Prairie Schooler Releases & Update

The expectations were high for the new PS releases and they didn't fail. There was a flurry of activity when they finally arrived. In fact, I couldn't get to my LNS that day but was there early afternoon the next. They only had one complete set left and owner was already reordering! Spent a lot of time the past week or so doing things on the PSFans Yahoo Group. Uploaded photos for an album for the annual Santas, then Friday spent a LOT of time setting up an album with photos of most of the PS Freebies. We're looking now for photos of stitched designs that were published in other sources.

Tuesday I was asked to assist the Salvation Army take some children to Target to buy school supplies, new shoes and a set of pants/top at Target. I never go to Target. I was assigned a bright 8-year-old and quickly felt the effect of having not shopped for same in at least 25 years! I was so stressed, I went from SA to Walmart to wander around in a familiar environment.

Sent off more resumes. No results.

With all the PS stuff I've done this week, I found myself AT LAST fondling my stash overnight, sorting and dismayed at the number of finishes I've never done anything with, putting thread bobbins back in the boxes. I intended to finish up a couple of things that wouldn't take an hour, but I couldn't decide what PS to stitch next!!

JUST A FEW TOOOOO MANY WORDS.

I'm getting a trial prism for one of my lens with hope that it will help vision problems. However, I did this once 30 years ago and I tossed glasses after a week. My eyes are very sensitive to even minimal prescription changes, so I'm pretty sure they won't adjust to this at all!

My sister and I went to a heavily advertised Job Fair last week at new Cowboys Stadium. WHAT A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME!! The ONLY thing they were telling people was: You'll need to go ONLINE to check on openings and make applications.

The past two Sundays I've spent in Dallas at an ARRL (national amateur radio group) sanctioned/sponsored Em(ergency)Comm(unications) course. EmComm trained volunteers are deployed all over the world to set up emergency communications to augment limited or totally destroyed communications systems using often very expensive but self-owned radio equipment, towers, generators, etc. for hours to days, or more. While one of the presenters travels frequently on the behest of the US Govt and military, most of those taking the course only expect deployment in the local area or state. It was extremely interesting. Since I am the asst EmComm radio volunteer at my city OEM/EOC, and occasionally do that solo, I am trying to learn every thing I can so that I will be far more effective and useful in an emergency situation.

I should probably take often-redone resume to Workforce Commission to see if tweaking it yet again would make ANY difference. Besides the age and over-qualification issues, what would be the most useful is availability of actual JOBS someone with my background and education would even be considered for. I've seriously thought about out and out lying about what I've been doing for the past 30 years. Seem no one wants an employee with a post-grad decree, more particularly a JD, hanging round. The majority of available jobs require only a high school diploma or GED and a couple of years experience in that particular type job. It's been very discouraging, and I really wonder why I ever worked so hard to get through both college and law school as a single parent working 20 - 25 hours a week. It took everything I had in me to do it. Now I only wonder why I ever bothered. If it paid enough, had health insurance coverage, and there was an opening, I'd be perfectly happy working at my LNS!!

Hydrangea Freebie from Cross Stitcher Mag

Check out a beautiful extract from a floral kit by Maia: Moonlight Hydrangeas at http://bit.ly/PzBht . Click "here" just above the photo. The chart is for the blue hydrangea on the right. Charted for Anchor/DMC/Maderia

DD's wedding colors

Beach wedding. I spent hours trying to put together email with Pantone (print) colors vs DMC colors for her. The email is somewhere in cyberspace. I stopped by LNS to look at silks and ended up with Soie d'Alger #113 and 123.


Of course neither of the above look exactly like the actual color, but gives the idea. Seeing as how she's since decided to use a rose red as an accent color, she picked out a red for her cake table cloth and decided on a dark blue for her table toppers ... My immediately thought was RED WHITE BLUE, and started to mention those will overwhelm her pastels. Rental houses don't have anything like the above colors except for bright turquoise or sea mist(too green). I've looked online, but nothing. I may look for plain polyester weave fabric and see if I can find anything closer for about the same price as renting. Suggestions appreciated!! She took home a Key Lime Cheesecake from a local bakery to try out as her wedding cake. It's going to be large single cheesecake on top of tier of tower, then individual slices on the lower tiers. I'm going to try to talk her out of luminaria along the aisle as well. I can envision pants legs and kids on FIRE! ACCKKKK!!!

