The Moving Experience, Part Seven

 We are making progress on the storage room. Not as much as I had hoped by this time, but last week was interrupted by spending time in the dentist's chair on Monday, followed by a colonoscopy on Friday after the dreaded day of prep on Thursday.

And the tiniest bit of stitching for the week:

I have a cardinal--my favorite bird--on what will become the needle case for Bird 'n Berry. I need to stitch my initials and the date, but I think I'll wait until I have all the bits done and do all the lettering then.

BDE has mentioned how thrilled she is that we are moving and therefore getting rid of stuff now so she won't have to later. I've also heard horror stories about heirs who had to deal with houses packed to the rafters with stuff and more stuff.

I told BDE that I may leave her with a mess, but at least it will be an organized mess.

The Moving Experience, Part Six

 We have been engaged in an archaeological dig in our storage room, so I have been up to my ears in stuff.

Most of my part involves yarn I bought probably 30-plus years ago when I was knitting a lot and teaching knitting at a local yarn shop. It was the era of heavily textured yarns, and sweater patterns that used multiple colors and multiple stitch patterns. I got 20% off my yarn purchases. Apparently I spent all of my teaching fees on more yarn.

Unfortunately, I burned out on knitting, and my hands no longer enjoy it. So I am donating boxes and bins of yarn--there will be someone who wants an 80's vibe. And it is very freeing to get it all out of my life!

Dearly Beloved has found two more hammers, which brings the total to sixteen. I'm still not sure why he needs sixteen hammers, but he is clinging to them with all the passion of a small child with a security blanket. He mentioned that I likely have more pairs of scissors. I am ignoring that statement.

There has been a little bit of stitching in the evenings. I am working on Barbara Jackson's Bird 'n Berry Box set.

I thought I had finished this bit, but when I took the photo, I realized that I haven't stitched the tips of the three big strawberries.

Sigh . . . 

Quite frankly, I will be so very glad to be moved, but I have six more weeks before that happens. I miss stitching, and blogging about stitching, and knowing where all my stuff is (other than in a box somewhere). Granted, I have located treasures I thought I had lost, and a couple I forgot I had--but I'm ready to work on those treasures instead of dreaming about working on them.

Oh, well, the sooner I get all this done, the sooner I can return to my happy little rut.

The Moving Experience, Part Five

 I figured it out.

I figured out how to work on Barbara Jackson's Bird 'n Berry set without taking time away from (yuck) continuing to sort, purge, and pack.

Almost every week we have a Sit & Stitch--aka stitch-in--at one of the local active adult/retirement communities. I am absolutely NOT giving that up until moving three hours away makes me. And I finished the stitching for the pockets for Hold Dear, and was trying to decide what to take--when the answer popped up right in front of my eyes.

Well, Bird 'n Berry, of course.

This is what I accomplished in yesterday's two hours of stitching and solving the problems of the world:

This is another group of women I am going to miss terribly. I have decided, though, that I am going to set aside 10 - 12 every Wednesday to stitch with them, in spirit if not in person.

The Moving Experience, Part Four

 What to do, what to do . . . 

This lovely kit arrived yesterday, courtesy of Barbara Jackson and the Shining Needle Society.

Normally, when something from Barbara arrives, I jump right on it--and this is such a lovely project, I'm not sure I can resist.

But I'm still packing.

The stash is mostly packed, two of the three bedrooms now have empty closets, the Christmas closet is packed--basically we have finished the upstairs and are living in the midst of boxes and bins.

This means I have a couple of months to handle the downstairs. Maybe I could fit this in . . . or maybe it should be used as a treat if I meet certain sorting, purging, packing goals. Let's see how strong my will power is. Generally, when it comes to needlework, will power is nonexistent.

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And, in other news, last evening was our May Social for the Carolinas Sampler Guild. It was a lovely evening at one of my favorite local restaurants with time to catch up on what's been going on with dear friends.

I am SO going to miss these women! I am not dropping my membership, and I hope to be able to return to some of the meetings as well as the workshops--but it isn't the same as having the monthly meeting on my calendar. Although, I have been offered a bed when I want to come back . . . 

The Moving Experience, Part Three

 When you start packing to move, you find things.

Years ago, I put this kit in a safe place. You know the one--the place that's so safe you can't remember where it is. Periodically, I would look for it, and I would find other things, but not this. 

I have now put it in the bin for sooner-rather-than-later projects--the one that will travel in the car with me rather than in the moving van--so I'll know where it is.

I also found several things that I don't remember buying but I'm thrilled to have--some small designs from Betty Chen Louis and a pile of Jane Zimmerman's kits.

And I found several pounds of Paternayan Persian wool in dark burgundy. Obviously I special ordered it for some project--I suspect the background for a needlepoint rug--but I cannot remember the canvas at all.

Who knows, that may be the treasure I unearth tomorrow!

The Moving Experience, Part Two

I have started packing my stash.  A friend asked how many tractor-trailer trucks it would take to transport it all.

I'm thinking at least two.

I'm supposed to be purging, and I have managed to let a few 1970's crewel kits go. Why did we think bright orange and neon yellow fabrics looked like good backgrounds for any design? The problem is that I keep finding more and more and more things I really want to stitch right now.

And I added more this past weekend. I took a break from purging and sorting and packing, and went to Maryland with BDE to take classes with Jackie at the new Salty Yarns.

The classes were, as always, wonderful, and the new shop is phenomenal--definitely a destination shop! The classroom is light and bright, and there isn't a bad seat in the entire room. The only thing that is unchanged is the hospitality offered by everyone involved with Salty Yarns. It remains one of my favorite places for classes.

But I am now back home again, and will start purging and sorting and packing again.

Sigh . . . not much longer . . . 

 

The Moving Experience, Part 1

 If there is anyone still out there reading my blog--we are in the throes of moving.

We have found a place to live. We're leaving town--and all my friends and buddies and my stitching tribe, but I'm trying to avoid thinking about that--and moving closer to BDE.

BDE is thrilled. I had mentioned that I think I'm going to have one of our dining room tables set up as a workstation on a permanent basis. After all, I have reached the age where I no longer feel the need to impress anyone with my interior decor, and if I want to have a table with my current projects in the middle of the living room, by golly, I'm going to.

Her household has three cats and one of them is a thief who loves grabbing her stitching and running off with it. Consequently, I do believe that some of her projects will be on my worktable.

Anyway, we are sorting and purging and packing, so there has been very little time for stitching. I am woefully behind on my two online classes, but I've done a wee bit on Hold Dear.

I'm going to do my best to update the blog weekly, but it depends on whether I get stuck behind piles of boxes . . .