Stuff

The world is living through uncharted territories with this coronavirus.  These are scary times and I fear scarier times to come as it may get worse before it subsides.   And we have no idea what the long term devastating economic effects this pandemic will have.    On the positive side, I am loving how people are being innovative and how I am seeing a good use of social media.   From creating fun things to do with kids, to the students challenged to share their school musical songs, to sharing reading lists, to sharing binge worthy series to watch, to the innovative way a grand-daughter shared her engagement announcement through the window of her pop-pop's nursing home room.   I am not a big social media fan however I am loving all the positive things and random acts of kindness that are being shared.  Like the trainers with their workout videos!  We as a people are being adaptive and will be resilient and will get through this.  I have enough supples in my house to last for weeks and am deciding to stay home to practice my social distancing which I gather is the new non-offensive word for quarantining.

As for we crafters, we know this isolation is something we have been preparing for for years.   We have that STABLE Stash closet that others have commented...."why do you have all these patterns?"  Non-stitchers they were.  We always have a to-do list of projects that we'd love to get to if only we had the time.  

Last week before we didn't know how bad it would get, I managed to get one SUV load of "stuff" to the local church thrift store.  My attic had accumulated so much "stuff" at the top of the steps that there was a section of the attic of "stuff" to go that appeared as big as the "stuff" that stays. As I sorted through each box to determine if it was trash, donation bound, kid bound or consignment store bound,   I was good and only pulled out about five or six small things that I might need.   As I downsized my decorations, I took pix and sent to my kids on a group text and had a few things spoken for.   Now I have a new section in the attic of "stuff" to take to children.   Ugh.    All this "stuff" I am hearing George Carlin in my head.   One step forward, one step backward.   This is a task that has been weighing heavy on my shoulders for the last several years.   I kept saying once I retire I will take care of it.  It feels like a weight is lifted with each box I loaded in the back of my SUV.   One load down and several more to go and now that I am staying home I can see this completely tackled.   Everything will be boxed and ready to take to the thrift store once it is safe to do so.

This self quarantining is really allowing time to let my sprucing up continue.    I managed to paint and re-hang a mirror, get artwork and decorator touches for the backroom I had in place, hemmed the curtains I bought for the bathroom two weeks ago instead of making them, paint the downstairs hallway and touched up the walls and painted the trim in the powder room.   Sounds like a lot but really because I put my mind to it, it was EZ-PZ and done in just three days.  None of the jobs was any longer than half a day.  So my "Critical Eye List" is getting smaller.   Yeah for me!  Next up will be the "Critical Eye Tour - Yard Edition".   OMGosh, I am too much of a list maker.  It is an illness!   I have always loved the sense of accomplishment when crossing tasks off.

When I was taking a time-out from the painting, I sorted through my basket of current stitching projects.   With working on UFO's, working on pre-stitching and doing a bit of finishing since the first of the year, my EGA project rotation went out the window.    Sitting with a nice cuppa for an hour or so, I have identified four projects and put at the ready in the basket.   Each bag has scissors, needles, cheaters and necessary floss.   It's funny, that is how the bags start out but either glasses get taken out and laid somewhere or scissors get pulled and not put back or I need that skein of DMC 310 and "borrow" it from a project bag.   Now everything is back in order and  I have a real grab and go situation.  

This is my EGA focus piece for the month.   I have not added a stitch to this since
February 29th!    Better get moving.

Our EGA challenge is to select four projects for the year and to focus on a given project each month.   Last year this proved really helpful in diminishing the number of UFO's I had.    This month the project number is #2.   My Number 2 is my 52-week Blackwork SAL.    Since I am starting Week #3 and it is something like Week #10 or 11 of the year, it is a good one to work on this month.


If you have an EGA near you, you really need to consider joining.   Most meetings we have a fun little project where we learn something new or try a new project.    This month we had a St. Patrick's Day ornament we were given.   The new thing here was to use DMC Etoile floss.    Some of us had seen it before, but many had not.    It is much nicer than working with blending filament.   I should be able to finish the stitching in this by the end of the day.

Not a bad deal for $5 kit fee.

Too bad the sparkly bits don't show up.

My daughters and I decided to cancel our trip to Connecticut.   It was sad to do so but we will reschedule for the fall or next spring.   In light of the pandemic, Air B&B offered a full refund.  Actually, the turmoil of being up in the air and indecision and headache of thinking about the traveling and what was the right thing to do all went away when we made the decision on Saturday to cancel.

My trip to Asheville for the Prim Stitchers Society has been rescheduled until April 2021.   What a headache for sure for the organizers.  The angst of making the decision and dealing with the refunds and cancelling reservations and knowing there will always be someone you don't please.    What a mess for the gals doing the organization.  No small feat.   Bless this ladies to organizate and now rescheduling this event.

I have been putting in my request for refunds for the tours and events I had scheduled.  Gray Line Historic Trolley Tours was an instant refund.   Biltmore tickets will take 10 to 14 days.   I will keep watching my Capital One statement.

I have been ordering up a storm on 123-Stitch.   Yikes!  Like a need to.    I also downloaded this pattern for a Terri Bey Lotus Box.    This is not the exact pattern I downloaded.   I choose one with blackwork and pulled work.   This is another EGA project.   We are to stitch this two times (yes, two).  In the fall we will have a class on how to assemble the Lotus Box.    Again, I am trying something new.

Everyone stay safe and healthy until the coronavirus is over.   No need for the hysteria of cleaning the stores out of toilet paper, just use common sense practices.    Actually I was at the Acme yesterday taking my elderly friend for her bi-weekly shopping trip and I have to say - which is hard because I am not a fan of the Acme but it is the only choice we have - the Acme did a great job of keeping shelves stocked.   There was a shortage of paper towels, toilet paper and bottled water.   They were being held at the Customer Service desk where they were limiting the sales to one package to each customer.   Since my pantry is usually always stocked, I did not need to get in that line.  It pains me to say it but, great job Acme.   The only thing that  was completely out that I noticed was the Isopropyl Alcohol.   People had bought it up to make their own hand sanitizer.

For us stitchers, we all have stash to work from.  It would be a great time to clean and sort your craft room.  Time to curl up with a good book, to catch up by binge watching something good, go old school and hand write a letter or send cards to friends, to maybe attack that file of recipes that you were always going to get organized, clean a closet, spring clean a room.   We crafters will be fine.   I feel bad for the non-readers, non-doers, non-stitchers, non-gardeners, etc. that are already complaining that they are getting cabin fever.   Probably jonesing because they think they need to get out and buy more toilet paper.   See, I told you I was channeling George Carlin.

 So everyone  keep safe and stitch on to pass the time.   Thanks for stopping by and keep on stitching!