Interview with a dork.......

Dork, that'd be me. You see our friend, Kathy interviewed me. Possibly you've seen this making the stitching blog rounds? The idea is you ask a blogging comrad a series of questions (of the interviewers choosing), they post the answers on their blog, and, in turn, offer to interview someone else. So, here goes.

Kathy's interview and my ruminations--
1. Of all the wonderful cities you have visited which is your favorite and why?
I'd say DC wins hands down simply because of the vast amount of different kinds of things you can do, see, go to, experience without a $20+ admission price for each one. I probably went to 8-12 museums on my last trip to DC and only paid an admission fee for one. If you don't want to do "the museum thing" DC is also a city that lets you just wander around -- lots of interesting architecture and outdoor events exist in a compact space. You can wander and experience at will. Also it is an easy city to get around in -- aside from the fact that it's rather compact and therefore walking-friendly, there's the Metro to use as well. Even at the height of tourist season it doesn't rival NYC for crowds (which always make me edgy). In the end, if the city is too much, a brief drive gets you to beautiful countryside -- Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, etc, etc ..........
Ultimately, I suppose a lot of what makes DC attractive to me is that it is a city of transplants -- the majority of the city is people from somewhere else, making "locals" and the city itself more sensitive to visitor's needs and issues. You don't feel like a nuisance or the butt of jokes; you're just one of the crowd of "foreigners" milling around.

2. Who is the person who has influenced you the most in your life and why?
It's gotta be my mom. For good and bad she made me me.

3. What is your favorite piece that you have stitched and why?
Darn. I'm riffling through the ole memory -- some "big" pieces come to mind (JN's Enchanted Swans is lovely, I'm fond of the quilt needlepoint I did for my sister last Christmas, and there's always the giant quote by Emerson that was put out by Twisted Threads),



but I don't know that they really are my favorite. What I keep coming back to at the moment is the presonalized sampler I did for a friend based on my Cross Stitch Pals class with Mary of M Designs.

I think I like it over any of the others because I got to be creative an put a lot of originality into it -- I charted Australian Shepherds and my friend's funky-shaped coffee mugs for it, I tracked down patterns from all over for little bits and pieces (like the garden bench she has along her front walk), and I was a able to find all sorts of charms to add-- like the parton saint of dogs, a purse (she has such a fetish for purses), and lucky charms (since she's got hoards of those in her life too). It was a lot of fun and I want to do it all again, just differently.

4. What does stitching mean to you?
Calm. Quite calm. Oh and possibly an excess of TV listening--- it's not like I "view" much TV while I stitch.

5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Don't I wish I knew? I should have an answer to this since I'm supposed to know stuff like this in my hunt for a more reliable job, but frankly I just don't. I'd like to see myself settled, peaceful, adequately employed, and surrounded by stash though.

Now, that I've yammered on to Kathy's very thoughtful questions, is there a sucker.... errr volunteer for me to interview?