Another pretty posy

I have another pretty little flower stitched into RST1779.

And I've decided that maybe this was done by a schoolgirl after all.

I was beginning to suspect when I found errors in color placement in a few motifs, things that just didn't make sense and didn't fit the pattern. Then I stitched this flower, which is jammed right up against another motif. I don't think a professional using this for a display of her work would space things so closely.

Then I ran across a mention of "French schools" that existed in The Netherlands in the 1700's. Among other things, they taught embroidery "in the French style" to their pupils.

So RST may have been a student, a very skilled student. And now I have another rabbit hole to go down--French schools in The Netherlands--hmmmmm . . . .

Where did the week go?

 I am not sure where the week went.  Actually, I don't think I want to know.

Monday may have started it off. 

You may want to scroll past the rant.

I ordered Jenny Adin-Christie's beautiful book, Enchanted Embroidery. Even if you think you'll never, ever stitch any of Jenny's projects (and why wouldn't you?--her directions are spectacular. You probably should know how to thread a needle, but other than that, she takes you by the hand and leads you step-by-step through each part of the embroidery) this book is wonderful simply for the eye candy. My name also came up on the list for the Samode Purse, which has had me drooling since it first appeared on her Facebook and Instagram feeds. So I ordered that as well.

They were being shipped by DHL. DHL ships worldwide and tracks things down to the nth degree.

Maybe.

I got the notification that my package had been delivered at 9:53 a.m. Monday morning. They said it would arrive on Monday, and they said it was left on my doorstep. It was not on my doorstep. The photo of a package arriving on my doorstep could have been any of the hundreds of units in this complex since we all have pretty much the same set of three wooden steps leading to the deck.

So I tried to contact DHL. AI is not their friend when it comes to customer service. After going through their chatbot, voice mail, etc, etc, etc, I ended up every time with a cheery male voice singing out, "Your package was delivered at 9:53 a.m. this morning!"

So I pulled on my coat and gloves and cap and tottered out to see if any of my neighbors had the package. Inspection of doorsteps did not reveal my package sitting on any of them as it appeared in the "proof of delivery" photo--which did not show a unit number. The unit numbers are right next to the gate to the deck, but, nope, not shown.

I just happened to glance over at one set of steps as I was getting ready to trudge back inside and indulge in a total temper tantrum--and my package had been shoved under the gate onto a neighbor's deck. So I waved at his Ring and porch-pirated my own package.

And here are the contents:

And all the goodies inside the box:

And Monday actually turned out to be a pretty good day, in that the Post Office actually delivered two packages where and when they said they would.

All the goodies for the goldwork class I'm taking from Liz Tepper in March.

And Needlework Press's Charlotte Warrington sampler through Homespun Needlework on Facebook. This is an exclusive to the group. I had two opportunities to order it previously, and talked myself out of it both times, and kicked myself for letting it go both times. Third time's the charm, apparently. I succumbed and I'm glad I did.

But have I stitched?

A bit.

I finally got that geometric box filled in, and planted a pretty posy next to it. 

I decided that the way I was holding the frame as I worked may have been part of the problem with my wrists and hands, so I rummaged around in the stash room and located one of my frame stands. I'm going to mount the frame in it and see if taking the weight off helps. I also decided to focus on flowers--the geometrics take a lot of time because they're so densely stitched, so to get the most done before RST travels to Nashville, I think I'll plant flowers.

A Day or Rest (or Rice)

 I stitched for about 9 hours Friday, then for a couple of hours during the Mayflower Sampler Guild meeting yesterday. Yes, I did stop and do my hand exercises every hour.

And I got this much done:

Then I stopped to eat lunch, and my hand cramped around my soup spoon so tightly that I had to pry my fingers apart with my left hand.

This is not good.

So I am taking about 24 hours off and doing the RICE thing:

R Rest

I Ice

C Compression (brace)

E Elevation

I really wanted to have RST1779 completely stitched before the Nashville Market, but I can't figure out a way to do that without damaging my hands, so I'll do what I can and finish the model after the market is over.

