Creepy

The tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site in Philadelphia was fascinating. Here are two of my favorite shots from that day.

The barber chair ... or was it dentist?

The remains of a cat creature found in the walls.

Olde City, Philadelphia

Urban art

Hard Rock Cafe

One of the group lunches we Philadelphia photo workshop attendees had was at the Hard Rock Cafe. I liked these two images:

The handles on the front door are shaped like a guitar.

The classic sign was backed by deep green curtains with gold fringe. The curtains look thick and rich and haunting to me in the glow of the sign.

Tarnish No More

I got to play mad scientist today.

I found these two silver forks and this butter knife when I did the great kitchen shelf lining party last month. They were quite tarnished. I'm fairly sure these are all silverplate.

These are the markings on the knife

These are the markings on the fork with the ornate tongs

These are the markings on the fork with the ornate handle

I looked up easy ways to clean them. I boiled some water. Put in two balls of aluminum foil.

Placed the silverware in the boiling water. Added some baking soda. That made for great bubble action.

Let them sit a bit, then pulled them out to cool on a towel. Gave them a buff with a soft cloth. They came out pretty well!

I also cleaned some silver napkin rings and after a bit of buffing, they are quite shiny. Nice trick!

I'm Still Standing

I woke up from a dream this morning in which I'd lost a chance to participate in a singing competition because I wasn't prepared. I didn't know how to go about entering it. No one coached me.

That situation actually happened to me in college. In my groggy morning brain, I realized that was 2/3 of my life ago. The opportunity for me to compete is long gone. My voice is not what it used to be.

Unfortunately, my brain went in a downward spiral from there. What else had I missed out in my college years?

I looked up a few old boyfriends online. (of course) This is how an unbalanced brain works. One summer love died of a heart attack. The mostly-letters girlfriends-in-two-states relationship presented a case before the California Supreme Court last week. A third (the first of six who asked me to marry him) moved to Texas and, apparently, still can't hold a job long term. He also still has a crass sense of humor.

It took several hours, two movies, a big bowl of popcorn, a long walk, three podcasts, a haircut, and a shower before I came back into my own. I learned a lot of tough lessons from those men when we were 20 something. I kissed a lot of frogs. I learned I wanted to be valued and cared for. I craved honesty. I wanted to be 1st on someone's list. Not second choice. Not cheated on. Not a booby prize. That's how these relationships ended.

I wanted to be a partner. I wanted to be respected. I needed humor, not drama.

Then I ended up with this gentle giant of a man who is kind, smart, funny, compassionate and steadfast. We are so different on so many levels. Yet we make sense as an *us*.

Did I dodge bullets? Perhaps. I'm still standing, and by the side of the best guy for me.

May Goal Update

I'm approaching the half way point for my 18 in 2018 goals. I admit, this is a test of perseverance. My progress continues, but it feels slow. If I was right on track, I'd have completed 7-1/2 of the goals by now. I have five finished and three in progress. I continue to work on the long-range goals that take weeks or months to complete. Here's what I did in May.

Goal 1: Finish all the charts in 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.

Finished and framed Winter Warmth. This was the very last chart. Goal complete!

Goal 7: Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters

I finished these! They are so adorable and I really what to share pictures ... but it's a secret until Christmas. 

Goal 11:  New shelf paper in kitchen

Goal complete! The idea of doing this was much worse than the execution. Now all the shelves and drawers are polka-dotty. Bonus, I rearranged some of the food and kitchen tools, got rid of things I didn't need, and cleaned all the organizers. It's a nice fresh start for an old kitchen.

Goal 13:  The Artist’s Way and It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again, both by Julia Cameron

I'm still working through The Artist's Way, but I'm sort of stuck. I'm at Week Nine. In May I read the chapter, took notes, and did two of the exercises. This course takes a lot of energy and time. When I devote myself to it, other needs around the house don't get attention. Then I feel like I'm in catch-up mode, which makes me a little crazy. I need to re-prioritize and find a way to finish this course. I'd like to finish it in June.

Interestingly, here's the opening paragraph of Week Nine's chapter:

Also interestingly, one of Week Nine's exercises is to list your creative goals for the year and be specific about when you will do them. So I took these 18 goals and scheduled them for the rest of the year. That was quite a good exercise because it helped me organize my thoughts and see that finishing these 18 in 2018 is still possible -- even when Life gets in the way of Plans.

