Archive for the Category ◊ New England ◊

Author: Measi

• Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Erich and I are back from the weekend at Cape Cod. It was a fun time with friends. My Thanksgiving turkey was once again a success and we all ate ourselves into a near coma. The guys played many games of Risk, we all fawned over Jack (the toddler of the hosts), and I managed to find some stitching time. It was gorgeous all weekend – low 60s! In New England! In late November! (in case you’re not familiar with my area of the world, it’s normally just above freezing this time of year, often with snow flurries or freezing rain).

I even found a new stitchy shop on the Cape to head to when I’m searching for specialty fibers – Town-Ho Needleworks in Brewster, MA. Always nice to find another supplier “just in case.” Cape Cod isn’t too bad of a drive (I think this shop is roughly the same distance as Bush Mountain from me). In the summer, though, I wouldn’t dare try it – traffic on the Cape gets a bit… insane… on the weekends.

Good thing I found it – I was missing two Kreinik colors to finish off my Mira RR square. Which no, is not done. But I made progress and will definitely be ready to send it by the deadline.

Rather than take US 6 off the Cape today, we decided to enjoy the nice weather and drove the entire distance of 6A until we arrived at the bridge, wandering through the little towns. It was a wonderful Sunday drive. We saw tons of antique shops, Inns, B&Bs, and gorgeous little cottages. Cape Cod is adorable to the point of overkill. It really is.

*****

I’ve updated the Wipocalypse signups – we’re now over 180 members! Can you believe it? I’m shocked. I really am.

In the near future I’ll be popping by everyone’s blog to remind them of the start of the SAL (some people signed up at the end of August!), make sure I have everyone on my blog reading list, and post a link to the FAQ Page. Since the first people signed up, I’ve added the FAQ page, added the discussion forum, and hope to have one additional element to add for folks: a sidebar linky button.

This is where I need some help, however, because I’m design-challenged. If there’s anyone out there who wouldn’t mind putting some sort of a stitchy-themed button together, that would be awesome. The only thing I can offer is thank you credit, but any help you can provide would be awesome. I’d like to have a standard sized button (I think they’re roughly 80×20 pixels?) and also a 100×100 pixel icon square if possible.

Any help that can be provided would be awesome! Send anything (along with your link and how I should credit you) to measiwitch@gmail.com.

Category: Celebrations & Holidays, New England, Travels Tags: wipocalypse | 6 Comments

Snowstorms

Author: Measi

• Sunday, October 30th, 2011

The snowstorm has come and gone. My immediate portion of the world was not hit badly by it – we got about an inch, possibly two. With the sun today it’s nearly all melted off except for the perpetually shady spots. It was a very pretty sight to wake up to, though – the majority of the trees are still full of leaves, so there were some gorgeous autumn color over snow views today.

I’m not someone who gets freaked out by the snow, unlike so many people here. I grew up in Montana, where the first snow in October is a fairly common event. Snow on Halloween simply means that ghost costumes are ideal – you can wear warm coats and not ruin your costume! The temps aren’t that bad today and the sun is shining. I imagine in the harder hit areas it will be a messy pain. It really depends on how well the ground can absorb any more water as it melts. We’ve received a tremendous amount of rain since Irene blew through here. The snow will likely decrease quickly, but I’m not sure where the water will actually be able to go.

I’m happy, though, that I will not have to deal with snow during my commute tomorrow morning. There will be plenty of weeks of that coming shortly. Don’t allow any of them to tell you otherwise – New Englanders are atrocious with driving in snow, especially at the beginning of the season. It’s like some collective panic goes over everyone and the general rules of everyday driving, let alone common sense while driving in snow, just disappear. Hearty New Englanders? Yeahhhh, no. It’s a good front they put up, but no. :)

About an hour north of me in Worcester, however, well over a foot fell. I’ve heard of some spots getting over two feet of snow! Now granted, it’s New England. It does snow here and can snow early (even if it’s rare). But two feet is a lot of snow in one storm for any time of the year in this area. Hopefully it’s not a hint at what’s in store for us later this year.

Erich decided not to take any c hances with the weather. Early yesterday the big old air conditioners were taken out of our first floor windows. Screens were pushed up and storm windows were pulled down. Most of them will likely not move again until sometime in April.

He also went and bought a portable heater in hopes of keeping our oil bill a bit lower this year. Electricity is cheaper than the oil, after all. Despite living here for six years, I’m still amused at how we have a house – in New England – with no modern insulation. Sure, there’s newspaper wadded in the walls here and there – but none of the pink stuff. None of the spray-in foam. Our house is the first one with a bare roof after a snowstorm. It’s unfortunately not an easy “go buy the rolls and batten down your crawl space” fix for us because we still have knob and tube wiring in most of our house. That type of wiring + insulation = a big fire-risk no no. So eventually we’ll have to take out a loan, get all of the wiring redone, and then we can take care of the rest.

I tend to be the one who gets cold, so the heater will likely follow me into the rooms I wander through this winter. I foresee myself under my comfy quilt next to the space heater as I stitch a whole lot this winter. Now I just need a seriously comfy rocking chair, and my stitching crazy cat lady stereotype may just be complete!

Category: House, New England Tags: snow | One Comment

Stitcher’s Hideaway Recap

Author: Measi

• Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Before I get to my recap of the retreat… I’ve updated the participants list for the Wipocalypse, so everyone who has signed up via comments or private email should be on there. If you’re missing, please drop me another message. With my weekend away, I’m hoping I didn’t misplace any emails.

As I’d mentioned a couple weeks ago, I hadn’t planned on going to Stitcher’s Hideaway at all this autumn. House and car repairs this year had tightened things up quite a bit, and I had decided that I’d rather save the money to head to the Alumni Retreat in March. And then as fate would have it, Lisa and her mom had a spot open up for me that had already been paid for due to her sister’s inability to get the time off.

The autumn retreat for Sticher’s Hideaway is held in Mystic, Connecticut. Although Lisa and her mom invited me to share their hotel room, I opted instead to commute from home instead since it’s literally 45 minutes door to door from my house. I was a bit worried about how the commuting would go, but it wound up being just fine. It’s good to know it’s a viable option if the cost of a hotel room is the only thing preventing me from going in the future.

