Do you think power tools are to my neighborhood men what knitting needles are to me? As I lay in bed a cacophony of tools begins their weekly serenade. Shop vacs, compressors (exactly what are they compressing?), leaf blowers, mowers, and countless other gas using, electrical sucking machines are operating with a gusto rarely seen in their day to day lives. I think of myself as somewhat artistic. Do these men sculpt their hedges? Style their lawns? See the elimination of sawdust on the garage floor as a thumbprint on the world? Maybe they do. Maybe the loudness of the tool has a direct correlation to the creativity of the project, or just seems that way to anyone trying to sleep in the neighborhood. Regardless, it's great to not need an alarm clock on Saturdays. 8am signals "Let the Games Begin!" in a testosterone code deeply embedded in their DNA.
My knitting and needlepoint tools do not give anyone else a head ache, with the exception of my husband. He has to listen to the occasion rant regarding errors made, broken threads, a needle through the finger, and possible fire. That's right, fire. As I've aged more and more, light and stronger glasses are needed for my projects. Last night I was working on a needlepoint adding 800 or so very tiny beads, one per stitch. I put my glasses on the top of my head and ramped up my game to five times magnifiers. Moving the light to directly over my head for optimum performance I soon smelled what seemed like burning hair. The lesson learned is never, I repeat, never put a hot light directly over magnifiers on the top of your head. One, my husband will not wake up to screams of "fire" and two, my hair stylist will be so pleased.
Obviously the switch was made from knitting UFOs to needlepoint. Blame the weather. Or my field trip. Having heard the new local needlepoint shop had expanded and having spilled soda on white silk needed for one of the projects in my short term goal basket, I had to take a look. Somehow I've signed on for a weekly stitch get together and ordered yet another canvas. It wasn't my fault. The proprietor at Luv2Stitch, seen above, is just too helpful and had too many choices! Seeing the lovely hand painted canvasses and completed examples just made me want to stitch. Although this won't move your soul, I was terribly excited (a little beyond reason) to find out the shop is using the finisher for bracelets I had been looking for! Of course the bracelets were not even started because I didn't know a finisher (no, really, that is why I didn't start them! And the planets were not aligned and I had to brush my cat, wash my hair...). Problem solved. I came home with a fire burning in my soul to needlepoint these UFOs, not knowing that later it could be on the top of my head and begun to stitch. I had purchased two of the same canvas, oh so long ago, one for me and one for a dear friend. That means double the UFOs! AND there is a time constraint as these both are for Halloween, presumably this year's Halloween, but we'll leave that open.
As Saturday morning turns to afternoon, the sounds of birds singing are replacing the buzz of saws and such. The men of the neighborhood are retreating to who knows where not to be heard from until next week. A perfect time to sit outside and work away on my bracelet. As for the bracelet for my friend, we'll see.
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