Looking Forward to June:

June is to be my month of sewing. I plan to learn to use my new sewing machine, attempt to make another t-shirt from the pattern I drafted, start sewing the quilt squares together for my granddaughter's quilt (this will likely take more than one month), and perhaps begin to learn more basic pattern drafting. And, of course, finish The Artist's Way.

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This is my overall scoresheet:

1. Finish all the charts in 2006 Cross-Stitch Calendar and frame them / get them ready to display.
    Finished in May

2. Finish or dispose of Newborn King
    Disposed of it in January

3. Finish or dispose of The Finery of Nature
    Decided to finish it. Haven't restarted stitching yet.

4. Stitch and finish/frame Letter Snow
    Got out the pattern and picked the fabric and floss. Haven't started stitching yet.

5. Crochet 5 different pumpkins
    Bought the kit.

6. Make one handcrafted Christmas card per week(ish) - 40 total
    Total bust. I haven't started making these yet. Will likely do them all at one time 

    instead of one per week.

7. Special Christmas ornaments for my daughters
    Finished in May

8. Learn to use my new sewing Machine

    Plan to start this month

9. Finish Melody’s quilt
   I plan to get back to it this month.

10. Make a pattern from my favorite t-shirt and use it to make some shirts (pattern finished
     I have tried a couple times, but hasn't worked out well yet. Will try again this month.

11. New shelf paper in kitchen

     Finished in May

12. Finding Your Own North Star
   Read in April

13. The Artist’s Way and It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again, both by Julia Cameron
      Still working on The Artist's Way. Slightly stuck.

14. Submit to a stock photo site
     Scheduled for July

15. Learn hand lettering
     Scheduled for October

16. Learn basic pattern drafting
     Scheduled for September. May do some in June.

17. Take a color theory course
     Scheduled for August

18. Go on a retreat 

     Completed in April

Throwback Thursday - 1999 (Part 2 of 3)

1999 continued to be a tough year for me. Nearly all the projects I stitched were tiny, simple pieces. Most had something to do with my daughters.


Apples for the Teacher

This little bookmark was stitched for Jodie's kindergarten teacher as a gift during Teacher Appreciation Week:
McIntosh Apple, Rome Apple, York Apple, Pineapple.

Trumpet Beaded Christmas Ornament

This little ornament is a beaded trumpet stitched on perforated paper. I stitched with while watching a Memorial Weekend Law and Order Marathon. It came from a Mill Hill kit.

Ladybugs

The ladybug stitchery was a joint effort between me and my daughter Julie, who was 12 years old at the time. Julie thought she wanted to learn to cross-stitch, so I gave her a book of simple designs, and she picked these kissing ladybugs. I sat with her to teach her the basics. After stitching a few rows, Julie decided that cross-stitch wasn't her bag. I don't think she's stitched since then. She caught the sewing and painting bug instead.

So I finished the ladybugs and added both our names on the finished piece. Julie stitched the top of the bug and all the black dots of the ladybug on the left. I completed the piece and framed it in an embroidery hoop trimmed with ribbon.

Princess

I mentioned earlier that Jeanne learned to do cross-stitch, but also decided it wasn't a craft she wanted to continue. But she did enjoy charting some designs. In 1999, Jeanne was 14 years old. I showed her my cross-stitch pattern-making computer program, and she went to town. In May 1999, Jeanne gave me four original cross-stitch patterns as a Mother's Day gift. This princess is the first that I stitched. I like that she even added jewels to the crown.

Jodie's Stocking Christmas Ornament

I was determined to finish the family Christmas ornaments on time in 1999, so stitched this ornament in June! This miniature Christmas stocking measures about 3-1/2" x 4-3/4". It's the first of three from a kit by Titan Needlework. The front of the stocking is stitched on 14 count aida, the back is a white cotton batiste.

Most of the stocking is stitched with cotton floss, but there was also some gold metallic that was really nice to stitch with. Metallics can be so fiddly.

Jodie requested that her name be stitched in red and outlined in gold, so I personalized it to her taste.

Clock Tower, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

It's nearly 5 o'clock. What's for dinner?

Iris

The deep purple color in my neighbor's yard caught my eye. Gorgeous.

In Memoriam

A spot of pink amid the red, white, and blue

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

I've been busy editing more of the photos I took in Philadelphia.

I am particularly enamored with the fine arts academy.

And I only got to see the lobby.

I wonder what it would be like to actually take classes there. Sigh. Perhaps in my next life.

Melody's First Birthday

Melody's grandparents, aunts and parents gathered for our granddaughter's first birthday. She was really into the banana cake with peanut butter icing!

