Jen's Mental Scribblings

This week's SBQ

Do you have any pieces that you would liked passed on to future generations as family heirlooms?

All of 'em! =)

Yea, now seriously. I have a couple, some little, some big....and some that I want to do, but haven't managed yet. 

When I finish Fleur des Anges, I would definitely consider that a family heirlooms. I've finished 2 of a series of 4 blackwork samplers, that are definitely heirloom quality. If I ever finish Espoir du Ciel (by NKS Design), it definitely qualifies as well. There's not many things I've finished that qualifies I guess...although I do try to treat most of them as if they were and take care of them accordingly. Who know's what will be valued later? My Gram just gave me a bunch of hand embroidered dishtowels that were given to her as a Wedding Present...60 years ago. She never used them. And I love them. I love that beauty of ordinary things.

I want to stitch "And they Sinned", that's a definitely heirloomy item. I also want to do a French Alphabet Sampler from Elegant Stitch (I think I am going to break down and just order one this year. Its not cheap, but sooooo beautiful.) Gigi in France is producing French Letter Samplers (one for each letter of the alphabet), and I want to do one for each of the kids in their favorite color.

I don't know. What makes an Heirloom, an Heirloom? Quality of materials? Quality of work? Monetary worth at auction? Size? (It seems easier for the bigger ones to qualify) or is it just something that someone loves, that reminds them of that person. Going back to the dishtowels, when I see them, I won't think of my Aunt Bertha who stitched them, I never knew her. I'll think of my Gram, she gave them to me.

Definitely an interesting question.

Found another stitching Meme. Swiped from the blog Carolina Dreams

1.) How do you hold your fabric? I stitch in hand so I roll the fabric up from the left side and hold the roll with my left hand.
2) Floss licker? Not anymore. Someone taught me how to thread a needle without a threader using my fingers...sometimes I don't get it right away, but I only use it in an emergency
3) How do you thread your needle? With my threader, when I can find it.
5) Are you a needle loser? No, there are too many little people around here.
6) What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? Linen. Zweigert, Silkweavers and Lakeside are my favorite brands.
7) Bobbins or floss bags? I quit using bobbins in the late 90's when I found bags...although some of my old bobbins are in those bags.
8) Are you a scissors collector? I'd love to be...I have 2 very nice pairs of embroidery scissors, a pair for cutting metallic fibers...and a bunch of cheap ones I don't care if I use
9) Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? As much as I can, and if its not too big, If I ever manage to complete ATS, I'll be more than happy to hand that over to a professional.
10) Are you a floss floozy? Yes! I love all those fibers!
11) Silk? The best!
12) Railroader? Only if I'm going to be turning it in for a competition or is an "Heirloom Piece", I prefer working single strands...'cause railroading annoys me
13) Are you a pattern or designer snob? Not really, I like a lot of different things
14) Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? I don't give out too many things as I don't think most people appreciate the time, money and effort that goes into pieces of work. Those that I know do, have some of my stitched pieces.
15) Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? I 'm not sure what this means. I think it has something to do with having enough stash. I have a large stash...but not as bad as others.
16) Do you wash your projects? I ALWAYS wash project. In fact, I usually wash them twice. First, I wash the fabric alone with a normal dishsoap. This is to get all the starch manufactures put in the fabric, out. Bugs love to eat starch. Then I wash it when I'm all done stitching because no matter how careful you are washing your hands before you stitch, the oils from your hands still transfer to the fibers and fabric. Washing the entire piece ensures that its gone. I have yet to have a problem with hand-dyed fibers or fabric running.

http://pictureframes.com

You can upload a pic of the work and see how it would look with mats and frames...I am so doing this the next time I need something framed.

This week's SBQ

What items do you consider essential to your needlework that you keep in your stitching bag?

Ahem. Which one?

Right now I have 2. My original one which has
-self inflating back rest
-small photo album filled with pictures of my kids
-stitched name badge
-12 inch ruler
-bottle of fray check
-brass tacks for attaching needlepoint canvas to stretchers
-Felted Wool WIP

My newest stitching bag that I got for christmas has in it
-My current project.
-Ike's Kindergarden Registration Packet.

I guess I have a third as well. I have this little pleather wallet that is just big enough to stuff in a
-slim pen
-packet of #26 needles
-stork sissors with the attached fob and needlethreader
This little bag lives in my current project bag...and it moves as I move. Very handy.

