And In the Beginning......

I recently started to read everyone's blogs. They are all amazing. My hat is off to my fellow artisans, as your work is incomparable! Most of the blogs are quite entertaining and charming. I started this blog for peace of mind and for a place to share knowledge collected over the years. I hope to get input from all who read it. I'd love it to become a symposium of sorts, where stitching and music and discussed at length. I hope to learn from some, as well as to instruct others.

You do understand that what we do is not merely a hobby....a diversion.....a folksy craft. What we do is a form of art. We paint with our needles. This is evident through the number of needleworkers that change fabric, color, floss type or even portions of the original chart. This makes us all artists. It is our artistic eye or voice that makes us alter the existing composition.

Also, some of our fellow artisans have blogs. Many are humorous, some are created to post vents and/or debates, some are used as diaries to be read by the public and commented on. And some are also written by people that use flowery prose, quotes from "Wordmasters" and filled with delightful insights. Faor all these reasons, I feel bloggers are their own kind of wordsmiths. They are artists in their own right.

Bloggers and stitchers, you are my muses. You inspired me to begin my own written saga, so to speak. I hope to have much interaction. Let us pretend we meet daily at a little sidewalk Italian Restorante, a bistro in Paris or a wonderful cafe in Cobh, Ireland, to discuss our mutal passions. Join me, please.

Perhaps a introduction would be in order. I am a 47 year old woman from the Cleveland, Ohio area. I have children, a home, a dog and a loving, gregarious and spiritual family. I work. I am educated. I am well traveled. I love to do mnay forms of needlework such as hardanger, crocheting, cross stitch, crewel, needlepoint, black work, petit pointe and embroidery. I am even teaching myself to knit....slllllooooooowwwwwllllllyyyyyy.

I love to cook. I love music (all kinds but mostly swing, classical, jazz and blues). I love reading too. I love the classics, Bleak House, Shakespeare (all),Don Quixote, A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, War & Peace, and many modern writers as Anne Rice, J.R.R. Tolkein, Terry Brooks, Stephen King...just to name a few. I love to sketch. I love to travel. And I absolutely love gardening.

I hope to get a loom one day. That way I can weave my own fabrics. I would also like to learn the art of Batik. I love the art of canning and preserving. It is a very satisfying hobby. I love the see the jewel colored jars of jams and jellys lining the shelves.

Right now I am working on several projects. I must complete a few before I start any more.

I am working on:
Goldenwood by Ruth Sanderson, created by Heaven and Earth Designs.
Rico Table Topper with Dandelions.
Pretty in Pink by Lorri Birmingham - hardanger table topper.
Rocky Mountain Christmas by Marty Bell, created by Pegasus Originals.
AND I have to back stitch Fortunate Traveller by Teresa Wentzler and Tulip Time by Marty Bell.

And can someone please explain to me why I hate to back stitch but I love blackwork? Go Figure!

I love John James Petite Needles - #28. I also love Piecemakers too. I love 28 ct Jobelan fabric. I want a complete set of Vicki Clayton Silks. I have a complete set of DMC cotton and their variegated. I almost have a complete set of Six Strand Sweets. Some people are fabric junkies but I am a floss junky. My goal in life is to own a complete set of all of the different fibers (metallics, silks, perles and blending filaments) made. I LOVE FIBERS!

I have a stitching stand, scroll rods, hoops (both wooden & plastic) and q snaps. I love my plastic 6" hoop. I know. I know. But I don't stitch on linen, therefore it is not an issue. I love scissors but only have 3 pairs. I want a few more styles yet. I love my laying tool. It fits in hand, however I want the one that fits on the tip of my finger. I just hope I don't poke my eye out, not thinking. LOL

I do not railroad my stitches. Again, I know....but I just don't see any difference. I use a laying tool when I use silk. I only use Thread Heaven occasionally and actually I could live without it. I LICK MY FLOSS!

My favorite charts comes from Heaven and Earth Designs, Mystic Stitch, Pegasus Originals (Marty Bell), Chatelaine, My Big Toe Designs, Long Dog Samplers, Anagram Diffusion, Permin, Teresa Wentzler, Scarlet Quince, Golden Kite, Moira Blackburn and Eva Rosentand. Have you seen her beautiful Table Clothes? To die for! However at over $300.00 for the entire kit, it again will have to wait.

I have picked out a chart that I think will be my opus, once I retire...another 20 years. LOL As of today, I think it will be the chart done my Golden Kite. The artist is Thomas Moran and it titled Autumnal Woods. It is simply glorious. However at $70.00 for the chart, it will wait a little while longer. The most I have every spent on a single chart was $30.00. It was for Namesake Sampler by My Big Toe Designs. It was done as a tribute to my Great Grandmother, Maria Dinicolantio. It was done in black cotton floss and red, gold, green and blue rayon floss. It also utilized gold and red seed beads. It is complete but not framed yet.

Well, that is all for today. I hope to come back and post again tomorrow. Hello and welcome to you all. I hope to hear from you.