Sweaty Summer Stitching

We have lots of free time these days- not that I'm complaining! But since we don't know anyone and it's Ramadan so all the shops are closed, it can get a bit repetitive: wake up, make coffee, turn on fan (it's 111F/44C today- no a/c in the living room!), check email, drink coffee, play on Internet, embroider, eat lunch, play on Internet some more, embroider some more, eat dinner, embroider or Internet, read, go to sleep. *Yawn* Exciting, no?!

On the positive side, I have gotten a lot of stitching done. I finished Love You Dad by Bent Creek. I can't decide if I should risk sticking it in the mail or not. I liked stitching this one for the most part; the tie drove me up a wall- four different colors! And the pattern is a bit odd on it. Once I got through that mess, the words stitched up quite quickly.

Before I left the States, my mom asked me to make her a bookmark from CrossStitcher magazine (I think). Or possibly to stitch her a bookmark that she could give to my aunt as a birthday present. Either way, it's going to someone I love.

I brought some Charles Craft bookmarks with me, so I counted and mathed and decided that I needed to count in 16 stitches to make it centered. Which I did, with the sun anyway. With the bird? I forgot, until I got to Bird #2 & realized the sun was in the way & the pattern wasn't centered at all. This is the entire pattern:

Obviously, some creative covering-my-butt stitching was needed! I moved the sun to its original place and added a bird and a worm.

I was so thrilled when I finished this bookmark. I kept making mistakes- leaving out a stitch, not backstitching one space, and it became really frustrating. So off it goes to its happy home and not a moment too soon!

 

I've been plugging away on Lily of the Valley. I'm around the 3,000 stitches mark, but I'm getting bored of the same two colors all the time. Fortunately, there are some color changes coming up; I just have to get to that part!

I finished stitching the To Thine Own Self Be True challenge and now need to make it into something. I think I've got all of the supplies for the finish that I want, but I have to hand sew it instead of using a sewing machine, so I keep putting it off.

Last night I was working on a project that I brought with me. Okay, so most of my projects are ones I brought with me, but the point is that before I moved here, I made sure that all of them were kitted up. There is a DMC/craft store nearby, so I have access to an awesome supply of fabrics and floss. Just no specialty floss.

Guess what I left in the States.

That's right- one perfectly good skein of WDW Old Glory that I need for the aforementioned project. Ack! I'm working around the lack of floss at the moment, but at some point I will have to remedy this situation. When I think of the shipping costs, I just can't justify sending one little skein my way. On 123Stitch, the skein is $2.20 and the shipping is $8.99- that's four and a half times the cost of the skein of floss! Ugh! I can't do it! But I need it! But I just can't spend that much on shipping! But I need it!

I'll figure something out eventually, but honestly, what was I thinking leaving it behind???

Best Stitches & Wishes,