A Pirate's Thank You
Normally, a good pirate would thank you by not sinking your ship, or sparing your next of kin and only burning down your house. We decided to offer a New Age, kinder, gentler pirate thank you in the form of a page on our blog.

As background, Amie has been card-carrying member of the Madison Extreme Cross Stitch Team since 1998. They meet monthly to solidify their next steps on how to dominate politics and commerce, or at least knock over Lynn's and Stitcher's Crossing. I'm convinced the Floss Fondlers are acting as a shadow government, and that they have several safety deposit boxes with pictures of Governor Doyle, Speaker Gard, and Senate Majority Leader Schultz in compromising positions. Regardless, the Stitchers United for Peace and the Flat Tax are a force for good and/or evil, depending on which way the needle pierces and the color of your floss.
On the fateful date that Amie announced to the collective that she was giving birth, I made a simple request of the Pattern Pounders. A Cross Stitch Cult member is presented with a joint project upon the birth of her first child. Knowing this, and in an attempt to nurture that little bit of naughty in each of us and in Lucie, I asked for one thing - pirates. When I made the request, the room fell deathly silent. Ostensibly, their confusion was because they weren't sure a pirate theme was infant-friendly...particularly girl-flavored infant friendly. My theory is that the Stitchers were scared I'd discovered their true nature. It was also clear that while alphabets, barnyard animals, jungle beasts, and puppy dogs were all acceptable cross stitch content, pirates were "personas non gratas." The Scurvy Stitchers were pirataphobic.
For months, I staked out local watering holes and craft stores to see if they would fulfill my request and reveal their true nature. They were either too crafty (pun intended) or I too obvious a misfit hanging about asking questions like "should I use linen for this pattern?" Regardless, I saw not a Needle Wielder with eye patch nor sword. I feared they had heard my wants and decided me unworthy. I would have puppy dogs and like it or I'd have nothing at all.



But the beauty and decoration of the barnyard scenes were also balanced with - you guessed it - pirates. And not only did the Celestial Stitchers balance the content, they balanced purpose. While the barnyard scenes were clearly the realm of decoration, heirloom, and fine craft, the pirates were for all things, well, piraty. Burp clothes for all forms of mucous and regurgitation.


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