November 12, 2008

I did it again! I went to bed early (if you can call 2:15am early) in the hope that I'd get a long night's sleep. What is it they say about the best-laid plans? You guessed it! I was wide awake by 6:30 this morning. I was so mad I could've spit nails. I tried reading for a while to make myself tired again but that didn't work. I finally gave up and got dressed.

Around 10am I decided to run some errands. At Staples, I finally found a pencil case that is big enough to hold all the contents of the Basic Sewing Kit (pictured) suggested by the Embroiderer's Guild of America, with some other items that were suggested by other stitchers. My Dazzling Ornament set even fits safely inside. I added a piece of rubberized shelf liner to keep things from hitting against the hard plastic of the case. Believe it or not there's still room left over!

After going to Staples, I went to JoAnn's to get some rubber knitting needle caps. Unfortunately they were sold out so I went to check out the Yarn Garden. I've heard about this shop but hadn't visited until today. I was under the impression they were mainly a knitting/crocheting shop, so I haven't been in a hurry to check them out. I was surprised to see all the cross stitch charts they have. There are a bunch from a designer in Queenstown, MD. I think the name is the Queenstown Sampler or something like that. They also have some Rainbow Galleries, Anchor (not that I'd use it), and Caron fibers, so if I need any of them I know I can just drive across town. The lady who helped me (sorry, they didn't have nametags) also told me there was an informal group that meets at the Barnes & Noble bookstore every Thursday at 1pm, so I might try to get over there. She said it's mainly knitters, but they welcome anyone who shows up. It sounds nice, don't you think?

Once I got back home I started feeling tired, of course. I called dialysis and told them I wouldn't be able to come in today because I didn't sleep last night. I'd thought about taking a muscle relaxer to make sure I fell asleep, but I was afraid it'd knock me out for 12 hours like it usually does. Instead, I turned up the heat on my mattress pad one notch so it would be nice and warm and curled up under the blankets. Kasey and Chet napped with me and we didn't wake up until after 5pm.

I continued working on Eight Pointed Stars this evening but I didn't complete it. I worked on the background of Gobelin stitches and Rhodes Squares between the stars. I'm saving the outer ring of Alternating Scotch Stitches until last. A little more to do and I will be able to do the colored border and call this a finish!