This week's Blogger of the Week is one of our quieter bloggers, but as you will see from the photos she is also a most prolific stitcher with some gorgeous designs. Once again we share the same tastes (especially the Hallowe'en!) and, of course, she is a cat-lover. And dogs! I am sure you will enjoy this interview, learning more about our Blogger, the reason behind the blog name and the gorgeous seasonal stitching. Please welcome Amy from
1. Please introduce yourself – name,
where you are from, family, pets etc.
My name is Amy; I'm originally from
Iowa in the USA, currently living in Missouri, and I deeply miss the
Iowa winters. I have a 19-year-old son, a piano performance major in
college.
I have an elderly cat, an old cat, and
a young mostly blind cat, all of whom were stray or stray-adjacent
(the elderly cat's mother was a stray we brought in, turned out she
was pregnant. He was born under my bedroom dresser). I have two
6-year-old dogs, both rescues, one of whom actually belongs to a
friend. He's staying with us for the forseeable future while the
friend cares for an ill relative.
2. How long have you been stitching and
how did you start?
I've been stitching since early 1996. My college roommate did cross stitch, and let me try stitching one of
her projects. It was a Lavender & Lace angel, on linen, and I
loved it, even though I did it wrong to start with. What hooked me
was the meditative quality of the activity, as well as the delicate
prettiness of the stitches.
I didn't stitch much after my son was
born, until picking it back up in 2015. During most of his 19 years,
I slooooooowly worked on two Lavender & Lace designs – first
"Angel of Autumn" and then "Nantucket Rose" (for
my mom).
Angel of Autumn
Nantucket Rose
3. How long have you been blogging and
what inspired you to start? Is there a story behind your blog
title?
I started blogging in general sometime
in the early or mid-2000's. I was in various media fandoms, and went
from email message groups, to message boards, and finally to blogging
on Livejournal.
I left fandom-related blogging a couple
of years ago, but then discovered craft blogs in 2015, and when I
picked up cross stitch again decided that a blog would be a great way
to follow other crafters, keep track of my projects, and maybe keep
me motivated.
The title of my blog - about the time I
started stitching again, I found a fabulous lime green faux leather
rocking club chair (it has a lot going on!) at Goodwill for $40, and
decided I had to have it for a stitching chair. I set it up among my
bookshelves, with a footstool and a TV, and had my stitchy spot! I
was so pleased with that chair that I decided to name my blog after
it.
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.?
Well, I am any one of those things,
depending on my mood.
For example, in May 2017 I did Stitch
Maynia and started ALL THE THINGS, and then continued to start more
things through most of the rest of the year, and it was the most fun
ever. I stitched on whatever I felt like at any given moment,
finishing mostly smalls.
But now, having so many WIPs is driving
me crazy so I'm methodically working my way through them, and not
starting anything new outside of the occasional small. I’m really
enjoying watching my WIPs become finishes.
5. Do you have a favourite designer or
style of design you are drawn to?
I’m always bad at “what is your
favorite...“ questions. Favorites change by the week sometimes!
But let's see. I've stitched a lot of
Halloween and autumn. I like mandalas, nature themes, quaker motifs,
and pretty ladies. I didn't used to like samplers, but they've grown
on me. I've also been finding myself wanting to stitch more Spring
themes/colors lately.
Halloween Stitching
Spring themed stitching
There are also styles that I like but have decided not to stitch, for the most part – for example: mid-century-modern style designs, because they wouldn't really go with my decor, and HAEDs, because I don't have the patience. However, I love seeing others' work on those types of projects. That's something I like about online stitching communties, being able to enjoy all kinds of stitching vicariously.
6. Which piece are you most proud of in
your collection?
Right now there are two finishes that
I'm excessively proud of.
"Angel of Autumn" by Lavender
and Lace – this took me forEVER to stitch. I started it before I
got pregnant, and then had such a hard time finding time to work on
it after my son was born that I started to resent it. How dare it sit
in the corner making me feel guilty for not working on it! About 7
years later, it was finally done, and I was so proud of myself.
"Lizzie Stitching Wallet" by
Faby Reilly – I recently finished this. Stitching the pieces of the
wallet was occasionally a struggle, and then constructing it was a
struggle, and I kind of still can't believe I did it.
I'm also very proud of my progress on
Snowflower Diaries free 2016 SAL "Joyful World" – it's my
first project on anything higher than 32 count; I gave up on it in
2016 after finishing June but picked it back up this year and am
making steady progress; and I've made a few tweaks to the designs
that I really like the look of.
7. What has been your worst stitching
disaster?
Nothing major so far. I've had to frog
(haven't we all), and I made an error on "Angel of Autumn"
that I didn't fix and now it's framed so I can't fix it.
But really, I'm still waiting for a
true disaster to happen. I have cats and dogs, and I drink coffee,
tea, and wine, so one of these days I know I'm going to end up with a
shredded, chewed up, or stained project. It hasn't happened yet, but
I know it's only a matter of time...
8. Which new technique would you like to
try, either stitching, finishing or another craft?
I'd like to be able to sew a stitched
piece into a little tote bag or project bag. Or sew a straight line,
for that matter. My sewing skills are firmly in the "beginner"
category at the moment. I sewed "There's One in Every Nest"
earlier this year, and I love it but it's super wonky.
I also think I'd like to learn crochet,
and glass art (especially how to created leaded stained glass
designs), and wood-working. I would also like to relearn how to paint
(acrylic, watercolor, oil paint) – I used to do a lot of that back
in high school, and I'd love to pick it back up again.
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?
So many un-fully-finished pieces! Ouf. I love framed pieces, and even though I'm not super-fantastic at
hand-sewing, I am increasingly attached to things like biscornus and
fobs and things I can turn into dimensional finishes without a sewing
machine. Although, if I'm honest with myself, the only thing keeping
me from FFO'ing is not making the time to do it.
10. Which of your projects most represents
"you"?
I'm not sure how to define "me"
in terms of stiching. I guess, maybe Village Square by Ink Circles
because of the colors and meditative quality of the design;
the
little over-one bluebirds thing I did last year and put in a pocket
watch thingie, because of the birds;
and the Durene Jones free
biscornu design from last fall, because I love Halloween.
11. Tell us a secret about yourself. Or a
joke. About anything!
I don't have any interesting secrets. Hmm. I like to binge-watch light mystery tv shows while I stitch,
such as Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie series, Murdoch Mysteries,
Miss Fisher Mysteries. Alternatively I binge-watch light sci-fi,
which given current trends generally means superhero shows. Emphasis
on "light" – there's enough emotionally distressing stuff
going on in the real world, so I like my fictional world to be
essentially a cozy and happy place.
When I'm not stitching I read – also
mysteries and SF/F. And poetry and non-fiction (history, science,
and philosophy) (I'm somewhat nerdy...).
12. Anything you would like to add?
I am a serial lurker, and have social
anxiety, and Blogger is a pain in the rear; and between those things
I struggle to comment on other blogs and often to reply to comments
(and, you know, return phone calls to friends and family or talk to
co-workers – hurrah social anxiety). But it's always such a
pleasure, and a lot of times also a kind of 'soul food,' to see the
creativity and craftsmanship, both in stitching and in other areas of
peoples' lives, via blogging. I love it.
