OK, where is the magazine

At some point earlier this year, i bought a copy of Cross Stitch Collection 144, which had a design of a newborn baby in light colors. It is a very beautiful design. It was actually the designer's baby, but he's adorable, even if he isn't a baby I know. he would make a pretty birth sampler.

The problem is, I don't know where I put that magazine. And I have all the floss with it too.

I don't know what irritates me more, that I spend my money on stuff like this, knowing it's gonna be lost, or that I just lose stuff all the time. Am I the only one who does this.

A Dilemma

I was cleaning and sorting in boxes last night and found a problem. At some point, I had taken Stoney Creek's Babes of the Woods to Michaels and bought floss for one of the designs in it (I am thinking it was a fox cub design, but can't be sure). Now, two years or so later, I have no idea what I bought all that floss for. And that annoys me. I am pretty sure I bought it for something, but I decided that, since I am sending my friend in England some floss, I would include this. But I sure do wish I knew what I bought it for.


I finished Winter's Delight last night. I have to wash it still, and I have to order that charm. Fortunately, I emailed By Jupiter and they said they would sell me one. Which I am really happy about. It was not that I couldn't have used another charm, they just weren't "right" and I want this to be perfect. So I have that to order.

I started the Midsummer Night Designs Monkey Sampler this morning. I am really loving the colors.

Freebies Freebies

Someone posted these on 123 and there are some great ones. I am a huge advocate of the freebie, especially having won a blue ribbon at the fair with a Sanman freebie.
Some of them are in French, which doesn't bother me like it probably would, had I no French background.

http://blackyrose.over-blog.com/categorie-10054874.html

http://blackyrose.over-blog.com/categorie-10054874.html

http://aurytm.blogspot.com/

http://aleinung.blogspot.com/

http://arachneensonjardin.skynetblogs.be/

http://cargaudlabrico.canalblog.com/

http://commelacigale.unblog.fr/

http://www.countrycrossstitchkits.co.uk/acatalog/free-cross-stitch-patterns.html

http://xstitchhappy.blogspot.com/

http://www.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/1g010100cn/es_ES/ct/os/prid/25082/index.html

http://www.dmc.com/majic/pageServer/1g010100cn/fr_FR/ct/os/prid/25062/index.html

http://vick-et-pique-et-colle.over-blog.com/categorie-10119897.html

http://le-noel-des-croixpinettes.over-blog.com/

http://www.periphaeria.com/Designs/Samples/

http://kelliewaltondesigns.com/store/index.php?cPath=24_34

http://kissycross.twoday.net/

http://broderiepassion.over-blog.com/

http://mamou.over-blog.net/

http://mariperles.over-blog.com/

http://passe-tempsdeflo.over-blog.com/

http://misst.canalblog.com/

http://lunedautomne.over-blog.com/

http://mausimomsfreebies.blogspot.com/

http://novalee02.over-blog.com/

http://www.orbispictura.com/Grillegratuites.php

http://wiehenburg.de/8.html

http://www.sticktreff.com/

http://www.susansxstitchery.com/freecharts.html

http://swappons.oldiblog.com/?page=lastarticle&id=894461

http://blog.theflossbox.com/

I didn't finish my project-phooey

I was hoping to get Winter's Delight finished, as least as far as I can finish without having the charm, but it was a busy weekend, and then yesterday we vegged out watching the Redskins-Tampa Bay game (they lost, thank goodness.) I am starting to get a cold, so not too easy to stitch.

Some splaining to do

OK, I was in a rush yesterday to get the pictures posted and forgot to post what they were.

The first is my mixed technique piece, Halloween Window, by Patricia Anderle. It is from the October 1997 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework. It is a really good issue to add to your collections, because there are several really great patterns in there.

Next is LHN Herb Garden Sampler. I think I picked too pale a shade of blue because my lightest floss is very close in shade. But Mom should like it. I just have to get it in a frame before Christmas. Mom fought the neighborhood rabbits all summer, which is kind of wierd to her because her real house is in the country, and she doesn't deal with rabbits out there, then she comes to the suburbs and we are overwhelmed by rabs. That makes me laugh. We should laugh, they ate the heck out of our plants.

