Of to see the wizard

Or at least the Cajun cook :) I am packing for New Orleans as I type this. I was planning on leaving you with all kinds of pictures to look at while I was gone including my clamatis that finally bloomed, a finished waxing moon birds pic and santa's progress. But my computer at home is on the fritz and it will not upload my pictures.

I wont be blogging till next sat when I get home...but till then Ill give you 2 movie reviews
Star Wars Revenge (or is it return?) of the Sith: Of all three NEW SW movies it was the best one (but that aint saying much). The characters finally have a chance to be developed and it isn't as rushed as the other 2. Ewan McGregor does a fabulous job of being a Obi Wan that you can truly believe will turn into Crazy old Ben Kenobi in the first (next) star wars. The movie brings the story right up to the next movie wonderfully so that after leaving the theater I wanted to go home and watch Star Wars on my old VHS tape. That being said I wish the Padome and Aniken scenes were left on the cutting room floor...the dialogue is horrible but with SOME emotion the two of them could have pulled it off. as it is you only believed they loved each other when they were alone. They should of brought back Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher...now there was chemistry...made you stomach do flops when they finally kissed .

the second movie I am reviewing is out on DVD: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I had heard mixed reviews of this one. of course the artsy charlie kaufman fans loved it, but what about the regular movie people....those of us who like to be entertained and not challeged constantly.
Ian and I were pleasently surprised....If you liked Being John Malkovich and Adaptation but felt they were a bit weird or off (could live with out seeing them again,) then you will like this one. Finally a Jim Carrey movie where his is even MORE normal than you or I. Ha.

Off to new orleans...I present tues at 3:30...send me some good juju.

Still in the Christmas mood

Progress as of 5/16/05
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

I know I am crazy...a non stitching friend asked me why I was doing a santa in May... its tough to explain a screaming WIP to a non stitcher.

Any way here is my current progress, I think I'll finish this side (a rabbit and more robes) and take a break...
I am ready (and now guilt free) to start the seaside sampler.

If you click on the photo and take a good look you can see the fabric visible in places between stitches...I have never been able to solve this problem...maybe if I railroaded every stitch, and maybe if I stitched each cross seperately, and maybe if i used shorter lengths, and maybe if i used thread heaven on every thread...but I have tried all these techniques and they never completely solve the problem and make it more work than fun. Its kind of a toss up I guess, Make your work look perfect and hate every minute of it...or have fun and it not be perfect.

This is the main reason why I don't do the big colorful complicated designs...TW, Mirabila, etc....I am just not that good. ( To see someone who is that good ...see Jo) This Santa will be the last BIG one for a while.
On top of all that, the dove and the owl are 7 years old and showing some wear (and a few stains)...I may end up ripping them in the end.

The Ents have invaded

The Ents have invaded
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Please no JarJar

We have tickets to see the midnight showing of Star Wars Episode III tonight_ update: I got the date wrong, it is NEXT thursday. Friends of ours got tickets a few weeks ago. I was talking it over with Ian and we both agree that the first two movies in the series did not live up to expectations. Episode I tried too hard to be apealling to kids and rushed the development of alot of characters, Episode II casted Anakin badly...not that he didn't look the part or acted badly...but that there was NO on screen chemistry between Anakin (Hayden Christiansen) and Padome (Natalie Portman)... so the love and the actions taken made little sense. I did not feel like I got lost in the story (as I do with any decently written book or movie) and I did not have any sudden urge to see either one again (a good indicator of a entertaining/fun/involving movie.
I HOPE that #3 is the charm...



QOTW: Given the option, would you rather buy a chart and get the material and floss together yourself, or buy a pre-packed kit?

I hate kits...mostly because I don't like Aida, and kits almost never have evenweave. Also I rarely see anything I like. Now when a LNS prepaks specialty fibers for a chart, that I love...cause then I don't have to spend a fortune for the fibers when the chart usually calls for lass than a full skein. Thats how I got seaside garden by Victoria Sampler...all the fibers came with it and I have enough fabric stash that it is ready to go.

