The Things I See; A Library's Goodies

Last fall, I had the joy of inspecting a fairly new library in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. What could be more exciting? An English major in a library BEFORE it opens. I had to wander the stacks too because I had to look at the ceiling where the stacks were. I have an observation which was eye-opening to me.

Libraries in multi-cultural neighborhoods need to have books in the languages of their neighbors.

I feel like such a dork for not realizing that. Of course, I don't know which Asian language or languages this is, but there was a whole row of such books. It also made me realize that, although I knew it, lending libraries are global. If you speak Spanish, but your library doesn't carry Spanish-language books, the reach of a lending library means you can get books in your language. This is a head-to-desk realization.

When I was growing up, inter-library loan was a thing. Mainly, it was in the loaning of large print or Braille books. I knew people who would go to the local library and ask for the list of large print books. They had to wait awhile because these came from the big libraries or, in some cases, the university libraries, but they would arrive to our little library in Monona. I remember the librarian let me see one. Whoa! 18, 24, 28 point type. A 150 page book could balloon in page size to double that. You could kill small animals with the size of the book. But the librarian emphasized that people with failing eyesight should be allowed to read, too.

Libraries have had to remake themselves as the world goes digital. The days are long gone where you could wander the stacks of a library, finding treasures in the back; books which hadn't been checked out in 10 years. I loved to look through those, even if I didn't check them out. My local library has removed some of their stacks, replaced by an increase in the display area of periodicals (I'm not against that.), more music and movie offerings; and more classes. I have a cross-stitch club I go to every fourth Tuesday of the month, assuming I'm not traveling. There are more computers available for those without reliable access. But the large number of stacks, which I remember wandering in the 1980's, are gone. It's just the nature of a library nowadays. If I want something, they can get it via inter-library loan, but I do miss wandering and finding something I didn't know existed.

This library in Albany Park, was sparse from a browsing point of view. They are heavily focused into community programs. Being part of the Chicago Library system, there is no need to have a vast amount of paper materials in the building. Instant access in requesting books is provided. You can do it yourself from one of the terminals around the library. They have an outdoor reading area where you bring your own things or books you have checked out. It was quite inviting.

I have great fondness for the library I grew up with. That is probably as much due to the librarian who was very invested in getting kids and their parents to read. It was just assumed you went there. That libraries address the reading needs of their diverse communities should not have come as a surprise to me. I'm kind of ashamed it never occurred to me before I had to inspect one.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

A Promise of Better Things

I have been noticeably absent this space since early April. It's been a combination of things. I have not felt well. The warm spring days were followed by chilly and damp days. I don't do chilly and damp very well anymore. It settled into my joints and I found myself aching much more than usual. My rheumatologist agreed that this spring has been hard on people with joint problems.

Then, our work load quadrupled, which sounds like an exaggeration, but is not. I found myself doing day trips two, three and four days out of a week. I appreciate that fate or God or karma decided last year I needed a newer car because the drives to all these places was ever so much nicer when it was done in a car with adequate heat and windshield wipers, as well as cruise control and the ability to sip, not guzzle, gas.

This became something of a bad circle. I ached because of the wild swings in weather. I ached because of all the driving and walking. I couldn't get comfortable at night to fall asleep and stay asleep because I ached, which made me tired. Weekends have been something of a fog. I didn't have the stamina to complete a project so my house is littered with unfinished things. This made me sad and, let's face it, depressed, which contributes to the uneven sleeping. Everything accumulated making writing a chore. I just felt overwhelmed and unable to put thoughts to paper.

That being said, I've been working on a short story based on a writing prompt a friend gave me. She "double-dip dared" me to write a story around a silly Internet photo; a photo I had made an off-hand comment about. I know how the story ends. I just have to write the lines to that point. Now that the weather has moderated, it's inspiring to sit outside with my pen and write. I bought a journal to use for book quotes, but picked it up to use to tell this tale. It's probably a pedantic sort of tale, but I haven't done anything like this in years so it feels fresh and exciting.

I probably have 8 more hours of writing left to do. In true "Sagittarius mode", however, there are more shinies calling for my attention. That's what can overwhelm me and leave me feeling depressed. I love having projects to do, but completing them has always been a problem. The simple act of setting up the project is exhilarating to me. What do I want to do and what supplies will I need to accomplish this? But I get into the thing and have to set it aside because something else crops up, like the need to have clean underwear, and then I lose the drive to finish. It was extremely acute during April and, now, May. Then, I feel like I can't do anything and you see where this track goes. I'm ever so good at beating myself up.

