Who are we?

I am Jim, one of the few male stitchers around. I started stitching in
1975; I found rctn in the early 1990's. I ran out of stitching patterns
I liked to do, and which were on sale in needlework stores. I have
finished many UFOs from others. Now that we have software that can change
pictures into patterns, I have learned which pictures turn into the sort
of patterns that I like to stitch; of course, my maidens. Jim.

I guess it is that time of year again.

Hi I'm Margaret,
I've been lurking and occasionally posting since 1994 when my BF now DH
gave me a cross stitch kit that I needed help with. Thanks to that gift
I found a new hobby that I adore and have "met" many wonderful people
here some of whom I have been privaleged to meet in real life.
I'm originally from Centeral NY but moved to Eastern MA when I changed
careers. I used to be a aviation weather forecaster, now I QA Weather
Software. That comes from having degrees in meteorlogy and computer
Science. I've been married 13 years next month no kids, just two cats.
I love to cross stitch and beedwork. I also dable in hardanger and
other techniques.
-Margaret in MA
--
Margaret St. John

I am Joanne. I live in a quiet suburb on the banks of the Canning River,
about 12 miles out of the CBD of Perth Western Australia.
I work in a major private hospital. My business card says I am a PA to 2 of
the executive team, but my range of activities is wide and varied. I only
work 20 hours a week, which I seem to do at a running pace!
I have a delightful significant other, probably made more delightful because
after 10 years together we still live in separate houses. When we met I
had an old dog, and he had an old cat - my dog died in 2004, and his cat has
just left us aged 19 years - we're still in deep mourning for her.

I've embroidered, stitched, sewed etc since I can remember. For the last 20
years I've also made bobbin lace. I love counted cross stitch, and seem to
be drawn to bags and boxes. I also adore pulled work, and have a number of
amazing Italian books on Punto Antico that are waiting in the wings for me
to get to. I have no sense of colour, and hide this behind working in
monochrome a lot!

Joanne in Western Australia





"Joan E." wrote in message
...
Since we seem to have one or two new members and a couple of recent
returners, I thought it might be time for another round of "Who are
we?", so I'll start.

I'm Joan. I live on the eastern edge of North Dakota. I work in a
university library and have been here for over 30 years now (somewhat
shows my age!). I'm married, have 2 sons, 1 daughter, 1 brand-new
granddaughter and a yellow lab (Jasmine) and will soon to become
caretaker of DD's horse for the winter.

I mostly do counted cs but also knit, crochet, have done some crewel,
needlepoint, canvaswork and needle tatting. Some day I'm going to
learn hardanger, mostly so I can do justice to some of Thea Dueck's
(Victoria Sampler) designs that I have. I'm getting near the end of a
set of stuffed pieces for a Nativity set (Carol Emmer designs) that
I've been working on for a couple of years. Currently, I'm doing the
cover for a cs baby book (designed by Ellen Maurer-Stroh) for DGD.

I've been on this *wonderful* group since the mid-90s, I think.

Who's next?

Joan

I'm Sue from Baltimore, Maryland. I grew up in NJ (NYC burbs) and came
to Baltimore to attend college and never left. Married for 35 years
(yikes!) with three grown kids. Youngest is about to leave for college
in Hawaii, which will leave us empty nesters for the first time in 32 years.

Until recently, DH and I worked together producing a folk music
magazine, but recently the plug was pulled on that endeavor. Now I feel
like a full-time Job Applier, turning over stones looking for a new job
while trying to decide What I Want to Be When I Grow Up. I'm the
quintessential jack of all trades and master of none.

I've stitched for pretty much as far back as I can remember. I was never
really taught by anyone...just would pick up things myself. Started with
crewel and surface embroidery kits, then Hardanger (modeling on pieces
handed down from one of my Norwegian grandmothers) and cross stitch. Now
I do mainly cross stitch and crochet, some Hardanger. I always have
multiple projects going. Over the years, most of my projects have been
rehomed, but now I'm getting selfish and making some for my own self! I
also sew, and this week I'm working on a rather wild Raggedy Anne doll
for a baby gift. (What can I say, I like COLOR!!)

I'm also an avid reader, and love the suggestions I've read in this
group. I read - as I think it was Ellice, who said it - "promiscuously"
across many genres, though mainly fiction.