I’m so happy I went. Although my first glance of the project was “ooh, it’s pretty!” but I wasn’t completely grabbed by it, seeing the model in person completely changed my mind. It’s so delicate and gorgeous. Jeannette Douglas put an incredible amount of work into the design. I’m already having fun stitching it.

Here is our class piece – the Four Seasons of Mystic, by Jeannette Douglas designs:

The entire thing is stitched in a blend of hand-dyed silks, wool, and multiple brands of metallics along with some beads and charms for some extra sparkle. There isn’t a single bit of DMC in here. That’s a first for me! In fact, it wound up being an incredibly useful class. Aside from the Kreinik threads used, every other fiber in this thing is completely new to me. I’d never used silk and most definitely had never used wool. Add to that a whole mess of new-to-me specialty stitches, and I had two full days of new stuff to learn.

Day one was spent getting started on the border and going over the stitches in the first two panels. And as is customary for Stitcher’s Hideaway – there was a whole LOT of stash enhancement going on. This somewhat scary photo of me (courtesy of Lisa) shows me opening one of the two door prizes I received – Barnwood Buttons from Rosewood Manor, complete with the buttons (that run about $50 on their own!). So I now have another project to be added to the Wipocalypse pile for next year. :) I also received some adorable crocheted frog coasters. I’ll post photos of those tomorrow (my phone’s about dead this evening). We also received goody bags full of many patterns, needle threaders (which came in VERY handy with the wool!) and nibbles.

I behaved myself with purchases, due to my tight budget. Aside from one pattern (a Primitive Needle piece, since they’re now all going OOP) I only purchased from the sale box. I also picked myself up a magnetic needle minder, so I now have a cute little witch hat sitting on the top corner of my fabric as I stitch. Hopefully that will help break me of my very bad habit of sticking needles in my fabric for storage between sessions!

Jeannette teaches a very relaxed class, although she covers a lot of material. Basically she encourages you to stitch at your own pace, and she goes over things. Some people who were more familiar with the stitches listened as they moved their needle. Others (like me) stopped and watched her presentation on the overhead screen, then threw stitches in during the times she went around the class to see how things were going.

As we were going through the first panel, I decided my biggest goal was to get the included Jessica stitches done in class, in case I needed some assistance with them. They definitely seemed to be among the most complicated stitches, and since the sampler actually builds two Jessica stitches on top of one another, I really REALLY wanted to make sure they were right. It took me a few times of picking them out to figure out where each thread went, but here are my first three little grommets. Now that I get how they fit together, I think I’ll enjoy doing them – I love how they look. The identical color effect really was completely by chance, BTW.

After two days, despite being a commuting student from home this time, I had a surprising amount done on the sampler. I finished the satin stitch outline for all of Spring and did a good amount of the summer-autumn portion. I finished the top band and the bottom two bands of Spring (aside from beads).

Here’s where I ended up by Saturday evening:

Not bad, eh? I look forward to getting back to this once my holiday ornie stitching is complete. I will definitely have this on the hot list for the Wipocalypse next year!

The only downside is that I did NOT get my ornament done for the exchange as planned. On Friday night I was was not in the mood to stitch on it and really wanted to work on the class piece. So… I’ll be finishing the ornie and keeping it for myself. The exchange was optional, so I’m not feeling too badly about it. (and I have to admit that I really like the ornie and was feeling a tad bit selfish).

I need to head off to bed since it’s midnight. I’ll post my photos of the Halloween ornie and the Mirabilia RR updates tomorrow!

Category: New England, Stitching Tags: jeannette douglas, stitcher's hideaway | 12 Comments

During this week half a lifetime ago…

Author: Measi

• Wednesday, September 07th, 2011

I boarded on a plane with my dad, watched the familiar landscapes of Montana disappear behind me with a couple tears in my eyes, and headed off to a city over 2,000 miles to the east that I’d never visited. I’m sure he probably noticed me, even though I kept my eyes turned to the window out of hopes he wouldn’t see.

About eight hours later, we landed at an airport conveniently named the same as the one I’d left, from and to a city with the same first letter.

Billings Logan to Boston Logan.

I was scared out of my effing mind, not to mention excited and relieved that finally – finally - this day that had been looming over me for months had arrived. I was going to college – sight unseen to Boston University -completely on a whim because it was the one that had accepted me for my intended journalism major. I figured that if I hated it in Boston so much, I could always head home and apply to Montana State or University of Montana, for which my grades and college prep exams more than qualified me. I literally had no idea about the university at all, aside from the photos in the literature I’d been sent. This was, of course, right before the internet took off, so it was truly a leap of faith.

Kenmore as it looked when I was in college...

I actually do remember that first night a bit. Dad and I took a taxi from the airport straight to Kenmore Square and stayed at the Howard Johnson hotel on Comm Ave, which has since become a BU dorm. We wandered Kenmore a bit that night, which made me fairly nervous. The gritty, dark square that was Kenmore in 1993 was far different than it is now. At that point, I was convinced that I’d never feel safe walking there alone (one of many things thankfully proven false). I gaped stupidly up at the Citgo sign that glowed, with several missing bands of neon, above our heads. At that point, I honestly didn’t recognize anything about Boston sports aside from knowing the team names and the logos. My dad, on the other hand, made comments about how neat it was to see the Citgo sign in person – which meant that wait – were those the light towers of Fenway just over there?

(Like I said… sight unseen. My dad had never been to Boston either).

Little did I realize how much that sign would come to symbolize home. Things were okay when the Citgo sign was on. Lots of things were okay when I’d see the increasingly familiar sights – the little things, in this order on the taxi ride, that told me that I was coming home once again. Not to Billings, but to Boston:

The odd eight lanes to two lanes merge at the airport to enter the tunnel.
The elevated highway – now torn down and pushed underground as part of the Big Dig – that made it appear like you were flying through downtown
The Reverse Curve sign on Storrow Drive that had been spray-painted to say “Reverse the Curse”
The Hatch Shell sitting quiet on the Esplanade, waiting for the explosion of patriotism that surrounds it on July 4th every year
The weather indicator lights on the old John Hancock tower. Steady blue, clear view. Flashing blue, clouds are due. Steady red, rain ahead. Flashing red, snow instead. (or, in summer… flashing red, Sox game cancelled!)
A sharp curve to enter Kenmore Square
And the Citgo sign, looming proudly as the taxi would enter BU’s campus.

