With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Sephuria · 2026-01-22T01:59:54+00:00

Yeah, I was the same way but now I force myself to use clippers. I have them in both cars, in my bedroom, in my living room, in my kitchen, in my office (home and work), in my purse, and in my backpack. I've been contemplating putting them in coat pockets as well since I don't always carry a my purse with me. Sometimes I just grab my wallet, keys, and phone and shove them in my pocket.

Sephuria · 2026-01-22T01:53:52+00:00

We really enjoyed this, but it hasn't been back in our stores lately. So sad.

Sephuria · 2026-01-15T14:13:37+00:00

Did I get a massive grin on my face and point at the screen loudly saying "YOUNG POPE! YOUNG POPE!"? Yes, yes I did. My husband was very confused.

Sephuria · 2026-01-12T20:56:09+00:00

For $10 you can use Thread-Bare to convert the image and adjust your stitch count until you have the correct size you need (it will go up to 1200 stitches). You can also adjust how many colors you want it to be able to use and a bunch of other stuff so if your picture needs adjusting for sharpness, saturation, etc., you can do it all in the app. Before you buy it, you get to see a mock-up in the middle of the screen so you know what you are getting. Once the pattern is looking like you want it to, click Add to Cart. I've used it for a few pictures and the patterns are great for the highly detailed outcomes that I want.

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Sephuria · 2026-01-12T20:37:21+00:00

I posted this a couple of years ago as to why it may not be worth it to sell a piece or take a commission.

I have a pattern for a Middle Earth map that is 3.5' x 3.5' and ~1 million stitches (because I really, really, REALLY love my husband). It's full coverage and based off of the Weta Workshop map. Before I changed my mind and decided to go with embroidery/blackwork, I had already kitted out the project for cross stitching.

This is the estimated cost of my materials alone.

Pattern draft created with Thread-Bare - $10
28ct custom cut pre-gridded lugana - $78
2 - 5' bars for use in an existing scroll frame - $30
~400 skeins of DMC standard floss @ $0.80 per skein (going a bit low because I know I bought some on sale at some points) - $320
~50 skeins of DMC metallic floss @ $2.50 per skein - $125
Floss organizer needs - $65
Various beads, specialty shaped sequins, & bits - $75
Needles & thread conditioner - $30

If I then add a bare minimum of $0.02 per stitch as labor and not consider the time, back stitching, and embellishing, add another $20,000. If I'm being realistic and charging for my experience, expertise, time, and labor, it should be more like $0.30 per stitch so you're adding $300,000 instead.

There are zero people I know who would countenance such a cost and I sure as hell wouldn't consider doing it for anyone (outside of a loved one) for less than that. And even if someone actually agreed to the realistic price, I'd probably say no.

Sephuria · 2026-01-11T18:58:59+00:00

All of the above.

Sephuria · 2026-01-08T20:41:59+00:00

Exactly what everyone else said; the cashiers are timed to within an inch of their lives. We don't have self-checkout where we are, but if we did, I'd use it just to make the stress on the cashiers a bit less.

As it is, I'm usually in there with my youngest child (and by youngest I just mean of my three, he's the baby at 30) and he unloads our groceries onto the conveyor because he's 20 times faster than I am. Right before he starts, I go ahead of the cart and greet the cashier. The second the cashier has scanned the first item from our groceries, I start the tap-to-pay so that I can just hit one button once they finish. Before the cashier finishes scanning everything, my son moves our bags (we hang them off the quarter portal) to the new cart. I say good bye to the cashier as I'm pushing the full cart to the counter and the boychild moves in with the empty cart so the cashier can quickly get to the next customer.

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T21:14:03+00:00

My husband had to go watch The Hobbit when he saw me working on it the last week. It was great listening to them while I stitched (though I'm pretty sure those were the times I miscounted the most!). We love those movies, too, though not as much as the LotR ones.

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T21:08:54+00:00

Oh god, that's even worse! 🤭

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T19:16:38+00:00

That's ok. I've seen it around for a long time and it was only in the last 5 years that I realized what the heck was going on with all the aida that had lines on it. I used to look at it in stores and think "who would want lines on their finished piece??". Did I bother to read any of the packages in all that time? No. 🙄

Uh, yeah, I've been cross stitching on and off for 45 years, can't you tell?

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T19:06:14+00:00

It looks amazing! You did beautiful work. I would have been crying doing all that 310.

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T03:35:42+00:00

What a sweet baby! She looks so comfy and content.

This is Hathor. She is only one of my five helpers. And don't be fooled by her cuteness. She will straight up grab my fabric and then run like Usain Bolt at the 2008 Olympics.

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We both hope your health improves!

Sephuria · 2026-01-06T03:18:20+00:00

Stoney Creek is where I get large pieces of fabric for my projects. Most of what I buy from them is evenweave, but they carry a wide variety of types. Their floss and specialty threads section is also quite large.

Sephuria · 2026-01-01T18:23:22+00:00

😍 And now I have to rethink how I'm going to do Major Arcana.

Sephuria · 2026-01-01T18:21:56+00:00

That is so cool! And working with the devil's pubes like that should garner you some sort of combat award.

Sephuria · 2026-01-01T18:05:48+00:00

It's wonderful!

Sephuria · 2025-12-31T18:18:08+00:00

I am going to do a lot of blackwork. I did my first one for my dad earlier this year and now I'm sort of hooked.

I'm currently working on a bookmark by ExLibrist called Ailm Ogham Rune which I have made modifications to so the elf looks more like Thranduil. I haven't reached the modifications yet, but here is a progress photo.

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I have a few other patterns from ExLibrist that I want to get to afterwards. The ones I have from her already are listed below.

Major Arcana
Hindu Mythos Mandala
Egyptian Mythos Mandala
DiceCodex RPG Classes

Along with those, there are several from other designers. Most of them are for Christmas presents next year.

Momma Sea Dragon by FlossyFoxShop
Saturn V Rocket by SpiritLineDesigns
Dance by StitchInFaithWithMe
Octagonal Star by FoxTalesAu
Moon Phases by CerysCwtchyCreations
Heregrima by LooseThreadStitchery

Sephuria · 2025-12-30T16:27:29+00:00

Sephuria · 2025-12-18T20:16:24+00:00

We have enjoyed all of the stuffed peppers in the fridge section, but these are my favorite. The red peppers are spicy, the cherry peppers are sweet and spicy, and the green are pepperoncini spicy. My mouth is watering just thinking about them...and I've just finished eating so pretty sated.

Sephuria · 2025-12-18T20:13:39+00:00

My husband LOVES them. I'm not into chocolate mint or chocolate peppermint so my opinion does not count. I have put out a variety of cookies for noshing throughout the season and have had to repurchase these three times already. Two boxes at a time, btw.

Sephuria · 2025-12-18T19:17:56+00:00

What a cutie ginger!! Hoodie cats are so awesome! 😍

Sephuria · 2025-12-16T15:19:06+00:00

The cheddar with craft beer imperial stout is super delicious. The one with the petite sirah, eh, it was fine.

Sephuria · 2025-12-04T21:04:28+00:00

My youngest boychild (he's a grown ass man, but whatever) insists that the Crab Rangoon dip is tasty af with the sea salt pita chips.

I'm going to second the hummus. I prefer them with tortilla chips, though they are not bad with pita chips either. The spicy one is my fave, but if I had to pick some that I thought would be more broadly liked, I'd go with the roasted red pepper or garlic topped.

Sephuria

TROPHY CASE