(UPDATE: I have been looking for pictures of this project for the last hour. No one has them for sale, no one has stitched them. I can't even find the artwork they came from online. I'll have to take a photo of the page in the magazine. I'm trying!)
my entry for the special contest for next year's state fair.
Mom picked up my fair entries yesterday. I did find out that my lions did not place as well as I previously reported--they did not get 3rd, they got honorable mention. I apologize for the mix-up. I feel so embarrassed to have thought they got the 3rd, but then again, the honorable mention ribbon is baby blue and the 3rd is white. Baby blue and white look alike under fluorescent lights. But I did better than I did last year, and I'll do better next year. I did find out Treaty Fairy had been considered for a Special Award at the fair, which is pretty cool. Out of three years of entering, two of my pieces were considered for that. That means I'm consistently doing something right. At least on some things--others (those that involve finishing, apparently) leave a bit to be desired.
The special contest for 2010 is themed "things that begin with P." I decided to focus on figuring out a project to get my mind off the placing issue (I was angry at myself). I spent the whole ride home last night trying to figure out a "P" thing to stitch. This is not an easy task, especially since it can't be something you have to stretch your imagination to see the connection to P. They had a list of suggestions, but, if everyone looked at the form and said, "Oh, I'll stitch a panda or a peacock," then there's a whole class of the same thing. I try to be unusual. This may be where I go wrong--maybe last year, the sheep didn't place because they wanted ships or Santas or seals, like they put in the catalog--but I'd rather have those sheep on my wall and adore them than a ship I only kinda like. And this year, budget is going to play a factor. I don't have a lot of panda or peacock charts, and I'm not spending the money to buy them. And at some point, I realized I was 10 miles from home and had spent 20 miles thinking of "P" things.
And then it dawned on me. One of my most favorite things in the world is a P. Not a P that it takes a rocket scientist to determine. Maybe more common, but with plenty of charts in my stash. Because I love them. POLAR BEARS! And I have the perfect chart. One I was looking at the other day, thinking I should stitch it.
SO and I looked through a couple binders just to make sure there wasn't something better. That ended in him asking me if I had any plane charts, which I told him absolutely not, and me pointing to a picture of birds and asking if they were quails or partridges (Partridges, more than just a decoration for a pear tree!), and him saying they were quail. So we decided together, that the polar bears were the best option. He asked me if it was going to be hard to do. I told him it didn't look TOOO bad; it doesn't, it's just bigger than the lions, but not as much fiddly shading and not as much backstitch. It's a design I can do, knowing that I'll love it, whereas I might like a peacock, but not love it. So, now to buy the fabric. I will not stress myself out over this. I will start early and have it finished!
Speaking of finishes, I did finish Cat Lover Too this morning. I realized I have finished three UFOs in 33 days, pretty impressive, if I do say so myself! I'll try to post a photo, but we're packing for our vacation, so I don't know if I will have time.
8 comments:
Your are just way too hard on yourself. You won so many ribbons at both fairs that you should be very, very proud.
I adore polar bears. But you have to do so much in shades of white and off-white. I'd suggest you be sure you can really handle that before starting a project of significant size. An ornament is about all I can 'bear'.
Oh Rachel, I think Polar Bears is perfect for next year's fair entry.
And come on, stitch SO a big honking airplane. If I have to have a C-130 Hercules hanging on my wall, I think you should too lol.
All of that and then you don't show us what polar bear pattern it is? So not fair!!
How interesting and fun to have a special contest. Our fair never does anything like that. Have fun stitching your Polar Bear(s).
I never quite know "where" to answer a question in the comments on my blog ... but since you have activated the moderator feature on your blog, I figure you can delete this after you read it and it won't seem such a glaring oddity on your own blog.
Back to the question: I sew my cord on rather than glue it ... this gives me a much greater degree of control over the "laying" of it. I conceal my stitches in the natural twists of the cording and stitch using the same color as one of the flosses used to make the cord. When I come to the joining, I lay the right cord over the left, and very snugly stitch both down in the same spot. Then I just tie the two ends to make a loop. Hope that helps.
I think polar bears will be absolutely perfect. They're my favorite wild animal. Can't wait to see the chart you've chosen.
Rachel, are you still having trouble finding a polar bear pattern? I have several (OK, Lots) in my stash. I can scan pictures and send them to you and if you find any you like, the chart is yours. I get alot of pleasure from your blog and posts on the 123 MB and would like to pay it back in some small way. Email me if you'd like.
Bette
azxser@aol.com
A polar bear sounds like fun to stitch!!
Can't wait to see your beginnings :)
Raggedystitches,
Louise
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