Needless to say, I fell in love with Boston. So much so that eighteen years later, I’m still treading that city every weekday as I head to work. It’s changed so much since I’ve moved to New England, yet it’s still in many ways the same old town.

The next day I moved into my dorm room in Warren Towers – a huge fork-shaped building that stuffed 1,500 students (then) into its single and double rooms in three identical towers of 500 students each. My dad decided to stay out of the way of my roommate and me, so he went wandering.

REALLY wandering. Like half the city wandering.

And later, he took my roommate and I wandering to where he’d gone earlier. In one afternoon he’d strolled from campus down to Newbury Street, through Copley Square, down Boylston Street (“there’s a new mall that’s opening up in a few weeks called the Prudential Center, Melissa… looks like it will be a nice one…”) and around the Cheri Theater to Huntington Avenue , through the Christian Science Center (“you need to see that pool – it makes people look like they’re walking on water”), to Symphony Hall, then past it and through the Fenway, around Fenway Park, and back into Kenmore.

A town he’d never seen before. Flipping EVERYWHERE in an afternoon. And mind you, my father’s sense of direction is absolute rubbish… even in Billings. I have NO CLUE how he didn’t manage to get so lost he needed a cab to get back. Who knows – maybe he did and just didn’t tell me!

In any case, a couple days later, he gave me a huge hug and a kiss out in front of 700 Comm Ave, got in a taxi, and drove off, past that Citgo sign and back to the airport.

Leaving me alone in Boston for the first time.

It’s insane that that plane trip was half a lifetime ago.

It’s also insane how much of my life as it stands now was determined by that leap, and how much of who I am wouldn’t exist.

Category: Big Life Events, Birthdays/Anniversaries, Life, Work, and all the Rest, New England Tags: boston, college, memories | 6 Comments

Thursday Thirteen: Autumn Begins

Author: Measi

• Thursday, September 01st, 2011

I confess – I far prefer autumn to summer. Crisp mornings that lead to comfortable temperature afternoons, the lack of humidity, harvest festivals, gorgeous tree colors – the whole thing. Autumn… BRING IT ON.

Granted, I live in New England, for which autumn was apparently created. I’ve been here for many years now, yet every year I get that little kid excitement when I see the red leaves starting to glow on the trees. I don’t remember trees turning that color in Montana during my childhood, despite what all of the travel photos seem to claim. I remember a whole lot of yellow, brown, and clumps of sticky sap on my shoes from all of the cottonwood trees as they molted in September (followed by snow, usually for Halloween).

I wonder if my dad still remembers my silliness from my first year of college, where I actually mailed him a red leaf. I forget that he grew up in Pennsylvania, so this whole color thing was normal to him. It certainly wasn’t to me.

And for the record? I saw the first full-color tree in Massachusetts on my Wednesday commute home. So yes – Autumn Is Here.

As September starts, I’ll celebrate this glorious season with my Thursday Thirteen for this week: Thirteen Things I Love to Do in Autumn.

Roadside Farmstands. Erich and I love heading to them any time of year, but they get particularly cozy in the autumn. We have two in particular that we adore – Schartners Farm in Essex, RI and The Big Apple in Wrentham, MA. Hot pies, buckets of apples. Yum!
Halloween Hayrides. Massachusetts has several of these that run in October. We haven’t gone in a couple years due to scheduling, but I’m hoping we can get to one of them this year. There’s nothing quite as spooky as New England woods in the dark.
King Richard’s Faire. Every September and October in Carver, MA is the regional Renaissance fair. We’re those geeks – fully dressed in costume as we wander around with “yards” of ale and turkey legs, getting our yearly fix of the big cat show and Hercules the Liger.
The Brimfield Show. This is THE largest antique show/flea market in the United States. It’s held three times per year in Brimfield, MA, and we’re heading over there on Thursday the 8th with some specific buying plans. Everything from kitschy stuff to gorgeous furniture can be found here.
Leaf Peeping. I don’t go where all the tourists go in New Hampshire. I wander back roads closer to home. Far less traffic and far more time to enjoy the scenery.
Blanket Snuggling. There’s no better way to start a weekend for me than with no alarm, waking up with a cat curled up against me as I burrow under the comforter. I may or may not be able to confirm mornings where I fake being asleep so I can just stay there a bit… longer.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. This is a tradition Erich and I have moved away from in recent years because we’re living a bit further away, but for the first few years of our relationship, we made an annual mid-October trek to Concord, MA to the historic cemetery that is so gorgeous in autumn color, especially up on Author’s Ridge, where Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne are buried.
Cape Cod. For part of Thanksgiving weekend, we gather with friends on Cape Cod for a lazy weekend away. It started as a computer LAN party, then became a Dungeons & Dragons weekend. Then became “D&D – Now With Added Turkey Dinner!” This year we’re scaling it back and are just going to chill. Board games, some drinks, some good food, and fabulous company.
Halloween. A lot of people don’t like being the neighbors giving out candy, but I confess – I love it. We live in a great neighborhood for trick or treaters, where the kids do still go out after dark (none of that weird daylight stuff here!) I remember it fondly, and I hope that I help the current generation build some of those memories for their future.
Sabbats. Two of my favorite high holy days happen in Autumn. Mabon and Samhain, both harvest festivals. Mabon has taken on a more important meaning personally to me in recent years. Samhain is such a beautiful holiday, love and rememberance mixed in with a little secular whimsy.
Wedding Anniversary. Mabon (Sept. 23rd) is Erich and my wedding anniversary. It wasn’t intentionally planned that way, to be honest – but sometimes scheduling fate just takes over. We’re approaching four years this month. :)
Pumpkin Coffee and Apple Cider. Dunkin’ Donuts is my downfall in autumn. I cannot get enough of the coffee and the muffins. Apple cider is THE best thing on a cold night.
My Morning Commute. Dew on the grass. Crisp smell in the air. Autumn really is the only time of year I absolutely feel energized in the morning.