The last one is Winter Delight Sampler from the 2004 December issue of Just Cross Stitch. I know, I said I rarely stitch from there, but I think JCS designs are something that you need to let sink into your brain. I realize that now, because like with this one. I don't know what was going on in my head back in 2004, but this design escaped me, and I found it last summer, and was like, Holy Schmoley, this is pretty. And it is really pretty, I can say that without feeling like a stuck up schmuck.

It's that time of the month again

Magazine reviews, that is. Yay!

I do not have all my new mags where I am posting this, so will start with what I have.

The first issue we have up for review is World of Cross Stitching 132.

This is a really good issue. Our favorites are all getting prepped for Christmas in it, from Forever Friends to the Perfect Pets. The Perfect Pets are a pair of rats eating a Christmas plum pudding, very cute. And there is a lovely design from a new range called Alison's Animals. Its a cute little terrier and a kitty in a Christmas tree. I hope they have more designs like that. Also in the magazine is a pic of the Snowman, but it's the same one they always have, the little boy and the snowman flying through the air, so a little bit of a bummer. There is also a very sweet design of the Princess and the Pea. Designs like this make me wish I had a little girl to stitch for. Also in this issue and worth noting are 4 cute little wreath designs that would be great for ornaments. I like to look for ornament ideas, as one year, I will have a tree full on decorated with cross stitched ornaments. That is not working out real well, LOL, I think I have 3 done.

recent finishes

Woo hoo

I finally passed the 25 finishes mark. I have 26 finishes for 2007. I project Winter Delight to be finished by the end of the weekend, especially since I have TWO days mostly off from work, and I worked on it today at the office between calls. I realize I should have been working, but I was stressed because the people who did call were mostly help desk calls, which is my least favorite job duty, and I needed to destress. I still have to order the charm to go on top, will probably do that this month.

I still have not gotten all my delicious stash purchases. Just two charts off Ebay, one I sniped off someone--I know, that is mean, however, Ebay is a contest--and another horse chart that I don't have in my collection. My silk floss was shipped on Monday, and Vikki Clayton likes the Monkey Sampler. Pretty cool. I got word my 123 Stitch order was processed and mailed today, so probably next week that will be here. I also got an email from Needlecraft Corner those couple of things were in and are being shipped today, so those will be here on Friday. I should be fair spoiled for stash, right? And then, no more. I will never be able to explain to BF how on earth I managed to get all this stuff, and if I don't step back, there won't be room in the house for it. As it is, I have that yellow box to find room for. But he said we would find room for it. I wonder if we can call HGTV for help. They would probably make me purge more of it. And I would have to pitch a Judge Dragon on their arses. (Google Judge Dragon and Clean house for additional information on that. Plus I would have to fit Robbie in the room. Oh, Lord this is not gonna go well. I think we're gonna need a bigger house. We were discussing having a modular home built and whether we would want to put the garage under the building or build a separate garage. I think we need both.

Anyway . . . Happy Thanksgiving. Be thankful for everything. Even the hard times because they make us stronger.

Blasted over-1

I started JAR Designs Christmas Memories Monday night. It's over one on 25 count. I am having a hard time with the chart. I know that it will be amazingly beautiful when done, it's the getting there that's got me stressed. I've already made a mistake and had to do major frogging, and that is not easy over one. So I put it down and started working on Winter Delight again. That shouldn't take too long to finish.

Check out your local Walmarts. Ours is keeping their craft department, but losing the cross stitch, so it was on clearance. I am OK with this, we have a bunch of craft stores nearby. But I got two rolls of 14 count fiddler's light for $1.50 per tub. It saved 45 cents a tube. NOT BAD.

I have some news

I finally have a craft room. It's in my BF's house. He has asked me to move in with him in the near future, and he GAVE me the room that was formerly called "the shoe room" as my room for stitching supplies. It's a cute room, west facing, so in the afternoons, I will have light to stitch by. I can even get my Dazor light out and use it, but I will have to put something over the magnifier, as I have nightmares of the house catching on fire because of my stupidity. He even said we would figure out how to get all the supplies in the room (God bless this man, as I seriously doubt he really knows just HOW much stitching stuff I have), so YAY. But I know that I need to start sorting through my stitching stuff and getting rid of some of it. Or at least making it portable. Not that I mind doing that, I can even send it to the little E-bay seller store on the way to my parents', so I don't even have to LIST all those leaflets. I know that his doing this for me is a tremendous commitment, and I think it will probably be my favorite gift of the holiday season.

