SBQ catch-up

So I figured... hey, I have some quiet time. Let me catch up on the couple of Stitching Blogger Questions I've missed... and eep! There are nine of them.

Where has this year gone?

In any case, here's my catch-up!

9/28/06- When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?

I usually muddle through, but I will take a break from the project with which I seem to be having difficulty. If it's just a row or two of miscounts, I'll just pick them out and redo. If it's something god-awful, then I do a ceremonious hoop toss across the room (no... really), unhoop the project, and move onto the next in my rotation.

Granted-- it all depends on my general life state, too. Lately, anything that stressed me out was just punted away for a while.

10/11/06- As we all know, stitching in the winter can really be rough on the hands. What do you do to treat your hands well in the cold winter months? Do you have any suggestions for creams or soaps? Or perhaps a special regimen that you would like to share?

I'll confess- I have none. I'm horrendously rough on my hands, and generally hate the feeling of creams or lotions. I've had friends recommend ones that they claim are great, non-greasy, "soak right in," etc... and I just hate them. The only lotion I generally use at all is the Aveeno oatmeal stuff that comes in a big tub-- it works well on my skin when I'm sensing I'm close to a hives outbreak. Otherwise, I'd much rather deal with dry skin than lotion.

10/18/06- Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left- or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?

I'm right-handed, but I don't think it affects the way I stitch. I've actually switched directions-- as a child, I stitched every-which way (because I didn't know better). As I started figuring out that they should all face one direction, I stitched \\\ then ///. When I picked it back up in college, somehow I switched to the other direction, /// followed by \\\. My guess is that I probably was thinking about what I was supposed to use, saw the diagram on a chart I was stitching from, and it said to stitch that direction. I stitch /// \\\ on all of my projects currently.

10/25/06 - If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and
appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a
morbid or "creepy" saying on it? If not, why?

To be honest, I find almost all of the samplers that have sayings a bit creepy. Some are downright morbid. I guess it really depends on how weirded out I am. Some of the replica samplers from the 17th and 18th centuries can get VERY morbid. I still would love to try stitching them because of the historial aspect, though. So I guess my answer is yes, I'd still stitch it. Justifying the expense is another matter...

11/1/06 - How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random,
or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?

It's dull and boring, I admit. I've never really been... happy... with it. I just never put the energy into a better title. (should I open this up for a debate? Start the new year with a new title?)

11/8/06 - How many different brands of "complete" embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (i.e., spread sheet program, index cards, palm pilot, etc.)

None. I have a pretty good collection of DMC standard thread, but it's definitely not complete. I also have a decent collection of Dinky Dyes and Sampler overdyed threads, but not complete. I don't have any method of tracking it-- the different kinds are kept together, but that's about it. When I have to gather threads for a new pattern, I go to the overflow box first, then purchase anything missing from the overflow. As I finish projects, I put the remainders back in the overflow (unless there's really none to speak of).

11/16/06 - Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each year and for whom? If not, why not?

I have not stitched any ornaments to date, but I do have some that I want to do. With the exception of perhaps my mom or Erich's mom, I would only stitch them for our tree, so I can do them on my own time.

11/29/06 - How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically,
do you or have you ever used a waste knot?

I don't use waste knots-- I was taught to never, ever knot the thread (and to this day, I feel guilty knotting my backstitching thread, but can't figure out how else to secure it). If I'm stitching with a single color, I use one strand, fold it in half, and then loop through to start it. If I'm stitching with two colors at once, I just pull the thread through until I have about a five or six stitch-long tail, and stitch over the tail.