Happy Autumn everyone!

Category: Memes, New England, Thursday 13 Tags: autumn | 11 Comments

The WIPocalypse is open!

Author: Measi

• Sunday, August 28th, 2011

I’d decided to write up the WIPocalypse SAL page during a random rainy day. I think Irene blowing through our area qualifies. :)

So come one, come all and sign up for the 2012 Wipocalypse! And please pass the word along. :)

It’s been a windy, wet day today, but thankfully it looks like we’re missing the bulk of this storm. Our rainfall totals haven’t been that bad here in Providence (perhaps 4 inches total), and while it’s been extremely windy, we haven’t had power dip at at all, and so far there doesn’t seem to be any damage in my neighborhood.

I headed up to Bush Mountain Stitchery yesterday morning with Lisa and Rebecca (of Samplers & Such) for a fun day of stitching. Bush Mountain had to do an emergency move to new permanent quarters last week due to ongoing roof issues with their previous location with a new added perk – a room reserved exclusively for stitching! The three of us were the proud initiators of the new space, and stitched the entire day until the store closed for the day.

The new store is located in what used to be a bank, and it’s a quirky, fun space. There are lots of little nooks filled with stash to wander and explore. While I’m sure there will be some changes to the space as the store develops, for now there’s a room exclusively for standard floss. Another nook for fabric. And get this – the bank vault is filled with stash! You actually have to walk through the big vault door!

The stitching room is well-lit and comfortable. There are bathrooms right off the stitching room and inexpensive food within a block’s walk, so great for a day out. Maeann, who owns Bush Mountain, is planning to start some events and classes later this autumn once they’ve settled in.

It was a great day – lots of laughing, lots of stash ooh’s and aah’s. Lisa worked her version of Witchy Washy (Raise the Roof), Rebecca worked on a gorgeous Ackworth School sampler, and I brought Ye Olde Coffee House (Little House Needleworks). We all made some good progress while we were there. I look forward to the next trip!

So while the rain has mostly stopped here today, it’s still extremely windy. We’re watching Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Battlestar Galactica episodes as we goof around all day. I’ll probably throw some laundry in later, once the storm has really passed us this evening.

I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

Category: New England, Stitching, Wanderlust, WIP Progress Tags: get togethers, little house needleworks, weather, weekend, wipocalypse | 3 Comments

Stitching Hermits United…

Author: Measi

• Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

This weekend was International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, hosted by Joysze. I took full advantage of it, thanks to the three day weekend we had due to Patriots Day on Monday. Lots of round robin stitching to do – and the first priority was to get my final hours on Rachel’s HAED complete, since it was due to be mailed yesterday.

The photo to the right is where I ended up yesterday. I’m not thrilled with what I got done, but the color changes really slowed me down this round. Ah well – progress is progress!

Unfortunately, my hours for Rachel’s piece took up my weekend – I’d planned on putting some time in a couple other things, but that’s now shifted to tonight through Friday.

Next up is the final few hours on Kris’ piece – I want to get that mailed off to Blu by Friday to allow for the extra shipping time needed. And then I’ll get my square for the Mira RR finished. I’ve already made a good start on it, so hopefully I can have the stitches done by the end of the weekend.

On Saturday, I had to do a stash run for beads and metallics for the Mira RR. Erich was hosting a Dungeons & Dragons game at the house starting at 10 am, so I got up bright and early and headed up to Bush Mountain Stitchery in Ware, Mass. It’s about a 2 hour drive from me, but it’s a pretty route and after an extremely difficult, emotional week, I definitely needed the drive alone in my car to do some thinking.

It started as a sunny spring morning, complete with a pack of wild turkeys popping across the road in front of me as I wound through the woods at 50 mph – I now know my car has fantastic brakes. Thank goodness the roads weren’t slippery.

I spent a couple hours at the store, buying the materials I needed and doing a little wandering. I picked up three charts – Salem Remembered from the Primitive Needle, Official Crazy Cat Lady from Raise the Roof, and Ye Olde Coffee House from Little House Needleworks. Bush Mountain carries full lines of DMC, Anchor, Finca/Presencia, and Sullivans, so I decided I’d do a little experimenting. I kitted out the Little House pattern with Sullivans to see how it stitches up. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but the shop owner at Bush Mountain likes it and says the coverage is good with the Sullivans – and that it doesn’t tangle as badly. I am intrigued.

I mean, I’ve always stitched with DMC. It’s what I’m comfortable with simply because I’m familiar with it. But I’m not devoted to the brand, particularly if another brand fits my stitching style better. To me, floss is floss – just like with fabric, different projects may be better with different materials. I’m not someone who is devoted to a brand – I’ll just use what I feel is best at the time to get the effect that I want.

Anyway, after I left the store I decided to wander a bit further out Route 9 to see what was there, mostly in hopes of finding something for lunch… and yeah, there’s nothing really. I finally gave up at the McDonalds in Belchertown. I headed south from there, past the Pike (I-90), and then took US-20 most of the way back home, since it’s a road I’m very familiar with thanks to the Brimfield Show. It’s so eerie to see the show fields completely empty when I’m used to seeing them in complete chaos for the May show.

So I got a good day of wanderlust in. A little shopping, a nice amount of wandering that took me in a huge circle of western Massachusetts, and a lot of time to myself to think. The thinking is continuing.

And so’s the stitching. :)

Category: Exchanges & Robins, New England, Stitching, Travels, Wanderlust Tags: haed, ihsw, mira rr, ufo rr | 5 Comments

Getting connected

Author: Measi

• Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Erich and I bought new smartphones for Christmas, and I was thrilled to see a WordPress app. I doubt I’ll post constantly this way, but I wanted to try it out during my lunch break.

