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.

January 22, 2026, Thursday

My hiatus is over and I am returning to work today. As soon as I repair two packages, I will get on with Wait Lists. I am woefully behind but I will work to catch up soon as I can.

I have all beads together for all the kits I promised, now I just have to do the threads and have the patterns printed. More in a few days.

January 17, 2026, Saturday

This next week I will try to return to work. I know I owe a handful of repairs to several of you and I will try and send them toward the end of the coming week.

January 13, 2026, Tuesday

Word is, another week or so of rest, then I will be back. I am working gently on making kits. Mess still laps around me but I've chosen to make kits and ignore the chaos for the time being.

If houses were just not so expensive I would buy two more:

One called Needlepoint Inn, one called Bead Inn. As real estate doesn't seem to be changing downward, I will just dream on.

The downside is chaos of too many threads and beads, the upside is a series of new designs I can't wait to make!

January 10, 2026, Saturday

Still away from work, it will be a while longer. Impatient on my part, but this too shall pass and I will be back again.

During my rest I have been drawing quite a bit, drawing and surfing for beads (yes, more beads). My efforts have resulted in 5 new hearts and one big drawing. Not new, I have been working for some time on these drawings, but this time I have done quite a lot of refining.

And I've found more beads. Too many more beads.  I haven't made much progress on sorting and filing; I did tell DH that I need another house, maybe two. I was thinking that Needlepoint Inn and Bead Inn could be a duplex on one property.

DH's opinion: Dream on, Gay Ann....

January 8, 2026, Thursday

I am  back from my personal chores and I need to take a couple of days of rest, then I will start tackling Wait Lists. More clean up will just have to wait a while longer.

At this point I do not know how many orders I can fill, but I will start work. It all depends of supplies I have and whether I can order more to fill in blanks. All to be seen.

Work ahead, it is true, but pleasant not taxing work.

January 4, 2026, Sunday

As time allows right now (mostly early mornings and late afternoons, I am trying too bring some order to my life so that I won't have chaos lapping around me everywhere when I tackle Wait Lists.

CLEAN-UP

Do any of you have good ideas how to handle ALL your STASH? If so I would love to hear any hints.

January 3, 2026, Saturday

For a long time I had planned to spend January dealing with Wait Lists from my October Sale, but then a bit of life intruded on my plans and I have some personal chores to deal with until January 10.  I am fine, DH is fine, and I will be back and working on Wait Lists likely on January 10.

Thank you to those of you who wrote to me concerned because I had not kept up my website for a while. Everything kind of just overwhelmed me, but I am busy straighteneing it all out.

Once again, Happy New Year!

January 1, 2026, Happy New Year!

I had not realized how long I had not updated my website until

I had a note from Marilyn P.  I apologize: among my last package mailings, my own personal deadlines and the holidays I got too distracted.

I am back now with many plans for this coming  year, but first I have a personal task that will take me until January 10. After that we will have wait lists, hopefully a small sale of smalls in February, a Patriotica Celebration Sale in July and Armada will arrive in October.

Do not miss my home page today and see what Svetlana di with Dowager in the Evening! A treat of Creativity to start 2026.

We are immersed in rain, here in SoCal and our house is completely fogged in, an inauspicious beginning to say the least.

But this year should prove an interesting one on so many fronts. We shall see how it all unfolds.

Yes, sorry about my absense. I am back now.

December 21, 2025, Sunday

Always a special day each year, for today is the shortest day of the year; after today the days start growing longer. Yes, it takes a while to make a difference in the length of daylight hours but it starts after today.

Also I always remember a special stitching friend for today was her birthday. It was also the day she died, so for a double reason. It has been so many years ago, but I still remember.

And Christmas is just around the corner, and after Christmas, the New Year.  I am working now on making kits and we will deal with Wait Lists from last October in January.

Busy time of year. I am busy in pariticular trying to clean up from my sale. Will I succeed in finding a place for everything and everything in its place? I doubt it but hope always springs eternal, and it is likely I will still be trying next year at this time.

December 20, 2025, Saturday

Except for one stitcher I'm waiting to hear from, I am caught up.  I know I promised Wait Lists to people and I will have them in January. It may take me a while because I am still cleaning up from my Sale in October. It shouldn't take too long.

December 18, 2025, Thursday

I heard this morning that my copies of Drawn Thread Sampler are ready and I will pick them up shortly. I will send them later this afternoon or tomorrow depending on the post office. If the lines are out the doors due to last minute Christmas rush, I will wait till after Christmas to send them.

I am a bit wary of packages getting lost at this time of year, but I must say, with modern tracking numbers, the post office rarely loses anything. Still, better safe than sorry.

December 17, 2025, Wednesday

It is so close to Christmas! As soon as copies of Drawn Thread Sampler are ready I will mail them, unless the line is out the door at the post office with last minute Christmas packages.  If that is the case, I will mail the packages the day after Christmas. Will see and will report here.

December 14, 2025, Sunday

The deadline for ordering Drawn Thread Sampler instructions has come and gone. I will order more copies on Monday morning and mail them soon as the print shop prints them. It should be on Thursday or Friday.

If the post office is simply overwhelmed with Chirstmas mailings, I will wait till the day after Christmas to send the packages.  I will post on my home page the date I mail the packages.

December 13, 2025, Saturday

For those of you who have sent me birthday wishes, thank you, yes, today is my birthday. I have a happy day planned and am just finishing up business before I take the day off.