That said, I did not get much stitching done this weekend. I was so busy all the time. I worked a full day on Saturday, then was exhausted and didn't wake up til noon on Sunday, then had some errands, including getting my nails done, on Sunday. I realize that getting my nails done isn't necessarily an errand, but this was one of those weeks when it was a chore. My nail tech, who does great nails went on maternity leave in October and someone else has done them for the last couple times. She is not as good as my regular lady, and it showed. Out of my 10 nails, 7 needed to be picked off and redone. Now I don't know if you, kind hearts and gentle readers, have ever had acrylic nails picked off, but it is like having your fingernails themselves picked off. Well, I guess technically, they are YOUR nails, as long as you paid for the last fill. Anyway, it hurts like one would imagine such a thing would hurt. One nail makes me cry, 7 makes me want to crawl under a rock because my fingers are so sore afterwards.

I did manage to get some work on Hummingbird Trellis done. And I discovered something. I was using my 8" Q snaps, but I lost one of the clamps on that one. I was kinda bummed, until I found my 11" ones. I love them. I got a lot done on it yesterday. The bigger q-snaps make it easier to work with.

I finally bought it

http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-bin/itemdetail.pl?item=04-1893

I love this chart. I have always loved it. A few years ago, I decided, if I redid my bedroom in the style of a French garrett like I love, that I wanted this in there. The idea was to stitch it as a seat cover for a chair I never use, but that has a ratty old needlepoint cover. Gramma didn't like the old cover, either, so we wanted to recover it. And this is the design I like. It's probably a little wierd to have a seat covered in a corset, but . . . that's me. And if I can get it done soon, it's another fair entry.

Found a Missing WIP

I am still working on getting my room redone--it's a slow process--and was searching through the boxes of stash I have in there. And I found a WIP I realized I was missing a couple weeks ago. I had kitted up Raise the Roof Sleepy Hollow last summer and thought it was in the box with my other ones, but realized it wasn't. And that was a panic situation. But I found it now, and I put a few stitches in, just to tell it it was missed.

The Pets' Birthday/Christmas Present to Me

I have such generous, thoughtful, intuitive animals. Perhaps it is because I rescued them from a life under a trailer, or, in the case of Robbie, the backyard because he acts thuglicious, but they always pick me SUCH good presents.

In 2003, it was my necklace and earrings, this year, they opted to have me kit up a gorgeous Midsummer Night Designs chart with Vikki Clayton silks. I am finally kitting up Monkey Sampler, which I am not even really sure is in print anymore, but that I think goes along with my highly irreverent feelings about samplers and which I intend to put in the fair next summer.

Have you seen this chart? It looks pretty simple, hum-drum. Border, house, Quaker animals, alphabet, la la la. Yawn. And then, it strikes you. There are monkeys creeping up to the house. Not only are there monkeys, but there is a line that says, "Monkeys steal my underwear at night." HUNH! But a good hunh because NO ONE ELSE makes samplers like that.

But it's a good hunh. It's irreverant. That is not a sampler sentiment, and I simply adore that her mind came up with doing a sampler based off of a bumper sticker. I think this needs to be exhibited at the fair. If for no other reason than to show people that cross stitch isn't a vintage art, it's contemporary, it's cheeky, it's RELEVANT.

Anyway these are the goodies I got:

2 x Earth Dragon (FLED275) = $3.30
Size Floss (5 yard skeins)
1 x Dragon Fire (SFDF-252) = $1.65
1 x Earth Dragon (FLED275) = $1.65
1 x Jackalope 5265 (FLS-JC5265) = $1.65
1 x ZebraDove 5247 (Shiitake) (FLS-ZD5247) = $1.65
1 x Wrasse 3315 (SF-3315) = $1.65
1 x Nosegay 2103 (FLS-NG2103) = $1.65
1 x Lemon Drops 4201 (FLS-LD4201) = $1.65
1 x Sea Pinks 1353 (Quartz) (FLS-SP1353) = $1.65
1 x Rose Quartz 1363 (FLS-RQ1363) = $1.65
1 x Willow Withies 3221 (FLS-WW3221) = $1.65
1 x Natural 5201 (White) (FLS-NAT) = $1.45
1 x Jackalope 5263 (Lapin) (FLS-LAPIN) = $1.65
1 x JewelWeed 3163 (FLS-JW3163) = $1.65
2 x AquaMarine 2431 (Robin Egg) (FLS-REGG) = $3.30
1 x Embellishment Bag - perles, ribbons, old dye lots, leftovers, about 20 skeins worth (EMBELL) = $9.00
1 x JewelWeed 3165 (OatGrass) (FLS-JW3165) = $1.65
1 x Koi Gold 4219 (FLS-KOI4219) = $1.65
1 x Dragon Opal (FLS-DOPAL) = $1.65
1 x Dark Wisteria (SFDW226) = $1.65
1 x Attar of Roses 1223 (FLS-AR1223) = $1.65
1 x Conch Horn 1241 (FLS-CH1241) = $1.65
1 x Examplar Salty Sea (FLS-ESSEA) = $1.65
1 x Gandy Dancer 1107 (FLS-GD1107) = $1.65
2 x Isle Green 3205 (FLS-IG3205) = $3.30

I LURVE my WIP

Can one go beyond love to lurve? Cause I'm in LURVE with my new WIP. Maybe it's because I have such pretty colors to work with, purples and blues and sparkly silver. I haven't done much, but I have some gorgeous results already. AND, this is the bonus:

I have a choice of two classes to enter this in the state fair as, either as a poem, which it might do better as, and would solidify my efforts as the defending winner of that class, or sampler with mixed stitches. I don't know about that though, because there are some women who do incredible work, and I have a complex about my projects that take 3rd or lower. I always sorta feel like, maybe if I loved them just a little more, was a little more supportive during the stitching process (I must stop saying I hate my projects), they would do better. My Houses of Hawks Run Hollow was like that girl who has always been cossetted, always told she's special, always had the best clothes, then we have Chincoteagues, which was lovely, had to work a little harder to win the blue, because I lost every part of it at least once in the stitching process, and then we have my Americana Samplings, which I hated stitching the whole time, and only appreciated when it got a pretty frame--I am sure, if it were a person, that would be Carrie, because it went to the fair, hoping that if it just had a pretty enough dress, it would do better, and then it didn't. Bugger.

I think I need some sleep.

Updated thoughts, not really stitchy

I looked through my high school yearbook last night and realized something funny. I grew up in a hick town. People pay half a million dollars for houses in this town because it's so "quaint" and "country"; do people seriously think that somewhere in the small towns of rural North America, people who have lived there all their lives are sitting on spindly furniture in muted colors, with primitive paintings on the wall? I'm not criticizing, I actually never realized how "country" I grew up til I opened the 1991 yearbook and realized that the senior float that year consisted of 6 or 7 seniors in someone's farm equipment (I think it was a backhoe, but I am not sure--we lived in town and my relatives didn't use fancy equipment).

I have been remiss

I have not posted pics of the Halloween Window. I finished it yesterday morning. I managed to salvage the hardanger part. I did have a heck of a time with this little spiderweb done with Japan thread, which I will never use again. Mine doesn't look as nice as the one in the magazine, but it's done. I may couch the Japan thread to try to keep it looking good

I have picked my next small project. I am doing the Winter's Delight sampler from the December 2004 Just Cross Stitch. This was the project that I lost the supplies for. It's just too pretty to keep putting off. My friend Karen just told me that I need to have this done by Easter--I think I can accomodate her. I started the next square of Hummingbird Trellis afghan last night, but I know it's going to take me a while, so this is good. I realize I like the small finishes, a lot more than the large, complicated finishes. There is something really satisfying about getting something done in a week.

What not to do when tired

Cut threads in Hardanger.

I cut one of the threads of the bars this morning because I was on the phone til 11:30 last night, and didn't get to sleep til 1:30. Then I couldn't sleep.

So the obvious task I should have done, being utterly, completely tired, was to take an outrageously expensive pair of scissors, and cut fabric that has taken me a week to stitch. I snipped a thread on one of my bars. But, bless my little soul, I kept stitching. I will not fling that piece, nor do I have the patience to weave threads. I'll just fray check that sucker and hope no one notices. I realize my needleweaving tension is not good My bars are wide. I could have wrapped these threads, but, who cares. It's done.

And I've learned Monaco is not a good fabric for hardanger.

A comic once said sometimes your purpose in life is to be a lesson to others. I've found my purpose.

