Seahorse Scissor Fob/Back of Mermaid Fob

I used this design for the back of the Mermaid fob but it could easily be used for a quick-stitch scissors fob on its own. (The alphabet I used is a favorite of mine, but it is no longer available to download from the publisher's website.)

Seahorse Scissors Fob/Back of Mermaid Fob - pdf

Mermaid Scissor Fob

My friend Beth is an amazing stitcher. I cannot begin to count all the gorgeous Mirabilia designs she has stitched since I've known her. I don't know how she finds the time and perseverance to stitch those beautiful, detailed and huge designs! (Anything 80 x 80 falls in the large category, 100 x 100 or more is in the huge range as far as I'm concerned!) As soon as I saw her Mirabilia mermaids framed and hung, I decided I would like to make a mermaid fob for her. It's funny, she doesn't hesitate to tackle those large projects but is hesitant to stitch something small like a scissor fob - that's okay, though, because that's where I come in! I finished the chart back in November but didn't get to stitch it until the end of March. I managed to work in all the things I like the least about cross stitch - a few partial stitches (only 4), one over one stitches (the seahorses), beads and back stitching. Sigh......you would think I would learn to leave those things out!

                                        Mermaid Scissor Fob pdf

GONE!?! ...Moved....

Sadly, I lost my .com domain name because I forgot to update my card expiration date for my automatic renewal. Sigh... I would really like to have it back but since this is just a hobby, I refuse to pay a ridiculous price to get it back. So...I have a new web address:  www.xstitchhappy.net. I also have www.xstichhappy.com in case there are other people out there who mistype like I do. (I always miss typing the second "t" in stitch!) The second one forwards to the .net address, as does my blogspot.com address so hopefully I haven't completely disappeared! The worst part is that I can't even leave a message at the old address redirecting to the new one so it just looks like I have closed it down. If you are reading this, you have somehow managed to track me down and I thank you for your efforts and apologize for the inconvenience!

Blog Cleaning and Updates

I have gone through and cleaned up the links sections - deleted the dead ones and a couple that had changed to other places than originally intended (!?!) and have added some new ones. I will start working on converting all of the charts to pdf files and setting up the links to them. Hopefully this will solve the problem that some people have had in accessing and printing the charts from the JPEGs. It will take some time to get to them all but it should be a big improvement and worth the effort. If there is a particular chart you are waiting on, leave a comment telling which ones you want to see converted first. If anyone has suggestions for links they would like to see added, please leave them as comments and I will review them for posting. Thanks for your encouraging comments - they do act as an incentive to keep working on the blog!

Stitchin' Time Scissor Fob

Stitchin' Time Scissors Fob pdf

New Stork Scissors Square Fob

New Stork Scissors Square Fob pdf

To be, or not to be: that is the question

I have been debating for some time about the future of this blog. Should I just leave it neglected and stagnant but still present for the occasional new visitor or shut it down and end the neglect? I have strongly considered the latter because I haven't got much time or inclination to add to or update all the links and files that all need to be gone through and fixed or deleted. I have hesitated to end it because I know for myself how disappointed I am when I try to revisit blogs and websites that I have enjoyed in the past only to find them missing. It makes me sad they are gone but I do understand the decision to close them down. Can I justify the expense of the online storage account (the free ones seem to come and go creating problems of dead links to photos and files) if I'm not going to continue blogging? So many questions and very few answers....

My job has changed drastically over the past 4 years and certainly not for the better. This is a major factor in my drifting away from blogging, stitching and designing. I have been mentally and emotionally drained most of the time, occasionally rising above it but often just resigned to it. I deal with so much email at work now that I have no inclination to spend any time on personal email, too. I know I have received email about the blog and my charts and I apologize if I haven't answered, but please do not take it personally - I just don't ever seem to get to it. I mean to answer everyone but usually the thought of having to compose an answer is more than I can muster these days. So, back to the question at hand: to be, or not to be?

I had decided to take the blog offline but I have had a change of heart. I will try to add a few charts and start working on the dead links. I am making no promises about progress and updates but I have decided to work on it as I can. Maybe working on it a little here and there will renew my enthusiasm for it. If I disappear again into cyberspace at least the neglected blog will remain as a familiar place for wandering stitchers to revisit when they wish. Thanks to all of my visitors, I hope you will continue to drop by from time to time and enjoy the time you spend here.