We received a wallop of heavy snow yesterday. The final totals were somewhere in the 15-20 inch range by the time it ended yesterday evening. I’ve heard a few places in Western Massachusetts received over two feet, but that’s not in the area where we generally travel. Usually we have a lot of drifting, especially in our backyard, but the snow this time around was far too heavy. The roads were plowed well for the most part. Our commute from Providence to Boston took its normal amount of time. I was amazed! Everything looked gorgeous too: the trees were flocked with tons of snow. Only the very top of the trees were bare – where the morning sun could reach. I took several photos along my commute this morning. The photo with this post was taken Rt. 28 north, heading into the Blue Hills between Randolph and Milton, Massachusetts. Erich was driving – can you tell I took this through a windshield? (I sure as heck can’t!) The rest of the photos will get uploaded later.

So much of this week’s attention was on the impending storm that my 36th birthday was just a little speedbump. I went to work (knowing that I would most likely be home Wed.) and afterward Erich picked me up at the office for dinner. We went to Addis Red Sea, a small Ethiopian restaurant in the South End. It’s not far from the little studio apartment (aka “The Beast”) I lived in when we started dating. It felt good to be back in the old neighborhood. Despite the rent costs and how tiny my place was, I loved living there. It’s such a cozy neighborhood with a very active social scene and all of the best of what I love about Boston (the cozy brownstones, brick lined streets, teeny tiny backstreets, etc.)

Mom is coming up this weekend for the postponed holiday celebration, and she said she’s making a cake for me. (Mmmm… mom cooking)

Back to work with me… stitching news will probably come sometime this weekend!

Category: Birthdays/Anniversaries, Celebrations & Holidays, Chrismahanyulkwanzakah, Erich, Family & Friends, New England Tags: snow, the beast | 3 Comments

Normal insanity

Author: Measi

• Saturday, December 11th, 2010

Has it seriously been almost a month since I updated?!? The time is flying! I suppose this will be another huge catch-up post, then.

Announcements first:

One of my friends and fellow local stitchers (HeraChronicles) is having a Christmas Giveaway on her blog. Go over HERE to check it out!

The Rhode Island Stitchers group now has a BLOG. :) We decided that while being on Facebook is great, we also want something a bit more flexible to share info about the group, what we’ve been doing, what we’re planning, and what we’ve discovered. Stop on by, say hi – and if you’re in the area, please stop in at one of our events. :)

Signups for a new round of the Unfinished Object (UFO) Round Robin is starting over on the yuku boards HERE. Right now the planned start date is in late February. So if you have a stalled project that you’d like to have help with (and in return, help others with theirs), pop on by. :)

Random life news:

Thanksgiving weekend was fun, albeit all over the place. We went to Erich’s dad’s house up in New Hampshire for Thanksgiving Day and had a nice, quiet day with them. Erich had to work Friday, so it was only a single-day visit. Friday evening we headed out to Brewster, Mass. on Cape Cod for our annual weekend with friends. This used to be a LAN party, but along the way a lot of us got married. We bought houses. Kids are starting to come into the picture. All of those events means that there isn’t the money to blow on upgrading computers anymore. So for the last three years, it’s been a bit more free-form. We do a full Thanksgiving dinner (I cook, because I do make the best turkey around), which is a welcome change from the weekend full of Bagel Bites, taquitos, and oreos of younger years. This year Erich ran a weekend-long session of his Saga-edition Star Wars d20 campaign. I take advantage of the weekend to catch up on some stitching amid the cooking. It was a good time, although next year I’ve asked that I’m not the sole cook. I’d like to enjoy a bit more of the weekend.

Work’s been pretty good. I had a great yearly review, and I’m finally settled into somewhat of a routine with my workload, even if it is still a ton of work. I’m crossing my fingers that the week between Christmas and New Years is quiet so I can do some serious file clean-out for storage and start the new year feeling like files are under control.

Erich’s also enjoying his new job so far, which is great. I think after being stuck on a phone all day at his last job, being able to get up and go around the building on tech requests is a welcome change. He definitely seems much happier these days (which also helps me feel better).

Colley’s slowly getting better after the bout of fatty liver disease/hepititis this autumn. He’s now finally off the meds, and his weight has stabilized at about 10 pounds – which is a full six pounds lighter than he was in July this year. He has to go back for a blood test to make sure his liver chemicals are back to normal, but overall he just has more energy and is more responsive than he was around Labor Day. I’m relieved because it was so serious. The only downside is now he’s having a heavy shed due to the stress and illness – he’s blown almost his entire undercoat, which makes him look even thinner and a bit scraggly. A new undercoat is growing in thankfully – so I’m not concerned. He’s going to be really cold this winter, though. Perhaps this will be the year he finally snuggles under the covers!

Stitching:

I’m in over my head. What else is new? :)

I’ve been doing an insane amount of stitching in the last month. Three ornament finishes (Yes! Three!), one UFO RR round done, and the other is almost ready to mail home. I still have a couple more ornaments to do for the holidays, but they’re not quite as stressful now.

So here are the ornaments: (click for a larger photo)

Left to Right, they are:

Teresa Wentzler Beginner Whitework Ornament. I made this for the annual Teresa Wentzler Christmas Ornament Exchange (TWCOE). It’s currently en-route to its recipient.
Square from Pocketful of Peppermints by Blue Ribbon Designs. This was for an exchange with the Rhode Island Stitchers group.
Frosty Blue by Blackberry Lane Designs (from the 2010 Just Cross Stitch Ornie issue). I made this for the Life’s a Stitch exchange. It’s also currently en-route to its recipient.

Frosty Blue was a case of not reading directions well – it was supposed to be stitched over one, and by instinct I started stitching over two. So what was originally to be a 3-inch ornie is now a 6-inch “oh, we have a big gap in the tree here, honey” ornament (blush). I’m happy with the results, even if it came out HUGE.

I’ll talk about UFO RR stitching in my next post. Quite a bit going on there!

Hope everyone’s having a good weekend!

- Mel.

Category: Celebrations & Holidays, Chrismahanyulkwanzakah, Dungeons, Dragons & Dice, Erich, Exchanges & Robins, Family & Friends, Finishes, Geeky Stuff, Life, Work, and all the Rest, New England, Stitching Tags: exchanges, ornaments, Round Robins | 3 Comments

Stitcher’s Hideaway – Mystic 2010 recap

Author: Measi

• Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Michelle spinning cord with Belinda

I’ll warn in advance… this is going be a long entry with lots of pictures. :)

The quick-quick version? I had an absolute blast. Good company, great class, fun shopping, lots of stitching. It was exactly what I wanted (and needed)!