Birthday stash

Yesterday was the start of my LNS' model sale to benefit a battered women's shelter nearby, so I took the day off. I needed it; we are in the midst of upheaval at work, and I am very stressed. It gave me good planning for how my days will pass if I get laid off. I have to laugh and joke about it because it's depressing. But I did talk to my part time boss, and things will be OK, I will get through.

Since it was my birthday, and I didn't buy any other stash, other than floss to kit something up (I know, stop splitting hairs, Rachel, buying floss at Michael's on the 6th counts as s.E.X.), I took my mom up there, and had a little S.E.X. Well it was not a little. I spent my entire check from my part-time job. I bought a fat half of opalescent linen. I didn't intend to, I just needed a strip. But I had to buy the whole thing to get the piece I needed. I think I can dye some of it. I thought it would be nice for my haunted house freebie from Sanman, in like a purple.

I did manage to grab the correct ball of DMC Pearl #8 for my current WIP. I really need to post pix of it. All I have left to do is to do some Algerian eyelets and then to actually do the Hardanger part of the window. That terrifies me. I don't know why. It is gonna look so cute.

Updating the 50

Its been a while since I did this. I have kinda strayed from the original intent, but I am getting back on track:

Finish Stunning Irises--on the scrollrods
Summer Ball--WIP
Summer Quilt--WIP
Ghost Wind-WIP
Cat Lovers Too-WIP
Hummingbird Trellis Afghan--WIP, completed another square this year
Sandy Orton Autumn Sampler--WIP
Beachcombin—Salty Yarns-started, but I don't like the fabric
Like Feathered Wings--Started, but I find boring
WWS The Arab-need to set up my Dazor lamp
Halloween Bellpull-have the fabric
Stranger in the Woods-have the floss, don't like fabric
Raise the Roof-Happy Camper-have the fabric and floss, need buttons
I Like Winter Best of All--need to get fabric
Is it Spring yet?--lost the chart
The Perfect Man--lost the chart
Bent Creek Winter Snapperland--kitted up
A Cat’s a Cat--soon soon
Summers To Come (Cricket Collection)kitted up
Calico Cat--kitted up partially
All Hallows Eve--kitted up
Lost Spirits--have fabric
. 4 Season House-kitted up
Bent Creek- Winter Row-kitted up
Blossom Harvest-kitted up
Christmas Village-kitted up
Cat for All Seasons-kitted up, but don't like fabric
Miribilia Halloween Fairy-in a box
AOY A Moment’s Rest-I want to start soon
Janlynn Summer Sampler-where is this?
Barnyard Kittens-where is this
New Fallen Snow-Glendon Place--where is this
Will Work for Freezer Space--chart is
Winter Quilt-where is this
Autumn Quilt-where is this
Spring Quilt-where is this
Cat Sampler-where is this
Kitty Cat Row-
Kit and Bixby—Winter Wool
Kit and Bixby—Summer Wool
Kit and Bixby—Spring Wool
Kit and Bixby Autumn Wool


At Home with Jane Austen--Done
Summer Window Spots—Fanci That--Done
To the Sea (pine Mountain Pillow)
Bent Creek Summer Row
Forest Snow
Woodland Sampler
Country French Cat.

It's my Birthday

I am 31 today. It has not been the best birthday so far. I got lots of well wishes from friends and family, but other than that, it hasn't been . . . a birthday day, and then the person I dislike the most on the cross stitch board I go to had to be her usual pompous, better than everyone else self and attacked me. I would like to think that it's just a sign of her own self-doubt that she does these kinds of things, but I can't make myself believe that. So I think that, because I have been on the verge of tears over what a stranger who doesn't like me and doesn't know me said to me, it's time for me to step away from the board for a while. I don't think I will be back to it, at least not any time soon. I don't need the hassle. I don't think sneakily. I am not mean. I am me.

Anyway, the only present I want for my birthday is a book about Maryland schoolgirl needlework from my LNS. I saw it last week. I think it would be a good book for my collection, and an inspiration. I am going to ask Mom for it when we are over there tomorrow. I think it would be far better a choice than a gift card to my hairdresser, because I have no desire to cut it right now. Anyway, we'll see.

