The Cup of Fortunes: Week 12 (March 16-22)

This week's fortune was one of my favorites so far. I love reading. I was that kid in school who did all their summer reading the first week of summer and then asked the librarian for another list. I'm suspicious of people who "don't read" (and by read I mean read a book or listen to one - audio books are books). Two of my favorite quotes about books come from one of my favorite filmmakers, John Waters. 

If you go home with somebody, and the don't have books, don't fuck 'em!"

Collect books, even if you don't plan on reading them right away. Nothing is more important than an unread library.

My current "am reading" pile. I finished The Age of Magical Overthinking" this week. 

When I look at the news and all the things going on that we have to keep up with right now, the thing that sticks out the most is the movement to take knowledge and information away from people. That's how authoritarian leaders operate - ban or burn books, privatize education to create more segregation, strip away the institutions and protections that give people access to knowledge, attack libraries - none of this is new. What's important is how we respond. Support your library. Read banned books. Read any books. Support writers from marginalized communities. Support independent book stores. 

I asked a few reading related questions on my Instagram posts this week. I'll share them again here with my answers. I would love to hear your responses in the comments. 

1. Were you a Greek mythology or an Egyptian mythology kid? I was both; I started with Egyptian mythology (my dad was an Egyptian mythology kid) and moved to Greek mythology after that. I love them equally.
2. What book do you wish you could read again for the first time? Mine is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 
3. What book are you currently considering rereading? I'm trying to decide between The Stand, Love Is a Mixtape, and Interview with the Vampire.

I may have to try to stop by my favorite bookstore this weekend. I'm not sure I'll have time, but I'll figure it out. I hope you find some time to read whatever you love to read or explore something new. 

This week was a one fortune week. Here's this week's fortune and lucky numbers:

March 16

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

March 21

March 22

Weeks 1-12 - It's also time to move the fabric so you get to see it out of the hoop.

WIPs, Plants, and Other Things Bringing Me Joy

Apparently, I'm a plant lady now. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but it did and here I am naming plants and attempting to grow lettuce. Maude, the spring cactus I bought at Trader Joe's, is doing very well. The flowers opened this week. I'm calling them the Maudettes. Look at how pretty they are!

Then I decided I needed to grow my own lettuce and that the windowsill in my kitchen would be perfect for an herb garden. I ordered an AeroGarden for the lettuce and stopped by the Ace Hardware in Old Town to buy the herbs.

The AeroGarden needs a name. Something either really punny or incredibly serious that is also really funny, like Milton. 

Yes, those are La Fermiere yogurt pots. I occasionally eat bougie yogurt and the pots are very cute and need to be upcycled somehow.

Anyway, we'll see how this all goes. So far, the herbs are doing okay. I used a little basil this week and am using the cilantro tomorrow in a recipe. If they don't make it, I'll just start over. 

I took some off this week to volunteer at the Woodlawn Needlework Show. I'm a member of the DC chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America (EGA) and haven't been able to attend many meetings or events since they tend to take place during the work day. Thursday was our chapter's day to host at the show, so I took time off and volunteered. It was so nice to meet fellow members, and even reconnect with a woman who also happens to be an election officer with me. I liked spending time at Woodlawn and hope to be able to get more involved with our chapter. I also talked to other people who had pieces in the show and so many people who enjoy looking at various forms of needlework. It was nice to be surrounded by people who get the love of making the things I make. I even got to show a little girl wearing a mushroom dress my little mushrooms. It was a super fun day.

On the WIPs/completed project front, I completed the two versions of Scream #5 (Have the day you voted for) this week. I also painted the fabric for Scream #6. 

Screams 1-5 

Scream 6 - it's drying. I used my metallic watercolor paint. This one is about us all being stars.

I also started another kit from the Savage Stitcher's shop. This one is monochromatic, which is something I've never done before. 

Lastly, I took down the 2021 stitch journal project. I'm running out of wall space in my studio, so it was time to take it down. I need to figure out a better way to display it and do some better finishing on each of the months in the series. It's currently stored in a large art portfolio until I figure it out. 

I'm trying to decide if I should paint the wall before I start hanging stuff. Thoughts?