Long Ago and Far Away and a Queen Stitch or Two

Hi, all! I've missed you. You know how, when you extoll your car's virtues "car never breaks down, works great, has 200,000 miles and has circled the moon without a problem," it kicks you in the butt to remind you of the foolishness of ever uttering such a thing by breaking down on the way to work? Well, that's kind of what happened after I announced that I had super mojo about my stitching. Like opening a drain and watching the water circle a tub, out the mojo went.

One factor is that I have suddenly, after 58 years of relative inactivity (I'm really GOOD at the sofa-sitting competition) decided to run the Richmond Marathon in November. (Yeah, Terri, thanks a bunch for that.) What? Run? I'm a stitcher! Only thing I've ever run for is a sale at In Stitches (more on that below). Something I can tell you about starting to run at 58: it freaking hurts at first. And then you get better and better. It's like doing queen stitches. I'll never be fast, and certainly not graceful (how I admire those sleek kids who zip by me on the path with their minimalist shoes and efficient form), but I'm getting it done. I'm quite beginning to like it, in fact, along with the 40-pound weight loss that goes with all that sweating and flailing and blisters. I've been spending an appalling amount of money on shoes and socks and running pants and jackets. Not nearly as much as I used to spend on stitching, but pretty close. Of course, all of this has definitely detracted from the stitching, but I did manage a finish in spite of my fuddled, weary self: Behold Peaceful Paradise!

Jennifer in Richmond, I promised this chart to you if you haven't already found it. Please leave a comment w your email, and I'll contact you about a snail mail address.
I was at In Stitches for the Superbowl Sale today. The shop was full of eager stitchers. When I wandered back to the fabric table, this was being kitted up for a customer: Mary Gail by the Scarlet Letter. Mary Gail is stitched in tent stitch, I believe, with the background filled in.

By using this linen, which I believe is called "Tobacco," (you should check with the shop), all that background fill-in is eliminated. Don't you love the AVAS silks spread out on the gorgeous mustard colored linen? That floss toss really caught my eye. And of course, I'm planning on kitting it up myself and stitching it. In between runs.

Last, but not least, is all three pounds of Bad Rabbit Attitude: Tweaker, aka Elvis, to wish you a happy week.