A Finish and a Start

I finished LHN Herb Garden over the weekend. I didn't get to work on it on Saturday, which is rather a bummer, but I got it finished Sunday. I started Patricia Anderle's Halloween Window from the October 1997 issue of Cross Stitch and Needlework. It's a fun design so far, I spent yesterday doing Leviathan and Rhodes stitches, now doing some blackwork. It will also feature a titch of Hardanger, which I want to do to practice what I learned last month. However, I am having a hellacious time finding DMC #8 in 905. I have 906, 907, and for some idiot reason, 699, but they don't look right. I am going to my LNS on Thursday, so hopefully, they will have the right color for me, I want to get this finished, because it's adorable.

Magazine Review--Just Cross Stitch, December 2007

Pumpkin's comment on my other magazine post reminded me that I had purchased this issue last Saturday and then forgot to review it. In my own defense, I was dealing with a depressed dog who decided she would pull a muscle in silent protest because I was petting her brother. She snapped out of it though and I remembered I had it to review.

I am not sure how I feel about this issue on a whole. I buy Just Cross Stitch every other month, and have for 6 years. I never stitch anything out of it. I don't know why. I like the stuff in it, I just never get around to stitching it.

There are masses of stitchbooking designs this month. I think they would be good as straight ornaments. But I do not scrapbook, I do not papercraft. And even if I decided to change my ways after 30 years, they have a beautiful wreath made of paper and no directions on how to make the wreath.

There is a pretty Santa as well. It's a crescent design, not too original, but it's pretty. If you can't be original, being pretty ain't such a bad trade-off, because this is prettier than the other one.

The "find" of this issue is Simple Stitches. I have never seen these designs before, but they are really cute. And they don't look mindblowingly hard to finish. There is a very sweet beach set that would look good if I ever get my living room done. The issue features a Christmas house design that could be good as an ornament..

There are 5 simple country ornaments. They are pretty. Also a little design of a sheep for Christmas and some seasonal hats for a pillow.

Val of Val's Stuff contributed a really cute snowman with a rainbow colored scarf. It looks pretty simple; you could stitch it with regular DMC and use just about any colored variegated thread for the scarf.

There is also an article by Martha Beth Lewis on knots. I am not a fan of technical artists, nor do I particularly like Martha Beth Lewis, due to an issue I had with a class I took with her at CATS in Nashville in 2005. Suffice it to say, I didn't there is that much one needs to write on knots to warrant an entire article, oh, sorry, 4 articles, on knots.

OK, now for what I don't like. I wish magazines would stop publishing designs by Cathy Bussi. They are not nice designs. I don't know if they are too simpler or what it is that turns me off about them, but there are so many other designers out there, and yet they keep publishing designs by her. The Khamseh sock is also not my druthers.

At long last, the latest magazine reviews

I promised these a couple days ago, but I only now have the time to review them. I guess it's a good thing I am not a professional or something like that.

Anyway, this time, we are blessed to have three good magazines to review: Cross Stitch Gold, World of Cross Stitching, and Stitch and Craft.

Stitch and Craft Issue 158 Christmas 2007

I have said it before, I am not a fan of Stitch and Craft since it changed Quick and Easy. I think I have bought 3 issues in the past year, one because I wanted to give it a try, the second because it referenced Margaret Sherry cats (and then didn't have the charts in the magazine) and this one. I like this one. It has 166 fresh ideas for Christmas, and it seems like A LOT of those were cross stitch.

The major chart that drew me to this issue is a picture of Christmas ornaments. They are sophistocated, in black and gold. You could stitch them on paper and make them ornies for the tree, or just stitch a pillow with them. That would be kinda luxe backed with black velvet. There is also a lovely sampler by Historic Sampler Company--this is the third sampler they've published this year, and it's beautiful, small Christmas motifs. I wish their charts and kits were cheaper, I would SOOO buy them, they have the most delectable color fabrics in them. This one is on a beige fabric, but most are gorgeous. There is also a really cute picture of bears in boxes that was free gift and a penguin alphabet that would make cute ornaments as well. I have this idea of doing a set of these connected to spell out "Merry Christmas" to hang on the tree. Other desings include Santa's wishlist, by Leslie Teare, whose designs I am not entranced by, and a country Noel. Good if you like country, but I don't particularly like country.

All in all, this was a good issue. I will not, however, start rebuying this issue unless they have more cross stitch. I can't do cross stitch and papercrafts, so this is not a magazine for me.