I went to Mystic as part of group two. The demand had been large enough to add a second getaway, and to my surprise – our little group of Rhode Island stitchers were not the only people there. Our class had 14 people in it, which was just the right size. It allowed for one on one time with both the teacher and each other, but large enough that there was some variety and a good mix of different stitching styles and interests. My understanding is that there were double that in the first session – I can’t imagine fitting 28 people in the room we were in, but apparently they fit! Honestly, I think our class size was perfect, though. A larger group may have intimidated me.

Belinda Karls-Nace of Blue Ribbon Designs was our instructor. She has a unique, crisp style of stitching design that appeals to me that blends the tradition of samplers with a more updated, casual style that I love. If you ever have an opportunity to take a class with her, please do. She was wonderful – completely approachable and laid-back, encouraging creativity and experimentation and had no hesitation to help one-on-one where needed. The detail and thought she put into her classes was fantastic – she gave each of us a wonderfully organized binder with step by step instructions (including photos) of everything we covered in class for later reference. And outside the class, she stayed right with us, chatting with everyone and getting to know us. I tend to be a bit reserved with people I don’t know (particularly in group settings), but felt completely at-ease with her from the get-go. At the end of the retreat, my group of friends were having a slightly rowdy dinner conversation with Belinda – she now has groupies. We’ve nicknamed ourselves the BG’s (Belinda Groupies). All Bee-Gee and disco snarky silliness is implied and encouraged. Tweets have been exchanged over the silliness. I imagine they may continue.

Jill, Michelle, and me - just a bit hungover on Day One

Belinda’s class focused on finishing techniques, particularly for ornaments and creating twisted cord. She used her upcoming design “Pocketful of Peppermints” as the teaching piece, with an adapted ornament that we worked on in class, to teach the techniques. It’s exactly what I was looking for – I’m not afraid to learn new specialty stitches (which half of the stitches on the ornament were for me), but I’ve been intimidated and frustrated with finishing. Since I don’t own and don’t know how to use a sewing machine, I’m going to be finishing everything by hand. I’ve seen other people’s work, and it just flat out intimidated me.

Guaranteed – I’m not anymore. I’m ready to tackle ornaments. I’m ready to tackle biscornu. Bring it all on. :)

My friends and I arrived at the hotel Sunday afternoon. I was running late, so Lisa, her mom Kathy, and our friend Jill were already over at Mystic Pizza (and nearly done with dinner) by the time I got there. Thankfully I’d already eaten specifically because I’d been running late. We headed back to the hotel. Kathy went to her room to relax for the evening. Lisa and Jill came over to mine for some proper retreat-starting partying (because I had the couch in my room). Michelle joined us later – she opted to take a little side class on beading on Sunday night (which I thought was pretty, but not really my thing). The four of us were incredibly rowdy – I’m shocked no one came to complain. I can only imagine that no one was next to my room because really… we were that bad. At three a.m., I finally kicked everyone out so I could attempt to sleep.

Teaching Ornament Sample

So Monday morning came and oh god, the hangover! But I got up – I got coffee and breakfast, and I was ready to tackle the day (with three Aleve in me for the headache). Monday, the first day of class, was essentially the stitching day. We started on our ornaments and worked throughout the day on the specialty stitches and to get a piece ready for the meat of the teaching on Tuesday. The ornament we worked was a cute little band ornament – a top and bottom row of fan stitch, surrounding individual rows of rice, standard cross-stitch, four-sided stitch, long armed crosses, smyrna and diamond cross stitches, plaits, satins, and montenegrin stitch. Due to my hangover, I decided to stick to something really, really basic at first – backstitching the outline for the piece. It took me far longer than it should have. Honestly. The entire outline was only forty-odd backstitches on each side, and it took me at least three hours to do.

So needless to say, I was very slow on Monday. But I kept plugging away. And mixed in with our stitching, Sue (who organizes the retreats) had door prizes flying fast and furious to the stitchers in the room. Seriously – I’m in awe of what I came home with. The donations from individual stitching companies were incredibly generous and varied. And Sue was kind enough to include a thank you note already addressed to the individual companies so we could just write and send away – no address trackdowns needed!

Best. Santa. Ever.

Class broke at 5 for a quick break before dinner. (and let me digress on the food for a bit – my selections from the caterer were fantastic. The prosciutto & mozz sandwich on day two was particularly wonderful). After dinner, we returned to the classroom for a little bit of stitching, some gifties and goofy instruction from Sue and a visit from Santa. It was no surprise to us, but Santa put our little crew on the naughty list. :)

After festivities ended, we all decided to be good that night (hah – not really… we just all needed to recover!) and headed back to our own rooms. Now… here’s where the silliness comes in for me. I’d come to the retreat a bit under-prepared, both financially and supply-related. Stupid me had only bothered to pack the 11-inch Q-snap that I normally use for stitching, never thinking that I might be stitching something smaller in class. So about halfway through the first day, I’m starting to debate whether I’d make a quick drive home to grab supplies for day two (since it’s only 45 minutes from home). I also was trying to figure out how I’d afford the stuff I really, really wanted to buy from Chris, who had set up a great little shop in one of the hotel rooms that we popped down to during breaks. The pounding headache, however, said no. No driving to Providence and back that night for me. So then my attentions turned to asking my husband whether he’d grab stuff from the house (particularly my smaller hoop, since I’d been using Lisa’s Q-snap all day), should he still be thinking of coming down for the evening (a discussion we’d had jokingly for a couple weeks).

Erich showed up at Stitcher's Hideaway... in his wedding kilt!

mmm... husband in kilt...

