I love to fly. Love it. I purposely choose flights with connections just so I can do the takeoff and landing thing twice each way. When I was a kid I used to wish I was a bird although a bit of therapy sorted that out (kidding), and I settled for flying in airplanes. The best are the personal planes (i.e. Piper Cub) which are not much bigger than a mini van but since I generally have to fly commercially, it’s a treat when I catch a flight on a 50-seat Embraer:
This cloud shot was taken on the second leg of my trip into Abq. (the smaller planes don’t fly above cloud level) and it looks a little darker than it really was. But goodness, couldn’t you just step outside and walk across that landscape of clouds? I’m looking forward to the time when I’m in Heaven (assuming that’s where I’ll wind up) and I can look down on this forever. Just amazing beauty.
I also love the texture of the New Mexico mountain ranges as seen the air, and the way that Albuquerque appears so suddenly, just on the West side of the Sandias and Monzanos:
Unfortunately my view on the flight out of Abq. was not so good, so I buried my nose in a book. It was a bummer to be stuck next to an engine while many of the people with a clear view didn’t even pause to appreciate the scenery. What’s wrong with people that they don’t admire their surroundings?
“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” — Leonardo da Vinci
When I am in Albuquerque, I always stay at my Mother-in-Law’s house (1.) because I enjoy her company and (2.) because it’s free. During my visits, her sewing room becomes my sleeping room. I’ve had plenty of opportunity to admire her sewing machine:
My MIL is an old school needlewoman; she has used this treadle machine since she was tall enough to reach the pedal, and continues to use it regularly to this day. She has made dolls, quilts, wedding dresses, and everything else imaginable on this old Singer… she’s quite talented. And guess what else? She has some great original documents to go with it. Here’s one of them:
The sewing machine was delivered by wagon to the family’s home in Chilili, New Mexico in 1930. My MIL actually has a picture of the occasion… how cool is that?! Check it out:
I have lots more photos of the trip to share, though none as historically interesting as these. My daughter sent her little Webkinz, Cheese, with me on the trip as my travel companion and he had a few adventures along the way which I documented for her… I’ll have Cheese’s Travelogue posted soon. Here he is snuggled in my tote on the day of departure:
Today’s simple pleasure: discovering I can still do a pretty good cartwheel or two.
I must apologize for posting such a picture without giving any information, but I was dashing off to New Mexico to see about my uncle who had been sent to the hospital. I was also trying to get as much done for the online show as I could before I left, and to top it off, my Katie disappeared so I was a bit beside myself with stress and worry from all angles! All is well, though… I’m home now, Katie has returned unharmed, Uncle Jim is back snug as a bug in his nursing home, and I’m making progress with getting show orders ready to ship.
But what you really want to know is what’s the deal with that ginormous sampler I posted a picture of last time, right? Well, it was done by a French designer, Françoise Marchadier, who specializes in BIG samplers. The picture on today’s post is another piece that she did (you can click on it to magnify, and I think you should because it’s awesome) while the picture on my last post was taken at an Expo in Brunoy. Françoise does not seem to have many (any?) charts available for sale, but I found one of her books listed on Amazon. I have heard that she is no longer exhibiting due to a tragedy that took place just before her last expo but if anyone has other information about her or links to her charts, I hope you’ll share in the comments here.
Can you imagine?! This photo just makes me want to grab a yard of linen and start stitching! I wonder how much I could get done in this lifetime…
***Sunday’s doorprize winner: Retha B. from GA***
**another re-post, I know. The information is still good, though :)
Ever wonder why a popular line of hand dyed thread doesn’t have a blanket conversion to DMC colors? It can be virtually impossible to give accurate conversions when colors vary from one dye lot to the next! What works well for one design may not (and probably won’t) work well for another.
Picture “designer A” and “designer B” both using the same hand-dyed color (Blueberry) in their designs. They are the same color, but from different dye lots and look fairly different– one is bright blue and one is much lighter blue. If the designers do not provide DMC conversions and the stitcher is left to refer to a blanket conversion for the thread line, one of the blues will obviously not match. Or worse, if the conversion was done by someone holding yet another dye lot (a medium blue this time) neither stitcher will get an accurate conversion.
It’s always best for the designer to provide the conversions on their charts. When I do my conversions, I lay out all of the DMC on the fabric (do a floss toss) to make sure that the DMC version looks cohesive. That way, the stitchers who prefer to use DMC will always get a nice finish even if one of the DMCs does not exactly match the skein of hand-dyed thread. I would think that most conscientious designers do it this way.
Sometimes there is just no DMC equivalent available. Some of the hand-dyed threads can be so wildly variegated, there’s just no substitute. In that case, it’s probably best just to buy the called for color if you want the look to be the same. Of course, it may be more fun just to do your own thing, too!
***Today’s doorprize winner is Katrina H. from TX***
(copied from Kendra’s blog)
1.) How do you hold your fabric? I stitch in hand so I roll the fabric up from the left side and hold the roll with my left hand.
2) Floss licker? yes!
3) How do you thread your needle? With spit and patience. I usually lick the ends, try to poke it through the eye, mangle one or two strands, cut off the mangled end, lick it again, and so on.
5) Are you a needle loser? not really…I think I’ve lost 1 in my stitching life
6) What fabric do you prefer to stitch on? linen; Belfast & Country French are my faves but I also sometimes stitch on Aida, and I like evenweaves, too. A better question for me would probably be, “which fabric do you dislike” and I’d have to answer the afghan fabric is (so far) the only one I really detest.
7) Bobbins or floss bags? neither! Here’s a post (with pictures) of how I store my floss
8) Are you a scissors collector? well, sort of. I guess. I have about 16 pairs, I think.
9) Do you do your own framing, and if so, do you lace or pin? Yep, I do my own. I have used both methods… depends on the size and intended use of the piece.
10) Are you a floss floozy? I’ve never heard this expression! What does it mean? I probably am one anyway.
11) Silk? Love it… I don’t stitch with it much, but I love the feel of it :)
12) Railroader? almost never! (I’m a messy stitcher)
13) Are you a pattern or designer snob? I don’t think so… I like (and buy!) a wide variety of designs
14) Do you get antsy when you give someone a stitched gift? No. I continue to give my family stitched gifts, although I’m never quite sure they wouldn’t rather have something ‘bought’. I guess it’s because it’s something I can do, and enjoy doing. It’s really a way of giving of myself; even if they don’t see it that way, the meaning is there.
15) Have you reached S.A.B.L.E.? even I had nine lives like a cat, I could never stitch all the charts I have!
16) Do you wash your projects? Hmmm. I’m not against the idea, I just haven’t needed to so far.
Anyone else do this one?
***Thursday’s doorprize winner was Sharon C. from Kansas***
I just got the call from home that Katie has returned and she is fine! (DH said she was eating a BIG breakfast) She must have been in the house, but where ?! Five of us searched the house from top to bottom at least 3 times… cats! The worst part was imagining all the awful things that could happen to her outside; I’m SO relieved that she is back!
My uncle is on the mend as well, and has been given the OK to transfer back to the nursing home! I’ll be spending the majority of my time over there, but with the danger passing (and the stress greatly relieved) I feel as though I can enjoy my surroundings a bit more. It’s so pretty here; when the sun rises over the mountains, I feel like God is saying “good morning” to me :)
Thank You for all of your prayers, caring comments, and emails!
**Wednesday’s needlework show doorprize winner is Karla from NY**
