My Gift to You (And to Myself)

Perspective. There. I said it. And you might need some right about now.

There is such a thing as good enough.

Nobody is perfect.

M.Stewart? Phaw.

Take a deep breath. Take several deep breaths.

Everything will work out. If it doesn't, you'll have some great stories to tell in years to come.

Though right now my car is telling me my tire pressure is low when it really isn't. And my shoulder/neck is singing me a painful song. And I still have presents to wrap. And I have desert to make (this year I'm celebrating the Julia way. Queen of Sheba Cake and Apple Tart.) and Golden Crescent Rolls to create. I will not panic. It will get done. I will maintain perspective.

Kitteh

 

What kitteh does while all around him are losing their heads.

Deadlines

What Jeanne wrote on her blog, Just String, got me thinking. Always dangerous, I know.

When it comes to stitching... I try not to set deadlines. Occasionally I'll have one for finishing a correspondence course, but I haven't even been trying to meet those this year!

I'm curious. Who else does this? Do you set deadlines for your stitching, or are you of the "it gets done when it gets done" mindset?

My take on this:

When I have a piece that has a deadline, be it gift or challenge or class piece or a self-imposed deadline, my mind set changes and I begin to think of it as "obligation" stitching. Sometimes my obligation pieces are still pure pleasure, i.e. my Quaker Diamond Sampler whose deadline is the end the 23rd of January (also known at my house as the day before we fly to London.) Not all obligation pieces terrorize me. But some do.

Somewhere back towards the beginning of December I mentally ditched all my deadlines. Told myself if I finished something - good. If I didn't - so what? the world would not come crashing to a halt.

I did make three deadlines in December - two ornament exchanges and one challenge piece - the bra bag. (Yikes I still need to post a photo of this.) The Quaker piece is a challenge and it might not be finished, but enough will be done to make me happy. (Though if I can get it stitched, I can get it framed and entered at Woodlawn - deadline around Valentine's Day.) After that I have another casual challenge - the Pomegranates and Peas Purse - deadline in March for Regional Seminar.

Let's examine the deadlines I chose to ignore.

Two other ornament exchanges - okay. This was easy as I have not always received ornaments equal what to give, IMHO.

One gift project - somehow progress is very slow on this piece and I am not certain why. May have to consult with a therapist to figure this one out. But by extending this deadline to next Christmas, I will certainly finish it.

My Master Craftsman piece. Oh, what kind of idiot am I? I really want to do this. On the hand, I don't. Hmmm. Where is that therapist? MAYBE someone should start a stitching blog called "The Doctor Is In" and devote it to counseling us wayward stitchers...

Never did work on my Shining Needle Society project. File this one under it can wait.

Hardanger Correspondence Course. I've still got time. And at least I have all the materials. Let's call this procrastination rather than ditched.

Every other ditched deadline I have was a self-imposed deadline. Mostly things I thought would be interesting to finish for the Woodlawn Needlework Show in March. And why do I ditch these things? Mostly it is because something else comes along and just demands my attention. Stitch me! Stitch me!

I'm not perfect. I'm easily distracted. Led astray even. But I've made peace with myself on this issues. And no longer waste time beating myself up mentally. It's all in my head and that's a very interesting place to be.

Yeah!

DD made it home through the slush and badly plowed roads. Happy to have her here!

It's amazing how many sight lines are blocked at intersections out there. I took DS to work this morning. Dropped by the P.O. where they were truly a marvel of efficiency. Honestly. When I walked in my number was 17 and they were on number 66. I only got to listen to three songs on my MP3 player (Dixie Chicks, followed by Lady Gaga, followed by Aerosmith's "Pink.") What an interesting combo that was. Perfect match for what was going on around me. Really - the people working there couldn't have been nicer. It was amazing.

Grocery store was another matter. I think it was all the missing space in the parking lot - the space that is meant for cars, but is currently occupied by snow. And once again I will repeat my vow to always use the self-checkout line because these people do not know how to bag.

Off to make meatloaf and baked potatoes. Slushy hugs to everyone!

Ow

I need a full-body transplant. Nothing like removing feet of snow to make you feel that way. I've managed to stretch most of the kinks out. But the one that is going to pain me most is my right thumb. It's either from the shoveling or trying to brush two feet of snow off the cars. Advil, here I come.

Snowplow finally arrived in my neighborhood last night about 22 hours after the snow flakes fell. Now to find out how the Avalon handles in these conditions. LOL

Winter Wonderland

Sun is coming out right now and it's amazingly beautiful out there.

Time to start thinking snow removal...

The Unrelenting

Okay. By noontime we had a foot of snow. Now before dinner, it's more like two feet. If any of you have ever lived here in the Washington D.C. area, you know how bad this is. It is not showing any signs of stopping. Even the squirrels and birds aren't moving out there. And this is supposed to continue for another 6 hours or more? Don't know where we are going to put the stuff when we finally decided to deal with it.

This is ridiculous, Balki.

Let It Snow

Because apparently there is nothing I can do to stop it. If I could delay it by a few days, I would.

What goes on here in the metro D.C. area when they forecast a foot of snow is pretty darn amusing to this New Hampshire girl. No shopping carts to be had at Harris Teeter. I had to wait for someone to empty their cart and snag it. I refuse to look at the local news because I won't be able to take the hysteria...

DD is going to have to stay in Massachusetts for a few extra days. She was planning on driving home tomorrow. Bad, bad idea. Sunday won't be any better. So we're looking at Monday.

Boo. We want her home now.

Sigh.

But I've got my supplies and my stitching. And the remainder of the shopping will just have to wait.

Let it snow...

My Public Service Announcement for the Month

Did you know that the Textile Museum in Washington D.C. runs a program called "Ask-a-Curator, Ask-a-Conservator"?

Ask-a-Curator, Ask-a-Conservator programs are held the first Wednesday of each month (September through May) from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The program is free for Museum members and $5 for non-members.

If you don't live near, or plan a visit to D.C. in the near future and you have a textile piece that you have questions about - you can go here to the American Institute For Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. There is a link to find a conservator which would point you the direction of the nearest source of information.

Catching up on Photos

These first two are pictures of my Quaker Diamond in progress. Work is progressing slowly as I deal with all the other things happening this time of year.




All I could really say when I saw this sight was wow! I present you with this photo of 36 perforated paper santas all stitched this year by a lovely lady in the Loudoun Sampler Guild. I asked for permission to take a photo and post it. This makes my lifetime effort with these santas seem totally pathetic as I have completed exactly 6 of them and have 13 more in the stash. Yikes. I am so far behind...





Lastly we have my ornament for the ornie exchange. This is part of someone else's design and my own. I added the Loudoun Sampler Guild in place of the name on the design. Happy with how this turned out.