I Survived

Did I mention that we had guests coming for the weekend? Did I mention that they included a 4 year old and a nearly 1 year old? I survived, but barely. We went swimming, we went to the resteraunt with a sand/play area, we drew mermaids, we made sure the cat wasn't chased into a corner, we went to Space Center Houston and the Kemah Boardwalk, we stayed up too late after the kids finally went to bed - we needed a nap ourselves when the kids finally left! I also learned a valuable lesson: don't leave knitting out with small children around (even after telling them how it is bad to play with it). After they left, I discovered that one needle had been pulled out of half a row of stitching, so I had to recover that and fix a couple of dropped stitches. All in all, we had a great time together, though!

Question 12 has now been answered - SPQR has words in Latin, Hero and Journey both contains words in Chinese.

New trivia questions:

Question 13: What was the first word said from the Moon?

Question 14: What Shuttle Mission is scheduled to launch on July 1, 2006?

Question 15: Nasa Rd. 1 outside of Johnson Space Center was briefly renamed for what Astronaut in 1998?

Question 16: The Astros currently play in Minutemaid Park - what was the previous name of the ballfield before it was called Minutemaid Park?

Question 17: How many times have the Astros appeared in the World Series?

Question 18: In Superman II, what do the evil Kryptonians mistakenly think Earth is called?

Ready, set, SHIP!

Everything is ready to go, I just have to stop by the post office and the UPS store tonight.

Here's a preview of the latest Cross Eyed Kat design:

I'm just tickled with the way it came out! Now, normally, I'm not a bright blue, green and pink person, but this design does coordinate with the iFobs.

I finished the printing just in time as our friends arrived in town Wednesday (although they're not staying with us until the weekend), so evenings have been taken up with dinners and chasing around a 4 year old and almost 1 year old. I still need to update the website with new shops, and of course get new designs out of my head and onto paper. Can I get someone to volunteer to do my laundry? Thanks.

Question 12 is still up for grabs. There are three designs that have words in a language other than English on them (not just letters).

Getting there

I got almost all of my work done last night. All of the April releases were reprinted, and I wrote up the finishing directions for "Melodies." I should wrap up the charting work for "Melodies" tonight and do the photography for it, then that can be printed as well. I really need to get all of this work done this week because we have some friends and their little ones coming to visit this weekend, so there's no hope of getting anything done over the weekend. Something to remember is that when you buy a Cross Eyed Kat design, it is highly likely that every piece of the package has been touched by the designer. DH does get roped into the large collating sessions before trade shows, but I still run the in-house printer (including cursing at the paper jams). In fact, I was a one-woman show at Indianapolis. Here are a couple of shots of the booth.

Before (this is what the booth looked like when I first arrived and deposited my stuff there):

And after setup was complete:

Wow! It is hard to believe that so many designs have been released in two years! Yes, Cross Eyed Kat celebrated two years of offical releases May 25th, 2006.

Trivia Question 10: What was the first design released by Cross Eyed Kat?

Trivia Question 11: What Cross Eyed Kat design benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation?

Trivia Question 12: What Cross Eyed Kat designs contain words in a language other than English(in the design)? (There are 3)

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And in response to the comments: Jenn, you're right, Oscar is similar to the Snowfight: Red dragon. I think he is smaller, though. He was drawn completely separately. I do tend to like red dragons, and then that leads me to a similar color palatte of DMC. Lets just say they're cousins. :) No ark yet, the water has subsided for now, but Winnie the Pooh used to say, "Tut-tut, it looks like rain!" I just hope it is not another 6 inches!

Shannon, for David Brin reading, I most recommend Startide Rising along with its sequel The Uplift War; I also like Earth; which may be interesting to go back and read now, considering it touched on privacy issues and South Lousiana flooding (although not New Orleans focused).

Another one of my favorite authors is Tad Williams, although I'm working to get through his Otherland series. I've read several other books this spring while having the first one of this series "in progress" mostly because it is hardback and I've been travelling. On the other hand, it hasn't been the page turner that several of his other books/series have been for me. I must say that Tad Williams is a very nice author and when he came as a guest to a sci-fi convention several years ago, I brought my entire collection of his works. I had bought a couple of hardback copies of his books which I had in paper back, and he had one book which was released in two parts in paperback. All in all, I think I had nine books of his with me. He took the time to sign every single one with personal messages. It is so fun to pick up those books now to re-read and find those messages at the front. If you've never read Tad Williams, and you like cats, run out and get a copy of Tailchaser's Song and read it!

Making Christmas

Isn't it just too adorable? I think it took me about 3 nights to stitch up. The Estaz was fun to use, but a little big for the 28 count fabric. Arctic Rays or a Kreinik braid could also be used - whatever floats your boat as a tree garland.

We did get a bunch of rain this morning to go with all the rain we've had the past two days, and although the backyard drains aren't quite working and the yard is swampy, we're not flooding. It did fall fast and heavy this morning - I could just tell from the sound that it was a really hard rain. Yesterday we had a rainbow over our house after driving through a hard rain.

