Saturday, August 29, 2009

Au Revoir Mes Amis!!

Hi everybody...I leave for vacation in 11 hours! I'm not even packed! I hate packing...I mentally prepare the lists in my head and start making a huge pile of things I want to take and then when it comes down to the actual act of packing, I'm pretty fast. The weather here is about 84 degrees with around 60% humidity. I'm sure a lot of people may not think that's too bad but for here...it's HOT! This is part of the reason I haven't packed yet. It's sweltering in the bedroom!!

I do have to say that I am surprised and quite happy to have received quite a few comments from people interested in adopting my butterfly family! I like the ones who tell me what they will do if they get the chance to adopt. It makes me feel like they will be safe. I wonder if that sounds weird. As much as I don't necessarily embrace my culture, I am really proud of my heritage and I do think this is a good way to share an art form that you wouldn't really see anywhere outside of Central America. This giveaway idea makes me feel like I am doing that. I also got comments from "new to me" bloggers. Welcome! Please stop by again...I'll visit soon to say hi!

I did update the last post with better photos. I wanted to illustrate the back. They are made as stand-ups and aren't equipped for hanging on the wall. Unless you want to hang them upside down! LOL

I do have a small start to share since I've been procrastinating with the packing. Here's my start on my BBD Red Sampler. I'm really liking it so far even though it's making me think a lot! The spacing between letters is not consistent and the fact that there is no "W" and the Y comes before the X kind of drives me a little nuts. I wonder if my mom will get it...she's going to think that a college education was wasted on me if I can't even get the alphabet right! I'm going to have to explain the story behind this little sampler to her. I also have the dilemna of being from a latin family. Women typically have 4 names...first, middle, male last name and female last name. So my grandmother was known by four names but I will go with the first three for the sampler. The name itself is still long so I will have to shift my spacing to be able to fit first and middle in that fourth line without scrunching it.

Apparently, I got off easy being born in the States with just having two names, first and last. But I always feel a little sad that I don't have a third name for sampler initials...so I think that when I start working on samplers, I'll adopt my mom's maiden name to round it out a little.

So far, I am liking the color combination. I've only used two colors so far in the sampler, Lancaster Red and Antique Rose. Clay Pot has not come into play yet but it will soon.

I am still going to try to blog while I am on vacation assuming *the boy* will let me use his computer once in a while. I don't feel like lugging my computer and besides, I am lugging 4 books, Mary Wigham, BC Snappers, Gwendolyn, Spring Biscornu and BBD Red Sampler with me LOL! I don't think I'll get to work on all my projects but I would like to have the option of picking what I want to work on.

I'll catch up with your happenings when I get back!

Au revoir!

Until next time...

16 comments:

Margaret said...

Have a great vacation, Valerie! That's something I didn't think of when I stitched that BBD sampler -- the whole name thing. My mom only had her first and last name, and she married someone with the same last name! So she couldn't adopt her maiden name and married name. I think you're clever to do that though. Thanks for the pics of the butterflies. I know my daughter would love to have them displayed in her room, so that's my plan if I win. (She's college age, so she wouldn't break them. :D) She's interested in South America, is dating someone from Uruguay and is studying Spanish (comparative Lit), so I know she would love these.

Ranae said...

Have a fun and safe vacation
Take pic's cause we will want to see.
Nice start on the BBD

Missy Ann said...

Have great vacation.

And if you want a middle name, pick one! Who says we can't name ourselves? Do you know how many people have asked me if I prefer Melissa, Missy, Missy Ann etc? I happen to answer to all 3 cheerfully, but I do insist on Mrs. See? I named myself. And Catholics do it all the time, around 13 we pick our confirmation name. Mine is Joseph. Always gotta be different... lol

Natasha said...

Safe travels Valerie, have a great time I hope you enjoy your first time out there.

I look forward to seeing your BBD stitched up when I did mine I only used my first and last intial didnt even occure to me to use my middle DUH!!

Take Care and update on how "the Boy" is doing.

Sadie said...

Have a great vacation Valerie. I agree with Melissa, why don't you pick your own name.
Nice start on the BBD sampler.

Lisa said...

Have a great vacation Valerie,
Enjoy your time out East! Your BBD sampler is really coming along. Sounds like you have a full bag you are bringing with you...remember to either pack your needlework scissors or at least make sure that they are small. There is no consistency when going through security - I have gone through with scissors with short 1" blade fine in some states, but then got them taken away in others. Sometimes I just pack the majority of the needlework accessories in my suitcase, only bringing a couple of needles and toenail clippers on the plane.
Take care, can't wait to hear about your travels!

Deb said...

Hope you have a wonderful vacation.

I had to laugh about your comment about some letters missing from the sampler. When I was first dating my husband, he looked at the samplers on the wall and noticed that the "J" was missing from a lot of them (they didn't put the letter J into a of samplers back hundreds of years ago). One day he got the courage up to mention there was no "J". When I explained why, he seemed relieved - he thought that I didn't know my alphabet! LOL

Melissa said...

Have a great vacation, Valerie!

Carol R said...

Love your start on the BBD Sampler. I, too, had a dilemma with the inconsistent spacing and the lack of a W and Y before the X but although I corrected the border I did stitch the rest as charted!

Have a great vacation and say hi to the *boy*
[[[hugs]]]

Melissa said...

Have a great vacation, Valerie! Your BBD sampler is looking great so far. I also had issues with the spacing on it, to the point that I ended up setting it aside until I could decide if I wanted to stitch it that way or "fix" the spacing issue. I also feel your pain on the initials thing. I don't have a middle name either and both of my initials start with M. It definitely makes monogramming things a challenge. LOL

cathymk said...

Have a great break! Beautiful new start!

Branlaadee said...

I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Your BBD sampler looks wonderful.

CindyMae said...

I hope that you have a wonderful time on vacation!!! We will miss you! Hope to see lots of pics when you get back! Great new start!!

Theresa said...

Have a wonderful vacation!!!!

Siobhán said...

Have a wonderful vacation, Valerie!

What a neat dilemma to have on the BBD sampler. I guess it would be hard to figure out how to work all that in. I hear you on the funky letters. I've stitched a few things following the chart, which made the letter placement wonky, and it's funny to watch the reactions of people when they notice. My husband says he thinks most people wonder if I'm a bit mentally challenged, but can't quite figure out how to break it to me that it's wrong. LOL My brother, on the other hand, CONSTANTLY mentions it to me--it totally freaks him out. ;)

Ruth said...

Travel safely!!!! And have a great time. We'll expect a full report, you know.