Sew close!

I found some ribbon yarn that was left over from a scarf my mom made for me a while back. There are two variegated color ways, bright primaries and bright secondaries, so I'm using them to make the tie quilting on the batik. I'm about 2/3 of the way done. I broke my needle. 

Okay, I wasn't using quite the right needle, but it was working just fine until it broke. I've been through 4 more needles since it died and I haven't even been through a whole row of ties.  Now, these needles didn't break, they were just not the right size. One was too fat, one's eye was two small and started to tear at the yarn, and the other two just didn't feel right. Somewhere in my "collection" (some might call it a "heap") is an old Sucret's lozenge metal box filled with really sturdy needles left over from my grandma and grandpa (he was a carpet layer) which would be really sweet to find right about now. I've been using a needle nose pliers to get them through the quilt. That is what ultimately broke the first one. I had a little too much torque on it.

One the other hand, my sitter came over yesterday and was chatting me up about the quilt (she wants me to teach her how to sew) and I asked her if she'd like to have it for her birthday next week. She was super excited about that. She just graduated high school and is getting her own apartment (she's really got it together), so she wants to have it for curling up and watching tv in her new place. Yay! It has a home! Also, I had it on my lap as I was sewing up the opening the other evening and it was so toasty! The air conditioner was blowing right on me and I didn't even mind. 

Today my boys and I are leaving to go stay with my mom for a couple of days and help her with a couple of household projects she really shouldn't do by herself. I plan on taking the batik along to finish and I'll take the hex project along as well. I almost have another flower done. I had no idea how painstakingly slow that would be. It seems quick as I'm doing the hand sewing, but that's alllll an illuuuusion.  

Here's another fun wrench to throw into my routine: I have been diagnosed with Adult ADHD. Not that this is a surprize. It's more of a confirmation of what we already knew. This is serving to make me even more determined to finish projects and not just let them sit around and languish in the dungeon, and to keep this blog going. Seriously, this is the most I've ever blogged. I must've found something I actually want to write about. Huh. Go figger. I'm going to start my medication later today and we'll see how that goes. I face it with hope and trepidation.  

Also, don't forget about my Autism fundraising! Go to http://www.cafepress.com/harriet07 and purchase and Harriet t-shirt in the month of June and the profits will go to Autism research! (See post from June 1st for more information)

Hard on myself...

I've been working on the baby blanket for my friend and I began quilting it yesterday. I have one square in the quilt that is all white, so I thought, Wouldn't it be cute to write her name when I'm quilting? Fortunately, her name is Lillian, so it's got a lot of loops. I didn't have quite as good a grasp on it as I'd hoped, and it didn't come out like I wanted. It was too small, wasn't at the right angle (I hadn't been able to find my water soluble pen to write it out first, so it was totally free-hand) and I felt like a dip for even trying it. Then I thought, well, just fill up the square with some more squiggles and blend it in more than making it a feature. That worked! Well, I think it did.

At least I can live with it. Even though I won't actually be the one living with it. You know what I mean.

Anyway, I got that all sorted out when all of a sudden, my tension got all wonky. I tried all sorts of things. I even tried simply stitching over where it was loopy. Then I discovered that somewhere along the line, my thread got taken off the back hook of the line. Hmmm... That's not the technical term for it, but I'm not sure what it's really called. The very first thing I hook my thread around when I'm threading the machine. That's where it got pulled off. I didn't realize, because it didn't really look any different and was still stitching, however sloppily. 

Waaayyyyll, crap. Now I'd done it. This is when my rather unfortunate brain chemistry chirps in and starts telling me all sorts of nasty things, like, "You're an idiot. What made you think you could attempt this? It's just one more thing for you to fail at." No really. She likes to go off the deep end. I should give her a nasty name. Like Chick the Stick. Just so you know it's my evil twin talking down at me, not me. Because she tends to have way worse grammar than I. 

Of course, the other problem is that I didn't get cast in the last of several shows I auditioned for. I got cast in the one non-paying gig I auditioned for, which is way cool, because I'll be working with a really great director and I really wanted the role, but I'd also really like to get paid for what I, frankly, love most and am best at doing. I deserve that paycheck. Hence the severity of the down talk.

Back to the quilt... I was terrified at the prospect of trying to remove the stitches. I'm relatively new to the quilting aspect of this process and I've only ever done free hand. I've also only ever done stuff that's pretty small. Yes, even a baby quilt is huge by comparison. I also don't have a machine specifically for quilting. It doesn't have a particularly long arm, so I have to really make adjustments for that. So, my stitches aren't terribly even and some of them get pretty tight. BLARGH! 

So, thoroughly disgusted with myself, I cut the blanket free and brought it upstairs to sit in my recliner under the good light and try to remove my mess. I must have had quite a look on my face, because my hubby looked really worried. I just muttered about how awful I am and he did his level best to be supportive and soothing. I'm not easy to live with, I grant him that. He has the patience of a saint. More so, probably. 

I started picking away at the threads from the front side because I thought it'd be easier than trying to work with the flannel backing. Then I flipped it over, just to see what kind of a mess I'd made on the back side. It turned out that, since the tension had gone so loose on the top thread, even the tight stitches were easily plucked if I simply made a few slices with my seam ripper. It wasn't an easy task, by any means, but it certainly wasn't as dreadful as I had anticipated. Sure I have a few needle scars, but those will work themselves out in the wash. I did leave it alone for the rest of the evening to let myself cool off and just separate from it for a while, but I'm going to get back to it once I've gotten the boys home from school today. 

I guess the whole point of this entry is to remind you that, even when you make a mistake, whether it's stupid, honest, or both, don't be so hard on yourself. Take a break. You made need only a few minutes or maybe you'll need to really separate yourself from it and move on to the next thing. But don't beat yourself up over it. And if you just can't help it and start to put yourself down, give your evil twin a name (a really awful name) and tell him/her to SHUT UP.

Also, don't forget to check out my Spoonflower shop and the cafepress shop I linked in my previous entry to help kids with autism in June and July. Or just go shopping. I have lots of designs in both places.

Happy Harriet

A few years ago (2007) I was rocking my youngest son, and this little character came into my head. Her name is Harriet.

Hello!  My name is Harriet I've lots of things to say! I have got a different mood For each and every day! There are days when I am happy and days when I am mad and tho' I may get pouty I'm never, EVER sad! I'm naughty and I'm innocent (it cannot be my fault!) There are days I'm just plain loopy, Should be locked up in a vault! If you are emotional But don't know what to say, Get a different T-shirt For each and every day! Harriet(C) is the creation and property of Tracie Hodgdon   tracie@tracie-d-mo.com

I knew she was just a little scribble of a character, sort of like the "Little Miss" characters, only even more childlike. I started a little cafepress shop back then, but never really promoted it, because I've been a little backward about coming forward when it's something like this. No. Really.
Anyway, yesterday I was working on some designs for my Spoonflower shop (http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/tequila_diamonds - see what I did there?) and came across Harriet in some of my old art files. I knew I had to bring her back when my older son, walked in and said, "Hey! I remember her. That's Harriet!" He was only about 4 when I created her, so that's something. So, here's the link to Harriet's shop where you can meet her in her many moods (there are 7, so you could, indeed, have one for each day of the week). She's pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself. Naughty Harriet is my personal fave, natch.

http://www.cafepress.com/harriet07

Also, coming out in July, I will have a collection of Happy Harriet fabrics on Spoonflower. Any profits made from the sale of Harriet fabrics on Spoonflower in the month of July and t-shirts on cafepress in the month of June will go to the National Autism Association, in honor of my wonderful, brilliant son, who is on the spectrum.