Friday 1 June 2018

Sandy from I Majored in Home Economics

This week's Blogger of the Week comes via RJ and Mary's Birthday Party.  I really liked the way she finished the piece she showed for them and went over to read her blog and invite her to answer a few questions for us here.  She has a lovely home with some beautiful crafted pieces and you should see the view!  Right now she could do with a few prayers, so if you pray, please add her to your's.  I must say, I love her answer to Q11, what a teacher and what a treat!  Please welcome Sandy from




1. Please introduce yourself – name, where you are from, family, pets etc.

Hello, I am Sandy Palmer from the Gulf Coast of Florida.  I feel very lucky to live in such a wonderful place.  It is truly a beautiful place and I love waking up on the bayou off of Choctawhatchee Bay.
I am a retired school teacher having spent 31 years in the classroom teaching a little of everything.  I majored in home economics, but that subject had taken a major downturn in the place I chose to call home upon marrying, so I taught mostly 4th grade.   I am married to the most wonderful husband who is a great gift giver (more about that in a bit).  I have two wonderful grown children, a daughter and son.  My daughter is married and expecting our first grandchild in October.  My son has a lovely girlfriend who I would be happy if she is the one.  My mother now lives very near me too. I plan all my days around my family.



2. How long have you been stitching and how did you start?

I started stitching in college in 1980.  I saw it in a store, picked up a pattern and supplies and found a life long hobby.  I stitched the love chapter from the Book of Corinthians as my first stitch.  I was completely hooked.  I stitched all the time until my kids reached the age where ball seasons and school just took up too much of my time.  I picked it up again about 4 years ago when I retired from teaching.  I try to stitch everyday.  It is my relaxation.

Love is Patient


3. How long have you been blogging and what inspired you to start?  Is there a story behind your blog title?

I started my blog in the spring before I retired in June of 2014.  The name of course was my college major.  Naming a blog is hard folks.  I could not think of anything.  I knew that I was looking forward to all the things that my major offered but that I had missed while working outside the home for so many years.  My blog is a hobby and just a way to share the highlight reels of life.   I have loved the community and sharing.




4. How would you describe your stitching style? Are you a serial starter, a rotator, a OAAT (one at a time), highly organised, random and eclectic, etc.?

When I got back into stitching after such a long break I felt I had some catching up to do.  There are so many new products out there and then the overload of pictures on Instagram.  Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I could never keep up with the prolific stitchers out there.  I tried the rotation and even made a plan as late as this January to try it.  I am not doing so well with rotation.  I am finding I am a bit more of a OAAT girl.  I get started and one just calls my name and I feel productive.  When I skip around I feel a little out of sorts.  I do like to have a small project going if I am doing something large so that when you get off count and need a break, you have something to work on still.  Surely, I am not the only one who gets off count.  Gee Whiz, my eyes are getting older.
The one good thing is that I love all the stitchers out there. I think there is no one right way!!!  I love the many things out there, but I try to stay calm and just enjoy it.


5. Do you have a favourite designer or style of design you are drawn to?

I find that there are so many new designers out there that I want to do so many in fact that I will never have enough time.  A few favorites that really draw me in are With Thy Needle and Thread, Plum Street Samplers, and Blackbird Designs, and what’s not to love about eBay and the oldies from the magazines?!
I have started writing down the names of patterns I want and making a wish list because I can’t keep ordering and not having time to get to them:)

Blackbird Designs Bluebird of Happiness



6. Which piece are you most proud of in your collection?

For my most proud of piece, I am going to have to pick a tie between two of my more recent finishes. One is the Books of the Bible that my husband picked out for me to do and the other is a pair of cardinals that I did for Christmas by Stoney Creek Collection.

Books of the Bible

Stoney Creek Cardinals



7. What has been your worst stitching disaster?

I got so off count on a Blackbird Designs piece about a year ago that I just didn’t want to rip it out or try and make it work.  I just simply got so frustrated and so out of sorts with it that I lost interest and tossed it.  IT was bringing me stress, so I threw it out.  Stitching should be fun.  I have to say that is the only time I have ever done that.


8. Which new technique would you like to try, either stitching, finishing or another craft?

I plan to try my hand at smocking since I have a grandchild on the way.  If I enjoy it I will do it, if not, I will just cross stitch the inserts or buy him some smocked pieces.  My motto is life is too short and too busy not to enjoy our hobbies.
I also am so inspired by the stitchers using 40 count that I simply must try it.  I have a light and magnifiers and I am going to give it a whirl.  My eyes will let me know if I can continue with it or not.


9. Do you have a box of finished-but-not-fully-finished pieces? Or is everything FFO'd? What's your favourite way to fully finish a project and what do you do with them?

I don’t really have a box of stuff unfinished.  I try to keep them out until I finish them so that doesn’t happen.  I love all the ways you can finish them out there these days.  I am getting better and I love making little pillows.  I hope to do some Christmas ornaments in the coming months.







10. Which of your projects most represents "you"?

I had to think about this one.  I think it might be one I had hanging in my classroom for years.  It has an early American feel and of course teaching as the theme.



