Thursday, August 27, 2009

Wanna see some stitching? .....

.... for a change?

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No, I get no credit. This lovely piece was done by my needlepointing buddy, Jennifer for her youngest nephew.
Isn't it cool? It's an honor piece -- her grandfather owned a Phillips 66 station so she adjusted the canvas to include that for little Ezra. Aren't the tires cool? They are O-rings and the hub caps are metal washers. (I know, I know. not "washers" but that's the word that's stuck in my brain right now.)

My stitching, you ask? well, I can't show you. It's a gift. Sorry. I'm hoping you'll get to see it in a couple weeks. Cross your fingers -- it's one of those 6 million color changes pieces. Sigh. You know how I feel about color changes, but the piece is absolutely perfect for the person who is going to get it so I'll just have to suck it up and deal.

I must admit that I have yet another new obsession. I bought a cataloging program for my own books. I've been working fairly assiduously with it most evening for a couple weeks now and so far I've only managed to get about 300 items input. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to tell catalogers everywhere that while I still think they are nuts, they have my deep respect. Sheesh this is a pain. Ok, I admit I make this harder because I input every short story in anthologies rather than just the volume title, but I do love my short fiction so I can't really help myself there. At this rate this cataloging "fun" could take me 20 years-- with only one author exception, everything I've put in has come from the shelves next to my bed in The Hovel. And those are just the tip of The Hovel iceberg. And, in turn, The Hovel iceberg is merely a snowflake in the ice age of volumes I have boxed in storage. Sigh. At least I know if I get quarantined for something I can have plenty to do while I sit at home.

Gotta run -- wishing you well.... as usual.

6 comments:

Sharon said...

Wow that is so beautiful, what a treasure. Thank you for sharing it. Good luck with your book cataloging.

Unknown said...

OK, inquiring minds have to know. What are using to catalog? I started with typed index cards kept in a black file box (which I still have). I still have two databases (SF and cookbooks) in Helix (relational MAC database, no longer supported, runs only on OS 9) that I ported (mostly) to Filemaker Pro. We also have a Delicious Library to track our DVDs (love using the MacBook camera to scan bar codes) and I have all the books I have read since 2007 on LibraryThing.com. So what are you using? Commercially built or home grown?

Carolyn NC said...

I love the design - how cool the way she did the wheels. Have fun cataloguing!

Karen said...

that's pretty cool car!

Can't wait to meet up next week! i will email you later! just remember, it is frickin hot here right now and still through next week (113 yesterday). so dress cool.

Mel in Dubai said...

Very bright and colourful! I'd be interested in what you are using to catalogue your books too. I'm currently using an Excel spreadsheet and all my books are listed on GoodReads.com but I'm open to something better :)

Siobhán said...

That is such a fabulous piece!! Incredible. I want to run my fingers along the stitching. I'm sure it will be treasured. I can't wait to see YOUR stitching! Good for you for stitching for a friend. I am the world's most selfish stitcher and do very little stitching for others, so I'm always impressed by that.

Good for you on the book catalog thing! I always say I'm going to start a book journal just to remember the books I've read but the closest I've come is using Good Reads. I would love to look through all the books in your Hovel! ;)