Whew! & Aaah!

Shall I start with the good news? We've got our visas, we've got the cat's health certificate- which means we're finally moving!

Whew! After nine months of waiting, we're nearly there!

Aaah! We're moving again! Granted, to a country I've lived in before but a city that I've only visited once.

Giant bottle opener or just me?

I've already packed up all the needlework that's going with me. I'm taking some kits, some kitted patterns, some white evenweave, and some of my very favorite specialty flosses, like the Rainbow Gallery bamboo floss (M922 Twilight) that I have to do something with! I'll have quite a few skeins of DMC from the kitted patterns, so I'm not taking any extra. I'm really trying to slim down the load this time (including clothes, books, etc.), so much so that I'm only taking about ten specialty flosses (not a typo!). But fear not! I'm pretty sure I have enough supplies for a few years...and then some!

I've finished both Chillin' Out & French Country Wedding Bells into flatfolds. I have to say that they both turned out much better than the first flatfold I did all those years ago.

I used some random cardboard I had for Chillin' Out, which was too thick, so the pieces didn't fit together as well as they should have. Still, I think it turned out rather well.

That being said, I'm happier with Wedding Bells.

I used mat board for this one, and the thickness is just right. My cutting-in-a-straight-line skills need some work, so the top right slopes down a bit. All in all, pretty awesome! Thanks, Meari, for the tutorial, and a special thanks to my mom for traipsing around town with me to find the perfect backing fabric and ribbon!

Last week, DH & I went to Six Flags, where we discovered that age has caught up with us. We had a good time; our last ride was the carousel, which pretty much says everything you need to know about the trip! We were exhausted!

It was the perfect time to go, though, because it was a Tuesday and school was still in session. The longest we waited in line was maybe three minutes (compared to three hours in the summer).

The next day we took this trip to Garden Grove to go to Needlepoints, Ltd. You like how I worked that in to the trip? I really needed some GAST Harvest Basket for Love You Dad, and why not drive 65 miles out of the way instead of ordering it online?? I bought two skeins, just to make it worthwhile.

I also needed some 4mm silk ribbon that matches DMC 742 for Song of the Weather. I had emailed a few LNSs and inquired about it, but no one had anything in stock that really matched. Lo and behold, what did I find at Needlepoints?

Gloriana Silk Ribbon in Valencia. It's perfect!

DMC Perle #5 in 742 & Gloriana 4mm Silk Ribbon in Valencia

The ribbon is mildly variegated with a shade of yellow, but it works well with the other colors, so I am pleased as punch!

Other exciting highlights of the trip included discovering Threadworx silk floss and getting a card of Rainbow Gallery Alpaca floss.

Rainbow Gallery also makes Angora floss, but it's for 7 count cross stitch. Darn!

A sample of some of the beautiful floss that I bought (encouraged to buy, no less, by DH!):

Thread Gatherer Silk N Colors

I did pick up a few more kits, but in my defense, the coffee one is for DH, the January one is for his mom (possibly stitched by him), and the rest I have no excuse for except that they were on my wishlist! I've actually kept an eye out for the August needleroll each time I've gone to a LNS, but this is the first time I've seen it.

Remember all those Sweetheart Tree hearts that I did earlier this year? It turns out there's a ton of those patterns...available at Needlepoints, Ltd! I picked up the sunflower, acorn, and shamrock ones. I think they were about $6 each with the charms, which is a steal since the last charm I bought cost $11!

On a side note: occasionally someone on my stitching groups will pop up asking where to find DMC Flower Thread. Needlepoints, Ltd. had quite a few colors in stock when we were there. There were even some Needlepaints, which can be difficult to find.

So I may have broken my stash diet, and I may have spent a bit too much money, but I had an awesome time, and DH was even helping me pick out floss. Quality couple time. He had a cold and wasn't feeling too hot but told me to take all the time I wanted and he'd even go sit in the car & read while he waited. 1) BAD husband for telling me to basically buy what I wanted & 2) AWESOME husband for taking an interest in my hobby & not complaining about the two hours I spent in the LNS even though he wasn't feeling well.

I love him.