I'm not happy about wearing the brace almost all the time again. It's caused problems with sleeping in it, as it is.

Take last night for instance.

Background information: Dearly Beloved has a collection of what he calls his religious T-shirts (holey, holey, holey) and what I call dust rags. I mean, really, if the neckband is held on to the body of the shirt in three places, it's time to let it go before it lets itself go. He says they are very soft and comfortable and he likes sleeping in soft, comfortable clothes. I get that, I do, but obviously romance is dead.

He also snores. Yes, he's done sleep studies and has a CPAP machine, but he still sounds like a buzz saw or a 747 taking off or a pig snuffling, depending on the position he sleeps in. Generally I can just nudge his shoulder and roll him back on his side and he sleeps quietly again.

Which is what happened last night. I nudged, he started to roll over, but one of the Velcro straps that holds the brace on my wrist apparently had come slightly undone. It caught on his soft, comfortable T-shirt. I tugged. The shirt ripped. Part of it stayed connected to the Velcro, which meant I then had to turn on the light and take off the brace and get the brace and T-shirt rag separated, then get the brace secured around my wrist again.

Dearly Beloved never woke up through this whole thing.

But he did ask me what in the world happened to his shirt last night when he got up this morning.

A little progress

 Another motif was finished--I really don't like that dark shade in the motif, but it's apparently what she used, so I'm going with it.

I've been working the frameworks before the inner parts with these other geometric designs, but the one I started last night doesn't have a symmetrical frame exactly--so I'm working the medallions first and then will fill around them. Normally I would work one of those patterns in rows and park the threads I'm not using, but I'd have about empty-leven needles parted at any given moment. That would just lead to tangles and tears.

Oops, missed a day

 I didn't post yesterday's progress because by the time I finished stitching, it was after my bedtime and I couldn't focus my eyes or string two coherent words together.

I have a very good excuse. I'm a member of the Tudor Rose Sampler Guild, and Tricia Nguyen was the guest speaker. Her topic was Nuremberg Samplers, and it was fascinating. I generally hang out in the 17th century with English band samplers, so this lecture and her Flosstube on the same subject have opened up a whole new world of sampler eye candy.

Anyway, this is where I am on RST1779 at the moment:

The woven ribbons are done, and I am almost through with the framework on the next motif. Then there is another great big honkin' geometric motif below the woven ribbons that I'd like to get out of the way, and then I can stitch flowers again for awhile.

I am really looking forward to planting the flowers.

So, so close

I'm so close to getting the next motif finished. So, so close . . . but my eyes and hands have shut down.

 This looks like it should be a contemporary pattern, not one from 1779. I think it's the black outlining that gives it that bold look.

Granted, people of this time period used vivid colors, not the gentle faded shades we see on the surviving textiles. I kinda like the more faded shades personally, but every so often you need something to shake up the usual.

Tomorrow, I will get the rest of the motif finished--if I can get my hair cut and the living room dusted and dinner in the crockpot and all those domestic diva things accomplished in a timely fashion. I'd rather stitch.

Woven Ribbons

My very dear friend and partner-in-crime Sharon (who also reproduces samplers for her company Thy Needles Worke) has come up with a brilliant plan. She found an app where she records a photo of her stitching for each day. That way she can see her progress as well as remember what projects she worked and when she stitched them.

Well, I'm starting a bit late to the party--you're supposed to start recording on January 1--and I decided I could record the pictures as well on my blog as on an app--so I'm going to try it. 

And today's stitching is the next motif on RST1779.

It looks like woven ribbons, doesn't it?

 I was a little hesitant to stitch the framework first since it's done in black thread. Dyeing textiles black usually requires more applications and processing of the dye to saturate the fibers and get a true, deep black. And that can make the thread more fragile, and, in this case more prone to lint and shedding. And those black fibers can make the other colors look grayed out.

So I'm watching the silk very carefully, making sure I clip the tails away when they start to look even the slightest bit frayed. I think I may also go over the motif, front and back, with some archival tape. And keep my sharpest pointed tweezers next to me as I stitch the other, paler shades of silk.

We'll see how that works. Maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned.