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Stories, Swords, and Poems

 

Photo by Rebecca Hausner on Unsplash

Making Up Stories

Do you observe people in the same sort of way that a bird watcher does? I do. All of those people that you see in a store, or walking on the sidewalk are completely unique. They have their own stories, ideas, notions, and people that are connected to them. That person sitting across from you on the bus, or all those hundreds of people around you downtown all have lifetimes of stories. Consider this; the person you see rushing off to a dentist’s appointment has their own life, completely unconnected to yours. The dentist they go to has their own, the other people in the waiting room have their own and on and on and on.

I’ve been watching art reels on Instagram lately, the kind that show a painting and then give their opinion of what the painting conveys. The colors, the clothing, the little objects in the background, sometimes even the frame that the artist chose, all sit there waiting for you to dig deeper and discover something about it. That appeals to me, since I love observing things, and trying to glean something that’s not apparent at first glance. It’s like people watching, but with intentional, concealed mysteries waiting to be revealed.

My brain turns everything back to cross stitch, so now I’m thinking about Nikolai, and all the other projects I’ve worked on. Who is Nikolai riding with? Why is she looking at me when Nikolai is talking to her? Who’s that third rider in the background? The thought of that Dimensions Gold Kit of the Edwardian plaza at Christmas time is dazzling. There must be at least a dozen little stories to dream up when I eventually start that project! 

Treasure Mermaid by Mirabilia

It’s September, so that means I’ve reached my deadline for working on Aurora this year. She’s so Summerish, it was a real joy using all those blues and greens in a season that cries out for those colors. Here’s what she looked like when I started her at the beginning of July: 



And here’s what she looks like now:


It’s happening! She’s starting to appear! While I didn’t finish the medallion, I stitched most of it, so that’s fine too. The border around the medallion was much trickier than I initially thought. I made a slight error (by one stitch!) and didn’t feel like ripping out a giant chunk of her fin on the lower right-hand side. So instead of that nightmare, I did some slight “edits” which saved the day. I then stitched a bit more to the right and connected another part of her fin to ensure that everything else lined up correctly. Imagine how relieved I felt when everything did!

In the next week or so, I’ll be publishing a video on my YouTube channel with pictures of my start to finish progress on Aurora this year. Subscribe to me over there if you don’t want to miss it. :)


A glance at my WIP schedule tells me that Trick or Treat Moon is next in my rotation. There’s a ton of backstitch to do, but I have a feeling that I can finish it all before October. We’ll see! If that does happen, then I’ll be at a crossroads. I could either:

A) Start a new chart.

B) Work on a chart I’ve already worked on this year.

C) Jump straight into stitching Nikolai.


Once Upon a Time by EmnEllie

My future Kindle bag is coming along nicely: 


Since my last post in August, I’ve finished the sword, finished the lower right-hand side of the chart, and made my journey north to the medieval “O”. The Arthurian story lover side of my brain is telling me to name the sword Excalibur. The Legend of Zelda side of my brain is telling me to name it The Master Sword. It’s an agonizing decision, dear readers, so this might take me some time.

If you'd like to stitch along with me, this chart is available instantly from my Etsy shop. Feel free to share your progress pictures in the comment section or tag me on Instagram or Substack Notes!

You can buy this chart at the link here.

If you would like to stitch with me in spite of the boundaries of space and time, I made a stitch with me video here: 


Odds & Ends

It’s September, one of my favorite months. I feel like it’s my duty to share this song every year:


 Here’s a freebie for all the pumpkin spice lovers out there:


Do you read poetry? I highly recommend it. There’s an epidemic of poetry deficiency in the world, and it’s important that you don’t fall victim to it. I’ve gotten into the habit of reading a little every day, from a small volume that I purchased at a bookstore recently. This one caught my eye:

Song to Celia [“Drink to me only with thine… | The Poetry Foundation

If you’re in the mood for some Spooky Season stitching, I’ve got you covered. Here’s a Dracula cross stitch chart that I designed recently:

Dracula Cross Stitch Pattern on Etsy 

Happy stitching and see you next time!

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