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

Christmas in May

Santa Of The Forest-L&L
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Hello all,
ok Forget the flippin towel...It's not going to be as cool as I thought, there are too many floating stitches to make it double sided, and it was depressing me. Into the WIP pile for now.

On the up side Santa has been screaming at me, and although I would love to start a new project that would be springy,I would feel guilty. I need to work on santa when I am inspired to do so or he will NEVER get done (he was started in 1997 for crying out loud, I may never do a L&L again!)
I worked on him a bit last night and think all the previous 9 months of heavy stitching has helped me...It went very smoothly. I am going to proceed with one color at a time in a limited section of the chart from top to bottom. I will continue to work on him until the screaming stops.

This leads me to the Question of the Week...Do You Set Stitching Goals? Well mostly the answer is no, I don't have an active rotation or a limit to hours per project. I will set a goal for a gift, but otherwise its a work as I feel sort of thing. ( as regular readers will already know) This does seem to work for me as I usually have less than 5 WIP's.

I sent out my ornament round robin piece out yesterday and am looking forward to recieving all the ornaments with all the fabric and fibers provided, over the next 6 months! I hate trying to find specialty fibers.... When I was in my LNS the other day I finally broke down and asked her to order Holly Berry from GAST (I can't seem to find it anywhere convenient!) so I can finish the Waxing Moons Freebie birds.

And on a scientific note...one of my committee members suddenly realized he had a conflict with my thesis proposal defense (Set for this coming wed) so it has to be rescheduled for thursday. ugh it makes me nervous just talking about it so i'll sign off now.

Village Sampler -PS

Village Sampler -PS
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Hello all,

The weekend was great, mom bought me plenty of plants and we shopped alot too. I am finally able to blog about the big Village Sampler by Prarie Schooler I have been stitching for her since February, here it is all framed:
and here is mom with it:

Finished Village Sampler and Mom
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

MyFi XM radio
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Yesterday was Ian and my 2nd anniversary, I of course, have no $$ to get him anything till pay day in a couple of weeks, But he - mister overtime- went and got me the XM myFi radio....told me he was going to change my fan belts yesterday while I was at school and instead mounted the antenna and car mount for it. I was totally not expecting it cause of the price...and he has shown reluctance to add me to the XM bill. This one has its own battery so you can listen to it like a walkman...I am soo excited to have it for workouts and driving around.

We did go to Olive Garden for dinner and then saw Sin City at the movies (how romantic!).

I have very mixed feelings about this movie. If you don't like the bloody, violent edginess of Quinten Tarentino like style...then don't go see this movie (director is Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez) . If you are a graphic/comic book lover....then this movie is a must see for the visual presentation. If you want to see Frodo (Elijah Wood) as the creepiest character I think outside a true horror movie...then go see this movie.

I thank god this movie was not in full color...or I would be having nightmares of SE7EN quality...of which I will forever regret watching. But the controlled use of editing and color made it palatable and within a few months I will be able to see it again.

Mom and Stitching Blogger Question of the week

My mom is arriving tommorrow for the weekend, I have lots of stuff planned (she hasen't been to mi casa in the spring) gardening and shopping top the list.
It is supposed to rain here all weekend but the chance has decreased to 30% for each day. I know we need the rain...I don't have regular allergies and I have a stuffy nose right now, if i'm suffering then you know its bad. And I have to mow today...ugh

Max went tothe neurologist yesterday...we paid $100 for this guy in a lab coat to feel up the dog and tell us he will be fine. We do have to do physical therapy (stretching and rotating the leg and shoulder), and we have to make him use his bad leg my irritating the good foot...he recommended taping a Lego to the bottom of his good foot, and taking him on slow walks...this should be entertaining.

I may not be posting much till tues after mom leaves ...so have a great weekend!


QOTW:
Have you ever been asked to do model stitching?
Did you do it? If so, what was your compensation? (money, stash, etc.) If not, why not?
If you haven't done it, if you were asked would you? Why or why not?

No, But I would jump at the chance. I wouldn't like a really large project, cause I don't stitch very fast, but being paid to stitch....that would be wonderful. Unforunately there are alot of stitchers out there who are better than me (and faster) and there aren't that many opportunities (few LNS's and few designers). so my chances of ever model stitching is very slim

Towel Detail

Towel Detail
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Here is the towel...I swiped the pattern off the cross stitch a day calendar,(It was a border) and put it on this kitchen towel. If I can edit it right there will be 2 pics here..one front one back. I am trying to make it double sided.

Towel_back
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

April flip It-LK

April flip It-LK
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Ta da...all done, and I have more stitchy pictures to come!

My updated garden pics are at my site on Flickr.com

Devils Haircut

Ok, so I think I have mentioned the fact that I have a side job doing some contracting.....the one that made us owe $$ in taxes this year (which turned out cause I set the money aside for that all year).
There hasn't been a single contract for me since Dec, and this month I have 18 appointments! this is good (Each appt. means $60-100 for about 1 hour) but then the company calls me and wants to add on a huge closeout....this is a big pain in the ass, although they pay almost twice a normal appt, you have to put in a lot more time and energy. So I tell them thanks, but no thanks (I have never turned down one before) find some one else...I have no extra time trying to finalize my proposal, and finals coming up too. Well they send it to me anyway...the day before it has to be done. and of course there is 200 pounds of stuff I have to haul to Fed ex to ship to a town I could of driven too. ugh I hate closeouts.

