Stitchapalooza: Day 1

Hi, y'all! Thank you for all of the birthday wishes for Tiger Lily! Stitchapalooza has commenced (see Friday's post) and Tiger Lily and I are on our own for the week, and we plan lots of stitching and crafting and eating. And baseball. The season opener for my team was today, and she and I listened to the game on the radio while I stitched. There's something so soothing about the radio call of a baseball game. 

This is my "spring fridge" with the schedules of all the teams we follow, plus my Formula One race schedule.

I started my Stitchapalooza stitching project today. I'm doing a color conversion of Little House Needleworks' One More Stitch.

Below, on the left are the model colors, and on the right are my substitutes:

CC = Classic Colorworks
GAST = Gentle Art Sampler Threads

CC Cherry Cobbler to CC Sweetest Heart
CC Weeping Willow - same
CC Old Blue Jeans to CC Purple Aster
CC Roasted Chestnut to GAST Sable
CC Black Coffee to GAST Soot
CC Eggshell to GAST Chalk

Putting the last stitch into a project is so satisfying, but putting in the first stitch is exciting! I love this part of preparing my projects. That lovely piece of untouched fabric, stretched nice and tight, marked in the center and ready for the first stitch! Perfect.

Sparkly kitty is ready to mind my needle (made from a charm I found at Jo Ann Fabrics).

I've also started my craft project for this week, which is a stitchy notebook for myself. I probably should explain this, because I'm pretty sure it's not what you're thinking it is. I am a very old-fashioned, pencil-and-paper girl. I love to write things down. Yes, I use a computer (obviously!). Yes, I have a smart phone. But for me, nothing--NOTHING--beats hand written notes. And here's some absolutely free bonus information: there are a number of recent studies showing that students who take notes by hand have better information retention than students who take notes on a laptop. There is also a growing body of research that suggests that reliance on technology affects brain development, and not always in a good way. Anyway. For me, scrawling my ideas and memos on a piece of paper with a nice, sharp pencil is far superior to tapping them into a device using "buttons" I can't even feel. 

This practice has resulted in a collection of notes that was in serious need of order. For some time,  I have scribbled all kinds of stitchy notes on all kinds of paper: order information (some shops send email confirmation, some don't); project ideas, shopping lists, cool things I've found wandering around the interwebs, Etsy shops to remember, ideas for my annual Christmas Open House and notes on recipes I've already shared, notes about goodies that my fellow stitchers have sent me, framing dimensions, etc. If it has to do with stitching, I've made notes about it. All of my little pieces of paper live in the same place, so I always know where to look when I want information, but... it wasn't cute. 

So I decided to make a notebook... a note book... a book for my notes. Nothing more. No fancy stuff. No bells and whistles. Just a pretty little book to scribble in. I found a craft journal at Michael's, got some paper and Washi tape, and had my project for the week. Here is the first stage of the front and back covers...

...and the end papers I added. I'm using Multi Medium Matte as my adhesive, and I like to let that dry overnight after each application, so this is a leisurely-paced project, but that's okay. I have all week.

So, that's what Tiger Lily and I have been up to. We were a little slow today, since we were up at 3 a.m. for me to take Mr. Wonderful to the airport for an appallingly early flight. Tomorrow will be more stitching, more work on my notebook, and, I think, some baking! Stay tuned!