July 9, 2019 Tuesday

The First Day of My Remodeled Website

Permanent Resolutions for Stitchers

1.  Take all the pent-up anxiety about perfection and redirect that energy toward creativity. Open up your minds and think of creative  possibilities you can bring to your needlework, ways that will personalize it and make it distinctly yours.  Here are two ways to start:

Oops you made a mistake and you face a lot of ripping.

Ask yourself, is it really a mistake or a variation?

You do have to rip if you crossed most of your crosses in one direction and suddenly you started crossing them in the other direction, yep no way around that. Why? The real reason for good technique is that it allows all your attention to focus on your design (where it should be).

You don't have to rip if you made a leaf one row bigger than the design called for. This is obsessive behavior that needs redirecting.

You do need to rip if you make something so large it is out of scale with the rest of the design; you do not have to rip if it is barely noticeable.

You do not have to rip if you mixed up colors and the design is not exactly as the designer's model. For heaven's sake, if it looks OK, stop obsessing.

You do have to rip if a color or texture is not in harmony with the rest of the design.

You do not have to throw away a design if you run out of a dye lot.

If it looks like you are headed toward thread shortage, don't use the thread to the last strand, save at least 1/4 of it. Buy some more and decide where and how to introduce the new dyelot. I actually prefer to work with multiple dyelots. If you pay attention to lights and darks etc., they can bring an added depth to your design.

2. In memory of Audrey Francini, my generation's greatest needlewoman, slow down. Needlework is not a speed contest. Audrey was the slowest stitcher I have known. She was also the best. I have a couple of great stories about Audrey and her speed, I'll tell them in the next couple of mornings.

3. Forget about the Needlepoint Police. They don't exist except in their minds. You may meet people who think they know it all. Good for them, I applaude their confidence, but I don't buy into it.

I have probably told this story a dozen times but it is worth telling again and again. Years ago a friend wrote to me and asked, will this Kreinik braid look good with this silk?

I replied, beats me, try it and see.

Friend: whadaya mean you don't know, you're the teacher.

My reply: if the Immortal Artists Of The Western World don't know without trying, how would I, one mere mortal needlework teacher? (There's a bit more to thsi story too, I'll tell the rest another time).

All this goes to say once again, there is no real right and wrong, there are problems of course. The best way to find solutions is to think creatively.

Those are my New Year's Stitching Resolutions for 2021, still good for 2022, 2023 and for 2024.

Reminders for me as well as for all of you.

June 9 2026 Tuesday

I am busy caregiving and stitching. I've been worried about my husband who hasn't been well, but our doctor says he will be fine. I hope so.  

So I've been dispensing pills, etc. and stitching inbetween. The stitching helps. I decided the time had come to start a big new project. I'm not making a lot of headway but it is lovely to hold a needle. For now it is enough.

June 7 2026 Sunday

I have been absent from business; currently I am a caregiver. In short, I have a sick husband and sick husbands need a lot of time. It will be a while, but everything points to his recovery, but for now he is on some heavy duty meds. So my productivity is way down.

Excuse to stitch.

June 1, 2026 Monday

June is here, usually June gloom for us, but I like it that way, not too hot!

I wasn't going to do it but I did: I made a new Patriotic Heart to celebrate our Anniversary: 1776-2026.  Here's a hint: I was greatly influenced by my facebook feed and decided I just had to do it!

So now I have to find a time to offer it. Do I sell just it or do I offer some more Patriotica? Energy and Organization? One item in the sale or can I get it together for more?

Is there a Betsy kit around here? A Betsy Sewing Case? Anthem Hearts? My original Patriotic Heart, now 20 years old?

Next week I will decide. I need a week off first....

May 29, 2026 Thursday

Productive day yesterday as I sorted out some things and planned the coming days. The good news is, I should catch up over the weekend ahead and do my final mailing on Monday or Tuesday.

My major task is taking care of a handful of people who ordered patterns from me and they live outside the U.S. I didn't see their addresses till I was packing last week.

I have a good example of why I have long given up shipping outside the U.S.  I have a goodcustomer who has made it easy for me, but this time the shipping company returned the package to me.

I plan to spend this afternoon on the phone (I will give it 3 hours of robots) and one more trip to the shop.  I have already spent 5 hours on the phone and gone three times down to the shop.

From now on I will double my resolution: the only way I will ship outside the U.S. is for customers to use shipito.com or some other forwarding company. As a single proprietor business, I just don't have hours and hours of time it takes to deal with overseas packages.

May 28, 2026 Thursday

I am back at work parttime and I am finally to the point where I can catch up, I hope. Sick husband is almost well, a bit more time and attention. As I wrote earlier, I am so relieved that it isn't serious. We aren't getting any younger...

Competing with work: vast temptation to pick up my needle and just shove out what needs doing for the day, but I won't do that. I plan to 'earn' an hour at the end of the day. No progress on work, no needle. Any of you ever bargained with yourself this way?

Patriotica coming in 2026 as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S.

My Mail Jail Truck for keeping track of deadlines.