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The Needlework Nutshell—June 1, 2006 Volume 2, Issue 6 June 1, 2006 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL Needlework news, musings, tips, contests, and what’s happening now at FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Editor: Jen Funk Weber Mail to: mailto:mail@funkandweber.com Web site: http://www.funkandweber.com Your privacy is important to us. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others. *********************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE *********************************************************** 1. Needlework Musings 2. Tips and Tricks 3. What’s New at Funk & Weber Designs 4. Readers Ask 5. Puzzle Contest 6. Contact/Subscribe/Unsubscribe *********************************************************** 1. NEEDLEWORK MUSINGS *********************************************************** Welcome summer! Okay, it’s true that our most recent spring rain came down in heavy white clumps, but that’s not how I judge summer. Summer is when the birds return and I can hear them singing late at night because the sun is still shining. And summer is when I have to wait for a break in RV and bus traffic to cross the highway as I walk to the mailbox. (The “highway,” mind, is a two-lane road.) Summer is vacation time. I know the purpose of a vacation is to get away, or take a break from normal everyday activities, but one of the things I like to do on vacation is stitch. A busman’s holiday, perhaps, but another purpose of vacation is to relax and have fun. Stitching qualifies. I have a history of taking needlework just about anywhere. For instance, it’s one of my favorite things to do while fishing! I love floating along in our boat on the World Famous Kenai River, fishing for World Famous 100-pound King salmon: teal glacial water, eagles watching from treetops, terns diving, endless sun providing ample light for stitching. Okay, I admit it: I think King salmon fishing on the Kenai is boring. (Gasp!) Positively mind numbing. Here comes the Alaska Tourism Bureau to arrest me for sacrilege. But wait! I take it back. I love King salmon fishing--as long as I can stitch while I’m doing it. Perhaps more notable is my habit of taking needlework backpacking. The first rule of backpacking is take only the essentials, and make them as lightweight as possible. A backpack is only so big, and then, well, you’ve got to *carry* it. Up mountains. Across rivers. I’ll mix tuna and crushed pineapple in a baggie (a famous Weber recipe that I refused to try for the first four years I knew Mike), and eat pre-cooked mac-and-cheese cold in order to avoid carrying a stove and pot. I’ll wear the same convertible pants for weeks. I will squeeze toothpaste into a film canister and take individual bits of dental floss (and use them more than once) in order to leave the full containers behind. But you can bet your best embroidery scissors that I find room and strength for a needlework project. I’ve knitted and tatted Christmas ornaments in a tent while rain poured outside, and I stitched my mother’s crazy quilt stocking sitting on a log, listening to loons on a lake. Backpacking, like vacation--and life I suppose--is all about priorities. I guess needlework is one of mine. *********************************************************** 2. TIPS AND TRICKS *********************************************************** Making needlework part of your vacation plans can lead to some exciting opportunities. You might discover different shops, fabrics, fibers, and techniques. Pulling out a project while taking the ferry to your next destination can be a way to locate and open conversations with like-minded strangers. Here are some tips to incorporate stitching into your vacation: 1. While the Transportation Safety Administration claims that most needlework supplies are permitted in carry-on bags, circular thread cutters, like the Clover thread cutter, or any cutters with a blade inside, are forbidden. They recommend scissors with blunt tips instead. I use nail clippers, and don’t plan on doing any Hardanger or cutwork. It’s also helpful to remove questionable items from your bag and lay them in the bin so that screeners don’t have to search your bag to find the suspicious items. Be aware that individual security screeners have the authority to make the final judgment call. Have a self-addressed stamped envelope ready so that you can mail a rejected item home to yourself rather than losing it altogether. Rules in foreign airports vary. 2. Before heading out the door, search the internet for needlework shops at your destination. Type key words into Google, or visit http://www.hoffmandis.com and click on the Shop Locator link. This is not an exhaustive list, however, so ask around when you arrive. 