Carolyn, the Busy Bee

The LOLs don’t get together as often as we used to do or would like to do, but a couple weeks ago, Becky, Carolyn, and I all managed to take time off work (or already be off for Spring Break) on the same day! We met for a couple hours at the local bookstore’s coffee shop to catch up.

Carolyn was the big winner in the completed projects department. Not that we were having a contest or anything, but we do tend to bring completed projects when we get together so we can oooooh and aaaaaah over each other’s work. Becky and I didn't have anything to show, but Carolyn brought four completed projects! Woo hoo!!

I think I’ve mentioned before that Carolyn likes snowmen. She has snowmen stitched and displayed already, but she very recently completed this big project and brought it for us to see:

This is a Lizzie*Kate project called Six Fat Men. It is actually six patterns that can either be stitched individually or combined into one project. Carolyn chose to combine these fellows. Doesn’t the finished piece look great? Carolyn says she calls this project, not Six Fat Men, but Five Fat Men and One Skinny Dude. I think she has a point, don’t you? I think she’s planning to frame these guys, so I hope I’ll remember to show a photo of the project on her wall!

Along with all the talking and laughing, Becky was beading (she makes beautiful one-of-a-kind jewelry; see it at https://www.etsy.com/shop/baubleshandcrafted). I was stitching away on the 12^th – and final, thank goodness! – of a series of Christmas ornaments. Carolyn was working on “finishing” some of her stitched pieces into their final decorative selves. I am in awe that she can do her own finishing, and everything looks great. I have tried to finish my own ornaments and make a box or two, but all I ever ended up with was a tear-stained face, a sky-high frustration level, and a mess. Lisa now finishes stitching projects professionally (see some of her finishes on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/scissortailstitches/?fref=ts), but back in the day when she was an amateur (haha!), she would always offer to help me make my ornaments or boxes. Sadly, I was so hopelessly inept that she would get as stressed out as I was just from watching me struggle, and would end up doing all the work for me. That was just too embarrassing so I finally quit trying. Now I go straight to Lisa with my finishing needs, and it's a total win-win. 

Carolyn, however, is made of much sterner and more talented stuff than I and does her own finishing. She completed the Ho Ho Ho box at the coffee shop and ornaments at home later that day. I’m so impressed! Don't they look great?!

Hey! They gave Lisa the finger!

I’ve mentioned before that the LOLs go to cross-stitching retreats. The retreats are always a hoot, and not just because of the cool stuff the shop(s) provide. Somehow, we LOLs seem to make our own hilarity, and not always on purpose.

Here’s an example. One time we went to a retreat where the shop holding the event had some cross-stitch designers come in to tell us about themselves, give us tips and pointers, etc. It was a really cool event, and we loved the designers. They were extremely personable – hilarious and friendly. They also gave us free stuff, projects as well as other things.

I think the retreat was in late summer, so the next big holiday on the calendar was Halloween. Therefore, the designers (whom I will call The Bees, although that’s nowhere near their real trade name) brought all kinds of Halloweeny stuff for us. When they first arrived, they passed around a big bowl of autumn/Halloween-related trinkets. Every retreat attendee took something from the bowl. I don’t remember what any of the rest of us took, but Lisa took a witch finger. You know what I’m talking about, a green plastic witch finger. We all had them when we were kids – you put it over your own finger. Kids love them.

Okay, so Lisa took a witch finger out of the trinket bowl. That evening back in the hotel room, someone made a comment about The Finger and being our usual over-tired, goofy, giddy, silly selves, we were cracking ourselves up making jokes about how hilarious it was that The Bees Gave Lisa The Finger. (Get it? The Finger? Gave her The Finger?)

We thought it was sooooo hilarious, in fact, that Lisa texted a picture of the green witch finger to her husband and wrote, “The Bees gave me the finger.” Her husband has a great sense of humor, so we were expecting a screamingly funny response. In a way, that’s exactly what we got.

He texted back, “???” Lisa looked at the text, frowned at us, and replied, “They gave me THE FINGER!” We were all looking at each other, wondering why he wasn’t laughing. Then a lightbulb showed up over Amy’s head and she said, “I bet he thinks it’s some kind of stitching tool.”

Sure enough, mere seconds later, Lisa’s phone rang.. Her side of the conversation went something like this:

“A plastic finger. A witch finger.

