Well, this blog has been idle for far too long. I really need to get stitching. I’m just never sure how to find the time in my day to stitch. I can’t just stitch for 20 minutes; if I start, I go whole hog until I’m so burnt out I don’t want to stitch anymore. Heh. Well, a new SBQ has been posted, so here I go to answer it:

Comment on your comments (giving and receiving): Do you love comments or hate them? Do you check them every day, never check them, or find them helpful? And finally, are you convinced no one is reading your blog if you don’t get any?

I love comments. I hate comment spam.

I love giving and receiving comments, though, in any form. I especially try to comment on “creative” blogs; photoblogs, stitching blogs, and so on, and I always try to leave something constructive in my comment for other people. Personally, I’d rather receive a comment that says something like “I really didn’t like this piece because of this reason” rather than a comment that says, “ohhh pretty.” So for me, much of the excitement and appreciation that comes from a comment is in the quality and the thought that went into the comment; positive or negative.

I know that comments are what inspires so many people to keep going out and doing stuff; at least at first, and if I see someone doing really good work, I comment with constructive thoughts as often as possible. I hope someone, someday, will do the same for me!

I try to tell myself that I write for me, so it doesn’t matter if I get comments or not, but really, I become pretty much convinced that no one is reading if I don’t get a comment every once in a while.

Well, I got all the pieces I’m currently “working on” sorted out tonight and listed in my sidebar. Tomorrow belongs to photographing them and getting them in my Stitching Gallery and then maybe actually working on one of them. I’m throwing three of them out. They were ones that my mom bought for me at a rummage sale and that I’ll likely never do – a duck decoy one, a victorian house one, and a cheesy country cabin one. Maybe I’ll see if I can trade them somewhere, though. I actually feel fairly good that my WIP list is as small as it is. I was thinking I had hundreds and hundreds of projects on the go. While going through my stash, I have to say, I almost started another hundred. So many pretty designs, so little time!

Right then. Off to sleep!

Alright, another day, another question answered. I’m going home for the holidays and one of my goals is to sort out and take pictures of all my WIPs so January 1 can be the start of a WIP reduction year for me. I’m sure sure if I want to go one at a time or in a rotation, but I’m going to list them all over there on my progress bars and then cringe in shame at the sorry state of things. So. Stitching Goal Numero Uno for the new year!

Now, another SBQ:

Do you always sign your projects? If not, why? If so, do you use your first name, initials or what?

I always sign my projects, but since most of the time I use aida still, I generally just stitch a BA05 (first initial, last initial, last two digits of the current year) because that’s easier on aida than actually signing. One day maybe I’ll develop and actual stitched signature once I move more permanently to evenweave/linen. Short answer today, I know, but there’s not much to say on the subject. I’m plain like that, but I always always do some sort of signature, if only so I can remember the year I finished things in.

Well, in my attempt to answer one of these a day, here’s the next one. I’m really enjoying answering these questions, actually!

Do you have rules in the way you stitch? (i.e., Do you start in the middle? Do you determine which blocks to stitch first? Do you always start from the top or the bottom? Do you have special paths to prevent wasting thread?)

I always, always, always start at the centre of my piece. Sometimes I’ll find the centre and count out a ways to start at the top of where a colour starts, but that’s really as crazy as I go. I also generally always stitch all of one colour before switching to a new one. I like the feeling of being able to mark off one colour as completely done before moving onto another. If it’s a huge piece I’m working on (like Alluring, for example) sometimes I’ll finish one part — like the bottom of her robe — and finish all the colours in that before moving onto another section.

I’ve never actually stitched anything really large, so I’ve never had to choose what page to start on, or anything like that. I imagine I might just start at the top left and work from there, but I’d have to know I had a lot of breathing room for framing space and all that before I trusted myself enough to try it like that. Really, though, I don’t have any hard and fast rules. I stitch the way that makes sense to me.

Well, since there are a ton of these for me to do, I thought I might as well do one a day or something like that. Beef up the blog a bit so that I can join the Stitching Blogger’s Bulletin Board thing that I’ve always wanted to join.

Have you done any charity stitching, been in one, or would like to organize one?

No, I’ve never actally stitched for any charity. I get so little stitching time that I generally stitch for myself as much as possible. I’ve often thought about stitching a square for Cole’s Quilts or another charity, but it would only be when I can get more time organized for stitching, really. I’m certainly not going to organize one! I’m unorganized enough without dealing with charity stitching things as well!

Well, after a bit of a break from the blogging and the cross stitching world, I’m back! Finals are over, so I should have some time this Christmas to get good stitching done. I’ve made some changes to the layout of the blog (not that anyone actually visits, but that’s ok!) and I’ll work on getting the archives and comment pages to look the same as the main one (because I’m anal retentive like that), but I think we’re getting somewhere. The next big goal is to see if I can get gallery2 integrated into the blog so that I can post more and better pictures in a more organized fashion.

Anyway, let’s get onto the SBQ for today. It’s about blogging!

Take a minute to reflect on your blog reading habits and preferences. What do you prefer to read in stitching blogs? (Progress, tips, family life, experiences, etc.) How much do you think you are influenced by other stitching bloggers?

If I’m reading a blog because it’s a stitching blog, I really only like to see stitching related things in it. I’m sure your son/husband/cat/pet rock is interesting and I’m sure your life is worth posting about, but I read blogs really for one purpose only. Sometimes I read a blog because I’m interested in the person’s life. Sometimes I just want to see stitching. If it’s about stitching, though, I’m interested in it all. Progress, tips, concerns, groaning, happy dances, and everything else is all fair game and I’ll devour it all with equal abandon. I think I’m probably more influenced by other stitching bloggers than I probably should be. I find it really inspirational to see other people getting stuff done and it makes me want to work on something so I can post too!