Tonight will be a full night (and I'm already tired from the rain waking me up) - I'm trying to finish off the chart for "Melodies", the iPod cover. I also have to do a bunch of printing to send charts out to my distributor. I hope to have those ready to ship tomorrow or the next day. If I can get it all done today and tomorrow, then I will have all of the Indianapolis work behind me and can start concentrating on new stuff, which is of course more fun.

Something dangerous happened to me last week - I learned how to knit! I can see why this knitting craze took off. It is almost a viral type of craft. Just get going, keep it with you, knit where ever you are. Now, how to make cross stitch like that?

I'm also reading a really great book. It is obviously a great book because I've read it so much the pages have broken out of the binding in one spot (that or the glue wasn't that good). It is Startide Rising by David Brin and I highly recommend it. It is a bit odd because some major events that pertain to the story occur before the book starts, but they get explained as the book goes along.

The Further Adventures of Oscar and Ralph

There's a new addition to the complementary designs featuring Oscar the dragon and Ralph the mouse - and yes, I did get the model stitched in time for the show! This design is only available through shops that order Cross Eyed Kat designs, so you'll have to bug your LNS (wait, I mean, ask politely) for a copy. And if they don't have the newest one, it means they need to order the new, cool designs! I'll be sure to dig the model out of the suitcase tonight to get a picture and update this. The design is called "Making Christmas" and Oscar and Ralph are decorating a Christmas tree. I experimented with a new (to me) fiber on this one: Estaz from Glissen Gloss. It makes a terrific garland, but it was a bit big for the fabric I used. I ended up couching it on the top of the design, but it still looks really cool.

A picture soon, I promise!

The Kat is Cross Eyed

This morning I was touring downtown Indianapolis in a stretch limo - this afternoon, I'm sitting in my office in Houston. It still feels weird. If you happen to need a ride from the airport to downtown Indianapolis, it is cheaper to ride in a stretch limo than to take a taxi. Go figure. And a lot more fun! On a sad note, I saw far more of Indianapolis this morning than I did the previous 4 days during the trade show!

So why did I ask a question yesterday about the Animaniac's US State Capitals song? Sing it with me... "Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Columbus is the capital of Ohio..." The TNNA show was held in Indianapolis this year, although it is usually heald in Columbus, Ohio. And guess what town is the Cross Eyed Kat's home town? That's right - Baton Rouge! What an amazing coincidince!

Ok, time to relax and recover!

Gary Indiana Gary Indiana

Shannon got all the questions right!

I had a fabulous time visiting Mt. St. Helens and I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the area. The day was rainy, but it cleared every now and then. I stopped at every visitors station on the way up and watched every movie. I learned all about Harry Truman and his cats. The difference between where trees have been replanted and where they haven't in the blast zone is just amazing.

Working the Indianapolis trade show has been crazy - setup all day the first day, then two full days so far of working the booth. Meetings at night, so the days are long.

I'm ready to get back home and get back to the work of designing.

Ok, more trivia questions:

Question 6: How many trombones led the symphony (according to the Music Man)?

Question 7: What baseball team calls Indianapolis home?

Question 8: In the Animaniac's song with all of the US state capitals, which state capital comes first? (Indianapolis is second)

And in light of my poker winnings last week:

Question 9: In Texas Hold'em what are the first three cards dealt to the community called?

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Texas here I come!

Trivia Contest

Ok, I'm gong to run a trivia contest starting now and running until the October Needlework Show. I'll sporadically post questions and readers can post answers in the comments. First person to post the correct answer gets credit for the answer to that question. The person with the most correct answers by October gets a choice of three Cross Eyed Kat cross stitch charts!

Fine print: not responsible for blogger problems, web problems, and the like. In case of disputes, my decision is final. In case of a tie, I'll decide a winner by random draw.

Ready? Ok, go!

Question 1: What mountain am I standing in front of?

Question 2: What ridge am I standing on?

Question 3: The ridge I'm standing on is named for somebody. What were his last (known) words?

Question 4: What day did the mountain I'm standing in front of erupt? (Ok, I guess technically, you'd call it a volcano, not a mountain)

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In other news, I'm frantically trying to get ready for the big summer tradeshow. This one is a completely different format from the ones I've been to before, so I hope I've got my bases covered. I'll have two brand new designs, in additions to the new releases from April. The new designs are Post Modern Dogs, which the people at one of the LNS's near me have been bugging me to do for at least a year. It is smaller than PoMo Cats - maybe people will see that you don't have to do the whole design.

Here's a preview:
Woof woof! I also finished another new design I'm calling Melodies - it is an iPod holder and the colors match the iFobs. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that. I just finished making the bead fringe for it Sunday and then finished it so it hangs around my neck. I love how it turned out!

Ok, time to start making lists and figuring out what I'm forgetting....