The World of Cross Stitching 131

Someone must have decided the "hot" idea for designs this year was a Santa wishlist, cause there's another one in this issue. I don't understand this. He's Santa. He doesn't have to wish for anything. He has elves to make it all for him. And who is Santa for Santa? Anyway . . .
Probably the best design I like in this issue is the perfect pets. I know, at 30, I should be too old to love cartoon cats, but there is something about them that I find charming. We also have a Tatty Ted dressed as Santa, and some kids, I guess they are supposed to be in a Christmas pageant.

I know my tastes and my reviews are based on my quirky taste. There is a nice tablecloth with Christmas motifs on it that would be pretty, but it's not my style. And they also have a series of trees from Passione Ricamo. This was a set of freebies, if I remember correctly. They seem to publish a lot of her freebies. Why buy a magazine to get a freebie?

There is also a Furry Tails by Lucy Heaton, and a toy shop window peek. I don't know how I feel about those. They didn't strike me as, "I must run out to kit this up RIGHT NOW." designs.

This brings us to Cross Stitch Gold issue 2, which has to be the best $7.75 I have spent in MONTHS. There are so many gorgeous designs to stitch in this issue. They finished the cat triptych that has been doing on, that I like a lot. I want to stitch them because they look like Flicky and Gus. There is also a really beautiful design by Joan Elliott of two kids on a sled. I never really liked her stuff before, but two have two designs in a month that I find striking? I sense a change in the wind. And they have 4 sweet card designs (which I will not use as cards) of the animals watching for Santa. They are pets, farm animals, wild animals and artic animals watching and are very sweet. I like any design for Christmas featuring animals. I guess for me, because animals are not inherently greedy (well, Robbie is, LOL), Christmas designs with them represent to me the true spirit of the season, the wonder and innocence. Animals are Christmas to me. Anyway, I am getting off topic. There is also a Spanish fan on black with some roses in front--I wonder, looking at it, if it couldn't be considered oriental?

Other nice designs, not sure they are "must stitches" are the robin on the cover, the arctic adventure santa and polar bear stocking, which to be honest looks a little like one of the CGI bears from a movie, and a Santa tablecloth. The only design I don't like is a Spirit of Christmas sampler. I just don't like it.

OK, this must stop

http://www.victoriasampler.com/Catalog/VS_Samplers/p87HeirloomNativity.asp


I found her samplers right about the time my mom did and we've been stocking up. I just learned Hardanger,what, 6 weeks ago? I just bought Christmas gazebo 3 weeks ago. I got the Christmas village out of the envelope I keep the supplies in 2 nights ago--one of those, "can I get this ready for the fair if I start this soon?" moments. I can't keep up.

Too many lovely things to do. If I just look at my list of 50 (well 45, now), there are so many awesome projects on there. And they just keep adding new things. I wonder what progress I could make if I just stopped buying things? Went on the wagon for 1 year. I mean, really, went on the wagon. STOP LAUGHING AT ME, I realize I am a pathetic pushover, but I wonder what I could accomplish . . .

Halloween Stitching

I got back from my nail appointment late last night, so didn't have to hand out candy to the trick or treaters. Instead, I settled down to watch TV, and attend the Sanman Halloween party. I had a blast at that. I watched the first hour of Ghosthunters live, which I don't know if I buy what they were experiencing. And I pulled out the Sanman ornament freebies and worked on them for a while. It was hard to get into, I have to say, but I was having such fun playing along.

I do have a story to tell from that board. One of the members said that she posts on another board and someone was rude enough to criticize Sandy's designs and say they were simple and that what she stitched was better because they were complicated. That is so pathetic. Why would someone do that? I don't get people. Of course the lady emailed Sandy about it, and when Sandy emailed the woman back, it was a bad address. The nerve . . .

But then again, you see that a lot. People seem to think that they are on another level if they do certain designers. Me, I stitch what I like, usually whimsical things, or things I find striking. I think a simple design offers so much potential, you can play with fabric to give it a special effect. One of my big winners at the fairs this summer was a Sanman freebie, and it was beautiful. I loved how the clean lines of the design played against the sparkly aida I chose; it made me remember how I used to lie under the Christmas tree in the dark and see the sparkle of the lights up through the tree. The more "complicated" designers have never designed something that gave me that memory.