3. If you find a needlework shop at your destination, call ahead to see if there are any events during your stay. 4. Visit the guild sites below to see if there are chapters where you are going. Contact chapters to learn about events, meetings, and guest policies. You’ll get *great* information about local resources from members! http://www.egausa.org/directory/directory.htm http://www.needlepoint.org/chapters.htm 5. Take a needlework vacation! Besides the exquisite Funk & Weber Designs Alaska Stitch-N-Safari (cough, cough) there are numerous cruises and tours geared toward needleworkers. Type “needlework tour” into Google to start searching. This is a great way to meet fellow needleworkers, and the painstaking planning and logistics are handled for you. 6. Let’s face it, vacations don’t always involve travel. For something fun and different, but close-to-home, consider a needlework class. Ask at your local needlework or craft shop for class dates and times, or check out classes online. Yep, Funk & Weber Designs is offering a bracelet class in July for stay-at-home vacationers. See our web site for details and registration: http://www.funkandweber.com Time moves faster in the summer. Or maybe it just seems that way since the Alaskan summer is so much shorter than the Alaskan winter. (Do you know the joke, “What are the four seasons in Alaska? June, July, August, and winter.) Make sure you get a vacation, at home or away, and treat yourself to some quality craft time. *********************************************************** 3. WHAT’S NEW AT FUNK & WEBER *********************************************************** Registration is open for the next BRACELET BASICS class, July 11-16. This project is small enough to fit in your pocket so you can take it with you to the pool or picnic. Visit our web site for details and to register. http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~ Two new LET THERE BE NIGHT Stitchlings are now posted on our web site. In NIGHT HOWL (S108), coyotes howl and an owl perches on a cactus in the desert moonlight. LOVELY NIGHT (S109) is a mushy romantic scene, not suitable for love-squeamish children, and committed bachelor/bachelorettes. I think it’s dreamy! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/index.html *********************************************************** 5. READERS ASK *********************************************************** Please e-mail me with questions for this section. mail@funkandweber.com Glstp asks about gardening in Alaska, specifically, when do we plant, and do moose get in the garden? I have had small gardens in various places, but don’t currently have one. I plan to, but we still have piles of dirt that need to be hauled over what will be the garden site, so I’m waiting until that job is done. I have no plans to cultivate giant vegetables, just yummy ones. Planting usually takes place after Memorial Day--so right now. Then the Alaska sun and air and earth do their things and in three-months time some folks have 100-pound cabbages. The veggie-star of the 2005 Alaska State Fair was a 942-pound pumpkin. Many World-Record veggies have been grown in Alaska: red cabbage, carrot, kale, kohlrabi, beet, broccoli, and Swiss chard, for instance, though those may not be *current* records. It’s been a couple of years since I investigated. Greenhouses are also fairly common, and I hope to have one of those, too. It can be tough to grow tomatoes and peppers outside in Alaska. As for moose, yep, they can be garden pests. So are the snowshoe hares. A fence helps. It’s not uncommon to see moose munching on ornamentals in residential areas in Anchorage. I would guess that few people try very hard to chase moose away. They’re big enough to get their own way. *********************************************************** 6. PUZZLE CONTEST *********************************************************** Play with me! Solve this puzzle, and be entered to win a free Funk & Weber Designs pattern! Winners will be randomly selected from all correct entries. E-mail your answer, with “PUZZLE CONTEST” in the subject line. The deadline for this month’s puzzle is midnight (Alaska time, of course) June 7, 2006. The winner will be selected on June 8, 2006, notified by e-mail (I might be late this month as I will be at a trade show from June 8-12), and announced on our web site and in the next NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To avoid sending e-mail attachments, contest puzzles will be uploaded to our web site. I will provide a link to the puzzle only in THE NEEDLEWORK NUTSHELL. To the puzzle! http://www.funkandweber.com/fw/nutshell/june.pdf ~~~~~~~~~~ May PUZZLE CONTEST WINNER: Nancy from Williamsburg, KY. Answer: Yes, there were more than the required 12 answers. Any of these, plus a few stretches that I was willing to attribute to regional lingo, were given credit. And, yes, I counted “second crust” because more than one person claimed it as a common phrase—so, Angela, you were in the drawing! Second crust as in pie crust, or some sort of a social class system? hand, base, wind, best place, grade, story, class, guess, chair chance, string, fiddle, growth, glance (I missed this one. Thanks Ruth, Calvin, and Angi!) thoughts *********************************************************** 7. CONTACT FUNK & WEBER DESIGNS *********************************************************** SUBSCRIBE: 57410-subscribe@zinester.com UNSUBSCRIBE: 57410-unsubscribe@zinester.com ARCHIVES: http://archives.zinester.com/57410 Jen Funk Weber mail@funkandweber.com http://www.funkandweber.com Copyright 2006, Funk & Weber Designs |
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