Resurrecting the Blog

Well, it's been a few years.  A lot's been going on, but not a lot of stitching.  Virtually everyone who reads this is family or close friends, so they know what's been happening, but I'll give a little recap:  Since I last posted, I've hiked the Grand Canyon and Isle Royale, broken my leg--on the stairs, not on a hike--had a pulmonary embolism, and lost my mom. 

I've gone months at a time without stitching, which is really sad, because stitching is what keeps me sane and calm.  Sometimes I just couldn't find the motivation.

I've been thinking lately, though, about why I started stitching.  I wasn't really exposed to needlework as a child.  Although my mom could sew really well, she hated embroidery.  I thought cross-stitch was hopelessly old-fashioned, only done by old people with no lives.  And I really hated those cross-stitched geese magnets.  I thought they were so ugly and tacky.  I still do.  

In my early 20s I moved to Utah to go to school and one evening my roommate and I had a friend from Ohio visiting.  My roommate and friend pulled out their cross-stitching.  I wasn't very interested, but somehow I was given a small pattern and a few supplies, so I joined in.  And I loved it!  That is, I loved doing the cross-stitch.  I thought the pattern was unattractive and uninteresting.  But I loved the process.  And I was good at it, too.  Of course, cross-stitch is hardly difficult.  I thought I would just do the needlework because it was enjoyable, then give away the simplistic, wretched items away.  

Well, it wasn't long before I found out that there were a lot of beautiful, challenging patterns out there and I've been moving forward ever since.  I expanded my repertoire of needlework techniques and I learned that stitching gave me space to breathe and think.

I made a concerted effort to get back to stitching a few weeks before Christmas.  And recently, I thought I should start sharing it again.  

I reread the blog and noticed there were some projects I had finished and some projects I hadn't made one iota of progress on.  Well, that's typical for me.  I wrote about knitting a lace scarf here, here, here, and here.  I see that I lost my gray yarn.  Well, I never did find it.  So I bought some pale green, and I started over, and I finished it.  That's a close-up in the upper left.  Here's a longer view:

It's a little short, only about 38 inches, but I'm pretty proud of it.

I'll be mainly focused on needlework and other fiber arts, of course, but I reserve the right to post about anything I want (rest assured, political posts will be few to non-existent).  I'm not any more reliable about posting than I was before but I'll do my best not to let the blog die again.  I'm not any better of a photographer, either, but I have an iPhone and it takes clear pictures even if they're not well-composed.

I've finished a few Christmas ornaments, and I managed to finish a TIAG madonna this past Christmas.  I have a couple of ornaments in progress right now.  I've bought a couple of sewing courses at Craftsy.  I plan to learn to tat ice drops.  They're all the rage right now and make great gifts, especially for people who knit me an afghan out of the blue.  I plan to tat a small doily for an unnamed recipient.

So I'll see you again in this space in a day or two.  Or three--but I'll make it back here.