But I am still working on santa...I have now moved on to another page. I photocopied the original chart onto 4 working pages, cause the original chart is very worn, especially along the folds. Actualy I am missing quite a few symbols and kinda have to guess in places. But I am now working on either side of the dove and should finish to the bottom of the left side within the next 4 weeks.

I do not think I will take Santa to New Orleans with me...I'll take both the May and June flipits and my current RR ornament.

Progress as of 5/9/05

Progress as of 5/9/05
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Okok here you go, the upper part of the staf is done, and the left side of the beard...I am starting on the sleeve and will continue down the left side. He is actually moving along quite well and could be mostly done before I get bored.
We started to watch The Right Stuff last night, it is a long movie, interesting...but very late 70s/early 80s style. Oh and the music that accompanies the well known shot of all 7 walking in their suits, was not what I thought it was.
What is cool is watching it with Ian (who is a flight history/NASA buff) cause then I could ask him stuff about the movie that wasn't clear...like why didn't Yeager get to try out for the space program (he never went to college) and is Deke Slayton the same Deke in Apollo 13 (Yes..and he didn't fly in the Mercury program...but did in Gemini)and did Grissom ever admit to blowing the hatch? (no) I could go on and on....you know for someone who hates it when people talk during a movie...I asked a lot of questions...ah the benifits of DVD, you can go back and see it again.

Kung Fu Hustle

Well I survived...(It actually was one of the best presentations I think I have ever done- all that practice helped)
Now I need to get another one ready for a conference in New Orleans on the 24th. 15 minutes in front of a bunch of drunk scientists (or so I hear) I think I can do it.
To celebrate last night Ian and I went to see Kung Fu Hustle.....and If you haven't already heard it through the grape vine....It is hilarious. Ian and I laughed the whole time. Of course there is Kung Fu, and violence ( but very little blood), but the humor was just in the right spots...and suprising silly enough to make you laugh out loud. Stephen Chow (director) makes fun of quite a few american movies and other bits of our pop culture that surprised me. Oh and I should warn you it is subtitled...but is so well done and timed that I had to go back and write this cause i had forgotten.

Still working on Santa

Proposal in 20 hours

Nipper
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Here is our lab hamster (Nipper), no he is not experimented on, he is a pet. He has got the funkiest hair ever, half long and half short.

I have rehearsed my proposal out loud 4 times so far with probably 4-5 more times to go. I'm not that scared of the presentation as much as the questions and the committee meeting afterwards.

As for Santa...(he is a Lavendar and Lace pattern by the way...should look like this) I did start the gold thread, I was having a hell of a time with it it kept spliting and I had to use shorter and shorter lengths...then I realized I have Thread Heaven! I got it at the going out of business sale back in feb, and tried it with regular dmc but was not impressed....I remember other stitchers recommending it for metallics.....It kicks ASS! Holy cow my gold is just smooth as silk (the newer stitches at least) and I can use longer lengths...Ill be done with the upper part of the staff within a week.

I know every blog seems to have goals for the month...but the only one I have is to finish the May flipit and get as much done on santa as I can handle...then start one of the samplers I mentioned previously.

This weeks questions...There are 2>>> 1) Do you finish all your finished pieces? (pillow, frame, etc,) If so, how do you finish the pieces? If not what do you do with them?

Ha...one of my huge problems is not that I have alot of WIPS but that I have over 20 finished pieces sitting in a ziplock bag....I do frame the ones I give as gifts, and I cant make too many pillows or Ian will kill me. Some are no longer my style and I give those away, some I make into doorknob hangers (smaller pieces) and I HATE spending so much $$ to get the pieces framed correctly. so the pieces wait till I have some spare $ to frame them myself.

2) What is your opinion of Internet "freebies?"

I love them, you have to do a bit of searching but there are freebies out there that are just as nice as the patterns you buy...It depends on the designer of course, my favorites are the drawn thread and waxing moon designs.....oh and if you want to see the finished freebies check this website out.

Santa progress

Santa progress
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Here he is after about 8-10 hours of work....He is good to take my mind of of the thesis proposal at night...that way I only panic during the day when Ian isn't around.
I am debating whether to work on the gold staff as I go, or to do that part last so the q snap doesn't mess it up