Scalene stitchitis

I have scalene stitchitis.  And yes, I just made that up.

For the last few days I've noticed a nagging ache on the right side of my neck, where my neck meets the top of my shoulder.  It hurts when I turn my head to the right.  I think I aggravated one of the scalene muscles - the posterior or medial scalene, to be specific.  

Yes, I'm a nerd.  But you knew that already.

How did I strain the scalene muscles?  From cross-stitching.  I kid you not.  It's true! Although, maybe I've been sleeping funny lately ... but no, I'm sure it's from cross-stitching.  Since starting the Hermit, I have been using the Qsnap. My fabric size is huge, so it's pretty difficult to roll it up to stitch.  The ladies at the needlework store suggested I get one, so I did.  It's been great.  But I think it's the cause of my neck pain.
I'm pretty sure that by holding it the way I have, I am actually straining my R arm enough that it's pulling on my neck.  My husband laughed at me when I suggested it.  "Oooh!" he said, "New blog post!"  Haha!  He's so right!

So what do I do?  If it were a patient coming in with "blackberryitis" - (you know, pain in the thumb from using their blackberry 27 hours a day) - I'd tell the patient that they need to ice their thumb, and take a good anti-inflammatory three times a day for about a week.  Oh, and they should also stop using the blackberry for a few weeks to heal the repetitive strain injury.  That's when they look at me like I'm a moron.  "I can't possibly stop using my blackberry!!"

So, taking some of my own advice would mean I have to stop stitching the Hermit, or at least stop using the Qsnap to stitch, right?  WROOOOONG!  I'm addicted to the Hermit.  I.must.finish.one.page.of.charting!!!!!  Neck pain be damned!

Now, where's my Advil?

Hermit update!

I.can't.stop.stitching.  Yet, it feels like I am making zero progress.  I still haven't finished a single page of charting.  Remember there are 20 pages of charts for this beast of a project.  TWENTY!

Here's what a chart looks like --  see all those pen marks?  That's what it looks like after I stitch a square.  I know, crazy!  From chart to stitched design.  Cool, eh?






<-------------Chart




 Stitching ----------->







I mentioned in an earlier post that stitching is relaxing for me.  It really is.  I find I'm able to turn my brain off and just focus on the movement of my hand as I make each 'x'.  Sometimes though, stitching makes me perseverate on something - maybe about a patient I saw that day, or a friend that I'm worrying about.  But that's okay, because as I stitch and think about things, a calmness comes over me.  It's like stitching helps me put things into perspective. 

I am counting the minutes until I can stitch again.

Stitchy Stitch ... is it nighttime yet?

I have been stitching like a fiend!


Every night, after the kids are in bed and we've had our dinner, I pull out the Hermit and get to work.  Poor husband!  He's been wanting to watch his new Blu-Ray copy of "Deer Hunter" but I'm so absorbed in my project that I can't possibly devote 3 hours to a movie when I could be stitching!  I suppose I will have to give in one night and put the Hermit away.  Sigh ... the sacrifices we make for marriage. ;)


So I've made quite a bit of progress, though it may not look like it to anyone else.  As I mentioned in my first post about the Hermit, this is going to be a very time consuming project.  Target completion date is 2017.  


Here is a photo I took last week.  The black stitching is the Hermit's lantern and the yellow is the light.  I know it doesn't look like much yet, but there you have it.  Thanks for reading!

The Hermit! First progress photos.

Hello all!  I am pleased to start posting pictures of my progress on the biggest project I have ever embarked on.  The Hermit Baba is going to take me years to finish.  I kid you not.  The chart is 20 pages long.  TWENTY!!  Don't believe me?  Take a look at this!

Yep, that's me, lying next to it for perspective.  Those are standard 8.5"x11" sheets of paper.  I'm crazy, right?? What the hell am I thinking??  


Where the heck do you even start such a project?  


I have always started my projects in the centre - this is easy to do when the charts are two or three pages.  But twenty??  With the help of my handy husband, we actually found the centre of this chart (there are nifty little arrows on the vertical and horizontal aspects of the chart).  I highlighted the four centre squares.


A lot of seasoned cross-stitchers start with page 1 of their charts, and "grid" their fabric.  I learned this from the Cross Stitch Forum and is demonstrated here.  This blogger used floss which she presumably removes as she approaches it.  Another way of "gridding" is using a washable pen. 


Gridding seemed a rather daunting task and for me, much harder to do than working from the centre outwards.  It also occurred to me that if I were to stitch page by page then I might havevisible lines in my stitching indicating where one page starts and one ends.  I actually saw this demonstrated while at the store where I purchased my supplies for the Hermit.  There was a beautiful HAED design, framed on the wall. From a distance it was gorgeous, but up close one could see lines in the stitching.  I tried looking for a photo to describe what I saw but I don't want to use someone else's work, so suffice it to say that I decided to do what I am most comfortable with and that is starting my stitching in the middle.  