11. Tell us a secret about yourself. Or a joke. About anything!

I love history and especially space history.  I have a eclectic collection of space memorabilia and books about the topic.  I was known in the schools where I taught as the “space lady.”  We learned a lot about the subject in my class and performed a play for our parents each spring.  We did a mock launch and turned the classroom into the shuttle, mission control, and sometimes even Mars.  My husband is a great gift giver, so on our 25th anniversary he planned a secret trip to Houston which was one of the few NASA installations I hadn’t toured.  He got a top level tour for me and surprised me with the trip.  I didn’t know where we were going until I was on the plane.  I actually have a few space patterns I want to cross stitch in the future.


12. Anything you would like to add?

Thanks to Joanne for inviting me to play along.  I absolutely love the stitching community.  It is the best hobby in the world.






35 comments:

  1. So great to meet a new-to-me stitcher through Jo's Blogger of the Week. Nice to meet you, Sandy, and to see some of your great stitching. I particularly love the Stoney Creek cardinals. So great fro you that you could tour some of the places where space took its start.

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    1. Thanks Brigette. I hope to get around to each of your websites this weekend.

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  2. Y'all, as I read the above about me...I simply couldn't believe I left off that I have two of the greatest dogs in the world. They are the stars of the show on my blog. I guess I had a senior moment!

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  3. Hello Sandy! I am so glad to meet you. I am your newest follower. I had a nice look around your blog. Just lovely!

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    1. Thanks Vickie, I hope to get home this evening and visit everyone's blog.

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  4. Lovely to meet you Sandy.I shall pop over to your blog now,to read more:)

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    1. Thank you Lesley, I hope to visit you as well this evening.

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  5. Great answers. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Greetings Sandy: It is a pleasure to read about you and your stitching.
    I look forward to seeing more of your work.

    Catherine

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  7. Hi Sandy, nice to meet you, i also love the cardinals from stoney creek.
    Martina

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    1. Thank you Martina, I do love cardinals. That turned out to be one of my favorite stitches ever.

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  8. Hello Sandy ,
    Lovely to get to know you more ,so nice to read about you and your stitching .
    Like Martina I love your Cardinals.

    June.

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    1. Oh my goodness, just popped into your site. Your roses are so pretty. I love to attempt to grow them.

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  9. Hello Sandy,
    nice to meet you. Your Cardinals are wonderful.
    Best wishes Manuela

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    1. Thanks so much. Cardinals are a favorite of mine.

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  10. Very pleased to meet you Sandy.
    You have some very beautiful stitching. I love your Cardinals.

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    1. Thank you Faith. I just popped into see some of your finishes. They are great!

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  11. Hi, Sandy, nice to meet you! Your stitching is lovely and I especially like your BBD piece and Bluebird Out My Window (that one's on my wish list) - I like the brighter colors you used. Off now to take a peek at your blog.

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    1. Thank you Deb. I really love the bluebird stitch. It is still sitting out although I intended it to be just a seasonal piece for spring.

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  12. So nice meeting a fellow stitcher. I am a teacher of English as a foreign language in a school in Greece! Hope everything goes well with your life!I love your stitching!AriadnefromGreece!

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    1. Thank you Ariadne. I so hope to get into reading all the new blogs I have seen here when I get Mom settled. I am bringing her home from rehab to my home today.

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  13. You've worked on some wonderful projects Sandy. I bet your stitching time will be depleted when your grandchild comes along ... I know mine was.

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    1. Yes, Julie I am sure it will, but I am looking forward to the grandson's arrival. My mother's fall has put a damper on things for now.

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  14. Hello, Sandy! I wish Home Ec hadn't taken a downturn; it was happening in my school when I was a high schooler -- we were one of the last classes to have it. Due to being very rural, it lasted longer than most areas... We're a little nutty about space in our house too. I envy your wonderful Houston trip!

    You have such a cheerful collection of stitches! I really love the sunflower pillow and the little pie plate (muffin tin?) finish!

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    1. Thanks Rosey. I love that tart pan finish too. That is my first one of those, but I would really like to do more of those.

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  15. Hi Sandy, nice to meet you! I love little table with the autumn/harvest themed pillows, the colours on them are so nice and bright.

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    1. Thanks Leonore, I made all of them into pillows after that picture. I loved how they turned out.

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  16. I enjoyed reading more about you, Sandy! I'm glad we've found each other's blogs and always look forward to your sweet comments :) Having a husband who is a great gift-giver must be very special (does he give lessons--ha ha!!).

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    1. I really should rent him out for that. He is quite good at it. I am not nearly as good at thinking of those clever things.

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  17. This was so interesting, Sandy! That cardinal piece is one of my very favorites that you have done. I enjoyed seeing the stitchery that hung in your classroom. So meaningful.

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  18. So very lovely to meet you, Sandy, and to read all about you, your teaching and your stitching. That trip to NASA - wow! That would have been marvellous. Love the cardinal piece - so very pretty.

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  19. Sandy, I enjoyed reading more about you, I was going to mention you left off your 2 beautiful dogs but see you caught that lapse!! I think your recent cardinal stitch was my favorite as I'm partial to anything with birds but all your work is lovely. I think it's a real shame that schools have dropped HOme Ec, necessary life skills that everyone would benefit having.

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  20. So happy to see you as blogger of the week Sandy. I so enjoy your blog and I'm a huge fan of Lemony and Gus. I love all of your projects and you have done some wonderful finishes you should be very proud of. I too love the cardinal stitch and finish you did. And, you were SO kind to send me the pattern. I promised myself I would get it done for Christmas. You live in a wonderful place too. I love to see your photos of the beach. Congrats on becoming a future grandma...you are so blessed. RJ

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