Dec 7, 2009

BACK IN THE STITCHY SADDLE! YEE HAW!

I've always known that I am a moody stitcher, but I had no idea the extent to which those moods can make or break my stitchy mojo. Sheesh.

As has been painfully chronicled on this here blog, my stitchy slump was not at all pretty. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't seem to find a project that made me sit up in the buggy and push my reading glasses up my nose.

I should have known what the problem was....I am in a very CANVAS state of mind and cross stitch was the only thing in the basket! So I hiked upstairs to the studio and pawed through my stash to see if I couldn't remedy the situation.

Here's The 4 Santa Patch Sampler by Just Libby Designs. This is a line-drawn canvas that comes with a stitch guide, so all you need to do is add threads and....viola! (Well, maybe it's not exactly THAT easy, but it sure is doing the trick of blowing my skirt up lately, so I'm not going to question it.)
I started with the Santa in the lower right since that was the easiest part to reach with my stubby arms and ridiculously bad stitchy posture. Here's how far I've progressed after the weekend:
I'd love to tell you that he looks so cool because of my stitching prowess, but the truth is that the chart pretty much tells you exactly what to do.

Aunt Chrissy and I were talking about stitching this weekend, and we decided that the reason most cross stitchers are able to easily convert to canvas work is that they know how to read a chart. And, if you've ever cross stitched a piece that involves "specialty stitches" and not just cross stitches, you're already on your way to being able to do almost anything you want.

(Or you could just be delusional like me and forget that you know absolutely nothing about anything at all and just jump in with both feet and muck about until you learn something.)

(This works really well when you're involved in learning how to do new forms of needlework. Heart surgery...not so much.)

So I'm officially out of the slump and loving my time in the Happy Chair once again! Stewey is thrilled that I'm not pacing around the house with "a puss on" (as I see he told you), so life seems to be quite swell for now.

(Well, as swell as it can be with an obsessive compulsive spinster and a little dog that insists on peeing on the drapes.)

Ciao!

20 comments:

  1. Congrats on getting your mojo back :)

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  2. Love the new project, and your stitching on it is great. Your studio must be a slice of heaven to contain projects like this one.

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  3. Yahoo!!!!!! Love the project, glad you're stitching, glad Stewey can relax.
    Blessings,
    Julie

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  4. I'll have you know that Stewey's attempts to stimulate your stitching mojo ended up giving *me* a new project (Prairie Schooler's Christmas Eve on Vintage Lakeside Blue).

    Whether you wish to share his powers beyond your blog, I leave up to you! LOL

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  5. Thrilled to hear that you are in a better mood these days. It's not fun to be grinch-like for any length of time.
    Welcome Home!

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  6. How cute are those Santas!! It always feels good to break out of a slump :)

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  7. It's so nice when it returns, isn't it? Congrats!

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  8. Yay! Glad everything's back to normal. You new start is just adorable.

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  9. SANTA IS AWESOME! Man this looks even better from when I saw it on Saturday...........

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  10. I just love the new project and am glad that you got your stitching mojo back. But I think you sent the ill winds you got rid of to my direction. I've started four projects in the past couple of days and nothing is calling me. :(

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  11. So glad the slump is over. I so agree with the reading a chart is fundamental sentiment. When I teach needlework of any kind, I always emphasize learning to read the chart because "I"m not going home with you". It ain't rocket science.

    And not to upset Stewey or anything, but that Santa is incredible already. Isn't it nice when somebody else does the hard part and tells you what stitches will work best? Your head is going to be the size of a watermelon by the time it's done and we've all oohed and aahed a gazillion time.

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  12. I'm so glad you are back in the swing of things! I love this latest project... Santa looks so amazing!

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  13. There is nothing like the "right" project to get your stitchy mojo back. The real trick is identifying what the "right" one is. Glad you found it!

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  14. Glad so see you are "back in the saddle".

    I agree with you that I think cross stitchers convert to needlepoint easier than the other way around. We become used to the reading the chart and the fabric. I have know a couple people who started cross stitch after being a needlepointer and they just could not see it. Others I am sure do not have this problem.

    I have know others attempting to cross stitch who just can't read a chart and see the "sqaure" on chart as the "sqaure" on the fabric. I feel blessed that I can read a chart and am able to stitch at all sometimes!

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  15. Wow, beautiful Santa's. Glad you have your stitchy mojo back.

    Sue n MD

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  16. YEAH!! Those Santas look great. What size canvas are you working on? I prefer doing "specialty stitches". Gives a little zing to the piece.

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  17. So glad you were able to come out of the laundry room --- boy, that Stewey is sure something!!!

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  18. There's absolutely nothing wrong with jumping in with both feet and mucking about until you learn something. I do it all the time.

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  19. I'm very glad you've found your misplace stitchy mojo!

    Have fun - Santa looks great.

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