Counting down

I've never had a surprise party, and they might be fun, but I prefer to relish the joy of anticipating a big event. Part of that joy is the fun of the countdown. So here are a few things I'm counting down to and looking forward to enjoying:

3 days until Mom comes to visit for Easter

11 days until Destination: Dallas (EEK - too much work yet to do!)

42-5 days until The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the movie) is released

1 month + 3 weeks until graduation

~3 months until the new Harry Potter book comes out

~4 months until the Charlotte Needlework Market

In stitching news:

The blackwork piece is done, and I think has a final name: "Principia" (or should that be italicized?). I really wanted to use "Newton's Law", but since there's a line of cross-stitch designs under that name, I didn't want to generate confusion. "Principia" fits, since the design shows illustrations of the Law of Universal Attraction, which was put forward in Newton's Principia, and since the wording refers to the publication date of the Principia.

The first ribbon of "Ribbons" is getting close to done. The other color combinations need to be tested. I also need to figure out a way to display it, since I'll be adding the other ribbons to the first one.

The release of "Mother's Treasure" may slip to mid-April, since I still need to do some tweaking on the completed model.

My first banner-stand came in last Friday and we worked on getting the fabric panel set up. Now I just need to get a couple more, get the fabric cut out and the sides hemmed up. Oh, and this all needs to be done in 11 days (the bad side of counting down).

Just so you know

Just so you know... frogging blackwork sux. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a mistake to take out, but since I'm a designer, it is a major rework. Which means taking out lines of interconnected stitching and then restitching. Oh well, it is all part of the creative process, right?

I think it takes four times as long to frog blackwork as it does to stitch blackwork.

Trying something new

Life is meant to be dynamic. At times this means getting out and trying something new. I've been doing a couple of new things lately. One is starting this blog. We'll see how it goes :) The other new thing I've tried recently is stitching blackwork. For those who don't know, blackwork is traditionally stitched with black thread (hence the name) and uses a double running stitch. The back tends to look like the front (almost reversible). When I first started the piece I'm working on, I started in the center like I usually do. And then I got lost. Because the double running stitch skips spaces that get filled in later, when the first stitches are put in it looks like this:
-- -- -- -- -- --
Not too bad on a straight line, but it can get confusing when going around curves. After a little practice, I began to find my way and found myself really enjoying the technique. The design I'm working on has turned out fairly fast to stitch and the blackwork can be used to create interesting effects.

I'm working hard to get this blackwork piece and another design done soon. I'm exhibiting at the Destination: Dallas trade show in 3 weeks and counting, so the stitching needs to be wrapped up in a hurry!

After Dallas is the Online Needlework Show, and then I will be able to relax a bit (and work on more designs) until August!