Thursday, February 23, 2012

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.






16 comments:

Unknown said...

You know I'd do the exact same thing, I don't know how many times I'll go somewhere bring a ton of stitching so I'll have something to do and then never even touch it..and yet if it wasn't brought I'd be mad wanting to stitch something anything..loved seeing the pictures of San Diego.

Jeanne said...

Your post is very timely for me today Ruth. I am leaving this afternoon for a quilting weekend about 4 hrs north of me. The car is almost full and I still have a friend coming to drive with me so must fit in her stuff as well. We always bring WAY more than we can possibly get done in 3 days but we are hopelessly optimistic! What if by chance there's a snowstorm and we get snowed in for extra days LOL?!? At least you had fun in S.D., DH and I really like it there.

cucki said...

aww deary..you so much sound like all of us..
beautiful stash..
happy stitching xx

Cindy's Stitching said...

Your post me made laugh.

Jenny said...

LOL at your armageddon-packing, Ruth!!! I do the exact same thing. It is a desease, I tell'ya - we simply can't help it! On the other hand, the times in the airport when the plane never comes in or never takes off, I am one of the happiest people in the affected group... And it has been years since I was annoyed or cranky in the waiting room at the doctor's office, even though the waiting time gets totally out of hand. The more to keep us busy, the happier we stay! :-)

Theresa said...

No wonder my stitching progress is so slow since I moved to San Diego~ I blame it all on the nice weather!!! LOL

Margaret said...

lol! Don't we all bring too much stitching when we travel? I know I do! Love the pics of San Diego. It's a great place to visit!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

I ALWAYS take stitching on a trip and I RARELY actually do any. Oh well, better to be prepared. Great pics!

Lesleyanne said...

Always better to take too much than not enough. Great pictures.

Donna said...

I can always under pack on clothes, but I always over pack on stitching. The idea of being stuck without the right thing to stitch on horrifies me.

I love San Diego, too. A great place to visit and there's some wonderful restaurants. And mostly being there means there's an In-N-Out Burger nearby!

Unknown said...

Yep - I am going away for the weekend as well. I am going to be with friends and very busy the whole weekend - no chance of stitching - but, I will have my stitching with me - just in case. But, I do agree with Jenny in that I am so much less likely to get annoyed at a delay - as long as my stitching is with me!

Tricia T said...

What a fun bit of packing, even if you didn't work on any of them! : ) I try to limit myself to two projects and then if I see a cross stitch store I feel obligated to stop and shop for more. : )

Gillie said...

Not to worry, Ruth, you have no idea what I schlep back and forth across the Atlantic - every time, and though I put in a few stitches, really not enough to justify Carrying it! I love SD, one of my favourite places!

Thoeria said...

LOL Ruth - I know the feeling! I returned from a week in Cape Town with my stitching bags untouched :)I suppose it's better to be prepared than to not have it with - just in case!

Siobhán said...

Sounds like a fun trip! I do that all the time--pack a ton of stuff and then end up schlepping it back, untouched. Hope springs eternal!

Caitlin @ Naughts Cross Stitches said...

but you may NEED all that stuff! I have this argument constantly with my fiance. I may need some of that stuff maybe once but I carry it in my handbag just in case!

I love your choices :D and that sticcking is looking cool.