Lessons from Star Trek

As a kid I loved watching Star Trek.  I had the biggest crush on Spock.  He's still my favorite character and I absolutely adored the 2009 "New" Star Trek movie.  I thought Zachary Quinto did a fabulous job portraying Spock.  What a way to bring that franchise back!  I've been thinking alot about Spock this week and thinking that maybe I liked him so much because he reminded me of me.  Just like Spock, I can be very analytical, logical, fussy and split hairs so fine that they have to be observed under a microscope.  One of my sons is exactly like me in that way.

When last we spoke, I'd updated you on the horror of discovering that my "The Chase" sampler had come to me sans color or stitch chart.  I contacted the two people on the internet that I knew had worked the sampler to one degree or another.  That didn't pan out; not for lack of trying.  So, early in the week I sat down with my DMC colors and began running through the names.  Decided that was the best way to figure out what I had.  There is no DMC color called "Wheat".  Huh.  Moved on to see what Anchor had and sure enough, they have a "Wheat".  When I took the Anchor number and converted it to the DMC number and held my DMC floss up to what was in the kit, it was a match.   So I spent several hours matching up the DMC colors to the kit floss and then converting it to the Anchor floss and drawing up this:

I now had a color chart.  Then I had to compare the photo from the two blogs to the color chart and figure out which colors went where.  I had to use the blog photos because I realized early on that the color photo that came with my kit is badly faded.  I spent hours doing this.  And I found myself thinking of Spock in my favorite Star Trek movie - number 4 - the one with the whales.  Spock rejoins the team a little changed after his experience on the Genesis planet (he died and was regurgitated).  He's not quite his confident self.  Kirk assigns him to do the math so that they can sling-shot around the sun in order to go back in time and pick up a couple of whales to save the planet from certain destruction.  Spock is unsure of his math skills and lets good ole' Doctor McCoy in on his uncertainty.  [Just an aside here that Karl Urban totally rocked as Dr. McCoy in the new movie - I had goose bumps he was so like DeForest Kelley]  McCoy and Spock have a cleaver exchange and Spock finally admits he cannot make precise calculations.  McCoy says to him "Guess".

It was like McCoy was talking to me.  Alice had said much the same thing when she commented on my whining complaining bemoaning my not having a color chart.  You were right Alice.  And so was McCoy.  I used the color chart that I so painstakingly made to identify the colors as letters A - B - C, etc.  And I haven't looked at it since.  I've spent the week doing a lot of guessing.  It doesn't show well in the photo, but what looks like black is actually navy blue.  All the rest of the colors look pretty much as they do in daylight.  Also, the area that looks like it hasn't been stitched - well, it has a rice stitch in that area - in wheat - an almost exact match to the linen color.  And yes, I am a fussbudget. I admit it. I guess that's why counted cross stitch appeals to me. It's very precise. 

The Chase - progress as of Jan. 30

  Not that I want to impress y'all with what a complainer I can be, but this linen is driving me NUTS!  The printing doesn't go with the weft of the fabric.  When we stitch our counted cross stitch, it's always along that one particular thread, all the way across; and that's how things end up straight.  With "The Chase" I have had to forget about having the motifs go all the way across in a straight line.  I'm lucky to just be able to form a straight line within each individual motif!

That commercial with the parrot - "Not another day!  Not another day!" comes to my mind.  Well, just tonite and tomorrow and then I'll start back on BBD AotH for February on Tuesday - what a relief!  But, I must say, I think that this sampler is very pretty.  I think in the end it will be worth all the aggravation.  Remember how I told you the men in the household don't really pay much attention to the work I do?  They noticed Adam Names the Creatures when I did that; and they've noticed this one too.  Still waiting on my frame to arrive from my online order.  I'll update you soon on how that works out.  Hope you enjoyed.