So around 8:30 or 9, I get a knock on my hotel room door. I open it to find Erich – decked in his (and my) cold weather standard New England Patriots jacket, the shirt he’d presumably worn to work, and… his wedding kilt! Totally mis-matched, but still my husband. And he’d brought chocolate. FIVE BAGS of chocolate. I quickly sent photo messages to Lisa and Michelle to announce how awesome my husband is. Michelle came over to goof off for a bit and chat. After she left, we chilled out, ate way too much chocolate, watched Castle (during which I continued to stitch), and cuddled on the bed. :)

He left a little after 11, and I went to bed shortly after midnight, fighting off that urge to do just one more stitch (over and over and over…)

Tuesday was our big instruction day – we headed into the classroom at about 9:30 and quickly got to work. Belinda started by teaching us how to twist our own decorative cord, either using a little hand corder or by using a pencil. I was surprised, honestly. It’s so easy! As with anything stitchy, it just takes some patience and practice to identify the tension you need to get the cord to, and ta-dah! Cord created – and in the color you actually need it, as opposed to the ”sorta-but-not-really matching so I guess I’ll default to gold or silver” cord that I always wind up with at JoAnn’s Fabric.

My finished ornament for the class!

After the cord instruction, Belinda moved onto cutting and finishing our ornaments using a whipstitch through the backstitches method. And seriously – Belinda commented about loving her students having that “a-ha!” moment? Yeah, there was mine. This method was so much easier than what I’d been doing, and honestly much less labor intensive (for far better results) than what I’d done in the past. It took me a little while to get into a groove with the technique, but once I did, I was moving steadily. Beads on, stitches going. I knew I wasn’t going to get all of the rows on the front done, so at one point I quickly stopped the beading/whip stitch process and threw a rough “2010″ date on the front of my ornament so I’d fill the empty space at the bottom. Yep, a little off-centered – but hey, I threw the thing on there with no template in about four minutes.

By the end of the afternoon – I had an ornament! And it’s all hand done by me – right down to the beading and the twisted cord. Seriously, you have no idea… I can’t believe I made this thing. (but I can’t wait to make more of them!)

Dinner on Tuesday, as I’d mentioned before, was where my friends and I really clicked with Belinda. :) I have a feeling some of the other stitchers may have been a bit annoyed with the rowdy, younger stitcher set my friends and I brought to the retreat, but Belinda welcomed us in and we had a great dinner laughing and flashing phones and pictures of our pets and such.

'Tis (not) Green, all finished

After dinner, we returned to the classroom for a couple hours for some final gifties and the traditional ornament exchange. It’s done in a Yankee Swap style at Stitcher’s Hideaway, so everyone brings the ornament in a gift back and then draws a number to pick a gift bag from the table. I brought my finished ‘Tis (not) Green for the exchange, paranoid that my previously sub-par finishing skills would be a bit of a detriment. Lisa was even planning on doing the “I’ll grab it if it’s still up for choosing if you feel that bad, Mel” save for me. I hope that Martha, who picked my ornament, does enjoy it, despite how simple and basic the finishing was. I do love the design – and I’m planning making a couple more of them now that I can be a bit more creative with them!

Belinda's ornaments - now residing with me!

I lucked out and managed to get Belinda’s ornament in the exchange! She also generously gave each of us a gorgeous snowflake ornament that she’s able to do on her sewing machine – each ornament was just a bit different, just like real snowflakes. Both will happily be added to my tree this year. :)

Lisa and Kathy had to leave a bit early as Kathy wasn’t feeling well. Michelle and I were the next to leave, shortly after the festivities ended (since we both were driving home). I drove home very happy, relaxed, and so happy I’d gone. Honestly – it was just what I needed this year, both from a relaxation angle and a stitching one. It’s been a rocky year. I didn’t even know if I’d manage to get to the retreat due to Erich’s job loss earlier this year, but all things happen for a reason, and this definitely was on that list. :)

So all told, it was a fantastic retreat. Sue puts a lot of organizing effort into them and it shows – everything’s well organized with plenty of instruction time and free-form time to socialize. I’d definitely go back again, and in fact Michelle and I are thinking of registering for the Sturbridge retreat that will happen next June, since one of Michelle’s favorite designers will be the instructor. So yes – I definitely recommend going to Stitcher’s Hideaway if you haven’t gone. It’s a lot of fun and a great, relaxing weekend of stitching. The only thing I think I’d change is that I would have stayed the extra evening in the hotel afterward, just to stretch out and relax. Without a hotel room to retreat to for a little lie-down the second day, I felt like I was a bit of a stitcher without a home. But hey, things to remember for next time.

Belinda’s going to be teaching next autumn up in Enfield, NH – and now I’m torn as to what I’ll do next year in the autumn. Clearly I have to win the lottery so I can attend a couple of different retreats! (is this how the insanity starts?)

Door prizes, our class kit, and Belinda's designs that I purchased

So… stash enhancement. OH DEAR GOD(DESS) THERE WAS STASH ENHANCEMENT.

First, we all received a big gift bag on the first morning with lots of patterns and goodies in the bags. I took photos of all of the stash enhancement and the retreat and put them up over on my Flickr Account for browsing. Seriously – it’s a ton. I’m overwhelmed. And mind you – most of this I didn’t purchase. I only bought eight charts and the fabric that goes with one of those charts:

Creepy Crawly (Blue Ribbon Designs) – I fell in love with the little keeper casket!
Black Cats and Flying Bats (Blue Ribbon Designs)
The Witches Wheel (Glendon Place) – which goes on the crazy orange tie-dyed fabric
Ghool School (Glendon Place)
Thine is the Trick and the Treat (Prairie Moon)
Have an Ice Day (Raise the Roof)
Jenny Bean’s Halloween Sampler (Shakespeare’s Peddler)
Peaceable Kingdom (Teresa Wentzler) – in my never-ending attempt to collect her designs

Everything else was free stash – whether in our initial gift bags or via door prizes or via the freebie box in the back. I’m seriously overwhelmed (and all in a good way).

So yeah – can I go back now? I was having entirely too much fun!

Category: Exchanges & Robins, Family & Friends, Finishes, New England, Stitching, Travels Tags: finishes, ornaments, stitcher's hideaway | Leave a Comment

UFO Round Robin – Round 4 is complete!

Author: Measi

• Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Spryntz’ piece is going to the post office in a little bit. I’m very pleased with what I did this round.