The weather seems to have moderated now. I had a doctor visit last week where I poured out my frustrations and my rheumatologist was so understanding. She reminded me that living with RA means doing small tasks. "Just finish one thing and celebrate that; dishes, a load of laundry, pick up the living room so you don't see lots of piles." I got the oil changed and tires rotated. I spent 3 hours writing on the story; advancing the plot by leaps and bounds. I did a load of laundry and swept half of the floors. Just those things made me feel as if I could accomplish more.

Memorial Day weekend was a series of small victories which I'll detail below. Each step leads to another step which leads to a feeling of accomplishment. The business of business is still astonishingly hectic, but it appears, like the Tetris game, things are falling into place so I am not quite so overwhelmed. I still have to travel, but it's not in a rushing sort of way.

And then, as if to rubber stamp my sense of worth, I managed, for the first time in 3 months, to carve out time to go to cross-stitch club at the Wheaton Public Library. I haven't felt any inclination to do any stitching on the project since January because I've been coming back from somewhere on the day of the club. I stepped out of the house and headed to the car. There was a small rain shower going on. It wasn't much; more like the last bit of water was being shaken from the watering can. I got to the car and turned to slide in and saw this.

I do not remember when the last time was I saw a rainbow this brilliant. Look at the colors. You can see all of them; red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet. Excited, I quickly drove to the end of the drive, got out and aimed my ancient cell phone skyward.

Yes, please. I'll have a double helping of rainbow.

If you've followed me for some time you know I'm not a very God-y person anymore. I believe in an almighty, but I don't feel he pays too much attention to me; checking in on occasion, to see that I'm still hanging in there. Sometimes, he takes pity on me and things align, but most of the time, he smiles and moves on to someone with way more cares than I have. I don't want to make too much of a scientific occurrence, but I think this was nature's, karma's, "God's" way of telling me the storm has passed and, while things won't be smooth sailing, because, after all, it is raining, it won't be quite as bad as it has been these past 2 months. I've come through a choppy time and now there will be quieter seas ahead.

(On a strictly scientific note, I was quite surprised the rainbow was so vivid. We didn't get enough rain to wet the deck all over. It really was simply a sprinkle. Yet look at the colors, how clear and dramatic they are. Everything was at the right juncture to create this scene. Science is fascinating.)

So, dear reader, if you've progressed to the bottom of this post, I can't promise I will be as dedicated to this space as I was at the beginning of the year, but I have hundreds of photos I should blog about. It appears life is on the upswing. Things are, indeed, better. I have a double rainbow to prove it.

Beverage:  Earl Grey tea

Deb

September Progress

September afternoons were spent on the deck. I would come home from work, toss a load of wash in the machine, grab my stitching and go sit on the deck. The weekends were marvelous and this lead to a lot of progress with the beach picture. Of course fall is my favorite season so days spent on the deck are among the most pleasant.

I bought another table for the deck. Usually I would put everything on the plastic ottoman I have out there, but Pilchard likes to lie on that when there isn't another chair out there. I opted for just one chair last year, but I will have to put a second one out to accommodate everyone who wants to sit on something. I have a spot for all my supplies AND, most importantly, a mug of tea. On this particular day, I had washed bathroom rugs and draped them over the deck rail to dry.

That morning and afternoon saw the pants and seagull completed and the next item started.

On a roll, I stitched all week and was able to complete the swim goggles. A week later, the "floaties" were done.

Things don't look like much, particularly the seagull, because I've not done any outlining. The goal is to get the whole of the picture done and then add the outlines. It's coming along.

Beverage:  hot cocoa

Deb

The Next Cross-Stitch

After finishing the wedding sampler, I went a good three months without cross-stitching. It was about reading and making good on my goal to read through all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. But the itch, so to speak, needed to be scratched. Picking out the next project also gave me a chance to organize the box in my closet.

I dragged out all the crafting books and pamphlets and dumped them on the living room floor.

I decided my next project would be to liven up the bathrooms at work. We have no art in the office, beyond what people have in their personal offices. I have art, my boss has art, but that's as far as it goes. In the women's bathroom, we have some knick knacks representing the beach. I decided I needed to do a beach cross-stitch. Finding something was going to be the adventure. Oh sure, I could have googled "beach cross-stitch" and come up with something, but why do that when I'm sitting on hundreds of patterns? Plus, the box needed to be organized and this was a prime reason to do so.

Viola.

The pattern on top is not the one I chose. It's cute, but I felt it was a bit too detailed for what I can do. My goal was to find a pattern which used full cross-stitches as opposed to one, like this beach scene, which uses half, quarter and three-quarter stitches. I'm not good at those and they frustrate me. If I'm to get this done with any speed, it must be something I'll enjoy doing.

