Alaska and summer

I don't know if you can find a better combination of words.  We've got sun, sun sun.  Hours and hours of it.  And outdoor sports.  Boating.  Fishing.  Camping.  Biking.  Hiking.  Everybody is outdoors, enjoying the lengthy summer days. 

And then there's me.  I do get outdoors at least three times a day.  When I walk my dog.  Go to the store.  Water the blackberries.  The rest of the time, I'm holed up.  Putting words into play.  Researching all sorts of cool/interesting stuff.  Playing piano.  And doing handcrafts.  You name it.  I like doing it.  Okay.  That's not entirely accurate.  I'm not much of a knitter.  And I might as well just confess it. 

I'm a counted cross stitch addict.  

Hi!  Jackie Ivie here, blogging about - of all things - cross stitch.  Why?  Because it's incredibly fun.  Yes.  I do cross stitch.  I admit it.  I've usually got eight to ten projects going - which is why I finish so many.  I have so many options on what to work on, I'm never bored.  It's a perfect craft for long, dark, cold Alaska winters.  

And it's a great accompaniment while I'm watching a DVD/researching the latest thing in jet aircraft.  Or what an updated WWII Diesel truck would sound like.  Or the night Alexander the Great razed Persepholis.  Or looking over the Temple of the Jaguar in Tikal (city of the Mayan empire.)  Or learning about the Forbidden City.  Angkor Wat.  The theory of special relativity. 

What can I say?  I do all kinds of weird/cool research, because you just never know when you might need this sort of knowledge for your vampire.  Or maybe your historical.  Or maybe just to confound your kids.  Or maybe I really am the nerd my kids call me.

Then again...it could just be because it disguises my cross stitch addiction. 

 

And just last weekend, I got to start someone else on this addiction.  The art gallery in Palmer Alaska took part in the summer art walk (really cool idea, huh?). 

 

They asked me to partner up with 9-year-old Sammantha (you read that right.  She's Nine Years Old.  She's amazingly talented.  Already.)  Sammantha designs and constructs jewelry pieces, and I have to tell you, she's good.  And Sammantha brought something extra:  she has a little sister named Megan who is also extremely creative.  I spent some time with Megan, showing her the art of cross stitch, and assisting her with needles, and thread, and counting. 

(Yes.  That's us on the floor in this picture!) 

I had a ball!  Thank goodness we had people there with cameras - since I am never prepared - and we got some great photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

One is Sammantha, me, and the gallery owner, JoAnn. 

 

 

 

Another is of me and Audrey, a lovely woman who came by and let me tell her all about cross stitch. 

 

It's not just the pattern, you see. 

 

It's the material. 

And the weave. 

And the thread manufacturer. 

And the thread count. 

It's the beading. 

It's the metallic accents. 

It's the storage systems and pattern conversion,

and...

 

Oh dear.  There I go again.

**************   

 --- Jackie Ivie