Here’s how it looked when I received it in mid-July:

Here’s how it’s looking today as I send it off to Catherine:

My goal was to finish one orca. I believe I did that.

I’m on a six-day vacation week. After four days of rain, the sun is shining and I’m ready to go out and enjoy the weather. The day is on pause only because Erich had an eye appointment this morning and they dilated his eyes. It’s a bit bright out there for him today (ironic that he’d have been fine the last four!) We’re hoping to do some local Rhody food exploration today – the two locations we have in mind are Kenyon’s Grist Mill and Wright’s Dairy Farm which are nearly on opposite corners of the mainland here in Rhode Island. BUT… it’s such a small state that it doesn’t matter!

Category: Exchanges & Robins, New England, Stitching Tags: Round Robins | Leave a Comment

Fun Saturday Wanderings

Author: Measi

• Saturday, August 07th, 2010

Erich, Matt and I headed to South County today for theCharlestown Seafood Festival. Lots of great seafood, some interesting raffles, a fantastic classic car and motorcycle show, and some great music. The weather was just a bit hot (due to the asphalt), but we had a great time.

Afterward, we headed a bit further down Route 1 to Quonochontaug Pond and wandered through the salt flats on the southern side of the pond for a couple hours. We saw several crabs, tons of minnows, jellyfish, and a horseshoe crab. The water was wonderful – I honestly wish I would have had my bathing suit so I could have gone deeper. At one point on our way back from a little rock shoal in the flats, we tried crossing through a cut path in the reeds – but I quickly sunk to mid-calf in some very stinky mud… so yeah, backed out of there and continued trudging through the water instead. On the mud trail, we did see lots of bubbles against the water – we’re thinking it was a well-populated clam bed. Several people were walking around with buckets and nylon bags, and I’m pretty sure I saw Quahogs in those bags (a local really, really big clam for those who are unfamiliar).

It’s a fantastic place – the water is brilliantly clear and a great temperature (not too warm, not too cold, with some neat swirling eddies of both temperatures). Great for little kids because there’s no real tide to worry about. There were plenty of people there, but it didn’t feel crowded or chaotic – just a bunch of very friendly people enjoying a gorgeous little nook of Rhode Island on a gorgeous summer afternoon. Can’t beat it!

Matt got very sunburned, and I’m a little toasty feeling – but I think both of us should be okay tomorrow. Erich is just fine – I’m envious of the native blood in him. He just tans.

***

I’m redoing some pictures for the Postcrossing of the Day cards – I wasn’t happy with how they photographed (they look very blurry to me). Once I get some done and cropped, I’ll start back up with the feature. Probably will get at least a few done this week.

***

Stitching, stitching… it’s been a wild week! On Sunday, I got together with a few fellow stitchers from Rhode Island for our first official Rhode Island Stitchers get together. We hit it off immediately and had a great time. The next meetup is scheduled for Saturday the 14th at the Warwick Public Library (open to all, so please come down… info is on the Facebook group).

I’ve been working on two projects this week – Spryntz‘s RR piece and Astrology Sampler. I decided to restart Astrology Sampler on Thursday. The original fabric I’d chosen just was NOT working as I’d hoped. Even Erich looked at it and went “ugh… no, that looks bad.” So rather than have fun with Silkweaver fabbies on this one, out came the Aida tubes. I’ve restarted it on good old-fashioned 14 ct black Aida, which is what the sample piece is on, I think. It already looks much better.

Spryntz’s piece is coming along slowly but steady. I’d planned on getting some of it done tonight, but I’m too tired after being in the sun. I’ll work on it tomorrow.

Speaking of Robins – there’s a new UFO Round Robin starting up soon, if anyone’s interested. Go over here for the information. Right now it’s in preliminary sign-ups. The plan is to kick it off sometime in September (I’m guessing probably late-ish September).

That’s it for me… time for bed. :)

Category: Exchanges & Robins, Life, Work, and all the Rest, New England, Stitching, Travels, Wanderlust, WIP Progress | Leave a Comment

I haz epic fishing skillz.

Author: Measi

• Friday, July 02nd, 2010

I was working today, but got out at three. Normally when I know I’ll be getting out early, I drive to Hingham and take the boat to Boston – more flexible with my leaving time, plus cheaper parking, plus a heck of a nice ride to avoid the nastier part of the commute in a manual transmission.

So today I leave work at three, get on the 3:30 boat, and it heads to Hingham. Erich called me while I’m on the boat. He’s out on the water with our friends Carge and Anthony in Boston Harbor to go fishing. I jokingly say “come to Hingham and pick me up.”

So they do.

And we spend the next three hours enjoying picture-perfect weather in the harbor fishing. Everyone caught something. I, however, didn’t catch fish:

I caught mussels. With classic worm on a hook.

Heh.

Category: Family & Friends, New England | One Comment

*glub*

Author: Measi

• Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

I am so sick of flood water. You have no idea.

My house? Is okay. Two inches of water in the basement, nothing to worry about.

But getting anywhere near my house is hell. I-95 is closed because it is now part of the Pawtuxet River. (two exits south of my house). The road less than a mile south of my house is closed due to the Pawtuxet. The secondary road I’d use to get around said closed road is ALSO closed because of the Pawtuxet.

Basically? The Pawtuxet has taken over Rhode Island. Or at least a good portion of it.

I couldn’t take the commuter rail home last night because it couldn’t make it through the floodwater on the tracks. The commuter rail train cars are double-deckers, and the lower level’s floor would have been literally at or below the water line. So I took Amtrak home.

I watched a train create a boat wake last night. The water was ABOVE the rail.

9 inches of rain in two days. Sixteen inches of rain since two weeks ago.

So. Sick. Of. Water.

If you’re curious – here you go. Enjoy the psychotic photos: http://www.projo.com

/rant over

Category: New England, News & Politics, Venting | Leave a Comment

It is officially spring!

Author: Measi

• Thursday, March 18th, 2010

With absolutely gorgeous weather, it was a requirement to eat outside. I celebrated with a proper lunch:

OM NOM NOM.

Category: New England | Leave a Comment

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