Writing N Stitches

Getting ready to leave for the San Diego Trade Show and checked the weather there .. it's actually supposed to be "California Weather" this time around! 2 years ago, the warmest it got the entire week I was there for Market was in the low-40's!!! I was not amused .. especially when I had called home one night and Dave told me it had actually been warmer in Michigan than it had been in San Diego! I guess I'm safe in packing 'summery' clothes with me this time (fingers crossing).

My immediate problem is what to take for airplane/airport stitching. I have some books ready, and know that I'm taking My Big Toe's Quaker Harmony with me to finish, but that project is on scroll rods and is really too big to take with me in those cramped airplane seats. Well, I'd be OK with it, but the person next to me would not be that happy. I've also got Carriage House Samplings' A Happy Hallowe'en . I'll be doing this one on BLACK Silk Gauze, but 32ct instead of 40ct. I have done 40ct Gauze on airplanes before - as long as I have a magnifier with me, and as long as the pilot keeps flying relatively 'smooth', I'll be fine! It's just a half stitch (tent stitch) after all and really works up fast. My only real problem is .. this Black

Gauze comes already mounted on a matting for ease in stitching. I usually mount my own by sewing it to a piece of fabric, cutting out the opening in the fabric for the gauze, and mount it in a Q-Snap. That way I can just clip my magnifier to the Q-Snap and everything is light enough to hold/stitch easily! I've not yet tried my magnifier on the matting .. of course, I could always cut

the gauze out of the pre-mount and fix it my usual way. I'll decide later on today what I'm doing there I guess! I also have one of Teresa Layman's KNOT designs to finish, and since it's just filling in the background, I don't need floss color changes OR counting, so that will be a airline breeze!!

And it's not like I won't have TIME to stitch .. somewhere in my wee brain I got it that my meetings began on the morning of the 14th .. and the only flight I could get that did not have more than 2 stops leaves at 6am from Flint and arrives in SD at 10am on the 13th (I can't check into my hotel until 3pm). BUT .. in reality, my meetings begin the morning of the 15th .. so I'll have an entire day and a half and a night to just sit around with nothing on my agenda and my friends not arriving in yet either! (sigh)

While I'm on the show floor shopping, I'll be wearing a pedometer and be Walking For Breast Cancer at the same time! Wow .. not only buying stuff but helping a great cause as well! If you would like to sponsor me .. step by step .. click here How Many Steps Will Deb Take? It's in Adobe PDF format that you can print off and send in to me .. or copy and paste in an email and send in to me (at the shop).

Spent the day yesterday getting orders ready to be placed in my absence .. and did place some myself. Debbie and Louann and Diana are the best - they've made sure I had extra coverage in the shop so I could get all the pre-work stuffs I have to do out of my way before I left. I have to plan shop bill paying, ordering, etc for a week and a half in advance when I go to Markets, and if you know me at all, you'll know that planning in advance is basically a totally foreign concept for me! And, I had Camp Stitchalot class brochures, agendas, and stuff to get sent out before I left too. As Debbie said to me yesterday ... "where is our fearless leader, who are you and what have you done with her?"! (they know!!!!!)