Category Archives: Random Thoughts

I have a hard time turning my brain off. Here is where I can let my thoughts out…

Apr 5 2013

What a Great Day

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This morning I woke up to two great emails. The first was from Pinterest, letting me know that The World of Cross Stitch Magazine is now following my pins. I was pretty impressed with that. I subscribe to their magazine, and it is one of my favorites. I know it’s not a huge deal, but it means my shop must be getting some attention.

The second great email was from the editor of Cross Stitch Crazy, another British magazine that I subscribe to. They want me to be on their reader panel for the July issue! Woo-hoo! They sent me a list of questions to answer, along with a preview of the magazine’s contents. I need to pick my two favorite projects and let them know what I like about them. My profile (along with a picture of me) will be at the beginning of the magazine, and then my comments about the projects will hopefully be listed next to the project details. That email really had me jumping up and down. My husband had no idea what I was so excited about. Other than my kids, cross stitch is pretty much my life. If you’re reading this, I probably don’t have to explain; you probably get it. And now, to work on those questions…

XXX
Carrie

Mar 4 2013

How Many Is Too Many?

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Recently I was doing a Google Images search for the Peacock Tapestry, to see if anyone had actually completed it. I found the website of a gal who was working on it, as well as other projects. 50, to be exact. Yes, she had fifty projects all going at one time. I couldn’t believe it! And these were not small projects, either. They were all masterpieces, like the Peacock Tapestry. She said that she has 50 WIPs all at once, and she spends ten hours on each one before moving on to the next. And she has an order in which they are worked on (a rotation, as she calls it). Wow. I could never be that disciplined. I actually think if I had to stick to those rules, I would find stitching becomes a chore instead of the relaxing, enjoyable hobby that it is. What do you think? Could you force yourself to work for ten hours on a project, then put it away and know you couldn’t work on it again until you had stitched 49 other pieces for ten hours each? Not me! I have just one or two days left of stitching on the border of the Peacock Tapestry and then I will put it away for a while, but I will certainly get it out again whenever the mood strikes. The best part about stitching is that it is ME time, and when I have ME time I want to do whatever I want!

XXX
Carrie

Feb 14 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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I don’t do much for this holiday. I don’t decorate the house, and I might make some pink heart cookies or something, but only if my son needs to take them to school for his party! My husband and I don’t even get each other cards or gifts. After being together for 16 years, we don’t need one certain day a year to know how we feel about each other. But, there is one thing I am looking forward to – an evening of uninterrupted stitching! This is always my wish for my birthday and Mother’s Day, as well. On those days I don’t want to cook or clean, or be the one who has to discipline the kids. All I want is a quiet house with hours and hours of stitching time, just for me. Because let’s face it, on a normal day I don’t get that!

The Peacock Tapestry is coming along, but it is going to take FOREVER! I give myself about 3 years on this one. I have two of the corner blocks done, with two to go. I have the top border row done, as well as almost half of one side, and more than 3/4 of the other side. So that leaves the bottom row, 1/4 of one side, and half of the other side. And that is just for the border stripes! All four sides of the border have to be filled in with a floral design. Then the entire set of stripes has to be backstitched, beads have to be added, and gold metallic threads have to be criss-crossed through. All of that has to be done at the very end, though. The border alone will be one of the most intricate and time-consuming pieces I have ever done. The peacock itself, which fills the entire inside of the frame, will be an enormous challenge in itself. But I am determined to finish this, no matter how long it takes. I think I will have to take breaks from this project so that I don’t get bored or overwhelmed. I am going to try to at least get the corner blocks and border stripes done before I pack it away for a while. Then Adrienne’s Christmas stocking and Jim’s wooded deer project will have to be brought back out. So much stitching, so little time…

XXX
Carrie

Jan 10 2013

I need some stitchy time!

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Once again I had a day with no cross stitch. Well, that isn’t entirely true. I processed orders. I did inventory. I started on my taxes. But that isn’t exactly the kind of cross stitching I had in mind. My 10 day goal to finish Autumn Leaves was a joke. Who was I kidding? I spent last night restocking DMC floss. A shipment of 140 boxes came in. That’s 1680 skeins. Mmmm… that’s almost as good as chocolate! I love looking at the rainbow of colors, and seeing the display cabinets full to the brim. I don’t particulary enjoy opening all of the boxes and finding which spot the floss goes in. But I guess that’s part of the job. Today I restocked all of the other items that came in that I was running low on, such as bobbins, needles, magnetic boards, and fabric. Tomorrow I have to add all of the brand new products that came in, namely hoops in every size. I also can’t wait for my shipment of Coats & Clark floss to arrive. We have decided to add their line of floss to our shop. Later in the year I hope to add the entire Anchor line, as well. Hopefully this will satisfy our overseas customers, who cannot purchase DMC threads from us due to DMC’s European Union rules. It’s a brand new year, and so far it has been great for the shop. It looks like the economy is turning around. Yay! More orders = more $ to spend on new inventory!

XXX
Carrie

Dec 26 2012

Where has the time gone?

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I can’t believe it has been a month since I have posted. Or worked on Autumn Leaves. I am not one to get into New Years resolutions, but I think 2013 will be the year I start. I guess I have an excuse; Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts and putting up the tree and baking goodies is… well, tiring. In the last couple of weeks I haven’t even felt like cross stitching once. Or blogging. Or exercising, for that matter 🙂  Even right now, the day after Christmas, my mind is full of fluff. Is it time for bed yet? I feel like I could sleep for a week. But I don’t think the kids (or the hubby) would like that too much! So for now, I won’t worry about it, and hopefully once the new year hits I will have been bitten by the stitching bug once again. And I better be in the mood for Christmas for a long time to come, because I still need to finish my daughter’s stocking. It’s a kit from Dimensions called Heavenly Hearld Stocking. Gorgeous, but lots of work:

Heavenly Herald Stocking

XXX
Carrie