Monday, January 18, 2010

New Day. New Start.


Thank you for all the wonderful comments left about my finish of MHIBIG. They were all appreciated so deeply. Our weather has finally gotten up out of the teens and into some more comfortable temperatures.

The winner of the giveaway is Jeni. Congratulations! Contact me with your mailing address and I will pop it in the mail to you this week.

My new glasses arrived over the weekend and I went to pick them up. I was a bit nervous to try them on since this would be the first time I would see clearly what the new frames looked like on me. I was pleasantly surprised! The new frames are a big change from my old ones but change is good. Especially when you are happy with it.

I had some extra stitching time the past several days. Not as much as I would have liked but anything is better than nothing. Right? I am not making a rotation schedule for any of the new/WIP pieces I am working on. I'll just do what I feel like when I feel like it. Makes everything seem much less demanding.

Not much to show just yet but I did get started on AMIAF. Even a little start is still better than nothing! At first I chose a nice piece of 22ct Hardanger but my eyes were really tired from working on this count after MHIBIG so I switched it out for a piece of 28ct evenweave. One of my *uh, duh* moments. After several small stitches, I knew that wasn't going to work either so I am back working on my standard 18ct Aida in Natural. It agrees the best with my eyes thus making it a much easier and more pleasurable stitch (and that's what it's all about).

After I got several letters of the large up top alphabet completed, I realized there was a rhythm to it. Sounds a little funny but it worked for me once I got into it. Now I'm not dreading the rest of the alphabet as much as I was afraid I would. I did see that the large up top alphabet is missing the letter J. I don't know if this is done purposely or not but I'm fine with it. So far, so good! Just one tip about this piece - be sure to have plenty of black floss on hand. This top alphabet really eats it up!

I am doing this piece in memory of my aunt. It just reminds me of something she said to me many times over and I will think of her each time I stitch on it.

I haven't started on the Early Candle Pocket yet but I hope to get that up and going very soon. Something simple and fairly quick should be nice to have in the "pile".

11 comments:

staci said...

Don't you just love finding the rhythm of a piece? It makes the stitching so soothing :)

Margaret said...

Lots of early alphabets left off the J -- I can't remember the reason why, but it's true. Weird stuff, huh? Great start so far -- and yes, the rhythm you get into is good! Nice that you're stitching it in memory of your aunt. I love that piece and want to get to it as well!

Julie M said...

Fantastic start and finding the rhythm makes it all so much easier!

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Glad you like your glasses! When I wore contacts, trying on frames wasn't a big issue, but now that I don't it's crazy... I have to get so close to the mirror to see that I don't get the big picture LOL

Shari said...

don't know what it is you have started but it looks great!!! I love stitching the alphabet! There is something about it that is so relaxing!
I totally understand about new glasses!!! I am blind without mine, so it is so hard getting new ones!!!

Deb said...

I think they used to leave out the J in alphabets because it was phonetically close in sound to another letter. And I think that the letter Y was the same way, although still used in samplers. Great start on your new piece. There is something wonderful about developing a calming rhythm on a piece.

Blu said...

In the Old English alphabet J and V don't exist. People just used variations of I and U. Q and Z were never used, so they don't exist either. It's weird how some letters disappear while others are in samplers!

Very nice start!

Annie Bee said...

Glad that you are happy with your new glasses. You have made a great start.

Siobhán said...

Yep, the reason for the missing J is as Blu said! Neat, huh? I also think the funky looking S on older samplers is kinda weird but fun, too. Your start looks great! Good for you for finding a fabric that works for you and for realizing that the main thing is that you enjoy the process. I don't do strict rotations for the same reason--once somebody tells me it's a must, then I don't want to do it. I figure there are enough rules that I must follow, so it's fun to go with what I want with the thing that relaxes me, that is truly my own.

Congrats on the new glasses! I keep hoping to score new frames but my prescription hasn't changed in probably 10 years now and since I do wear contacts, I just justify spending the extra $ on frames out of vanity. Blergh. LOL

Have a great day!

Hazel said...

Oh what a lovely start! Sorry I missed your giveaway. xx

Kielrain said...

I am glad you found a fabric that works for you. No sense working on something that doesn't bring you joy.

Other people have already made mention of why for the missing "j"... I just love history and samplers. :)

Can't wait to see more on this piece, I love the chart.