A couple weeks ago, we asked about how you take care of your books, with one of the questions asking whether you write in your books. Well, what about books that are meant to be written in? Like, say, a journal or diary? Do you keep one? Obviously, if you’re answering this, you have a blog—do you just let your blog be your journal? Or do you also keep one for private stuff also?

The only time that I ever kept a regular journal before I started blogging was when I was a foreign exchange student in Germany for a summer. It was part trip-journal, part diary. I wrote what I did, with whom, and how I felt. Especially about certain people. I was eighteen, and you know how teenagers can be… Some of that journal is rather, um, steamy. I wrote about everything. Since then I sometimes wish I hadn’t, as it’s not exactly, um, safe reading. LOL Well, what can I say? I was a teen… I enjoyed having a specific place to write about everything that was going on that was safe. I hadn’t had that before. Back then my mom would dig through my drawers and read everything she came across, so writing in a journal was not a safe thing to do. My host family in Germany, however, didn’t speak English, so that was as safe as could be. Besides. My host mother wouldn’t have dreamed of invading my privacy that way.

Oh, and no, I don’t currently keep a private journal, just this blog. I don’t want to take time away from my other hobbies by writing.

This week’s stitching questions suggested by Kathryn.

What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?

The smallest fabric I’ve ever used is 32-count. I know. Not too adventurous, huh? In my defense, I didn’t know smaller stuff was available until after my vision was too bad to see the holes, much less thread the much smaller needles used with the fine gauge fabrics. Whenever I stitch on 32-count fabric I stitch over two. I’ve stitched over one on 28-count fabric a couple of times (Mad Bluebird and Sterling Silver), and am quite enjoying doing it on 25-count fabric for the two HAED designs I’m working on. The difference in size helps my poor old eyes, especially when I need to tear something out.

The largest fabric I’ve ever used is an 11-count Aida. I used that for Teresa Wentzler’s Rose Tree in Bloom. It didn’t take long before I wished I’d gotten some 22-count linen or something, and stitched over two. I really can’t stand stitching on Aida. I suffered through the fabric for the sake of the project, though, and knowing that none of the fabric would show when I was done made it worth the extra effort.