Stitch-a-lympics

A little something to stitch on for all those Olympic Games watchers out there. Hopefully it gives the feel of the Olympics without infringing on the copyrighted symbol of the games. Might be fun to add some sports charms inside the rings....just a thought.

Stitchin' for Gold - PDF

Happy Stitching!

Time Marches On!

Can it really be that long since I last posted? Funny how time streams along, sometimes so slow you think you will scream and then other times so quickly it's like shooting the rapids. So much in my life has changed since that last post...you think you are back on track and in control and then....suddenly you aren't! It has been a long time since I have charted a design or even stitched anything to completion, have barely even picked up a needle...but things have once again taken a turn and the stitching fever is rising again. It can sometimes recede for awhile but it is a lifelong affliction that can never be cured and will always return when the conditions are right. I am making no promises this time, I will post at will, when I can, or when I want and I will not condemn myself for failing to do more. No one puts more pressure or makes more demands of me than I do myself.

Thanks to all the lovely people who have taken time to visit my blog and especially those who have emailed me through the years and those that left comments here, sometimes I responded, sometimes I didn't. Not because I didn't want to, or didn't appreciate them but simply because depression can be very crippling, paralyzing in fact, and trying to compose an answer was just beyond my capabilities at times. Things are better right now but I know that the shadows are always lurking, waiting to creep over me again. I know now that my form of depression is genetic and will always be with me, treatable but not curable, at least for now. So I will relish the bright times and hope they keep the shadows away.

A really big change in my life has been getting married again - never saw that coming! Very happy to have found a wonderful man who treats me like a princess and seems to handle all my craziness with ease. He really lifts my spirits and manages to keep me well-grounded, which can be quite a challenge sometimes. I'm sure the happier state of mind has a lot to do with the return of stitching fever and new design ideas starting to flow once again.

I have really missed all my online stitching friends - will try to catch up on some blog reading to see what everyone has been up to - I'm way out of date on what's been going on in the stitching community but hopefully it won't take too long to get back in the swing of things.

Thanks for stopping by - Happy Stitching!

Hiatus....

After many months away, I have finally returned. I thought I would only be away for a few weeks while my leg healed, but I was wrong. Unfortunately, the broken leg was actually the minor part of the injury. Much worse, and much slower to heal, were the damaged ligaments and tendons in the foot and ankle. The time spent in the cast, intensified the damage and slowed the recovery. Several months of elevation, ice packs, traction, ultrasound and physical therapy have put me mostly back together again. Stairs and soft ground are still a challenge and cold damp weather brings a painful reminder, but I can walk again - most days without a limp. So definite progress!

Sadly, the emotional toll was just as great. Keeping the leg elevated enough to reduce the severe swelling made it impossible to stitch or be on the computer, or do much of anything else, for that matter. Frustration over not being able to do what I wanted to do as well as what I needed to do - watching things pile up and not get done, sent me into a major tailspin. (That is my family's name for a severe bout of depression - a lifelong affliction) Once I was physically able to get back to actually sitting at a computer again, I was completely overwhelmed at the thought of trying to go back and catch up on all the emails, blogging and exchanges that I had missed out on all those months. Work was very busy as well so I just stayed away....

I now must thank several people for my return. To all of you who have patiently waited for my return - checking back on my blog from time to time, to those who have continued to leave comments here, to those who have continued to email - even though I didn't respond, to all of you that have continued to think kindly of me in spite of it all - THANK YOU!

And special thanks to:

Beth, for telling me not to worry about catching up, that my friends would understand and just be glad to have me back, to just sit down and begin again - THANK YOU!

Beth and Carla, for a delightful weekend of stitching, laughing, shopping and fun - rekindling my love of stitching and a desire to reconnect with the stitching community and my friends - THANK YOU!

And last, but not at all least, my dear, dear friend, Monique, who went to great lengths to find me again - always there to pick me up, dust me off and give me a gentle kick in the backside to get me going again - THANK YOU!

I have much to share once again, new charts, maybe a surprise or two. I am going to go at a slower pace, not taking on so much at a time so I don't become overwhelmed again, but as I said, progress is being made. As my physical therapist said, "Baby steps, Sharon, baby steps..."