The Cross Stitch Gods ... Nice Guys, or Sick Sense of Humor?

Good morning!

Before I begin my speech about the cross stitch gods, I must say that it is a lovely morning!  Not as lovely as it could be of course, like this ...

or this ...

or even this ...

but lovely just the same.  Lovely for the devil's playground anyway.  The temp right now is 46 degrees. I am wearing a "winter shirt" (long sleeved knitted henley) & my furry bedroom slippers & I'm still chilly!  I'm actually shivering!  We don't have a fireplace (I'm heaving a big sigh of regret as I type this) but I do have candles that smell like logs burning in a fireplace & I can light one of those & stand in front of the open oven door.  You make do with what you have   : )   I have decided that today is the day to break out the hot chocolate machine.  John bought it for me last year & it is one of my best gifts ever!  I will give it a go after John decides to crawl out of bed.  I'm rushing the hot chocolate season a bit but I've decided that a-rushing I will go.  Unfortunately I realized the other day that I've forgotten the hot chocolate recipe I created last year. Why in the world I didn't write it down someplace is beyond me.  Now I have to try to recreate it.  I know I use unsweetened dark chocolate bars (Ghirardelli) & some unsweetened chocolate powder & I adapt it a bit to be diet friendly (skim milk & packets of Stevia) but I forget the ratios.  I guess I'll have fun experimenting   : )

I have been stitching up a storm.  I don't want to brag but last week I finished stitching 7 ornaments!  This truly isn't bragging because they were quick stitches ... primitive things stitched 1 over 2 & I don't think the designs included even 100 stitches so definitely no bragging rights here.  They were/are, however, lots of fun to stitch & I'm still stitching them   : )

I also finished stitching my exchange piece that I mentioned a while back ... the one where the designer snuck in some specialty stitches.  You may recall me telling you about how especially sneaky this designer was regarding these stitches.  The model in the photo on the chart leaflet was taken from a distance which made it quite small. You really couldn't see the detail.  I foolishly did not open the leaflet to look over the directions ... I just bought it based on the model photo alone.  I won't be making that mistake again, let me tell you!  I did not even notice the specialty stitches when I made myself a working copy of the chart, figured out where the center of the design was, & counted up to my starting point.  Nope ... I was nearing the end & that's when I noticed the specialty stitches.  I found myself some online tutorials & thankfully the stitches weren't very difficult.  They weren't bad at all really ... just a bit time consuming.  

I finished the specialty stitches & the final contribution the designer called for was the addition of a few buttons.  I didn't catch this either when I bought the chart or began it. Of course they were "specialty buttons" ... Just Another Button Company buttons, which I love.  They weren't anything fancy ... small little 2-colored squares ... but the designer wanted me to stitch on 7 of them & they were $1.70 each!  I thought, all things considered, that this exchange piece had gotten a bit out of hand but I consoled myself by imagining the gasp of utter delight my exchange partner would give when she unwrapped the piece & saw all the work I put into it.  

Enter the cross stitch gods' sick sense of humor.  When I saw those specialty stitches my heart sank but I consoled myself with the fact that at least they weren't french knots. I have written before of the animosity there is between me & french knots.  Well, the cross stitch gods got the last laugh when I noticed the notation next to the button placement directions.  Did I mention all the notations & directions in this chart leaflet were written really teeny-tiny?  Anyway, the button placement notation said "Attach buttons with colonial or french knots."  I almost lost it right then & there.  What kind of cruel, sick joke was this?!?!?  Attaching buttons with french knots!  

I know, I know ... I didn't have to stitch those specialty stitches.  I could've just made a bunch of Xs in those areas.  If I had tried the specialty stitches & failed, I certainly would've done just that.  Likewise I could've just ignored the colonial/french knots notation & sewed the buttons on as one would normally sew on buttons, but of course I have OCD & my OCD would not let me do this.  I had to at least attempt those blasted colonial/french knots.  First I tried the colonial knots.  I have had success with them in the past but not recently & certainly not with these stupid buttons.  I then decided to bravely give it the old college try & I went ahead & attempted to stitch them on with french knots.  You can guess how that worked out.  Finally I sewed on the buttons the normal way & you know what? It looks just fine.  Why in the world this designer wanted them to be stitched on with colonial or french knots is anyone's guess. Was she experiencing PMS that day or having a particularly bad menopausal mood swing?  Did a customer tick her off & she decided to punish us all?  Did she really, honestly think that stitching on buttons using colonial or french knots was a good idea?  

I have designed cross stitch patterns in the past & I will do so again in the future, but I will not under any circumstance give my devotees anything but little Xs to stitch.  I admit to having a warped sense of humor at times but I do not have a sick one.

Today I will be stitching more of the little ornaments I stitched last week.  I am stitching a total of 10 so I have 3 more to go. Sorry ... I can't show them to you just now.  I can, however, show you a couple RAKs I sent out recently.  They were for July, August, & September (I was a bit behind) & 2 of the ladies have received them so I can show you those.  The first one (a Pineberry Lane design) I sent to Chris at Tot Hill Farm Stitches & the second (a Pine Mountain kit project) I sent to Dawn at In Stitches.

I have more to share with you but this post is probably long enough   : )   I wish you all a fabulous week filled with many accomplishments & happy surprises.  Have you noticed my Christmas countdown thingie?  We now have 78 days till Christmas! I am smiling a great big smile as I write this even though the pressure is on, but it's Christmas pressure.  That's a good pressure  : )

I welcome all my new followers!  I'm really glad that you came to visit & decided to stay.  And as always I send big hugs to my continuing followers & thank you for coming back time & time again.  Your comments & friendship are real treasures   : )