Blackwork Scaredy-Cat! Plus another one...

[Fljotsdale]

Sparkly paper behind a project? That sounds like a nice idea! I'll try that, Cindy. Thank you!

How are you today?

[TeamSnafu]

you would be surprized what you learn over 35 yrs stitching. i started with a very well self tought grammy she wanted to pass her gift to someone since no-one wanted to learn from grammy but me she had all her extra time teaching me everything she knew. brilliant stuffi had 75 yrs of training in cross stitching knitting crochteing needle work lace work i never had to pick up a book or read information on packets unless their was other sticthes to learn brilliant crafts to learn as for the sparkle paper my husband was trying to sparkle up pop's train without out messing up the stitching we did this and wow it came trough like little sparkles like if you added some metalic threads everywhere just minor enough to notice when the light hits it right. when i find the pic i'll take a pic of it we just had a new kitchen done now a new bathroom so the house is upside down right now... and as for how i am just fine but my old bones hurts with the snow we had last night. how are you today? (by the way i learned from 8 yrs and onwards.

Cindy

[Fljotsdale]

What a wonderful grandmother to have! I think your grandmother was a wonderfully talented woman to be able to do all that! Mine only taught me to knit! And to keep my fingers away from her cooking, lol!

My mom taught me embroidery, but I wasn't very good at it, just passable. She tried to get me to do tapestry as well, but I wasn't interested 'cos all the pics were deadly boring from my point of view. And they taught me to sew, and darn - boring stuff!

I was middle-aged by the time I came to cross stitch and crochet. I'm still not confident with crochet, mostly because I never did much, but I still have some filet crochet I did somewhere, and a little table mat with an 'irish' rose on it that I stll feel qite proud of, even though it's a bit crooked! Oh, and a crochet blanket I made. Still use it, actually, when the weather is cold.

I'd quite like to do lace. It looks really complicated!

And I will try that sparkly paper idea when I have a suitable pic for it.

How can you get anything done with the house upside down!? And yes it IS darn cold with the snow! My feet are cold as we speak! But I'm glad you are feeling ok.

Did you have your appointment with the eye specialist yet?

[TeamSnafu]

i posted my pics in gallery of the christmas paper behind it and the chruch i made my own desigh and 2 other pics i did have a loo tell me what you think. yeah i have another eye appointment at the end of the mont hopefully they can tell me whats wrong and what they can do other wise i will have to make charts with designs instead of colour. i hope you like the pics i posted i didnt know how to post them onto a post not that good with this part of computering lol when we go through boxes i'll post pics that i made most i did my own i try to convert something into my own stuff take a piece from something add to another and so on til i think it's finished. as for lacing it's like crotcheing with tiny needles easy to pick up i think i had it lucky being self taught. you should try tapstry a small project you like i'm sure you'll do great on it if it's something you like even if it's the kids projects you can learn it mostly long stitch and then backstitching alot of nice projects out there.

[Mabel Figworthy]

I like the church design very much, and it's a lovely touch having the edelweis in the border!

[Fljotsdale]

The sparkle really shows on those trains! Very effective! And your other pics are lovely too. Like Mabel, I especially like the church you designed yourself - nice, simple clean lines make it very effective.

I do hope the eye specialist can help, Cindy. I'm not a religious person, but my very sincere good hopes that everything works out. Do let us know how things progress.

I can do tapestry ok now Cindy! When my mom died she left behind a partly completed tapestry of "When did you last see your father"; I have almost finished it, now, only have a few faces left to do - they are 1 over 1 - and then it will be complete. But mom died over 10 years ago! I have been putting it off and putting it off! In the end, I bought a couple of small/medium-sized tapestry kits (one of a bird on a branch, and the more ambitious one of a couple of cats on a table with bookshelves behind them that I actually liked. The bird was ok, the cats were a pleasure. I gave both to my best friend.
So, with those under my belt, I tackled mom's tapestry - though I have to admit I have not touched it for months. Mom's taste and mine don't agree! But I MUST finish it - there is hardly any left to do - if only to free up the floor frame for my own stuff!

[TeamSnafu]

i thought you might like the small projects i designed i found the austrian flower added them to the chruch and addsd verigated thread for the sky the wedding were 4 different pics the train i did to show my husband how to stitch to show him he can be creative he did well but didnt want to finish so i did 1/2 and he's scared to backstitch any projests he does i know i have to finish oh well small price to pay for him to get interested. frank lost his mum nov 04 his dad jan o5 i lost my mun dec10 03 last time i saw my dad he came here in sept 04 got to meet mun and pop. i hope you get to finish your projects if you need help with finishing them i could give you my address and you can send and i'll finish it off for you and would do it for just the joy of crafting pm me we can chat

Cindy

[Fljotsdale]

I can really empathise with you both over losing such close family members. I myself lost my only brother, my dad and my mom all in a 15mth period. It was quite a shock to lose my brother - he was only 60 (stomach cancer) - but dad we were expecting; mom was something of a surprise, too. She had told none of us that her cancer had come back and spread, and she hadn't lost any weight at all, and continued doing what she always did, so we didn't know she was ill.
She told me two weeks before she died, and asked me to come stay with her, which I did - but it wasn't until three days before she died that she finally went to bed and let herself be looked after. Stubborn, independent woman! I'm rather proud of her.

Cindy - thank you so much for your offer of help! I really appreciate it! But, you know, I'm a bit of an independent woman myself, and I like to carry my work right through to the end on my own.
When I first started, I used to get a framer to frame my stuff, but now I do everything myself, and enjoy it. It gives such a feeling of satisfaction to know I did it all!
The only thing I've not done yet is design my own pictures. But the 'wanting to' is there, so I don't think it'll be long before I have a go!

Big gentle

[TeamSnafu]

no problem just an offer to get you WIP list down i know what you mean you started it you want the joy of finishing it but the offer stands if anyone need help catching up i'll help out no problems.

cindy

[Fljotsdale]

You are such a kind lady, Cindy.

[TeamSnafu]

i try it seems that if you treat everyone like you would want to be treated it seems to be a nice feeling all the way around. not just this time of the year all year long. i have time on my hands i do all sorts of crafts so i dont get bored.

We are all just a stitch in time
Cindy

[Fljotsdale]

I think there is a childrens' book called 'A stitch in Time.' by Penelope Lively. It's a childrens' book, but I think you would like it, Cindy.

Yes, treating others as you would like to be treated yourself, is the best of all ways to live, imo. Mrs Do-as-you-would-be-done-by from The Water Babies. And Jesus, from the bible. Though I'm not a believer, the principles he taught are unbeatable.

[TeamSnafu]

so what else do you have plan to do martin. i'm doing a few cows and the working on the teacher i stopped it to do some charity stitching i dont want you to think i was pushing religion onto anyone i just see people intwined with each other like a piece of material we find out about each other through sites like this and become friends and now i'm on a different chapter in my life. not to offend anyone

it was a saying grammy said a stitch in time see where the next stitch takes us.

thats all. if i offended anyone sorry wasnt meant to be

Cindy

[Fljotsdale]

You haven't offended me, Cindy! I like finding out about people, too. I'm not religious, but I don't have any objections to whatever beliefs anyone has. We are all different, and have different outlokks and experiences, and it's good to get to understand different points of view.

My granny always said "A stitch in time saves nine", meaning if you mend something when it's first damaged it's easier than mending when it's got worse.

The book I mentioned just takes that saying and turns it into a story. A good story, too.