Cat's new preferred room: the bathroom

Best Stitches & Wishes,

Tying the Knot

 
I finally got my act together and finished French Country Wedding Bells, which leaves me, predictably, at the point of deciding how to finish it. I'd like to take it overseas, so framing is out. I may get brave and try a flatfold. I've done this type of finishing once before, but I wasn't thrilled with the finished product (due to my inexperience, not to Meari's instructions!).

Remember Chillin' Out? Remember how I washed it & all the floss bled? Remember how I gave away the pattern prior to washing the finished piece?

There's a happy ending to this story!

I emailed Pam with my story of woe, and she kindly sent the pattern back to me. So I'm stitching it up again, except I've swapped out the maroon for emerald green. I really like the green (Carrie's Creation Silk in Emerald, in case you want some). I also used a much brighter blue fabric.

When I say "French knots", you scream, right? It seems like all (okay, most) stitchers are afraid of these tiny little beasts. The cat's eyes in Chillin' Out are French knots, and I had never done a French knot before. Ack!

Back when I was fretting about the Berwick stitch, I came across a blog called Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials. It has a great tutorial on the Berwick stitch, so naturally I looked up the French Knot tutorial.

Excellent!

I read the instructions (a few times), picked up Chillin' Out, and had those babies done in under five minutes! I honestly have no idea why anyone is terrified of this knot. It was so easy.

Not that I want to do, say, a hundred of them in one pattern!

 So after my French knot victory, it seems the stitching gods decided to knock me down a peg or two. I had stitched nearly everything except the two lines at the bottom.

The top line is supposed to line up with the bottom of the ice on the right. But it doesn't; the bottom line does. Ack! So I had to frog the ice.

I frogged the lines as well because the floss was leaving weird vertical lines at each of the squares.

The tiny vertical purple lines beneath the bottom line

I made sure to wash and completely dry my hands before working on this, so I don't know if it bled or if it's tiny pieces of thread. Either way, I wanted it gone. Even though I've frogged it, I can still see them. Grr. But I am not redoing the entire thing!

So my plan to have Chillin' Out finished by today has gone out the window, teaching me that backstitching in a poorly lit room is generally not a good idea! Ah, well, I still have the French knots to make me feel warm & fuzzy.


Best Stitches & Wishes,



P.S. We've just received word that our visas have been approved and our passports are in the mail back to us. All we need now is the cat's health certificate (authenticated by three different departments!) So maybe I won't have a chance to make that flatfold, but I will finish Chillin' Out before we move!

Odoriferous Orchids

Last weekend, DH, my dad, & I went to an orchid show. There was such a variety of shapes, sizes and colors! It was truly amazing what people were able to breed.

Cybidium Huell Howser

This orchid was created for Huell Howser when he visited the orchid show in 2010; he died last year, so there was a small memorial for him near the entrance.

Here are some of the more interesting flowers (though, really, I have over 100 pictures- I loved all the flowers!). Enjoy!

Spotted orchids

Brown orchids: DH's favorite

Interestingly colored orchids

Orchids in a starburst

Oddly shaped orchids (that's the flower)

Little tiny orchids

Big giant orchids

Brand new orchids

Candy corn colored orchids

I have gotten a bit of stitching done on my Around the World SAL. Still stuck on the Berwick stitch, though. A giant thank you to everyone who has given me advice on Berwick stitch success!

Thisclose to being finished!

I started a new project: French Country Wedding Bells by JBW Designs.

For DH & me

I had thought about getting this pattern to celebrate my wedding but put it off due to cost; I stopped in to Needle in a Haystack when my mom & I went to San Francisco to see The Girl with the Pearl Earring exhibit. (My mom bought it for me, so technically, I did not break my stash diet!)

The San Francisco trip was a lot of fun! I took far too many pictures, as usual, so here are some highlights. No GWTPE, though, as pictures of the special exhibit paintings aren't allowed.

Guy walking down the street juggling at 7:30 a.m.

Lunar New Year celebration

Crabapple blossom at the Botanical Garden

SF from the Observation Tower at the De Young Museum

Modern Art: I'll never understand it.

People: I'll never understand them, either!

Buddha at the Japanese Tea Garden

 

San Francisco Mission

This sign was in the kitchen in our hotel room. Is the city of San Francisco encouraging me to waste water??







Best Stitches & Wishes,