. . . .

No, it’s not a stitching thing. (hysterical laughter from the LOLs; high-fives to Amy) It’s a kid’s Halloween thing. A witch finger.

. . . .

No, they gave us all Halloween trinkets and I got a finger. Get it? They gave me the finger!”

He didn’t get it. Or maybe he did get it and thought we were nuts. Lisa hung up and said, “Take a picture of me. THIS is what I should have sent him.”

And here’s the picture we took.

He definitely “got it” after she sent the second photo, but I don’t think he thought it was even moderately funny. (As you can tell, he’s a very nice guy, and not anywhere near as rude as we are.)

The next day at the retreat, The Bees were walking around talking to everyone. When they came to our table, we told them how much fun we were having and how great we thought they were, and everyone was laughing and talking and having a high time. Then Lisa told The Bees about trying to make her husband understand our joke about them giving her the finger. They laughed. Then one of us said something about posting the second photo with the caption “The Bees gave Lisa the finger” on Facebook. The Bees looked stricken and one of them said, “Please don’t put that on the Internet! We don’t want anyone to think we gave you the finger!”

We saw their point. That doesn’t sound very good. We didn’t post on Facebook, but I did save the picture. And I can’t help it; every time I start to stitch one of The Bees’s designs, I laugh.

(And, by the way, of all the talented designers we’ve met, The Bees are still my favorites! Sweet, generous ladies, and a LOT of fun!! Their designs are wonderful, too. Too bad I can’t tell you who they are.)

Show and Tell

Check out the cross stitching of some of the LOLs:

Becky was stitching this the last time we all got together. Those aqua/teal shades are my personal favorites. 

Lisa was working on a Christmas mystery sampler. She’s probably finished it by now because she is the fastest stitcher in the West. (Also in the East, the North, and the South!) I love these colors, too!! 

Carolyn collects snowmen, and this little fellow is an adorable addition to her ornament collection. She finished him up right after our last get-together. He is stitched on perforated paper.

I’ve had issues with focus and haven’t been cross stitching. Instead, last time we all met, I was knitting this “polka dot” scarf for myself. I'm a lot farther along now, but it's not finished yet.

Below is a scarf I knitted for my sister last year. It is the same "polka dot" pattern and same Malabrigo yarn, but in a more teal/green colorway. 

Cashmere's Revenge

The other night I had a Pampered Chef party. I had nine guests plus my fabulous consultant, Sam, all packed into my living room. Every one of my guests likes and owns Pampered Chef products, most of the attendees knew each other, and my living room is not huge. Add those factors up and what results is a lot of fun, and a lot of noise. The party started at 6:30; one friend stayed after the party for extra visiting because we hadn’t seen each other in so long, and she left around midnight.

My cat, Cashmere, is very shy. She ran for cover when Sam arrived at 5:30 and I couldn’t even find her to offer sanctuary and delicious wet cat food in my bedroom at her suppertime. Amelia and I hoped she would come out after the party ended, but she stayed hidden. 

After Amelia left and I locked the front door, Cashmere came barreling out to eat and be petted. I complied, and played with her for a few minutes, but it was way past my bedtime and I needed to go to sleep.

I felt badly that Cashmere had been overwhelmed and forced to hide out for so long. When I was ready for bed, I left my bedroom door open so she could come in during the night if she so chose. This is a very rare occurrence because my allergy / asthma doctor is very firm that I can own a cat but I should not let it in the bedroom if I plan to breathe easily. (Oh, yes, I am allergic to cats. But I love them anyway.)

After I was all tucked in bed, comfortable on my side with my pillow and covers just so, and quietly sinking into sleep, Cashmere hopped up on the bed, plopped down on my pillow, and leaned all her weight into my face. You can bet that woke me up! I placed my hand between my face and her back and gave a little push, thinking she would move over enough to let me breath. Nope, she wouldn’t move an inch. The more I pushed her, the more she pushed back – and the louder she purred! I think she was planning to smother me in my sleep.

Eventually I pushed her with both hands and she moved off my pillow. The battle made me laugh hard enough to wake me up completely, and it was a long time before I went to sleep. The next day, I was exhausted, and my eyes were itchy and swollen from the contact with Cashmere’s fur.

I guess she showed me who’s boss! And I'm okay with her being the boss, because look how cute she is when she's not trying to smother me.