Photo by Grandpa Dale.

Sooie!

Heeere pig pig pig pig pig!

At the farmer's market in Philadelphia

Throwback Thursday - 1999 (Part 1 of 3)

1999 was a big year. In February, both my oldest brother and my dad died. I was in deep grief and didn't stitch at all for three months. Later, in April, the mass killing at Columbine High School happened. Those were some very tough months.


Idaho Christmas

When I finally picked a needle up again in April, I decided to stitch something small, quick-to-stitch, and for which I had all the supplies. At an EGA meeting at the end of 1998, we were given a kitted chart for a Christmas ornament. I pulled that out of my stash and was able to complete the stitching in one sitting. That was a very satisfying re-entry.

Doris

Our EGA chapter did a year-long project to teach some of us needlepoint techniques. Working on a canvas instead of ground cloth was all new to me, as were the stitches. I totally enjoyed learning the stitches, but I don't much care for working on canvas.

This piece is divided into 13 octagons, each with a different stitch pattern. I used one shade of cotton floss and one shade of rayon fiber in each octagon. The center octagon is stitched with silk and a silver stranded metallic.

I believe I still have this finished piece in my stash. I never did get around to framing it or getting it ready for display.

Thoughts of You Nametag

When I look at this piece, my breath gets caught in my throat a little. I worked on it while sitting vigil at my dad's bedside in the hospital. So though I started it in February, I didn't finish it until May. This is a nametag I made for my EGA secret sister.

The chart was a freebie on the Victoria Sampler website. This was a trial project for me to see if I had any interest in making samplers. Ummm ... I guess not because I've stitched precious few of them. I did learn the Queen Stitch (the hearts), and the four-sided stitch. This sampler also has herringbone and Smyrna cross. This is stitched on linen and I used a variegated floss for the hearts so that they go from dark to light pink. I also stitched with a new-to-me fiber, some gold metallic Balgar cord by Kreinik.

Giraffe Shotput

This shotput is a small 6-inch square pillow filled with 2-1/2 pounds of buckshot. It's quite heavy for its size. It's used the way a paperweight is. But instead of holding papers down on a tabletop, a shotput is propped on top of your stitching hoop or frame to hold a corner of the stitching down on a table's edge while the greater part of the frame can hang over the edge of the table. This allows you to stitch with one hand above your work and the other hand below, making stitching quicker. A shotput is great for traveling because it's more compact than floor or lap stands.

The giraffe chart I used is a from the March 1998 edition of The Stitchery Magazine. I picked it because giraffes were my mom's favorite animal to watch when we went to the zoo. My mom had died about a year-and-a-half before I stitched this, and I did it in her memory. It turned out to be the first of many, many giraffe designs I've stitched over the years.

I love her long eyelashes.

Columbine Healing Quilt Square

The Columbine Healing Quilt came into being as a response to the terrible shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. The leader of this project hoped to gather 1,000 quilt blocks and make them into a gigantic quilt to present to the students of Columbine High School.

I picked this design because I wanted to stitch a symbol of peace. Thus, the lion and the lamb. I loved this particular piece because the lion is holding the lamb, and standing with an angel. The three are singing their lungs out. I relish that image since I am a vocalist.

The chart is called Christmas Pillow by Mary Engelbreit. It's stitch on an evenweave ground cloth with cotton floss. The strings of the harp are stitched with a gold metallic. If you look at a portion of the Columbine Healing Quilt in this link, you can see my square in the bottom row, third 9-patch block, center square.

Gosh. Can you imagine how many quilt squares I'd have stitched by now if we made quilts for every school shooting we've had since Columbine? It hurts my heart to think of it. I wonder, now, if quilts are being made ... or have school shootings happened so often that they no longer jolt us into action the way Columbine did.

Columns

One of the things I loved most about walking around Philadelphia was the varied and gorgeous architectural details.

Winging It

This image from PostSecret struck a chord this morning.

I am SO winging it!

Apples and Onions

At the Farmer's Market in Philadelphia

Bins and bins and bins of scrumptious fresh food!

Heart of Vine

An architectural detail in Philadelphia, PA

Textured Leather

I saw a unique handbag in a shop window. The texture caught my eye.

Bald Eagle Aviary

When I was in Philadelphia last year, the eagles were nesting in a shop window near the Liberty Bell.

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(I tried a number of editing skills on this photo. I try things to learn more. My goal is progress, not perfection. Today, I rock!)