Ouch, or Lessons in Things You Shouldn't Do

This would be one of those "educational" posts.

I would recommend that if you have a choice you should not fall on slab flooring while holding a box of paper. Now my gimpy self sits before you with a bag of ice taped to one knee with 2-inch wide book tape. Hey, if it's good enough for books, it's good enough for my knee! I suppose this is the joy I reap for working on the weekend.

Anyway, enough whining. Let's talk needling. Oh wait, there will still be whining because here too we shall have lessons. Mostly about starting new projects and really thinking about what you start before you get going.

I *was* making great progress for 2 days on a stocking--


The tiny squares are alternating Scotch in Fyre Werks (black) and Shimmer Ribbon (gold). The name is in a lovely Frosty Rays. Yours truly, aka The Moron, began the name by centering the "O" on the stocking. She put the "O" in. She was smugly proud. ... right up until the point as she was basking in it's glory, that she realized that if you center the "O" the name is off-center because an "M" is much wider than a "T." Sigh. Out came the pretty "O." I got the only as far as the "TO" this time before I ran out of thread. Oh well, next week.

I simply *had* to do something new a couple weeks ago so I spent an hour fascinated with:

my NYC trip ornie. But now I can't figure out where I put the card of Fyre Werks and stitching faces doesn't sound fun right now.

And here's what I really want to be needlepointing on:

My sand dollar. But it's just not right.

The floss is wrong for that section. I need to go get perle for that and I think I need some Flair for the white bits. So much for that new start.

I bet you are thinking: "Ruth, with all those XS UFOs and WIPs of yours, certainly you are safe there!" Ahh, but you are wrong there. The evil monster "New Project Demon" followed me to the linen as well. So, while I should have been getting further along on:

... Ursula Michaels We the People, instead I needed, absolutely needed to start something new. Sigh. Yet again, it all went south from there.

First, I started an ornie for an exchange. That should be safe, right? Oh noooooo. You see, I started an ornie I really wanted, but I only figured it "likely" to be good for the person in question. It was a little big so I made it over one.... I could have saved myself the time:

you see, I started it once, messed up. I thought I had a fix worked out, but nooooo. I also messed up the fix. No problem says my start-something-new-addled brain; I just restarted the pattern on another corner of the fabric. Yup, I messed that up too. You could have phoned that one in, right?

So I decided that was God's way of saying I should choose more wisely. So I analyzed my JCSes. I picked 5 possibilities. I checked said person's likes and dislikes. I chose a pattern. I copied it and set out to work. I looked at the copy and felt not compelled. I thought, "no, not this one." I picked another. I changed my mind. I picked again. I changed again. After 2 days of petty vacillating, I went back to the first choice (after the two F'ed up stitched ones), but it was now day 3 at something like 2am so it was left to the next night to have the sacred joy of Beginning the New Pattern! Oh the excitement! The next night I settled in, took one look at the pattern, and thought, those are the ugliest _____ (can't give it away) I've really ever seen (well, save for the ones I stitched one time that really looked like a pair of poodles). So I picked again and I started.

Surely now, all would be well. But, say it with me, nooooooooo. Little Miss Ooo Look There's an Overdye pulled all regular DMCs. I got 50 stitches (which is like 3 days of Ruth Stitching Time) into one section and went, "why or why is my needle bereft of overdyes?" I pulled the section all out and started over with Sampler Threads. Here is the official floss toss (so for those of you in exchanges with me, these might be your colors... lol).... for now:

Frankly, if I get the urge to change anything again on this after having stitched it, ya'll are just up that smelly creek!

So, what we have learned is that working on weekends is bad (I've never had my stitching cause me to need n ice pack!) and I should really hold out against the New Project Demon.

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Reading Challenge report:
1. I just finished listening to Stephen Tanner's Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban. It's ok. It's not as bad as a military history can be. What did I learn-- tribesmen with antiquated weapons who know their hills and valleys are hard to beat. Under the Taliban women could be stoned for wearing white socks. bad socks! Evil, bad socks!!!! Authors can be very dumb-- allow me to summarize -- every country in the world should fight terrorists and not allow their acts to go unanswered; Israel should stop fussing after the Palestinians when they sniper soldiers or suicide bomb holiday parties.

2. I'm just about to finish listening to Beowolf. Yeah, I read it in Western Civ with every other undergrad, but that was then. My Heavens it's boring. I will say there is great language and turns of phrase-- quite lovely ones as a matter of fact. But sheesh. Did we get assigned this because it was a way to get gamer guys to actually do their reading assignments?????