First, a couple of people were so disappointed that I opened up Drawn Thread Sampler instructions sale and will keep it open until midnight tonight.  I will order more sets of the instructions on Monday morning and hope to mail them on Thursday morning.  If the post office is terribly overwhelmed, I will mail them right after Christmas.  I will post my decision as I make it, so you will know what to expect.

Over the holidays I plan to make more kits for my Wait List from my October Sale and I will tend to the list after the New Year. There, that's today in my business world.

Now I have promised myself a birthday present and I am off to enjoy it: I have a free day (ie no guilt) to shop for beads, whatever catches my fancy!  My sister is coming for lunch and a couple of hours, and then I will start bead shopping....

December 12, 2025, Friday

I have started the long process of cleaning up from my Sale, now that I have finished shipping. I have a scattered number of patterns left and I thought I would post them and see if someone wants any of them. The first one: my Drawn Thread Sampler, instructions only, 140 pages long. A short course on cutwork, the sampler is technically the most difficult of all the projects I taught in my travel teaching days.

If anyone would like it, please write to me.  Only one.

December 11, 2025, Thursday

I am guessing that nearly all packages have arrived. Please check the contents -- I see the first deadline for reporting mistakes is coming up: the 15th of December for all packages mailed on or before 15th of November.

I am eager to get on with life, namely cleanup around here so that I can eventually stitch again. I have 6 new designs, 4 are ready to stitch, I just need some space to start pulling out things anew.

In cleaning up, I have found one of this, two of that, and I decided I should try and sell them. Gradually....

December 9, 2025, Tuesday

I hope packages continue to arrive and you are busy checking them. The deadline for reporting mistakes is December 15, 2025. For those of you whose packages I mailed after November 15, 2025, you have a month from the date I mailed your package.

Please check carefully. All information you need is available by revisiting my October Sale. See Yellow Navigation Bar 'EWEEK SALE 2025. Notice it is above my avatar 'To Contact Me'.

December 8, 2025, Monday

My Sale is finished. Again, thank you for coming to it, and remember, please check your packages carefully. Report any mistakes asap and I will fix them.  I do make mistakes but to my knowledge, I have always repaired them.

December 5, 2025, Friday

I mailed more packages yesterday and see that I am finally reaching the end. I will work through the weekend and mail the last packages likely next Tuesday.

I want to reach The End of Mail Jail, then I wish to pick up and sort through what remains and begin work on my Wait Lists.

I see that I have some extra patterns, one of this, two of that.

If there is something you wish you had ordered from my sale, email me, I might have it.

Re Echoes, Portrait of Elizabeth, Elizabeth's Heart, Anne Boleyn's Heart and Henry's Heart, I have some supplies for all of them, the question is always the same: how many?  I will answer that in the next couple of weeks after I finish the last of Mail Jail.

Meanwhile, looking ahead: I hope to have a lot of time to stitch, soon as I bring some order to our house (always chaos when I have a Sale). I have 6 ideas I want to work on. I have sketches for 2, I want to work on sketches for 4 more. Busy times ahead!

December 4, 2025, Thursday

I am about to start packing and printing shipping labels. I hoped I would finish tomorrow but it will likely take me till next Monday or Tuesday.

Once I finish, I plan to take a few days to clean up the aftermath of my sale, see what I have, see what I think I can make, then I will start working on Wait Lists.

I think I have a few extra patterns, one of this, two of that -- I always end up short of one, long on another. I have had emails asking if I have any extras; I won't really know for a couple of days. I know, for example that I have one last copy of my big (and difficult) whitework sampler.

Some of my very very large orders are in the mail and should be arriving in the next few days. Please check them carefully to make sure you have everything.

December 2, 2025, Tuesday

I am about to start printing shipping labels and if all goes well (ie my machines decide this is a good day to work well together) I will have a good number of packages on their way to the post office/

I am still waiting for a few patterns from my print shop. They are running a little behind, but I should have the patterns within the next couple of days and I should finish on Friday.

Thank you one and all for your patiience, I know I am not Amazon. Remember to check the contents to make sure you have everything and report any problems to me straight away.

December 1, 2025, Monday

This year went by so fast! I have trouble thinking that 2025 is almost over. Never mind 2025, I can't fathom that the first quarter of the 21century is now past. How can that be and how did DH and I grow so old?

Never mind, time passes and hopefully we make the most of it. I have been so  busy with my sale that I haven't picked up a needle in two months.  I plan to do that soon and hope you will join me.

I have been packing, it is true, but I have also been thinking ahead to the time I can stitch again, and I have thought up a handful of new designs. I've sketched the first and I've been shopping for beads (just what I need: more beads....) I've been bribing myself: so many hours of packing and then I can shop for half an hour. Good exchange, don't you think.

So my mailbox has been filled with beads and I've lately bribed myself again: so many hours packing and then half hour to play with my new beads.

I am impatient to get to the point where I can draw designs and start stitching them. As I wrote, I hope you will join me.

November 30, 2025, Last Day of November

Tomorrow we start the last month of the year. I halted shipping through the holiday, now I will start shipping again and I am near the end.

I am missing a couple of patterns and hopefully the print shop will print them for me early in the week, then I will finish by the end of this week.

Once I finish the October Sale, I will start preparing for Wait List requests, but it will probably be 2 weeks before I have any news about those patterns and kits

I will be back with more updates tomorrow

November 27, 2025, Thanksgiving

Have a super day today.

Next shipping is Tuesday, December 2.

I

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

Deadline for reporting mistakes (shortages, etc.) December 15, 2025 or one month from shipping date.

Deadline for reporting mistakes (shortages, etc.) December 15, 2025 or one month from shipping date.