I took a mini-vacation (three days) with Madre and it is taking a long time to recover. My energy levels have been a lot lower for the last six months or so and it's really difficult to deal with. Not least because I always feel I *should* be able to snap out of it. It's not something a body can snap out of, but I still feel guilty for not being able to.
Anyway, I've taken a slight break from stitching in order to work on a commission and a new pattern, and to knit.
I completed another knit ball and finished a silly, colorful, floppy hat. It's not really quite finished, as I think it needs a big pompom, obviously. It will take a while for me to add it though, because I really dislike making pompoms.
We're going out of town again on Monday, so that's yet another crafting gap. I knit on the road, of course, but can't do it in the car if it's sunny (need to hold up a windshield reflector over me, making it difficult to do anything) and once we get settled I'm generally too tired to do it.
The drive home was Charlotte was absolutely miserable. I think wine was not strong enough to get me through it, so for the Monday trip (Chattanooga) perhaps I'll step it up to vodka!
The Misuse of Language is finally finished, and the pattern is for sale in my shop.
I'm not sure what I've been doing for the past few days, but I'm very tired. I'll be out of town this weekend, so other than working on a pattern commission I probably won't be doing any stitching.
Traveling with needlework is definitely not my favorite thing. I've done it before, but now I think I'll stick to knitting. I've got most of the strips for another knit ball done, and I think I'll work on that.
I have finished this knit ball (free pattern here).
It seriously knits up and assembles SO quickly. The directions make it sound slightly intimidating, but it's honestly really easy. The ball isn't stuffed with anything, but has plenty of form and thickness while still being squashible (you can shape it back into a ball easily enough) and less painful when one child hurls it toward another.
If you were going to stuff it, I wouldn't use fiber fill, since little fingers can pull that out in tiny bits and leave it all over your floor (or eat it). I would use an old t-shirt, some rags, or one long knit strip - something that can't easily be pulled out. You can also add a jingle bell or some other noise-making device. Personally, I avoid giving children things that make any sort of noise, as that's a talent most of them already possess in abundance.
I'm also about halfway through with the Socrates quote, as you see. I'm using a slightly subtle variegating thread for the border, with a shade that matches the darkest part for the inner rectangle and one that matches the lightest shade for the outer rectangle. I have an urge to add red to the piece, but I think that would be a bad idea.
First peek at the new project!
It will, of course, have a Greek-ish geometric border, since the quote comes from Socrates. I wonder if he would have felt that translating his words into English, such a mixed and random language, was a misuse.
Of course, I only have this quote out of context. I find it hard to believe that he was referring to grammar. To me it speaks of the misuse of language in terms of lying, using confusing language to trick people, double speak and all that (aka, most politics).
One inner desire of mine tells me to send this piece to Fox News or Mitt Romney or someone of that ilk. However, I don't think they'd appreciate it.
I'm also working on this knit ball, a free pattern from a Ravelry user. The knitting part couldn't be easier (just strips of stockinette), and the instructions are mostly just for assemblage. Great present for the kids, in any case, and I'm wondering how it would look if you felted one.
Two new patterns are up for sale in my shop, as a two-pack, since I think they go together. They're two older blackwork/back stitch pieces I did a while back (pictured here).
If you’ve never done blackwork and it sounds intimidating, don't worry! It’s super easy (really just back stitch). Here’s what one of my customers says about it:
“I
went to Meredith with a half-baked idea that I wanted a cross stitch pattern for Little House on the Prairie, and in no time at all, she had
whipped up a beautiful pattern. I started stitching it immediately, and
it was such fun! The piece progressed quickly and easily. As soon as
it was complete, I sent the finished picture to Meredith. I was in
utter shock when she referred to it as blackwork! I had completed my
first blackwork piece and didn’t even know it. I had always admired
blackwork but was too intimidated to try it on my own. I had done a
fair amount of cross stitch as a kid, but hadn’t touched it since I was
16. At 33, I picked it back up again, and it was only about a month
later that I stitched Little House. Seriously, if I can do it, anyone
can.”
Today I'm working on a pattern using a quote from Socrates. It's almost done, but designing the border has been slightly annoying. Hence, I am taking a break to write this entry.
My dad's in town so everything's been kind of busy and topsy turvy, with less crafting time than usual. I'm hoping to start this new piece tonight, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...
Here's the latest installment of my DMC spiral. Like the other piece it's also in numerical order, but has no color duplicates stitched and no non-duplicates left out.
I do like it so far, and I think it's easier to see the color runs than with the square project.
I'm also still knitting every night, though somethings I'm just fucking around, looking at gauges, seeing how something knits up, rather than working on real project.
I'll have a new pattern in the shop tomorrow, though it's a blackwork one, and people don't like those as much. It's just back stitch ladies and gentlemen, easy peasy, I promise!
I've been slacking on cross-stitch and doing some knitting instead.
Some new blackwork (back stitch) patterns will appear in my shop next week, from designs I stitched long ago. I knit this floofy pink thing, and then I made the Vortex pattern from Knitty.
The piece looks hard and impressive but it is SO easy! It has a repetitive pattern so you're not peering at instructions every five stitches and it knits up so quickly. I highly recommend it. I couldn't wait to knit it so I used whatever yarn I could muster (aka, not what the hat really demands).