OK enough venting,
My blue bells are blooming, a few pink tuips- they look good, and my Hostas are finally starting to show. I have a Clematis that appeared last year by the mailbox, but didn't thrive. but this year we bought a trellis (just a small one) for it, and it is senting up numerous shoots....I can't wait to see the flowers (I hope) to see what kind it is.

I finished the April flip it (Just 2 weeks behind!) and have started the May one . I turn it into a door know hanger like the rest and post a picture.
Still working on the towel....Then I think I will pick up Santa of the Forest till the end of the month when I'll let myself start a new project for May. I have 2 kitted up and ready....Black Swan's View to a Spring Garden (you will have to scroll down the page) or Victoria Sampler's Seaside Garden) which one? you pick.....

stitching blogger question of the week

Do you "stitch with the seasons?" (This could be reflected by the colors that you stitch with, the themes that you choose, or even that during your favorite season you stitch more (or less) than in others.)

Unfortunately yes....this is why I have soo many christmas WIP's that are 5+ years old....cause I only work on them for 3 months out of the year. Honestly who wants to stitch a snow man when flowers are blooming!

Ian and Max

ianmax2
Originally uploaded by Stitching scientist.

Aren't they cute...my boys

wow I Suck

....at posting on a regular basis.
I have been finishing up a secret cross stitch project that I can't post here till it is all done and framed. But on the upside my April flip it is almost done, (just need to run and buy DMC 598). And I am continuing on my towel. (Ill post pictures by Wed night swear!).

In doggie land, we have to take Max to a Neurologist this week, he is still not walking on his right front paw, but no bones are broken.

And in Academia, my poster at the conference in tuesday turned out ok (after I paniked monday night due to it being a foot smaller all around than I thought it was). I ended up getting an honorable mention, and $25! I think its just cause I buttered up the judge....but what ever.

and in garden land, my wood poppy, azaleas, and bluebells are blooming. I spent the weekend raking the yard from winter debris/bagging and burning it up. Mowed the yard, and weeded around a few beds.

Puppy Down!!

Hello all,
Bad news here, Saturday Max ran off and after a long search we got a call from an after hours clinic, saying they had him. He had been hit by a car. He has some superficial scrapes, but is not putting any weight on his right front paw. Its not broken, and doesn't seem dislocated. They wanted 90 dollars to talk to the vet (and more for an xray) so we made him comfortable sunday and taking him to OUR vet today. The tech at the clinic brought him to us saying it was probably nerve damage and that his leg would have to be amputated....this hugely upset my husband and he is (and I am) freaked out at that prognosis.
He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, is eating and drinking, (and digesting) just fine. There is no swelling and he seemed to improve over the last 24 hours….I’ll post the update after the vet visit today.

On a lighter Note: heres a meme I swiped from another blog:
Accent: none that I know of (but I do say y’all once in a while)
Bra size: Slightly larger than you… hee hee
Chore I hate: Scrubbing the tub
Dad's name: Horace Dwight (family name)
Essential make-up: moisturizer, and lipgloss
Favorite perfume: I don’t wear any
Gold or Silver: Both (at the same time Grandma!)
Hometown: Past- Pittsburgh, PA Current- Greensboro, NC Future- Savannah, GA
Interesting fact: I hate horror films, but read horror books
Job title: Graduate Student
Kids: 0
Living arrangements: Single Family Home
Mom's Birthplace: Summit, NJ
Number of apples eaten in last week: 0 –They aren’t in season!
Overnight hospital stays: 0
Phobia: Calling for pizza delivery (don’t ask)
Question you ask yourself a lot: Will I ever understand my thesis?
Religious affiliation: Unitarian Universalist
Siblings: 1
Time I wake up: varies ---currently around 6:30 am -8:00 am
Unnatural hair color: nope it is currently naturally turning grey
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Bamboo (does that count?)
Worst habit: I am not telling
X-rays: Teeth, Left ankle, Left Leg
Yummy food I make: Cranberry Apple Pie
Zodiac sign: Cancer

and where have YOU been?

I've been pretty damn sick, thats where. I think I caught the flu last Sat, I still have a cough to day (a full 7 days later). And you know I am sick (RELLY SICK) when I havent eaten the giant chocolate bunny Ian bought me for easter, and don't feel like stitching.

And of course, everything was due this week, but it went by quickly. I met with the statistical consultant on my project, that went well. And I had a poster to finish, so it could be approved and sent off to kinkos for the WRRI confrence that i am attending on tuesday in Raleigh, NC.

Meanwhile the house is disentigrating into filth and driving me crazy, but since I couldn't stand for more that 10 min at a time for 5 day, I forgive myself. So today I have already done 3 loads of laundry, cleaned and dusted my side of the bedroom (Ian does his own pretty well), and scrubbed the kitchen counters. I am dying to get outside and mow/rake up the winter mess, plant some flowers and move stuff around, but it has been raining alot and everything is saturated. Maybe tomorrow.

QOTW_ Needlework shows

What are your thoughts on craft and/or needlework shows? Have you been to one or are you planning on going to one this year?

Oh this question makes me cry...I WISH they had one near me, I have never been to a needlework show. The only show in the US that I am aware of is CATS and closest cities they come to is Nashville, MD (8 hours away), and Hershey, PA (8 hours away). What the #!%$ is wrong with Raleigh , Charlotte, Richmond, Charleson, even Atlanta or Washington DC.
I am considering going to Hershey in the fall but life is up in the air and money is tight