I also discovered I need a bigger box. I still have magazines piled on top of the box in the closet. One of the issues is the floor space where the box is stored. A box which will hold all my cross-stitch or craft magazines probably will take up all of the floor space. I'm not sure that's entirely what I want. I have, however, decided not to renew a couple of the magazines I get. One was expensive, even with a discount and the other was veering into non-cross-stitch crafts more than when I subscribed to it. I think I will continue Just Cross-Stitch because that's all I want. As it's published 6 times a year, I'm not adding to the pile quite so quickly.

After a couple days of looking through everything, organizing and contemplating what I wanted to do, I decided on this pattern.

It's all full cross-stitches. The header, "Home is where the Beach is" will be removed. I might do "Life's a Beach" or I might just redo the cloud lines above the clothes line. There is also the ability to shorten the sides so there's no white space when the wording is removed.

For the guy's bathroom, I found this.

My office mates probably aren't going to care, but I really like our office. I like how we were allowed to personalize our spaces. This simple act makes going to work so much more enjoyable and I see this art as part of that. Plus, if you'll allow me to be a bit selfish, it leaves a bit of me behind. Our lease is for 7 years so we'll be here awhile. I can see this being our office until Mike leaves and that should be after I leave.

The fabric count was for 26-count linen with the cross-stitching done over two threads. I have never, ever been able to master that. I always work in 11-16-count. It's easier to see and I don't have to worry that I'm not stitching over two threads. But I had no idea then, how much cloth to buy. My local cross-stitch shop came to my rescue. When it's 22+ count fabric, halve the stitch size and use whatever fabric amount is closest. It's the same size. In my case, I'm using 14 count. In my head, it doesn't seem to  work, shouldn't it be double the amount listed? So far, it's working out just fine.

Ivory material was suggested, not white. I'll go with that, but I didn't have any ivory material in my stash. The shop said they aren't stocking much in the 11-18 count fabric. Stitchers have gravitated to the higher thread counts for more detailed images. That makes me sad. "You can find all sorts of 11-18 count online," the proprietor said. Well, yeah, but that's not the point. I want to shop local when I can. She had a piece of fabric which she thought I might like.

It's kind of tough to see the pattern on the fabric. It's a white with a faint sandy wave-like pattern. It's perfect for a beach pattern. With fabric in hand, over Labor Day weekend, I jumped in.

You can see the fabric pattern a bit better in the images.

Cross-stitching is the best thing to do on the deck, I tell you. I made great strides in September.

I would come home from work, grab the stitching and go out on the deck. An hour of stitching made the troubles of the day just melt away.

This represents three days in September. I'm much farther along with this than these photos show. I'll be posting more as I get to them. Lots of photos yet to blog about. The green stripey thing is a pair of men's swim trunks, in case you're wondering.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Yes, please

58 and partly cloudy, on January 21st? What shall I do? I think I shall take some time for me and sit on the deck with my latest cross-stitch project.

Yes, the kids came outside for a bit. Hamlet still doesn't know to stay on the deck. It's going to take a lot of, "Deck! Now!" and sticking him in the bedroom for 20 minutes to get the point across that we do not leave the deck.

I put up the bird feeders. The picture window is a good place.

I'm going to try moving it to the right on the window which should make it harder for squirrels to jump into.

I don't own a step ladder so I had to bring the full ladder to the front to mount this. I won't fill it completely. Let's see if this works. Now to put up the north window feeder.

This one had been hanging very tight to the glass so, obviously, the squirrels knocked it down. It took a bit to find all the suction cups in the winter debris. I washed the thing out and repositioned it.

This is more off to the right than it had been before. I think it might have been too close to the pine tree. We'll see how long it takes them to find it.

When I came in, after being outside for a couple of hours, stitching, this was the living room window.

I'm fairly certain this wasn't squirrels.

As much as I like this concept, I don't think this feeder is working anymore. I thought the suction cups had a good seal, but I'm not convinced they do. I've had this feeder for a long time. I think I should just add it to the give away bag and get a new one for this area. Maybe a pole with a hanging feeder would be better. I have plans for this flower bed. A pole would work better.

The temperatures go down from here to the next weekend when we're back to what would be considered 'normal' for us. I enjoyed my day out and so did the kids.

Beverage:  La Croix Berry Seltzer

Deb

There Was Only One Done

Only one cross-stitch was completed last year, although I did start another which will be the subject of an upcoming post. The guy who maintains my World of Warcraft guild's web site married his long-time girlfriend on a hot June evening. I started the project in January on DMC's "Stardust" cross-stitch fabric. (To long-time readers, some of these photos will be familiar.)