I started The Hermit on March 6, 2012.  Here are two progress photos.  The one on the left was after the first few days of stitching.  Remember, I started in the middle.  The one on the right is about 3 weeks in.  I'm stitching a fabric that is 19.5" wide and 26.5' long.  (I'm crazy, remember?!)  


You can see from the progress photo on the right that I am stitching the Hermit's paw and a bit of his cloak.  Neat, eh?

Embarking on the crazy...

About a month ago, I needed a stronger distraction from a certain online forum (which will remain nameless), so I did a search on trusty Google for cross stitching forums.  I joined a lovely site, Cross Stitch Forum and started reading.  


A large proportion of stitchers were doing something called HAED.  Never heard of it.  So, I went on another hunt. I found a link to Heaven and Earth Designs. Ding! Ding! Ding!  Wow.  Stunned by what I'm seeing.  On this website are some of the most elaborate cross stitching designs I have ever seen.  I started browsing.  About 20 minutes later, I stumble upon this guy, herein called "The Hermit".  


I showed the Hermit to my husband who immediately verbalized why I fell in love with him.  He looks exactly like my darling cat, Scully.  Here, you be there judge.

The Hermit

Scully

I spent over a week researching how to do the Hermit.  For the first time, I wasn't buying a pre-made kit that had everything, ie. floss, fabric, chart, instructions.  First step was to buy the chart.  So I did, then downloaded and printed it.  All 25+ pages.  HUH???? Excuse me?!  How many stitches is that?! 140,000+ stitches.

Next, fabric.  All I had ever stitched on was 14 ct Aida.  I didn't even know what that meant!!  This design called for 25 ct.  What the heck does that mean?  So, back I go to the trusty cross stitch forum and start asking a bazillion questions.  The stitchers there are amazing.  Over the course of a few days, I was suddenly sounding like a pro, explaining to my husband that 22 ct means 22 squares per inch rather than 14 squares per inch.  I learned how to figure out the size of my finished design based on whether or not I did it on 22ct or 25 ct.  I learned all about fabric - Aida, Hardanger, Lugana, Linen.  Since I was a novice, I decided to split the difference, sort of, and stitch this monstrosity on 22 ct.  All my research pointed to Hardanger as being the best fabric choice for this project.  

Next, needles.  I'd need newer, finer needles, right?  Cue another few days of research on which needles were the best.

Next, floss.  I'd need how much?  87 different colours?  Am I crazy?! (Please, don't answer that!)   Should I buy the floss online?  Is it cheaper than in a retail store? How do I store all that floss, anyway?  Thankfully, I found a store in my area (well, not really, but we'll pretend it was close by) that sold the floss I needed (DMC for those that care), as well as everything else I'd need.  I was set!  The most expensive, elaborate project I'd ever embarked on was about to begin.

Stay tuned!!!  ;)

Kitty Litter

So, this is the final post showing off my collection of finished works.   I found Kitty Litter on my trusty eBay account and was intrigued by it because of the amount of half-cross stitching required.  In this one, the entire background of the picture is stitched.  I did a rough count of the number of stitches she would requires -- a whopping 60,000+!  


Kitty Litter took over 18 months to finish - the longest time it's ever taken me to finish a project. It was started on   I am very proud of her.  

Kitty Litter

As I mentioned, this is the final post regarding my finished projects.  What will follow will by my WIP (works in progress).  Over the past 2 months, I have found a wonderful community of cross stitchers here.  It was on this forum that I discovered an entire new world of cross stitching.  Stay tuned!

Frederick the Literate

After Barnyard Kitties,  I was ready for more action.  I was ready for a bigger project.  I continued with the kits, because back then that was all I knew about.  Kits were (are) my comfort zone.  After the usual browsing on eBay, I found the next project.  It would be another black Aida cloth, but the design was larger, more colours, and downright cute!

Frederick the Literate.  This lovely feline fell asleep among the book stack.  If you look closely, all the books are word plays.  For example, "Tale of Two Cities"is renamed "Tale of Two Kitties"; a volume of books has the names, "Great Cat-sup Recipes", "Great Mouse Traps", and "Great Fish Baits".




Frederick was a lot of fun to stitch. I always start in the centre, so see the books evolve one by one, his cute face and body lying hidden beneath the books brought me hours of peaceful stitching and thought.




I began Frederick on April 30, 2007 and completed him just 4 days before the birth of my daughter, on November 20, 2008.  I still remember, quite vividly, walking down the street in a blizzard one Saturday afternoon a few weeks later to pick up the final framed picture.  It was the first time I had left the house, by myself, after having had my daughter just a few weeks earlier.   Here he is, on the wall at home.

Frederick the Literate, on the wall

Next up ... Kitty Litter!  Stay tuned!