Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Summer Blahs, and a missed SBQ

It's only the first day of summer, and already I'm feeling unmotivated....or maybe would be accurate to say that I feel pulled in so many directions that I don't do ANYTHING. ::sigh:: My house desperately needs a good tidy, but every time I look at a pile -- because that's what it is, piles....of laundry, mail, phone messages scribbled on scraps of paper, grocery bags that need to be gathered -- I just want to set the house on fire and get a new one.
(I'd save the stitching first, of course. And the scrapbooks.)

Anyway, I evidently forgot to answer last week's SBQ, so I figured I should get an answer up before the next one is posted.

How many cross stitch books do you own and how often do you use them?

I actually know the answer to this, because last night I decided to "organize" a bookshelf or 2! There are 14 - this is not counting leaflets with multiple patterns, though (the question is a bit unclear...). I can even break them down for you!
*Celtic - 3 books. I've used one a couple times, the other 2 I acquired impulsively via eBay several years ago. I browse through them every so often, but haven't started a project from them yet.
*Christmas - 2 books. One is "Donna Kooler's 555 Christmas Motifs," and I've used that a few times for coasters, ornies, and trivets. I got it on sale at Michael's - the end-of-season clearance - so I've probably justified the expense. The other is "Santa's Great Book," which I love, but I honestly don't know if/when I'll get around to doing a big Santa design. Honestly, stitching something that you can only display for a month or 2 doesn't seem worth it!
*Fantasy - 1 book. TW's Fantasy Collection. 'Nuff said.
*Reference - 1 book, "The Encyclopedia of Needlework." I've used it a couple times for stitch diagrams, and someday I'm going to do the sampler that is included.
*Samplers - 1 book, "The Sampler Motif Book." Some neat things, but I haven't done any. I like the blackwork band sampler, though, and now that I've got all those neat hand-dyed flosses, maybe I'll find the perfect colors to do it!
*Seasonal - 3 books. These are books of assorted patterns that are divided by seasonal themes. I have "Sam Hawkins Cross Stitch Seasons," "Something For Every Season," and "200+ Holiday Quickies." I used a design from "Something For Every Season" for my sister's apron last year...other than that, these books are pretty much gathering dust. I thumb through them from time to time and think "ooo, I want to do THAT!" but never start anything.
*Miscellaneous Collections - 3 books. They define definition.... "Celebration of Stitching," "Stitching Pretty" (a BH&G publication), and "Sue Cook's Wonderful Cross Stitch Collection." I've used "Celebration of Stitching" several times -- I've done at least 3 of the little squares, and I have plans for more. Which is kind of funny, since I got the book from a discount bookseller and paid almost nothing for it!
So there you go, the contents of my bookshelf. And if you thought that was long, don't even ASK about the contents of the pattern drawer!

2 comments:

Singular Stitches said...

I don't know about you, but for me, the weather has played a big role. We've had cool, rainy weather for a while, then BOOM! into 3H weather (hazy, hot and humid). We're so bad, we've asked our next door neighbor's teenage son to mow our lawn today because we just didn't have the motivation to do it ourselves...and don't get me started about the house...

Meari said...

I can relate to your "piles". I have them all over my house too and there are days I feel like just tossing most of it, just so I don't have to look at it anymore. LOL I need motivation!

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