Tales of a Stitching Commuter - Part the Third

This week's email is a tale of woe concerning our heroine getting what she wished for (only to find out it wasn't what she really wanted) ... yes my dears, my life was a walking fable one afternoon this week!

One afternoon on on the way home from work, I was carrying a large box, chock full of birthday goodies (I assume - I mean hey are wrapped in birthday wrapping paper).  So there's me with my backpack and my box and my coat squished into a tiny train seat and down sat next to me a larger man who was very expansive.  My feelings of being squished almost turned into out and out claustrophobia.  So no stitching for me that afternoon - or so I beleived.

Three stops later the gentleman got off the train!  YAY!!  Quick as a flash I hauled up my backpack and got out my zip-lock of stitching goodness (aka the chart floss needle scissors and WIP of Paty Cat).

I hadn't even opened the zip-lock when a lady sat next to me.  Quicker than a flash (because she was quicker than me) she got out her wool and started knitting away, elbows flailing about like some strange cross between the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey.

I sighed inwardly and started to put my stitching away.  The lady looked across and, still knitting, asked me if that was counted cross stitch.

In the three weeks I have been stitching while commuting not one single other passenger has shown even the slightest interest at glancing at what I was doing - and now here finally was a fellow passenger actually asking me !!!!! 

With the delight of chatting with a fellow crafter I showed her my work in progress and the cover picture and she was suitably impressed with comments such as "ah wonderful. So colourful"

Followed by "of course I don't know how anyone stands doing for any length of time!" and there my fantasy ended.  I spent the rest of the trip crowded into the corner by this lady and her flashing elbows telling me all about her knitting, and her family and how her daughters weren't grateful for her knitted scarves and what a drag the train trip was ..... for the rest of the 90 minute trip.  Even when the train started to empty, she did not move.  She did not change her diatribe.  I was trapped. Trapped by my own fantasies and wishes that I had a fellow crafts person on the train to talk with.

The final twist in the gut was her parting comments "well I usually catch a later train, but I might leave work earlier more often and catch this one with you - you are a good listener!".   Obviously she didn't hear the sound of my heart sinking into my boots.

For the next few days, as I am a craven coward, I studiously avoided that particular carriage on the train ....

I haven't seen her again ..... yet .....

In other stitching news, regardless of the above mentioned tale of woe, I did indeed manage to get all of the cross stitching completed on Party Cat.  Now just to try next week to see if I can use my Q-Snaps on the train and try the backstitching and contemplate whether or not to do the surrounding colourful squiggles .....

Also it took all week (in fact its the only at home stitching I've done since I statrted the commute) but this morning I finally completed 15 hours on Mariann's RR.  Pics in my RR folder.

And of course as mentioned earlier in the week - my models for Hanky Pysanky are on their way back to Tracy.  I can't wait to see pics of the entire piece completed and in the other colourway !!!!

Hope everyone else had a productive week ...... I spent last night watching Die Hard 4.0 and then consuming some Chcolate Buzz Martinis .... see what you get for subscribing to certain xstitch lists ......