artisticneedle

I usually take a week or so off around Christmas, this year it lasted a little longer, just haven't been able to shake my yearly after Christmas ho-hums easily this year. Any body else feeling the same way or am I alone?

I have managed to dabble here and there at this and that, not all cross stitch.


Whitman's Vintage Red Sewing Set

Shepherd's Bush - Wish Ewe

I don't scrapbook but love the paper! I can't seem to pass it by at the craft store and occasionally try my hand at cards and boxes.


While I managed to pass up every cross stitch sale after Christmas, I couldn't resist a sale at an online fabric store, my fabric stash is rapidly growing and at this rate, will soon outgrow my cross stitch stash.

Thanks again to all who visit here. Please know that this blog is meant purely for amusement (perhaps just my own) and nothing more.

I've recently changed over to the "new blogger" and noticed some of the comments are showing anonymous that weren't before. Sorry about that, hopefully they will fix it soon.

The Silver Thistle - thank you for your comments about my biscornu - I visited your blog and couldn't find a way to contact you. I can be contacted using the link at the bottom of the right hand column. :)

Labels: Gifts, Stash, Stitching

Yet another storm, ice this time. Lost power for about 3 hours early this morning, many more are still without. Springfield was really hit hard, last report over 70% of the city is without power with another wave to hit this evening and again tomorrow. Please keep those affected in your thoughts.

I can't sew using a sewing machine. Perhaps it's the machine itself, an old treadle machine that dates about 100 years old that belonged to my grandmother. I've talked about buying a new one but I always seem to find a reason not to. I've finally come to the conclusion that I probably never will. It's simply not something I enjoy, approaching any sewing machine to do more than a basic straight seam fills me with dread and comes close to bringing on a panic attack.

That said, I like challenges and decided I had to make this oragami bag using Blackbird's sampler fabric. I found some vintage black snaps and buttons in my stash that added the perfect finishing touch. While not perfect, I am pretty proud of it.

Labels: Blathering, Other Crafts

isn't a fictional character but is very much alive in Scottsdale, AZ in the form of a postal carrier!

All the stress, drama and trauma of getting the cookie/candy package to my brother on time melted away when I checked the delivery confirmation status online the Thursday before Christmas. I talked to him that afternoon and told him it was at the post office, the online status said a notice had been left. I hear back from him that there wasn't a notice and it was too late to pick it up anyway, he'd do it Friday morning.

Rarely does a phone call that begins with "you'd better sit down" end well. The postal carrier had decided that my brother didn't live at his address - yet personal mail of a financial nature was left the same day. First we were told the packages had been returned; then told they weren't; then told they didn't know where they were. We were told that filling out a change of address form online wasn't good enough and because his is a "rural" post office he needed to come in person to do it (no, it doesn't say that online anywhere - how is the ordinary person supposed to know a rural post office from a non-rural anyway)? We were also told that a delivery confirmation number isn't a "tracking" number even though it reads that way on the official USPS website. The end result, not just my package but all his Christmas packages disappeared and didn't show up until the Thursday after Christmas. Of course the cookies were hard as rocks and the toffee was a melted gooey mess. :(

You can laugh or you can cry becomes my mantra when stuff like this happens. I prefer laughter. After I got over the initial heart failure I teased him unmercifully, telling him he must have been really bad this past year, this was his "lump of coal". We both laughed and I was still laughing Christmas Eve when I decided to sneak a little stitching in. Turned on my stitching lamp, nothing. I wasn't too surprised, I've known it needed replacing. Get another light, settle in, turn the TV on to watch (er, make that listen, I rarely see the screen) to find it's also on the fritz and dies completely a day later. I probably don't need to tell you that I was regretting teasing him so much and felt like this was my lump of coal for doing so. Are you laughing yet? Just wait, there's more!

I hate shopping - I'd rather slam my finger in the door again than go shopping. Especially the day after Christmas. But, how long could I go with no lamp and no TV to stitch by? So off I went, visiting 10 stores in 5 long hours that seemed liked 20. Of course because it was the day after Christmas nobody had much of anything in stock but I came home with both lamp and TV only to find that the picture on the TV was bad. I mean really bad. 2 days later I'm shopping yet again and find another TV and home it comes. If you're counting, I pulled one TV out, put another in, pulled that one back out and put another in. Only to find that this TV has a major malfunction, a green rolling screen keeps popping up, 2 days later it dies and won't stay on. Now I have to pull this one back out and replace it with the 1st new TV (the one with the bad picture). Did I mention that said TV is housed in a large armoire that sits catawampus in the corner? The power strip is on the floor behind it which means every time a TV had to be put in or taken out, I had to crawl through the opening in the back. I have 2 TVs to return tomorrow and am really hoping the 3rd time will be the charm.

All this happened before the New Year so I'm still sticking by my earlier statement that 2007 is going to be a different year. :)

Thanks to all who left comments, I really appreciate hearing from you, thanks for stopping by and listen to me blather on, I hope you've had a good laugh or at the very least, a chuckle. LOL

I forgot to mention a caution about Jingle last time - be very careful with both the red and green silks. The red ran very short and that was with me not stitching the top part of the design.

One last thing, if you haven't been over to Susimac's blog to see her French Heart (one of my favorite SB designs), please go take a peek, it's gorgeous!

Labels: Blathering