Quaker Gone Tropic Update

This is the latest update for Quaker Gone Tropic.  I finally finished the large motif at the top.  I'm still not convinced I like the color of it but it's in there to stay.  So I just better get used to it.  Surgery is tomorrow so I'm not sure when I'll get back to stitching on this.  Hopefully it won't be too long before my vision is back to normal (or as normal as mine is right now).

Happy Anniversary to Us!

33 years ago today I married my best friend.  He's my lover, my soul mate, the love of my life.  We've had our ups and downs but they've mostly been ups and together we got through the hard times.  We have 3 great kids and now 2 wonderful daughters-in-law, numerous dogs and 2 kitties.  Everyday I thank the Lord that He blessed me with such a good husband and family.  So, David, here's to the next 33 years.  May they always be as wonderful as the first.

Quaker Gone Tropic Update

It occurred to me yesterday that I hadn't updated Quaker Gone Tropic in a couple of weeks.  Here it is in all its glory.  I was able to get quite a bit more stitched on it last week.  I even managed to finish one whole page of the chart.  I've been tweaking the colors as I stitch it.  I'm still not convinced 100% that I like the color  of the large motif but it is starting to grow on me a little.  I think I like it better with the brighter colors around it.  I've been trying to get as much stitched on it before May 1.  I'm not sure how much I'll be able to stitch after that.  But I am liking this more and more.

Stitcher's Bucket List

Do you have a Stitcher's Bucket list?  You know, the designs that if you could only stitch 1 or 2 before you had to hang up your scissors that would go right to the top of the enormous pile of stash you have hidden in your back closet.  I've been thinking a lot about this lately.  Maybe it's my impending eye surgery (it's scheduled on May 1st) that has me contemplating this.  I have lots of designs I'd really like to stitch but what would the pinnacle of my stitching lifetime?  It was hard to narrow it down but I think I would have to say it would be The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow and 2 of the Chatelaine Designs.  One is the Taj Mahal Mandala Gardens and the other is Desert Garden Mandala (which I'm sorry to say I don't have a good picture of).  I also like her Safari Mandala but I have to be reasonable.  I just can't afford too many of her charts.  Now I do have the fabric and the silks for the Shores.  The fabric is even already attached to the stretcher bars.  So why haven't I started it yet?  Good question.  I also have the fabric and fibers for the Desert Gardens.  I'm thinking I don't have to wait till I'm ready to put down my needle.  I just might get them out and do them now.  So what's on your stitching bucket list?

So Sad

Let me start off this post by saying I usually don't jump on my soapbox too terribly often.  I prefer to do what is right and not get all caught up in uproars about different things.  But I've got to say what I heard yesterday really saddens me.  I've been a permanent member of Artecy.com for many years now.  I've downloaded a lot of her free to members patterns as well as bought some of her exclusive charts.  I am even currently working on  The Great Wave that she adapted for cross stitch.  I have a stack of her charts that must be a foot tall.  I'm waiting for retirement to stitch them.  So it really made me ill when I read that she was closing the members free patterns because of so much illegal downloading of her charts.  You can read all about it here.  It sucks to think that people will steal a designer's blood, sweat and tears that go into charting a design and profit off of it!  Why can't we all just play nice?  Now I realize that cross stitching has gotten more expensive recently with the advent of hand-dyed fabric and silk flosses.  But if you can't afford it now, wait till you can.  Save your change. You'd be surprised at how fast it adds up.  Use less expensive materials.  Do whatever you have to to avoid the illegal activities which are ruining our industry.  Pretty soon more and more designers will give up in disgust and then where will we be?  Consigned to working out of our stash, that's where.  And honestly how much fun would that be?  Seriously let's all do whatever we can to stop all this crap that is slowly strangling the creativity of this once wonderful hobby.

Do You Pin?

It seems like the newest thing in social networking is Pinterest.  Personally I thought it was a great idea.  It was a fun, easy way to save pictures of things I liked or was interested in remembering.  You know how it is.  You see something on the internet and then can never remember where you saw it.  So I joined and started pinning. I even had a few followers.  But the more I got into it, the more something began to bother me.  And it wasn't just some of the semi-pornographic photos that some of my followers had pinned.  I got to asking myself whether we had the right to pin someone else's work without permission.  Remember Napster?  Now I never downloaded music from there but I do remember reading about how the music companies sued 12 year old girls for illegally downloading hundreds of songs.  Or how about sites where cross stitch charts are posted for anyone to download, thus depriving the designer of his or her due.  Don't the owners of the images have the right to not have them spread all over the internet without their permission?  I know you're supposed to link back to the original site but I know I never took the time to do it and I'm willing to bet not many people do.  They just pin the image usually off Pinterest.  Not feeling right about all of this, I deleted all of the images and the boards themselves.  Now if they had private boards open only to the owner, I'd feel better about the whole thing.  I do understand that is supposed to be coming but it's not available yet.  I have also noticed some sites actually have a Pit It button on pictures.  So I've started pinning again but only where it's obvious that it's okay with the owner of the site.   This subject has been bugging me for a long time and I just decided to put it out here for discussion.  I'll get off my soapbox now and you may all return to your regularly scheduled stitching.
 

QGT Update

Just a quick update on Quaker Gone Tropic for this week.  I've been making slow and steady progress on it.  And yesterday I got the brilliant idea to stitch a secret into it.  Now I'm not going to tell anyone what it is but here's a hint.  It has to do with a couple of sports teams.  How's that for cryptic?  Seriously, I am having lots of fun with this.  I haven't enjoyed stitching on anything as much as this in a long time.

A Wonderful Surprise

I had a wonderful surprise yesterday.  Lee-Ann has nominated me for the Liebster Award.  This award is given to new bloggers or those of us who have been around for a while but have less than 200 followers.  With so many bloggers to choose from, it can be hard to reach new people and this is a lovely way to do that.  Liebster means favorite,  dearest or beloved in German.  There are 4 conditions which go with accepting this award:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

Some of my favorite bloggers have been around for a while but don't have 200 followers so I'm including them.  So here's 5 of my favorite blogs:

Coral - Coral has an amazing blog.  Her quilting and stitching are exquisite!  She is definitely one of my favorites.

Bronny - I love seeing what projects Bronny has chosen and have watched her yearly projects with great interest.

Tina - This blog isn't necessarily all about stitching but it's about Tina's travels with her long-distance truck driving husband and their dog Molly.  I love the recipes she posts as well as the beautiful photos.

Bronzemom - Bronzemom has been in a slump and I've really missed her posting about her stitching.  She has some beautiful projects and I'm hoping to see more of them.

Beatrice - Beatrice is another stitcher I've been following for a while.  I love see all her gorgeous stitching as well as hearing about the stitching retreats she attends.

Now for the hard part.  5 things about me:

1). I would love to live in Australia or New Zealand.

2). I was adopted at birth.

3). Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love stitching turkeys and pumpkins.

4). My all-time favorite book and movies are the Lord of the Rings.  I can't wait till this December when the first Hobbit movie comes out.

5).  I am in the process of editing my first novel.