Tag Archives: cross stitch

VOTE!!!

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Hi everybody!

Or, at least: Hi everybody in the US over the age of 18 who is eligible to vote!

Guess what tomorrow is!  That’s right, it’s election day! (You can tell I’m excited by all the exclamation points!)

I try to keep this blog pretty low-key, politics-free, and full of knitting.  But, sometimes I have to bend the rules.

Like today.  (Get ready, I’m getting up on my “You should vote” soapbox.)

So, unless you live in a vote-by-mail state (Hello, Washington), you’re probably aware that voting is tomorrow.  You should know where to find your polling place.  You know that you should vote, too.  You know that voting is important.  You already know that every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection, not to mention a third of the Senate, three dozen Governors and more local officials than you can shake a stick at.  Plus, if you live somewhere like Seattle, you’ve probably got a handful of ballot initiatives up for a vote that could directly influence your lives in the coming months and years.

You already know that less than half of eligible Americans usually turn out for midterm elections, and you already know that those voters that do turn out are overwhelmingly older, richer, and whiter than the average American.

And, of course you know that if you’re unhappy with how this country is being run (and  there’s plenty to be unhappy about), you’ve got to go out and vote to tell those in charge to change the way things are going.

You already know all that.  So I won’t tell you about it.

I will, however, bribe you with a silly little craft project.

IMG_0637.JPGI voted last week (yay for Washington’s vote-by-mail system!), but Washington doesn’t give out “I voted” stickers.  So I made one myself.  (Well, I cross-stitched a little pin.)

And you can make one, too.

Once you’ve voted, download the instructions to make yourself an “I Voted” pin:

I Voted Cross Stitch Pin Instructions

(But only if you’ve already voted… trust me.  I’ll know.)

Are you going to vote this year?

Not Knitting

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It’s been hot as… well, something that’s really hot.  It’s been too hot to really think.  And it’s definitely been too hot to knit.

Seattle doesn’t usually get more than a day or two of hot weather in the summer.  (I’m talking actual hot weather, not “Seattle Hot” where it gets to 75 degrees and everyone whines.)  But this year, we’ve had a couple weeks of upper 80s/low 90s, which is real miserable.  No one has air conditioning around here, and in the places that do (like the mall), it’s pretty disappointing.

So I’ve set my big blue sweater aside for the time being.  As lovely as it is, I’m not interested in sitting with a gigantic pile of wool on my lap.  No thank you.

Instead, I went diving into my craft room stash for something a little more seasonally-appropriate to do.

And, boy, did I hit the jackpot!  (Thanks, Past Allison!)

At some point, I must have been on a cross-stitching jag, and I bought three little cross stitch kits.  They’re cute little Christmas-y birds (that are inexplicably postage-themed?).  A goldfinch, a bluebird and a chickadee.I had already started the goldfinch- the “stamp” part was mostly done when I pulled it out the other day.  (I honestly have no memory of working on this cross stitch- I must have started it years ago!)  A couple days of work, and voila!   I’m working on the bluebird now.  I’ve already messed up the head, but I don’t think it’s terribly noticeable, so I decided not to unpick the problematic stitches- he’s just a slightly chubbier-than-normal bluebird.The birds are supposed to be made into little ornaments, but I’m not sure if that’s what I’ll do with them.  Maybe they’ll end up being part of a wall hanging quilt, or sewn into little pillows.

I suppose I should finish them before I go planning next steps.

What do you do when it’s too hot to knit?

Mashed Potato Crafting

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I heard one of my friends talking the other day, and she used a term I had never heard before, but totally understood the moment she used it.  She was talking about how, when she had a crummy day, she would “watch Monk or Psych or something… you know, one of my mashed potato shows” and immediately feel better.  I thought that was a great way to put it.  Mashed potatoes are tasty, comforting and easy to digest.  They might not be as fancy as a gourmet meal, or as trendy as sushi, or as luxurious as lobster, but they totally will make you feel better after a long day.

mashed-potatoes-su-1673101-l“OK,” you’re thinking, “so the girl has a thing for potatoes.  What does that have to do with knitting?”  After all, you’re here for the crafting, not to hear me natter on about food.  My answer to you is: “It has nothing to do with Knitting!”  Ha! Fooled you, didn’t I?

Actually, I wanted to give a shout out to my favorite mashed potato craft, counted cross stitch.  When I’m stressed, or blue or just feeling lazy, and don’t want to do math, plan a new project, or dig out the right pair of knitting needles, I love to do some counted cross stitch.  There’s something comforting about it.  It serves no purpose, it doesn’t challenge my brain, and it is so totally easy.  It’s like coloring in a coloring book or doing a paint-by-numbers, but with thread.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m especially a fan of those little kits you’ll find in the bargain bin at Jo-Ann’s.  They’re always dumb stuff, like butterflies, or hearts, or little cutesy sayings, but they’re still fun and silly to make.  They give you everything you need (except scissors, because for some reason scissors are never included in kits), so you really and truly don’t have to think.  It’s the perfect mashed potato craft.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat is your mashed potato craft?