I love this fabric. Glitter is embedded in the fabric so, with the right pattern, it adds a sparkle.

Over the next few months, I worked one week on the cross-stitch and one week reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. (I'm half-way through, which is going to be the subject of several upcoming posts.)

I knew exactly what I was going to do for them.

They needed a hand-made wedding sampler.

I had the pattern.

In fact, I'd made this pattern before.

I had to rip out the dark circle because I miscounted. Ripping out leaves such a bad taste in your mouth. You feel so inadequate. "I can't count!"

By day 10 of stitching, and, mind you, I don't stitch every day, even when I block off the time, the image was done and it was time to plan the writing.

I was doing really well, because this HAD to be at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts to be framed, by Mother's Day. That would give them a good month to get it done.

The wedding was at the end of June and, if I didn't like the finished result, there was time to make it right.

This is the unwashed and unframed but finished piece.

Yes, this is the same motto I made for Carole and Larry when they were married in March of 2015. For them, I gave them the washed and blocked, but unframed piece because they were going to be moving and they could then frame it to match their decor. I did their piece on black cloth, with white lettering. They have it framed in cream and, when you come in the front door, it's above the credenza where it's one of the first things you see when you walk in. The frame is almost the same color as the walls so the effect is one of seeing only the sampler and not the frame. It really came out well.

James is a huge Star Wars fan; Jill, not so much. I knew James when he was merely interested in this gal named "Jill". So, I really made the sampler more for him than her, but she's a crafter and I knew she would appreciate the time put into the creation of something unique for them.

I've said it before and I'll reiterate it. Debbie at Jo-Ann Fabrics in Bloomingdale is wonderful. She came up with the idea to double mat the piece.

That's a dark gray with a silver "marble-ize" mat under a black frame. I knew I wanted the black frame but wasn't sure about the other pieces. Here's how it turned out.

I get stuff framed and it looks so good, I almost don't want to give it away.

The pattern has been retired, officially. I tossed it in the recycling container. I'm not making this again for anyone. You can find it on Pinterest. I don't know that my not making it again gives the two pieces any additional value. I don't have a cult following and I don't cross-stitch all the time, as some crafters do. I just decided, for my son-in-law and James, who both love Star Wars, this was the perfect gift to commemorate their marriages.

Working every other week, alternating with reading a book, worked very well. I'm back to doing that with my next cross-stitch piece which does not have a wedding attached to it, which is good because I'm kind of meandering about finishing it.

Beverage: La Croix Berry Seltzer

Deb

Stitchery

This may be my lone cross-stitch project this year, it's hard to say. It is important to me to get this completed as it's going to be a wedding present for an end of June wedding. I need to have it done probably by the beginning of May so it can be framed in ample time. I thought about just getting it done and letting the couple get it framed, but they could be so busy that it never does.

The first thing we start with is the fabric. I knew exactly what I wanted. It's called "Stardust" and I've used it before several years ago, to do a cross stitch of the Eiffel Tower. "Stardust" is tough to find and I have only seen it at Hobby Lobby. It's become a bit of a chore to get to HL but I wasn't going to pay 20% more to order the fabric online. On one of our weekend luncheon excursions, Pam and I swung by HL where I could get the fabric. The Eiffel Tower was done on cream-colored fabric with gold glitter embedded. For this project, I wanted the very light gray with the silver glitter.

All set and with the colors for the project collected, I sat down to stitch. A couple hours and the form of the design is already taking shape.

Day 2.

Day 3 with more added color.

After day 4 stitching, it is clear what this is going to be.

I picked up the next color and realized I had miscounted. Around the dark circle, there should be two lines of color, not one. The dark color needs to be moved northeast, if you will, to allow for the additional color. My heart sank. Did I want to rip all the dark out? That adds time. Plus, I get down because I should have figured this out when I was stitching it. Could I just work around it?

The more I looked at the pattern and what I had stitched, the more I realized I couldn't make it work. If I really want this to look right, I have to remove the dark and do that area over. So, that's what I've done.

Has it set me back? Well, not really. Ripping out color is a chore, but once that was done, stitching went quickly to reform the circle so I don't make the mistake of miscounting. Now that this is fixed, I can go forward from here. The design is not the hard part, actually. The hard part is placing the wording. That's coming.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Butterflies Are Free

There has been a vacation in this month. I drove to Virginia to spend time with Carole and Larry. With all the other things going on in life, I didn't have time to finish the butterfly cross-stitch before I left. I was down to just a corner and the outlining.

But the whole point of a vacation is to be leisurely or, at the very least, do things you want to do. One of those was finish the cross-stitch. First, I finished the last four butterflies in the lower right corner. Then I started the outlining.

