Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Stitching, and yet getting nowhere

So I stitch. I stitch to get things done. But I have far too many things to ever accomplish. Sigh. How is it we all have too much stash to ever stitch, but we never have the "right" pattern?

Over the last week I've made some progress on my Midsummer Nights Dream's "Quaker Meetinghouse" --
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I need to do the last part of that top motif, the dates, and the two butterflies that go in the sort of square cut outs at the top and bottom. Not bad. If I have a good (and intelligent) evening, I might even finish tonight. But probably not -- tonight I simply must go to bed before midnight!

Tonight's also Thanksgiving shopping. I have big dinner responsibilities! I'm in charge of bring olives, pickles, and rolls to my friend Judy's house for dinner. lol Hey, there's not much you can assign to the person whose oven doesn't work! Oh and I have to bring my stitching too in hopes that Judy and I can sit and stitch! Cross your fingers on that one! lol

Should I get home from shopping with any energy AND get a lot of cleaning and clearing done, I might start my inventory of my excessive stash. You see, I'm thinking that if I could visually remind myself of all the crap... err vital and wonderful stash .... I have, maybe -- just maybe -- I could stem the shopping tide. Ok, so maybe it's not a brilliant plan, but it's the one I've got right now so it's the one I'm going to go forward with.

Last night I started what I've taken to calling Project Reality with a photo essay of sorts on my "small projects" basket. The basket was Chris' idea. She has one on her mantle -- She explained it as her way to avoid losing time in rushed departures looking for all the bits of a project to take. She just has this basket of small kits and kitted up projects all ready for the road. She can just grab and go. And besides, it looks real nice. So I started one. I have no mantle so mine sits on a pile of paperwork, but it's still fun. Mine also isn't really filled with ready-to-go projects since some of them still have the nasty fabric they came with in them. One boring evening I'll sit down and cut real fabric for them and pile the other up for passing along to the aida fans of the world. Anyway, here's my basket:
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And, yes, the basket is just as overstuffed as it looks. If you don't believe me, here's two piles of stuff out of it:
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And yet there's still plenty in the basket with those piles out:
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See? I need to stop stashing.

Well, it's back to work for me. I have records to add before grocery time. Happy Thanksgiving shopping to all who are out there doing it. To all who aren't, have a peaceful evening!

LOSCON COUNTDOWN -- 40 hours to registration at LosCon!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooo!!!!!!
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Recently finished: Gaiman and Reaves InterWorld. You know, it was ok. Not nearly as good as Gaiman should be. It feels like the beginning of a series/franchise. Think a kind of watered-down Ender's Game -- young misfit, secret talent, outcast, educated, adventure gone wrong, amazing success, the world goes on, blah blah blah. It's nice. It'll entertain the youth it's meant to.

9 comments:

Shelleen said...

I also have a basket with small kits in it. I don't usually take anything with me but I do stitch them on the weekends.

Anonymous said...

This piece is absolutely charming, I really love it!! I like the hint of red in the flower.

I think we buy stash as a hobby in and of itself, kind of like a treasure hunt. Try this if you want to curb your stash: start another blog or a folder or anything that you can organize into a group and keep photos of the charts and kits you would like to someday tackle. Also date the ones you already have and if you haven't used them by a specific date (a year or 3 or 5), then they get passed on or sold unless you just want to have a nice size stitching library which is also nice to have especially when stitching friends come by and you want to share some, they are also good for small gifties in rr's and exchanges.

Laura said...

Wow, that's a lot of small projects, and I love the basket idea...in fact I think I'll borrow it.
Lately, I too have had the shopping bug. In fact,it seems to be catching because my LNS was unusually crowded when I was there yesterday, and my Stitching Bits and Bobs order is taking forever to get here. So far, I have avoided the dreaded start-itis, but for how long?

Kendra said...

Wow, you fit a lot of stuff into that basket! Does it have a false bottom that drops into stash oblivion? LOL!

Interesting idea, though, to have a basket of grab-n-go projects.

Unknown said...

Yes, Whole Foods was a madhouse this afternoon. I'm glad I wasn't standing in line to get a turkey. We used to go to a friend's house (not a fan) for Turkey Day just before Loscon, but not this year. I just couldn't take another year of her really lousy cooking (she has no salt in the house, the turkey is always dry, and rest of the dinner is an hour early or an hour late). So this year no turkey on turkey day, just a leisurely drive to LAX (hey, we were just there yesterday, but only passing through). I'm thinking of making a turkey next week, since we really love it. And what we don't eat, we can feed to the cats.

mainely stitching said...

How on earth did you fit all that into that tiny basket? You must pack suitcases like a pro! LOL!

Have a GREAT day tomorrow, and good luck tonight with your shopping and stitching!

Ruth said...

lol All I have to say about the basket is apparently it was built for Mary Poppins and stuffing carefully but with enthusiasm helps ;-)

Becky said...

That is a fantastic idea! I have loads of little kits that come with magazines. I'm going to get them all sorted and ready to stitch now.

Dani - tkdchick said...

Oooh I love the basket idea.

The blues on your wip are so pretty!