Other stuff that fills my time: active in church (I edit the monthly
newsletter and teach confirmation), singing (started lessons two years
ago, bel canto style), addicted to daily Soduku M-F (never on Sundays,
how odd is that?), chaffeur DM to dr. appts. (she moved to Baltimore
from NJ last year and lives nearby in a continuing care retirement
community.) And RCTN, of course...been hanging out here since sometime
in the mid-90s. Have met a few of you IRL and feel like I know a lot
more of you! Great community here.

sue


--
Susan Hartman

I am Liz from southern Oregon, USA. I grew up in the SF Bay Area but
we've been here for 19 years and I'm definitely an Oregonian by now! I
do mostly XS but also enjoy Hardanger & canvas work as well as
crochet -but only scarves or afghans. My real obsession is/are
Claudia Dutcher's Dutch Treat Designs tabletoppers. My stitching
fantasy is to have an entire bolt of Anne Cloth and ALL of Claudia's
charts. I have a fair number of them already and they make great
gifts (for those who "deserve" to receive something stitched by
me. :-)

I am married to DH (28 years at the end of the month). No kids but
three nieces & two nephews who will come to visit me and bring me
cookies when I'm old. We have a cat (Fichu) and a dog (Oddear) and,
with 15 acres of oak, madrone, pine, fir, poison oak and blackberries,
we have LOTS of "foster" critters who also call the place "home". We
don't mind sharing the property but we DON'T feed any of them except
for the hummingbirds and finches. We did actually feed the bear back
in 2008 but that was because we had a flock of chickens and a very
determined bear who seemed to know our work hours. Oh well. Bears
have to eat too, we just need to build a more resistant enclosure. :-)

Right now, DH is home (disabled/retired) and I am unemployed but
getting ready to start the mail order entry season at Harry & David.

Liz from Humbug

On 8/5/2010 4:08 PM, Liz from Humbug wrote:
We don't mind sharing the property but we DON'T feed any of them except
for the hummingbirds and finches. We did actually feed the bear back
in 2008 but that was because we had a flock of chickens and a very
determined bear who seemed to know our work hours.
Liz from Humbug

I'm in the city, with plenty of city wildlife around. Today I left the
house with five nicely ripening tomatoes growing on my upside-down
tomato plant on the deck...the first time I've tried growing tomatoes. I
was just allowing myself to get excited about them, as they only started
ripening in the last 48 hours. Well, DH just went out to pick a hot
pepper for dinner, and there's only one tomato left on the plant. One
half-eaten tomato on the deck railing. One in a flowerpot a few steps
away the deck. (Rearranging the produce??) One on the ground, two
dropped from the second-story height. Who knows where the fifth one
went. And several knocked-over pots.

Who would do such a thing? There are always squirrels about on the deck
(a reason to get another cat, I tell DH, but he's not buying) but would
they be able to "carry" a good-sized tomato around? The tomato found in
a flowerpot several steps away has a bare indentation, possibly but not
necessarily from teeth. I'm wondering if it could have been raccoons.

So two tomatoes end up costing about $5.00! I bought the plant for two
and a half dollars or thereabouts at a plant sale, bought a Trader Joe's
recyclable bag for a buck to plant it in, and a lot of potting soil.
They'd better be delicious!

sue


--
Susan Hartman

On 8/5/2010 11:26 AM, Karen C - California wrote:
kylou wrote:
A friend and I were discussing hobbies just the other day and she said
she used to cs but, because it is so expensive to frame things, most
of what she did is stuck away in drawers. I had to agree.

OK, OK, I really need to get back to the book I'm writing on things to
do with needlework other than frame it. My latest kick was having a
friend do up stuff (with sashing, if necessary) as pillows.

Done that, and they look great. Also ornaments, if the pieces are
smaller, and I've soft-finished a name sampler that made a great "sign"
for a kid's wall. A gazillion ways to finish, other than framing!

I've just finished (last night) a name sampler for a new baby that I
can't afford to frame at the moment. Wondering whether to send it to
parents unframed, let them choose frame and do it, or whether to
soft-finish it. It's hard to decide.

sue




--
Susan Hartman

On Aug 5, 3:10*pm, Susan Hartman wrote:
On 8/5/2010 11:26 AM, Karen C - California wrote:

kylou wrote:
A friend and I were discussing hobbies just the other day and she said
she used to cs but, because it is so expensive to frame things, most
of what she did is stuck away in drawers. I had to agree.

OK, OK, I really need to get back to the book I'm writing on things to
do with needlework other than frame it. My latest kick was having a
friend do up stuff (with sashing, if necessary) as pillows.

