Hand: Lucky Cat Apron

Though my Dad's Steal Your Face got delayed in delivery by the car crash, oddly enough, the crash was the reason I was able to make this sweet little Lucky Cat apron for my sister-in-law.

You see, my sis-in-law also lives in SoCal. I'd bought the Sublime Stitching "I Heart Sushi" pattern months before her birthday in December, with the intent of stitching it up before we headed down for our Xmas/Yule/New Year's holiday. Alas, in all the holiday commotion, I'd run out of time to stitch up her gift. I ended up buying her some things -- handmade and cute, true -- but I was disappointed I wasn't going to get a chance to make her this apron for another year.

Then, the crash, and I suddenly found myself with a couple weeks of "free" time when I was pretty much trapped on a couch healing up. It was the perfect time to stitch, and actually kinda helped me normalize again. Stitching adorable Japanese food and Lucky Cats will do that to you, I suppose.



She loves sushi, and used to work in a Japanese restaurant in Santa Cruz. Also, she LOVES cats, so I thought this would be a good marriage of the two.



I was able to give it to her when I went to visit SoCal a couple weeks ago, and she adored it. Oddly enough...shortly after giving it to her, both she and her boyfriend had some very good luck come their way in the form of raises and new jobs. I'm not taking any credit for their success, but y'know... a Lucky Cat is a Lucky Cat!

Hand: What a long, strange stitch it's been

Soooo, this is a piece I've actually had completed since December of last year. There's a reason why I haven't been able to share it before now, which has been killing me, since I've been sooooo proud of it!

This was/is my Dad's Xmas gift, for Xmas '08. He's a huge Grateful Dead fan, but an even bigger fan of handmade gifts. This -- thanks to a suggestion from my brother -- was indeed the perfect gift for my Dad. A stitched version of Steal Your Face.



It took me about a month to complete. It's about 6 inches in diameter, and done completely with satin stitching and long-and-short stitching.



I wasn't done with it when Xmas came, but the way things worked out the husband and I were going to spend the holiday with his parents in Humboldt, and then go down to San Diego for New Years' with my folks. I planned to finish "Stealy" over the holiday, then give it to Dad in SoCal, all clean, stretched, and wrapped...

...then we got into the car crash.

When they towed the car away to the impound yard, they took all the luggage and gifts and such away. Though we had an Xbox and all our clothes in the shattered trunk, sitting in the Humboldt County rain, I kept thinking of poor "Stealy." I really thought he was gone.

Luckily, again, he survived perfectly (as well as all my embroidery stuff), and I was able to give him to my Dad on New Year's Eve. Though the piece was wrinkled, unframed, unwrapped, the look on his face was priceless.

Skip forward to two weeks ago, when I finally made it to SoCal to see the family. At last, I was able to wash, iron, and frame "Stealy" for Dad...and after five months, I can say he's complete. Really, it's been a long, strange trip with this piece, and much as I love it, I'm glad it's over. Now he can hang on a wall and be chill, as he was meant to be.