I've made some modification in the instructions as I've worked. What I like about the design is the mixing of the colors. Completed, it's like a water-color. The primary outline color is silver thread. The big butterfly in the center is partially outlined in black. Not all the the butterflies get outlined, either, which I think lends to the wispy-ness of the design.

The silver added just the right touch, but there was also the matter of all the backspacing within each wing. I opted not to do that. I felt the additional silver would detract from the butterflies and I wanted them to be the primary focus.

It's hard to see the black outline around the top wings of the big butterfly, but it's there. The other thing I didn't do was add the dark brown box around the outside. I felt that seriously detracted from the design and was very unnecessary. The piece also is not "signed", as I usually sign things. I couldn't decide where to put my signature, "DM [year]", where it wouldn't detract from the design. Carole said signing it wasn't necessary. She knew who had done it and would tell anyone who asked.

I hand washed the piece for her and left it. She can frame it however she likes.

With that done, I'm going to the sewing machine for my next projects, but there is a trip to JoAnn Fabrics next weekend before I sit down to sew.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Butterflies are Finished

I finished all the butterflies.

All the major stitching is done now. There is, in the pattern, a large empty space below the large butterfly. I debated just adding something but this is how the design is so I'm leaving it. The next step was to add the butterfly bodies.

That was simply taking a full section of thread and doing a straight stitch. Now that this is done, I need to outline some of the butterflies. Not all of them get that treatment. I also need to figure out where to put my initials and the year. There is a box that goes around the design, pulling it together. I might "sign" this project near the box.

Adding the bodies made the butterflies look so much better. It will be exciting to see how much more distinctive they become with outlining.

Beverage:  Scottish Breakfast tea

Deb

Rainy Stitching

We've had some weather in the Chicagoland area. Fortunately, I've been home for 80% of the heavy rains, which is good because I only want to deal with this once this year.

This is outside the office. I made it there just as the sky opened so I was inside watching the road fill up.

The heavy rains breed a desire to just sit. Nothing I can do, really, and I'm not inclined to get onto the computer when you can't see across the street because of the rain. I've been watching some movies with the idea that some of my collection are movies I'm not interested in keeping. Pull out the stitching, pop in a movie and be calm, which keeps the cats calm. This is what I've accomplished since returning from vacation.

There are three butterflies in the lower right corner to finish and then there is outlining to do. I'm close to having things moved in the basement; two bags of garbage was removed tonight. The floor is devoid of water, but the basement smells musty. The fan is doing a great job of keeping the air circulated so the floor can dry. I work for about 45 minutes and then stitch for another 45 minutes. It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend which means the lawn needs to be mowed. I also think it looks like the perfect weekend for stitching on the deck.

Beverage:  Dunkin' Donuts tea

Deb

Vacation Stitching

A week's worth of leisure where hours could be devoted to thread and fabric yielded this.

I'm moving the hoop to the right side by the big butterfly. There are four more butterflies to stitch and I'm done with that element. Then comes the outlining.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast Tea

Deb

Sunday Stitching

In the gray drizzle of a Sunday, while brownies were baking and then cooling, I did the rest of the stitching in the hoop.

I thought about stitching the lines representing the bodies or doing the outlines of certain butterflies, but I want to get all the butterflies done, and then decide if I want to do the outlines. Once the yellow butterfly at the top was finished, it was time to decide where to move the hoop. I moved it to complete the upper left of the design. Then, I will do the lower left, lower right and end with the upper right. I'm liking the variety in size and color. The only thing I don't like, and probably one reason Carole gave the project to me to finish, is the twistiness of the thread. It tangles so easily. Fortunately, this will be mounted so you can't see the mess that is the back. It's coming along nicely.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

A Couple More Days of Stitching

Butterflies are flitting across the fabric in the hoop.

I've spent concentrated time just stitching when I get home from work. Oh there are other things that demand attention, such as the wash and not having any spoons, but 90 minutes spent with color and butterflies makes the cares of the day lift.

I know it doesn't look like I did anything different on the design from the top photo, but there are two additional dark purple butterflies at the upper left. I have one more to do in the dark purple and then I'll move to the area above the large butterfly. There is one to put in that location and I think, after that, I have to realign the hoop. I don't want to do pieces and then move the hoop.

I'm still debating about the outlining in the pattern. I think, once all the butterflies are done, I'll add the bodies, delineated by a line of stitching, and see if that's enough. What I'm liking is the delicate nature and colors of the design. Outlining can call attention to sections. I'm just not sure. First step is to finish the overall design and then assess.

Beverage:  Water

Deb