Thursday, February 19, 2009

Start on Shores of Hawk Run Hollow


Right about now, I'd like to be on the Shores of somewhere - no, not the lakes around Michigan - it's raw, windy and somewhat snowy today - but somewhere warm, sunny - like the Carribean! But I'm settling for the Shores of Hawk Hollow (sorry for the somewhat dark picture - it's cloudy here today and I can't seem to get a good shot). I couldn't stand it any longer and made a start on it last night. And I'm lovin' it! Yes, I removed Frances from the scroll rods as my new ones still have not shown up yet.

Speaking of things I've ordered, absolutely nothing has arrived yet. AUGHHHHH!!! My hope was that they'd arrive before DH took a few days off. Just my luck, it will arrive by the truckloads while he's home (make note - ambush postman at the corner, then throw the stuff in the back of my car before walking back into the house). Not that I'm going to start anything right this minute, but there's just something about opening the envelopes and caressing that new stash. It's such a great feeling!

I should admit that I did receive a couple things, but both were ordered before market - A Petit Sampling Etui, the collaboration project by Cherished Stitches, Praiseworthy Stitches, The Stitching Parlor and With My Needle; and I received an orphan from Shakespeare's Peddler by Tournicoton (I'll post pics next week). Now both require assembly after finishing. What am I thinking? Yes, I know I sew - I make quilts, used to drive myself nuts making those Daisy Kingdom dresses for my daughter for all those special occasions and all the Halloween costumes, but to do hand sewing of any kind goes against my grain. Just ask my husband when he needs a button sewn on!

DH can't understand this. I sew and cross stitch, therefore, I hand sew. No, I hate it. See, he thinks that because I cut pieces of fabric for quilts into 2,400 pieces and then sew them back together again that I do hand sewing. No, this isn't the same thing. I sew them on a sewing machine - not too much hand sewing required except for the binding. I try to explain, but he doesn't understand me (what else is new?). He thinks I'm totally wacko for taking perfectly good pieces of fabric and cutting them into a million shapes (how much a yard did you pay for that fabric???????? And you're cutting it up like that??????) . What he doesn't understand is that there is a sense of accomplishment in cutting those pieces out and putting them back together in some sort of pattern. And then when it's done, it's done. Something that I've found, is a wonderful thing. When has it ever happened that you've cleaned the house and it's stayed that way more than an hour after the kids get home? Well, a quilt stays together forever and there are usually memories tied into that. And a piece of cross stitch stays around forever and there are also memories associated with that. I can look at a piece of cross stitch that I've done and tell you what was going on in my life or my kids' lives at that time. It's almost like a timeline. And there is that wonderous feeling of accomplishment. That you made something yourself. It's also for me, a time that I'm the calmest and in my own little world!

Okay, I started rambling. Sorry! Anyway, maybe with one of these new designs I'll actually break down and do some hand sewing and put something together. It's helped that I've found quite a few tutorials on the internet.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

3 comments:

Patricia Lessell said...

Deb I love the color fabric you are stitching SOHRH on and am so tempted but ATS has to come first - I have been threatening to do this for so long now. The other thing is I really want to stitch HOHRH but that will have to wait too. I love what you have done so far and understand completely about dh and the mailman. Unfortunately my dh is retired and ALWAYS sees what comes through the door. Lots of Love Patti xxx

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Oooh, Deb! Great start on Shores - love your pic with the bottle. Yep, I understand too about the mailman... actually, buying anything new. Men just don't get it. Although.... I'll say to Rob something like "Uh, yeah, how much do you have invested in baseball cards and other memorabilia? When was the last time you looked at that and really enjoyed it?" He doesn't usually have a good answer so generally, he doesn't give me a hard time about my purchases. Truth is though, he has no real idea how much this all costs. Might be another story if he did.......
Peace,
Terri

Siobhán said...

Yeah, what Terri said--but switch the baseball to golf and you'd have the exchange here in our house! We operate a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy here and it works pretty well. I can remember times when the mail has come, though, with a big order for me... I remember days of lying in wait for the mailman, intercepting a package and sending it sailing behind a chair just in the nick of time. LOL What they don't know doesn't hurt them, I say!!

As for the stitching/quilting & thus you must be good at sewing hems and buttons and so on, we have that conversation here, too! I just tell people that I don't do functional things, just ornamental. LOL

Love your start on SoHRH!! I am working on my block and loving it. I love Kathy's color sense!