Fizzy Good Make Feel Nice

This was a commissioned pattern that fell through, so I decided to stitch it myself and add to the shop to recoup some of the time spent on it. The quote is from Black Books, one of my favorite TV shows of all time, but taken out of context (in the show it refers to alkaseltzer). 

The pattern is in my shop now. I have another piece to put in the shop, but I'll wait to post it until then. I'll have to come up th another design quickly, as I'm feeling restless! I have print books I need to read though (one was an early reviewer I got, so I have to properly review that one as well).

My migraines seem to really be triggered by humidity, which is just mean since West Virginia is really humid. I wish I could easily try out living somewhere less humid, but it's just not very doable. I'd like to say I'm doing better, mental health wise, but that's hopefulness more than anything else. Glad to be excited about stitching again. I think part of that is giving myself permission to use non-DMC/Anchor threads. I don't want buyers to feel they have to pay for more expensive supplies or use threads that might go out of production any minute, but there are so many substitutes that can be found. Choosing colors is one of the most fun things about stitching, but I know not everyone wants to make that choice themselves.

Wondrous Beauty

I liked this quote so much I stitched it twice (and I hate stitching the same thing twice). It's from a Moomins book by Tove Jansson (check then out if you haven't yet, I've read one and really liked it). 

The pattern is up in my shop now. Up to now I've been very hesitant to use any non-DMC thread in my patterns. A lot of people seem to have trouble choosing colors themselves and I felt like everything I used should be easily available. I've threw that to the wind with this project. Kreinik metallics plus "wondrous beauty" on both pieces is done with over dyed stranded silk from another Etsy sellers. I have pretty threads and I want to use them! I will probably try to stick to commercially available products though, since you never know when an Etsy user will close shop or get rid of an item.

Trying to capture the gorgeous gleam of the metallic border was frustrating and impossible. Then trying to have the colors be accurate on the black aida was as terrible as I remember. I love black aida, and I hate it. Everything looks so awesome on black though. Wish everyone could see these pieces in person.

I just finished an excellent book for book-lovers, When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning. It's about the drive to get books to servicemen (they didn't bother supplying service women, annoyingly) during WWII, and the creation of the Armed Services Edition paperback, specially designed to be light and portable and readable in any situation. Books soon became the most important 'luxury' for the troops, and many wrote letters to the authors and publishers. This program is basically what led to The Great Gatsby becoming an American classic (mixed feelings for me, I found that book so boring).

The program created a generation of readers who knew the incredible psychological value of reading, and won over many who hadn't previously been readers. It's a wonderful, feel good story. Interestingly, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of the most popular, despite being narrated by a young girl. Author Betty Smith received an average of four letters per day from servicemen and responded to all of them.

what, so soon?

I've been in a stitching frenzy lately, I think partly in response to being in extra pain and needing a fierce amount of extra distraction. 

A good sign that your nerve signals are seriously messed up is this ridiculous mirror image pain. So sometimes you'll hurt the big toe on your right foot but the big toe on your left foot will also hurt, and sometimes it's the left toe that will hurt most and continue causing more pain than usual for months. Thanks a lot nerves.

I'm waiting for the mail to bring me two more shades of Kreinik before I can finish up this baby. I wish it was easier to capture the total shine of metallic thread in pictures. The quote is from a Moomins book, though I'm not sure which one. I read one Moomin book, the first published in English, Finn Family Moomin Troll, and I think I understand why they're so popular (in Europe that is).

Wonder Woman!

 Finally stitched the last Wonder Woman pattern of the bunch I designed a while back. This one is my favorite, because this Wonder Woman totally gets me. The number of times I'm standing in my kitchen or bathroom totally bewildered as to what brought me there is sad (I mean, there's only so much I could possibly want in the kitchen or bathroom).

The pattern is for sale in the shop now. Maybe I'll do more in the series later, but I don't have any concrete ideas at the moment.


I finally mailed a birthday/new baby package to my friend Christine, so I can post all those pieces now. Her daughter's name is Maisie and she enjoys the Maisy books so this was an obvious choice to stitch. I created the pattern from a coloring book image, and you can find it in my free pattern section. She's a Beastie Boys so this onesie was a given (though I'm still only partially happy with it, and I didn't pay enough attention to wear the fabri-solvy had wrinkled up, making my crochet hooks extra wonky). And then a name piece for the new baby. There really need to be more interesting and neutral alphabets out there. If I go temporarily mad maybe I'll try to make one.

After the onesie I had a desire to do a super detailed embroidery of a skein of floss, but I think I've regained my common sense now.

I'm working on a new pattern using a quote from a Moomins book: "There's no need to imagine that you're a wondrous beauty, because that's what you are." It involves lots of metallic gold thread. Which, by the way, the difference between trying to use DMC's metallic flosses and Kreinik's thread is night and day. Kreinik is so so easy. I still use the thread conditioner on it, but I don't think that's a necessary step. Plus they have such a HUGE range of colors and different colors of glow in the dark thread and they're made in my home state! I didn't realize they were a West Virginia product until I got my order for the dragons piece. So pleased to support my fellow West Virginians.