SBQ Ketchup

Er… catch-up. 😉

I haven’t been keeping up with the SBQs and haven’t even been getting all of the notifications, so I had to dig into my archive and the SBQ archive to find everything.

__________

March 15th:

If you had $500 to spend on stitching-related items, what would you buy?

Now I remember why I didn’t answer this one. Bottom line is that I probably wouldn’t spend $500 on stash, even if I had it to spare. The most I’ve spent at one time is at CATS and I always set myself a budget. $300 is the highest I’ve gone. I spent it on charts and kits at The Sweetheart Tree, kits at Lorri Birmingham Designs (since she was retiring) and miscellaneous fibers, embellishments and small charts that were on sale or captured my fancy. Right now, I’m so full up on stash that I can’t even contemplate spending that much. I think CATS will be more about networking for me this year. Sandie Vanosdall is very excited to see me again. And I will be able to connect with Jo of Dinky Dyes, too, at the very least. It will be fun to meet with her as a wholesale customer this time, instead of just an avid fan.

__________

March 29th:

Do you have a system for organizing freebie charts in your stash? If so, what is it? Do you print out copies of all of the freebies that you find on the web (that you think you might actually stitch) or do you maintain electronic copies of them until you are ready to stitch them?

For a while, I was printing off all freebies and storing them in a binder. Now, I keep everything on my computer, unless it’s paper. Then it will go into the binder. The binder is organized by needlework type (cross stitch and hardanger).

__________

April 5th:

How do you decide which stitching blogs are worth repeat and/or regular viewings? Are there certain things you look for in particular? Are there things you wish there were more of? Less of? Is your blog a good example of what you like to read?

I start by trying to frequent the blogs of people who comment on mine. I like to read blogs which are fairly regularly updated. Photos are nice, but since I’m a slow stitcher myself, I don’t consider it a deal-breaker if it’s all talk. I don’t mind personal conversation, as my own blog is a personal blog, not just a stitching one. Other people’s experiences can help to enrich your own life and serve as learning opportunities, if you allow. Generally, I’m not very picky. I have a solid core group of blogs that I try to keep up on and then a bunch of others that I read, as well. It’s gotten a lot easier to keep up since I started using a feed reader. That way, I don’t have to check every blog every day. I just read the posts as they come in. Voila!

As for my blog, I like to think that it’s fairly well-balanced between personal, stitching and store topics, but I know that I’m woefully lacking in pictures. I do my best. I just hope that people don’t mind my babble!

__________

April 19th:

Are you on “The Wagon?” If so, how long have you been on and how “serious” are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

I am on the wagon. Or at least, I try really hard to be on the wagon. I’ve been on since CATS last year, I think. I was on before that, too, but climbed off for CATS. I’ve had quite a few slip-ups, though. Primarily due to Lorri Birmingham deciding to retire, so I was buying up all of the kits that I had had my eye on for years. Limited editions get me, too.

Basically, though, I like to allow myself new stash every once in a while for my hard work. But my real goal is to reduce my stash, slowly but surely. That’s why I like the project challenge. I just set too stiff of a goal for myself with my stitching speed by picking the 50 project challenge. Once I finally finish that, which could well be another year, I think I will approach it in 10 project intervals. That way I can reward myself every 10 finishes. If I decide not to, that’s my choice, but I’ll have the option. Across the board restrictions tend to chafe enough to make me slip.