Hope springs eternal.... and not so very bright

Dear readers, why is it that our stitching eyes are always bigger than our capabilities?   I mean it could just be me.  Maybe you all and logical and prudent.  In which case, here's the case for me being nuts:

Last weekend I joined my sister and brother-in-law at a lawyers conference in San Diego.  I was going to be there from Thursday night until Monday morning.  So of course I had stitching to pack. Over the course of the week before I left I started tossing stitching in a bag to come along.  By Thursday this was the collection of xs:

and the needlepoint collection stood at:

Really, Ruth?  What were you thinking?   Sure I tend to do just-in-case-of-armagddon packing --- you know, what if you suddenly have to stay an extra 2 days and you run out of stitching (and reading-- the same Ruth armageddon-packing principle applies to reading).  And besides, I'm a mood stitcher.  I have to be in the mood for a piece or a type of piece.  If I don't have something to match my mood, I wander about grumpy and disconcerted.   Anyway, there I was Thursday afternoon with 3 medium-sized needlepoints, about a dozen xs ornies, 3 medium-large xs samplers, a large over-1 piece, and a giant xs flag (completely unstarted).  Who was I kidding??????

Ultimately the stitching bag included the powwow shawl dancer and the pot of flowers needlepoints, 5 ornaments, and 2 samplers.  Oh, and the needlepoint stocking which I was delivering to my sister for her to work on --

I had put in the velvet for the hat and scarf and tested my plan for the fuzzy cap parts (namely I padded the base and covered it with a randomized application of Fancy Fur (from Rainbow Gallery)-

Want to know what I stitched?  Not a single solitary thing.  Not even a single stitch.

Apparently I was in need of the exercise of carrying my stitching bag to and from San Diego.  You would think that I would learn from this experience, but I doubt it.  After all I've been down this road before and not yet learned a thing.  Oh well.  At the very least I will always be ready for armageddon.

While I'm at it I may as well share some of the loveliness of San Diego.  The lovely view from my hotel room (God bless lawyers -- they pick some wonderful hotels)--

We (the sister and I) checked out some museums in Balboa Park)

We met some lovely paintings:

Maiurice Braun's "Southern California Landscape"

Alfred Stevens'  "The Parisian Sphinx"

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's "A River Scene with Houses and Poplars"

Well, I have to run, but I'll be back with more stitching and San Diego sharing -- after all, I haven;t shown you my fresh stash accomplishments or my collection of San Deigo orchids and fruity drinks!

Have a great rest of your day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wish you a very happy Valentine's Day -- a day free from the general annoyanecs of life -- people who drive with their blinker on for no reason, annoying coworkers, cold coffee, inconsiderate neighbors, people who can't make up their mind at the lunch order desk, and Blogger when it keeps giving error messages.....   Yes, that last one is my personal wish.  I've been trying to post for a week now and all I get are error messages.  If this goes through, I'll be back later..... fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***********WOW***************

A verifiable Valentine's Miracle has come amongst us.  I am honored.  {Perhaps I'm supposed to sacrifice a flash drive to the IT gods?}

Before the fickle Blogger winds blow in a contrary direction I'll do some sharing.

I've been up to much, but since I'm in the very slow class of stitchers it's not like I have all that much to show for my efforts -- let's face it, if we were talking super cars here I'd be an Edsel on blocks.

First up, Beatrix--

She actually has 1.12 more motif's done than this picture indicates.  That leave me with 1.7 motifs, a couple dozen beads in an otherwise done motif, and letters to go.   Beatrix, bless her soul, provided me with another miracle moment.  I'd been working on her for several nights alst week at Chez Hovel, and I took her along to The Country Club (aka the stitch group) to say "look I got that done last night," and when I rollwed her out n the table it suddenly dawned on me how very close to done she was.  Now I'm not actually certain I want her to be done because I have so much fun working on her!   Oh the trials and tribulations a stitcher has to face.

Now that they are received I can share some F&S accomplishments --

Those are my Red Round squares to Renee.   They are done in Bell Soie Sister Scarlett which varigated so nicely for me--

The birds I got from maybe a dozen different charts and just puzzled and puzzled until I got them to fit in a way I liked.  then I just randomized some hearts and picked words that felt right.  All in all -- a fun square experience.

I can also report progress on my Prairie Moon piece --

It too is much further along.  If I play my cards right and the sacrifice of that flash drive is acceptable to the IT gods, then mayebe tomorrow I can have a new pic of this for you.  Cross your fingers-- just not any that you need to have available to accept presents of extravagent jewelry from your Valentine!

I've also been getting in trouble... or potential trouble.   I've been playing around with kitting stuff up for new starts.  These are potentials......

.... for a sampler in memory of my grandmother.  I'm thinking of doing EMS' Rose Sampler -- that freebie series she did in 2008.  Remember it?  Anyway, while my grandmother wasn't among hte world's most warm and fuzzy people, it suddenly struck me the other day when I was fondling my fabric stash that she and Grandpa's car was the exact smokey rose color of this fabric-- and so was that horrid couch she had in the living room.  At that pont I was doomed.  Now that I have the obviously PERFECT fabric I have to do a sampler for Ms Usually Grumpy.  Ok, ok.  I'll cut her slack-- after all, it's not like I was the esiest of grand children. 

Wow... could this really work.   Might that "Update" button actually work.   Oh please, oh please, oh please...........

Is it really only Tuesday?

You know how weeks like to play with your mind?  Wel this is one of those weeks for me.  I could just swear it was Thursday, but nooooooo.   Not only is it not Thursday, but it's not even Wednesday yet.  [You should read that with a little whiney voice to simulate thevoice in my head as I type this.  I swear that if keyboards had sounds, mine today would default to .]

When not whining about how slow the week is going (please note:  we NEVER have this problem with weekends!--- must be some special physics corollary to the laws of time and space that speeds up time between Friday night and Monday morning, then slows it down Monday morning through Friday afternoon), I have made some small bits of progress.

My Prairie Moon start (aka Did-I-Really-Need-Another-WIP-in-2012 #1) has amde some small advance:

I would also like to take this opportunity to tell designers everywhere that if you feel somehow compelled to chart your latest and greatest in a thread not readily available in every corner LNS, then the Nice Thing is to give DMC/Anchor equivalents (and even nicer-- Anchor as well)/  At the very least, check to see if the Web has available some COMPLETE transfer charts for your stitchers to use.  This Prairie Moon piece is charted entirely in NPI silks.  I can find no online conversion that includes most (let alone all) of the NPI numbers.  It took the better part of an entire day to try and wrestle out a conversion working from the picture alone.  Please, designers, don't frustrate your stitchers like this.

I've also been doing a little masonry --

That there tower of gold-ish is a chimney on my Chessie and Me piece.--- oh how I love Belle Soies!  It's like stitching with air.

And, check this, my Ladies Day by Tish as been progressing too --

That overdyed grey is by Thread Gatherer in their Silk n Colors line.  The little "seam" in the middle of each diamond is going to get a smal ine of Kreinik #8 in gunmetal grey.

I keep thinking I've made it so far, but really after this lady is done, I have "Lady #4" (who is the biggest of the group), and the ground and sky behind them.  If I focus, maybe they'll be done by June. .... I'm not saying June of what year though!

Now, a cautionary tale --- look out for those parking berms --

As one of the Country Club ladies left stitching the other night the parking space stop tried to go home with her.  Literally, the rebar on one end of the berm got hooked under her bumper and brought the whole thing with her as she pulled out.  All is fine -- car, person...... don't know how the parking berm is feeling, but I don't suppose I care all that much.  Sorry parking structures everywhere.