Wedding & DMC colors - Teaching Cross Stitch

Still NO response re job apps and resumes! Pretty depressing. Most of week spent researching the cost of tent & wedding rentals for DD. She's asked me to stitch something on the white sundress she's chosen for her beach wedding, so took my entire box of blues with me for dinner Wednesday night. She'd made a mock up of the invite she's making herself and to go with the other blues she'd already chosen. She kept picking up DMC 517. I had 3 of them in the storage box and that's what her eye was drawn too, but I'm thinking it's a bit dark and you won't be able to tell what color it is, except it isn't black. I'm going to try to talk her into a lighter shade in the same family. OH.... doggone it, phooey, and FIDDLESTICKS!!! I just discovered the very long email I spent 2 hours putting together as I researched DMC .jpg's to compare with a PMS color chart I found online, and making suggestions is NOT in my sent box. WHERE IS IT???

My DD's fiance' has a 14-year-old. Knowing she would be at dinner I got inspired (or maybe crazy), hunted down a DMC mentor kit I'd ordered in 2005 but had never had a chance to use, and took one of the small stitching kits with me. While DD and fiance' were cleaning up, she showed me her scrap-booking (she's crafty!!), I asked if she'd ever heard of cross stitch, showed her the things I'd stitched for my DD, which she liked, so I pulled out the little kit and taught my first cross stitch class. I figured she was being polite to sit there and let me encourage her (she was very focused and doing amazingly well, if very slow - like I'm not). Those few stitches took well over an hour. I would have shown her some other things, but just putting needle and fabric in hand and making crosses (all going the same direction!!) was an accomplishment. My DD told me that she had worked on it some more later. Ok, where's all my stash that I can foist on her?? : ) Nope, I'm thinking she'd probably like Lizzie Kate, which I have none of. Or maybe a simple LHN. Not sure of her style. She had some plumish purple in her hair - but it was a temporary wash. I was trying to decide if I had been brave enough to put a strange color in mine, what color that might have been - or be. : )

Check out the freebies at DMC!

Freebie Link: Frank Leads the Crusade to Save Cross Stitch - Learn How Free!

FROM HOFFMAN DISTRIBUTING:



Direct link to Hoffman for standard and color charts - right beneath video.

Shop locator - I suggest you call your LNS first to verify they are participating in this promotion.

Embroidery on Wedding Dress

My DD called yesterday and said that she would like to to add blue highlights to her casual wedding dress and the same to groom's shirt. I'm HONORED, but suddenly I'm very concerned about my skills! Been a long time since I did straight embroidery. I'll wait to see what type of pattern is on the dress, then attempt to duplicate on shirt. I'm already debating the wisdom of stitching directly on the shirt vs stitching on fabric to tack on to it - just in case Mr. Frog comes for a long visit. I've already decided it's going to be washable silks!

Frustrating eye problems

I test at 20/20 vision with my glasses, HOWEVER that is sooooo not true. I spent almost 2 hours at my long-time eye-doctor's office this morning with intent of getting new prescription that will help with vision issues and relieve eye strain. I've never been able to wear the ones I got 18 months ago, which are too strong - the focal length too short, they magnify toooo much, or something. My 5-year-old pair suffer from badly scratched (scratch resistant) and foggy lens, not to mention they've been slept or sat on a few too many times. At the end of appointment: 1) there's such a slight change in prescription I could keep the old prescription - the one in which my right eye is never in focus at any distance , 2) maybe a slight prismatic correction to help my old eyes from the constant need to adjust up and down to correct focus and the resulting double vision when they get too tired to work together any more, and 3) have cataract surgery for tee-niny little ones, the real purpose of which would be to remove the lens to both reduce (but not cure) problems with glaucoma AND my prescription strength by at least 1/2. I'd still need drops and glasses. I say - WHY BOTHER? I agreed to see if sample stick-on prisms on my old glasses would help -and more importantly whether my sensitive eyes could even handle it. Not hopeful as I dutifully wore a pair of prismatic lens for a full week 30 years ago, but had such MAJOR problems I dropped them in the nearest Lion's club collection box then wore my old beat up ones for 2 more years until they fell completely apart. In the meantime, I continue in my old bent, scratched and cloudy glasses. Reading text or stitching just isn't what my eyes want to do any more. It's incredibly frustrating.