When Fidelis, the owner of B.F. Goodstitch, asked me to "collaborate” on a project with her and then blog about it, my mind went to a million scenarios. The word collaboration is such a hot phrase these days and in my humble opinion, greatly overused. My initial thought was “how’s this gonna work?” After some brainstorming, which I cannot reveal the details as it would just be more evidence of how insanely obsessed we both are about needlepoint, we decided that to be truly collaborative, we would both stitch the same singular hand painted needlepoint canvas at the same time in tandem. Almost like the tag team wrestlers you see on the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). We would split up the areas to use both of our strengths to fulfill the canvas’s great potential. Here’s hoping we do it justice.

                

There has been a very special canvas at B.F. Goodstitch that we’ve both been admiring, Labors of Love’s “Gone with the Wind.” We are both enormous fans of the movie and being the romantics that we are, are probably attracted to the allure of another time and the unrequited love between Scarlet and Ashley. .  . and not to mention the fabulous costumes just crying out for stitches and techniques. For me, I know a canvas is “right” when I can already think of options for certain areas. It is often the last straw between buying a canvas or not, because I already can see what I’m going to do with it, how I’m going to finish it and where it’s going to be displayed in my home. I often don’t have to keep notes on my ideas of which stitch or technique to do in certain areas because once I see a stitch or technique for an area, it’s so obvious to me, I often can’t see anything else. This can also create problems if my idea doesn’t pan out, but let’s not well on the negative. To quote Ms. Scarlet “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” I have often felt that buying a canvas is like finding one’s spouse, the spark’s either there or it isn’t and no one else can tell you if it’s right but you and when you know, you KNOW!

In the flurry of excitement that occurs when any good team embark on a new project, we immediately started mentioning which stitch or technique could be done in which area and by whom. Fidelis seems to think I will be doing the ruffles on Scarlet’s dress and I claimed that because she has experience with stumpwork and is especially talented at 3D hair techniques, Fidelis will be charged with Miss Pitty Pat’s curls (which between you and I, I quiver at the thought). We will see who gets our way in the end, hopefully we both do at least to some extent. So please subscribe to our blog (by submitting your email address using the "Follow by Email" box in the upper right-hand corner) to follow along on our adventure so you don’t miss any of the action. I’m sure like any Oscar winning movie, there is bound to be plenty of drama. . .