So I found this yahoo group called "Stitching Blogger's Question". So about once a week (give or take) the owner of the group sends out a question to be answered in blogs.

So here is the current SBQ entry.

"After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?"

If its just a chart, I have a "Dead Chart" file. After it gets filled I pass it on to other interested parties. Either by making a posting on Craigslist or Freecycle, or I let friends go through the stack. If its a kit? I usually recycle what I can and chuck the rest. If the chart has a shopping list, I add it to the "Dead Chart File".

So, one of the last times I went to Madonna Needleworks, I picked up a package of John James #26 tapestry needles. I didn't realize until I got home that the reason why they were more expensive than usual is that they are made of platinum. It also explains why there were only 2 needles in the package. I know that quilters love platinum needles, but I had never used one for stitching...until recently.

A couple of weeks back I needed a needle and I opened the package of platinum needles. It was my last pack of #26, and I started stitching with it.

Oh my god, did it suck. It was very rough going through the fabric, the drag was very noticeable. And the hand feel was just off too. Since I was away from home, I couldn't get a replacement,  I sucked it up and stitched away. I just swore I'd never buy a package again...I'll just use their plain gold ones thank you.

After awhile I started to notice that the drag was lessening, and it was smoothing up. The hand feel became normal. Strange and mysterious things.

Now that its been several weeks of stitching with the same needle and what a difference. I love this needle, the more I use it, the better it gets. The eye doesn't fray the fiber as quickly as usual and the needle just flows through the fabric without catching.

Definitely worth the investment...I'll be keeping my eye out for these in the future. It will be interesting to see if they last longer than usual. Most needles give out after one good sized project.

I've been busy.



I'm further along now than last week...and its shaping up nicely.

Yea, I know I've done this before. After looking at the list I came up with a year ago, and seeing how little progress I I actually accomplished I decided to analyze it a bit. What was wrong? Answer? Too many big ass projects. I've only finished 4 this year and I'm close to a fifth, but I don't think I'll be done with the list any time soon. So I recently went through my stash again. (This is a yearly purge I swear) And made three piles of stuff from my stitching stash. Projects completely kitted up, projects missing either fabric or fiber, charts. I wrote it all down, figured out what was big, medium, small and came up with a new 25 item list.


Some things are new, most were on the last 25 item list. This list has a fairly even mix of sized stuff.  Not all are huge projects, there are quite a few small ones. I think this will work much better and I'll feel a larger sense of accomplishment.

Not that the challenge hasn't accomplished something. I have spent very little of family money on my habit. Most of my latest acquisitions have been through gifts of money. I have spent some, but not nearly as much as previous years. Keeping a wish list has helped a lot!. If I see something I want, instead of Igor'ing  it, I just add it to my wish list. Its fairly large after a year. A few I still even want (Marion the Librarian by La-D-Da comes prominently to mind for some reason =)). There were a couple of notables that got Igor'ed. One of them was when I saw a chart that would be perfect for a limited edition overdye fiber sitting in my stash (purchased for that very reason! It was cool. I'll find something for it someday.) Its even in the above list. And the other is And They Sinned. Now I'm not too into the biblical verse thing, but if you take a look at the pic, its just really freaking beautiful...and really fucking big. It did not get added to the list, although I will add it into my stitching rotation. (The scary thought? A companion piece is in the works....oy.)

So, after I finish this list, I'll probably go shopping a bit, but I really want to focus on cleaning out my stash and using the stuff I've got. I've got a TON of charts in my files, books, and an amazing amount of magazines. Should I ever get some time (HA!) I'll weed the magazines. I want to scan them and either discard them or bind them. Although I could just spend that organizing time stitching....hrmmm.

Okay, forgot to do last update. I've got some pictures now though.



Like I said before I'm not getting to the gym. I only went on wednesday this week. With the hot weather, playgroups are wanting to meet at 10 am, and its just too hard to go in the evening. I think once school starts again I'll get more productive.

You know, lots of people say they don't have the patience to do the kind of stitching I do. Here's a link to a sampler that I would never have the patience to do.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b359/fudgeykat/stitchers%20work/beadedcircesmariefin3.jpg

Its completely done in beads, and weighs over 3.5 pounds. Just Wow.  and that's not a great picture, her WIP pics were much better.