I’ve been working on a new tab lately (slowly), and it’s still not really done (but I put it up anyway). The (less-than-clever) title is BACKSTORY and it’s kind of like a “Favorites” type of thing. But since I am not a fan of Like buttons (and have mine turned off, as best I can) this is my version of selected posts some people have said they were slightly fond of. Or, ya know, just more shit I think folks might want to see. (The video was what I really wanted to feature there, and some subversive cross stitch sampler examples. Also, where the Tattoo Tales began.)
Since this place is more like a Journal Of Me, than an essay-newsy style blog, and it updates daily, it seemed like a way for new people to kind of get caught up, and regular readers to quickly locate crap. That was the thought behind it anyway. We have the lovely, and very functional History Quilt, but it’s sort of time consuming to page back through so much content (I know it is because that’s why this new tab took so damn long to get even sorta, mostly done). I just hope it’s useful. (And works.)
Remember when the movie Dances With Wolves came out? Right around that time I was doing a big batch of stitching work for someone, and in my usual chaotic state I had messes everywhere. And because I don’t really have an eye for some parts of this craft I was irritating everyone in sight with asking their opinions. In that fabulously patient way he has, but with a joke in his voice, Daniel started calling me Paints With Thread. It made me laugh then, and still does now.
The mental image of me flinging bits and scraps of colored thread and floss all over the place, like a madly wild artist, was just so funny. I thought of this last night while I was sitting in my Stitching Chair, amid the in-progress current assignment. So I thought I’d take a picture of what some of it looks like while I’m working. (Or in this case, mid-break.) All of these things are attached to my magnet board, or paper-clipped along the sides.
This is the chart, highlighted by me. Mostly graphs don’t arrive with color on them (and the ones that do are VERY difficult for me to deal with). I’ve learned over the years (while figuring out my various and assorted ”issues”) that there are just some things which will unfailingly confuse my head. Probably everyone else on the planet can differentiate between an arrow, a star, and a slanted line. To some extent, I can too. But to avoid mistakes, and to see these symbols as totally different at a glance, I just make it SO freaking obvious. I use lots and lots of colored pencils, as well as a few glittery pens. When the icons are well defined, with exaggerated shades that I have previously applied, the stitching part goes way faster.
(I just recently explained all of this to Martha at the pool, Dan calls it “addressing the chart” like when you golf and you Address The Ball. I get to know the graph, by highlighting, before I sit down to stitch it. See? Overcoming my obstacles. After YEARS of confusion.)
Here are the ones I completed, turned in, and the shop owner framed for display.
Not a great photograph, but you get the general idea. It is sitting on top of a package of the kit that is for sale. (And you already saw how big they are, or rather, how NOT big.)
That little bastard has far too many damn beads in it. And you can’t actually see them, even in person.
On Tuesday, while Dan and I were out erranding, we drove home through that close-by neighborhood where no one seems to be getting their yard/house improvement endeavors done. Except…. these guys.
Look! No more dumpster or scorched walls. The replacement windows are all in, and it’s ready to become somebody’s new home.
We are down to only a few Healing Fairies on our card altar now, so let’s get to this one. It has a nice hopeful message, even if the illustration is (once again) just asking for ridicule.
“Rise Above Problems ~
When you are in the middle of a problem, the solution often evades you. See your situation from a higher perspective, and you may see a new way out.
Have you been feeling frightened by a seemingly insurmountable situation? Your fears and tension may have created a negative obsession, where you think about the problem continually. Although you search endlessly for solutions, none seem forthcoming, and helplessness creeps into your consciousness. Whether your situation seems big or small, this card asks you to step back for an instant so that you can better see creative solutions.
Instead of continually working on the issue, mentally see yourself giving the problems to Heaven’s waiting hands. Like completely letting go of an envelope that you are mailing, surrender the issue completely. Then, imagine how the fairies might see your problem. How would your problem look from their perspective? Feel the sense of faith and hopefulness that they lend to you, and know that these positive emotions fuel the complete resolution of the issue.
Affirmation: my heart, my mind, my life, and everyone in it are perfectly at peace right now.”
This is a reminder card. Because we talk about this situation all the time. No feeding those Hungry Ghosts, no dwelling on the negativity mind-set. We just need a gentle nudge from time to time, to keep this idea front and center. It’s like that brain trick, when you can’t recall a word, you purposefully think about something completely different, and then Ta Da! The original thing you were trying to remember just pops back into your head.
When we release the negativity and constant worry, we get Ta Da moments. Solutions that seemingly come out of the blue. I also like this suggestion of viewing our issues from another, or higher, perspective. Even with the bad drawings, I’m gonna miss the Faerie messages I think. (Although I know The Saints & Angels deck will be just as helpful. And since it’s also a Doreen product, we should still get plenty of opportunities for SOME people to find the humour, and share it.)
