February 22, 2009

At last! After not stitching for the past two days I put needle and thread to fabric this evening! I slept in today, watched some movies from my DVR, and spent time on the phone with both Myrl and Sue, but I stitched, too!
I completed the diamond-shaped border of Lasseter's Reef and am working on the corners now. My hope is that I can get in some more stitching time before going to bed tonight as well as tomorrow upon returning home from dialysis. I've been very bad about stitching at home lately and that needs to change.

Myrl and I were discussing that on the phone this evening. She mentioned that she gets grumpy if she doesn't get to put in a few stitches each day. I've noticed lately that I start feeling very frustrated with myself if I don't stitch every day. It's just like my reading; even if I only read for a minute or two before my eyes close I'm okay. I need to apply that mentality to my stitching and make a better effort to get out of my laptop trance and pick up my current WIP.

If you're wondering why I've only stitched three of the smaller eight-pointed stars around the center motif I will let you in on my reasoning. There is a method to my madness! It's as simple as this: the unevenness tells me which side is the top! I had to frog two separate times while working on the center because I turned my QSnaps a quarter-turn one way or the other. By leaving one motif unstitched, I now can see in a glance which side is the top of the design and all my stitches will face the same way.

I'm very happy to report that Myrl gave me permission to have guests in the Ocean City apartment, so Sue and Laura will join Kasey and I for the weekend of the Stitcher's Retreat! We're all looking forward to having two full days to stitch to our hearts' content. I'm also considering the possibility of having my dialysis treatment done in Berlin on Wednesday and Friday so that Kasey and I can go down early to enjoy a couple extra days of peace and quiet, as well as more time with other stitchers. Myrl told me her EGA chapter gathers for dinner and stitching each Thursday evening and it would be wonderful to meet up with these ladies. I'm so excited about the retreat and the time I'll get to spend with my stitching sisters!