The one gal said she didn't want to settle and the other one asked her what was wrong with settling if everything still turned out well? That got me to thinking that she's right. Who knows where I'd be if I had taken another path? Back to the book. I laughed and I cried while reading it. But the one thing that really struck me was that I've been an Eeyore all my life and there's a Tigger inside just waiting to come out. You'll have to read it to understand what I'm referring to. It's a book I plan on reading several more times. And I plan on giving copies to my family and friends. Buy it, borrow it or check it out from the library. I dare you to read it!

Some More Progress

Well, I'm almost 3/4 of the way done with my windmill by Micahel Powell. I'm really enjoying this one. I wonder though if I've made a mistake by waiting until the end to do all of the backstitching. Normally that's what I do but there is a tremendous amount of it in his designs and for the other 2 I've done, I did it as I went along. I've no idea why I decided to wait on this one but we'll see how much I'm liking it when I'm done. I actually like backstitching but his is so strange, more like long stitches. I've also decided to do it with #8 perle cotton as opposed to 2 strands of floss. I really wasn't happy with the way the floss looked so I thought the perle cotton would look better. I'm really anxious to get this done so I can start on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I'm all ready to start it and I'm chomping at the bit to get it under way. My friend at work machine basted it on the scroll rods and finally brought them in on Thursday. But I am determined to finish the windmill before I start on a new project.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm in a little bit of a quandry here. I've been working on Cirque des Triangles for a while now. I've been stitching it on Christmas Green Hardanger fabric with a multicolored Weeks Dye Works thread. When I'm at home, I really don't like the combination. When it's at work, it's not so bad. So I decided to start it over with a totally different combination of fabric and fibers. The 2nd photo is using a light pink 32ct linen over 2 threads with an overdyed thread from Thread Werks. Both the thread and fabric are actually pinker than they show in the photo. I'm really torn between the 2. My friends at work tell me I should stick with the green cause they really like that one. But I like the pink too. Maybe it's the lighting at home that's bothering me. I've done too much work to just chuck the green although I've been tempted to sometimes. I'm just not sure if I'll like it after putting all that work into it. I definitely will do the pink. I really like that one. I've never been one to stitch something twice but I may have to in this case.

Another One Done

Well, I finished another UFO. This one wasn't so old. I started it at the beginning of this year so really it's only been in progress for 6 months. It's a needlepoint piece that I took a class for in January. I learned about 13 different stitches that I can use in later pieces. The colors used in the original model didn't suit me at all so, as I usually do, I changed them. I had all but the braided border around it finished. I found it on my worktable last week and decided to get it out and finish it. Isn't it amazing how we can get so close to finishing something and then for whatever reason just stop right before it's done? I plan on having it framed. When my windmill is done, I'll take this one and my New Zealand animals and my 3 Michael Powells that I'll have finished and get them all framed at the same time. The framer is very inexpensive for custom framing and I really don't have anything fancy planned for any of them. I do have to say that he's rather opinionated and if I have something I have definite ideas for or feel very strongly about, I'll pay a little more and take it to the other framer I use. I was rather disappointed in how CDC was framed and I'm tempted to take it and have it reframed. But I'm flexible about this one (as well as the others) so I'll use the less expensive option.

I've Got to Stop!

Ok, I just left my craft room and there's hardly room to turn around in. Now admittedly, a lot of the stuff that is currently residing in there is my daughter's stuff from college. So it's not totally my fault. But I do have to admit I have way too much stash. I have been taking patterns out of magazines that I want and getting rid of the rest of the magazine. That has emptied out about 2 drawers of the filing cabinet. Now I need to organize the loose patterns. The other file cabinet has 3 drawers full of patterns, leaflet and charts. For a while I was selling things on ebay but their fees have gotten so outrageous that I need to find another way to sell them. I have so many old patterns that I love but I know I'll never stitch them. I think it's time I got realistic about what I can do. I've moved them from Florida to Pennsylvania and finally to Arizona. I think it's time for them to find a permanent home with someone else. It's so hard though working in a shop. You want one of everything that comes in the door. Multiply it by 13 years of working and well... you get the picture. Not only do I have cross stitch stuff all over the place (in my craft room, the family room and the garage), I also have a yarn stash I started (again) 3 years ago when I went to work for this other shop after mine closed. They have yarn everywhere, some of it old and discontinued and some of it gorgeous and new. My yarn stash isn't yet so out of control. And the neat thing is that after years of protesting she'd never learn, Sherrie has started to knit. She is working for the summer at the same shop I'm working at, helping to organize their yarn shop. They told her if she was going to work there, she was going to learn to knit and, believe it or not, she has. And seems to be enjoying it. She's also been eyeing my yarn stash and pointing out the yarn she would like. Now if I can just get her interested in cross stitch. Anyway, I need to start being ruthless about what I buy and what I keep or soon there won't be any spare room in the house.