Rest and Needlework...

A day of needlework is not necessary a day of rest. Your hands cramp up, your eyes hurt and vision blurs, and no matter how relaxed you start out somehow you slowly become completely hunched over.

You know what's so cool though? Our regular seafood restaurant in Morehead City has all these needlework pieces hanging up, including a blackwork piece of their entire menu and a huge cross-stitch of the recipe for their clam chowder. It makes my stomach happy (like when you're just warm and excited and your stomach feels a little flippy).

I didn't get all that much done today. There was a lot of distracting TV, such as those Animal Cops shows which suck me in every time. I think every pet owner (esp. if the pet is primarily indoors) sometimes feels insecure about whether or not they are really providing the best life possible. Sometimes I feel like my disability makes me a poorer pet owner, but just watch a few Animal Cops episodes and suddenly you'll know you're a super great caregiver. It's refreshing.

Among my few achievements is the fact that I did a test-stitch of a cross-stitch bird motif and developed a blackwork feather design. I did my flower garland test yesterday (with a few mistakes) but decided it wasn't appropriate for the text piece I originally designed it for. Mixing blackwork and cross-stitch is always tricky for me. Oh little bits of cross-stitch, individual stitches mixed, that looks great, but blackwork text with cross-stitch borders... there's my problem.

My feather's finished design is a little different than the one shown. I would have stitched it again fully perfect but I was getting tired and there were big kitties on TV. I bet if I'd been rich and healthy I would have become one of those crazy people who keep wild cats as pets. There was a moment with a lion when I was seven or eight where I put my hand up on the glass and a lion came and put his paw up just opposite my hand. To a little girl who loved cats it was the most amazing moment ever, and it still seems quite amazing. Those animal hoarders must have smoked their sense of smell away is all I can say.

The Beach is Good for the Brain

You know how Guinness is good for you? Well you should. It is good for you. All stout is good for you.

Well what's good for me and especially for the brainstorming and idea part of me is a nice long car trip. I get great ideas, talk them over with my mom, we tweak them into exceptional ideas and I sometimes remember to write it all down.

On this trip I came up with the perfect name for my needlework shop will be open on Etsy very soon. This great shop shall be called... Hardcore StitchCorps! I am super happy with that name and have already registered it on Etsy.

Anyway, it's hard doing needlework at the beach. I'm so tired all the time and squinting at tiny holes makes me pass out (also there's cable TV which I haven't had for a few years). I'm mostly just dabbling with some new fabric (the craft store here has an AWESOME needlework section, way more stuff than my home store) and test driving new designs. I'll be here by myself all day tomorrow so hopefully I can get a little more work done.

Sayonara!

Well I've packed up loads of embroidery supplies and am ready to head off. I've drawn the vine border on the Frida piece, which will be easy to work on in the car and not take so much concentration that I would stop being a good traveling companion. The vines will overlap each other, some with thorns, some with flowers, some in shiny satin thread, etc... all different shades of green and brown.

My poor cat is very distressed. She knows that when I start packing my leave in imminent and sadly I can't e
xplain to her that she gets to come with me. I do keep trying though. I've always been somewhat convinced that cats do understand you (they have that look) so now I'm somewhat convinced that she just likes to mess with me.

In any case. I might post update pictures of Frida and other projects next week, and I might not. I might be too busy drinking cocktails and munching on hushpuppies. In the meantime here are some pictures I took on our trip last year (same beach, it's a time share). That sea gull practically stalked me (no food or drink or anything, it just kept following me around. Creepariffic for those like me who dislike most birds.