One Stitch At A Thyme

Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that my own sister would badmouth me behind by back. I overheard her today proclaiming that I was useless and lazy. That if I really wanted a job I’d have one by now. She also seems to think that my back injury is all in my head and that going to a chiropractor is a waste of time and money. With dear old dad chiming in with agreement. For someone who use to puck in the toilet with accompanying migraine headaches I have one hell of an imagination.

How could she be so cruel after all that I’ve done for her. She has no idea how hard it can be to get a job when you don’t own a car. Hell she’s never had to worry about where her next paycheck came from, not with the cozy government job she’s got.

I’m having some serious doubts about making this wedding announcement stitchery for her with that back stabbing attitude. I’m beginning to think she doesn’t deserve all the hard work and time I’m putting in on this stitchery project.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Lee ( http://lakestitcher.blogspot.com/ ) and is:

How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2006/11/whats-in-a-name/

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Well that’s easy enough to answer. It’s simply a variant of my website title “A Stitch In Thyme”. “One Stitch at a Thyme” simply conveys the path I take. Slow but steady.

The sentiment behind the title is - I’d like to think, at this moment in time. I will create something that will be enjoyed and will hopefully last for future generations to admire. As well as, letting others wonder about the person behind this created work of art.

Well I finally managed to take a picture of my progress. I’ve got at least 2 weeks worth of work done and I’m guessing I completed roughly 10%. Which brings me up to a total of 30%.


I’m going to take a break from stitching for the rest of the week. 1) Because I’m starting to feel burn out and 2) I’ll be bobbing 28 skeins that came in the mail on Saturday the 28th. I’ve finally found an on-line needlework shop that carries J & P Coats embroidery floss and I plan to buy 2 full sets of 142. One to be carded and the other left as skeins in a floss-away bag.


WAHOO SATURDAY S. E. X. !!!!!
I haven’t seen this brand of floss since the late 1960’s when I first taught myself embroidery ( with a little help from grandma ) . In fact I’ve got a Ziploc freezer baggie full of old J&P Coats that I had as a kid along with some I inherited from my grandma. I guess I should really get around and get it sorted, cleaned, and put on bobbins along with the new dye lot.

You know, that would make a good question for the SBQ - How many brands do you own.

Well that’s all for this blog blurb.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Carol ( http://www.carolsxsblog.blogspot.com/ ) and is:

If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and appealed to you. Would you, or would you not, stitch it if it had a morbid or "creepy" saying on it? If not, why?

The permalink to this post is:
http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2006/10/sbq-halloween-edition/

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Why YES indeed I would! In fact I plan to use a shortened version of
“Houses of Hawk Run Hollow” by Carriage House Samplings (one of Carol’s WiPs).

In a self-designed sampler sometime in the future. Mine however will only carry the following lines from the poem - slightly altered:

“When I am dead and laid in grave & all my bones are rotten: When this you see: Remember me tho I was quite forgotten.”

I haven’t decided if it’s going to be a band sampler, spot sampler, or a combination of both. I recently purchased a book on sampler symbolism and since I’ve never designed a sampler before; this should be interesting. But it’s not going to happen for quite a while. I have far too many “iron’s in the fire” as it were, with all these WiPs to deal with at the moment.

Today's SBQ was suggested by Vash ( "http://seasidestitcher.blogspot.com/" ) and is:

Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

The permalink to this post is: "http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2006/10/which-way/"

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I taught myself how to embroider and cross stitch when I was in my early teens. Back then, I was all over the place when it came to counted cross stitch. My stitches went in both directions on the pieces I stitched and looked very amateurish.

Much, much later in life when I picked up the needle again I purchased books on needlework stitches and counted cross stitch kits with detailed instructions and diagrams. And in all of them it showed the left /// leg then right \\\ leg method. I’d always assumed that, that was the official method for cross stitch.

Well I have tried both techniques. Left /// leg then right \\\ leg, and the opposite, right \\\ leg then left /// leg. I prefer the first – Left /// leg then right \\\ leg. I guess it’s because I’m right handed and stitching the opposite way always felt awkward.

As far as affecting the way I stitch, yes I think it does. In as much as I keep my left hand under my work, and my right hand above. I tried it the other way round and found that I couldn’t hold my needle steady and kept dropping it instead of pushing it through the fabric.

Also depending on if I’m doing a solid area or confetti stitching, I’ll do a whole row of left //// legs then return on the same row for the right \\\ legs. Confetti stitching for me means one complete stitch at a time.