Done that, and they look great. Also ornaments, if the pieces are
smaller, and I've soft-finished a name sampler that made a great "sign"
for a kid's wall. A gazillion ways to finish, other than framing!

I've just finished (last night) a name sampler for a new baby that I
can't afford to frame at the moment. Wondering whether to send it to
parents unframed, let them choose frame and do it, or whether to
soft-finish it. It's hard to decide.

sue

--
Susan Hartman

When I did those darn dolphins for my niece I made my SIL pick the
frame because she's rather picky and I didn't want to give her any
excuse not to hang it.

Lynoth wrote:
On Aug 5, 3:10 pm, Susan Hartman wrote:

On 8/5/2010 11:26 AM, Karen C - California wrote:


kylou wrote:

A friend and I were discussing hobbies just the other day and she said
she used to cs but, because it is so expensive to frame things, most
of what she did is stuck away in drawers. I had to agree.

OK, OK, I really need to get back to the book I'm writing on things to
do with needlework other than frame it. My latest kick was having a
friend do up stuff (with sashing, if necessary) as pillows.

Done that, and they look great. Also ornaments, if the pieces are
smaller, and I've soft-finished a name sampler that made a great "sign"
for a kid's wall. A gazillion ways to finish, other than framing!

I've just finished (last night) a name sampler for a new baby that I
can't afford to frame at the moment. Wondering whether to send it to
parents unframed, let them choose frame and do it, or whether to
soft-finish it. It's hard to decide.

sue

--
Susan Hartman


When I did those darn dolphins for my niece I made my SIL pick the
frame because she's rather picky and I didn't want to give her any
excuse not to hang it.

The only needlework we ever framed are two samplers, one done by my
great great great grandmother in 1857 and one by an ancestress of dh's
in 1849.

In my family, needlework was used to embellish useful items - table
linens, pillowcases and sheet tops etc. - or clothing. Most of mine was
given as gifts, and I still have a bunch of table linens which I rec'd
as wedding presents, although some are beginning to show wear. Right
now, I am working on a pair of placemats, the first of which was
finished quite a long tme ago, I designed it to use a teaching piece at
out local Guild. The other is a cushion cover (pillow top in this
country) to replace some I made 20 years ago. The embroidery is still
good, but the southern sun has done a number on the linen ground.

BTW, we do all of our own framing, dh invested in a mat cutter many
years ago, and over the years we have bought lots of frames for just a
dollar or two at yard sales.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Susan Hartman wrote:
On 8/5/2010 4:08 PM, Liz from Humbug wrote:

We don't mind sharing the property but we DON'T feed any of them except
for the hummingbirds and finches. We did actually feed the bear back
in 2008 but that was because we had a flock of chickens and a very
determined bear who seemed to know our work hours.
Liz from Humbug


I'm in the city, with plenty of city wildlife around. Today I left the
house with five nicely ripening tomatoes growing on my upside-down
tomato plant on the deck...the first time I've tried growing tomatoes. I
was just allowing myself to get excited about them, as they only started
ripening in the last 48 hours. Well, DH just went out to pick a hot
pepper for dinner, and there's only one tomato left on the plant. One
half-eaten tomato on the deck railing. One in a flowerpot a few steps
away the deck. (Rearranging the produce??) One on the ground, two
dropped from the second-story height. Who knows where the fifth one
went. And several knocked-over pots.

Who would do such a thing? There are always squirrels about on the deck
(a reason to get another cat, I tell DH, but he's not buying) but would
they be able to "carry" a good-sized tomato around? The tomato found in
a flowerpot several steps away has a bare indentation, possibly but not
necessarily from teeth. I'm wondering if it could have been raccoons.

So two tomatoes end up costing about $5.00! I bought the plant for two
and a half dollars or thereabouts at a plant sale, bought a Trader Joe's
recyclable bag for a buck to plant it in, and a lot of potting soil.
They'd better be delicious!

sue


We had similar experiences last year with tomatoes in the back yard. We
don't know if it was squirrels, other land animals, or the wretched
pigeons which appeared here after Katrina, when the rest of the city was
flooded so they all moved up to the high ground where we are, and it is
not possible to evict them.

We grew quite a number of veggies and LOTS of fruit in the yard in Ohio,
when we were in Florida we had grapefruit and othe citrus plus an
avocado tree, here I just buy it all from the Farmers' Market.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans