Here's the background:
When I first went back to work full-time, I would take the daily newspaper to read during my lunch hour. Generally, it took the whole hour to get everything read, and I never had time to do the crossword.
Other media platforms have eroded the power of the printed newspaper in the interim, and now I've found that not only can I get most of the pertinent articles read, I can also get the crossword completed, and still have half an hour or so of my lunch time left.
I started thinking about this, and I realized that I was missing prime stitching time. The only problem is that I need magnification for most things, and most things I do are large and on some kind of frame. Just schlepping all this stuff back and forth would be difficult, and there's not a lot of space in cube city to stow things away.
About the same time I started thinking about this, we started clearing out some of the stuff in Dearly Beloved's office--and I was finally able to clear a path to a cabinet in which I stored some of my older stash when we moved into this place a quarter of a century ago.
When I opened the cabinet, I found all my old crewel kits, loads of Elsa Williams and Erica Wilson designs, plus a few more.
And the light bulb went off.
All I need to work crewel is an embroidery hoop.
And in about two weeks of partial lunch hours, I have a finished project:
There are three more in the series. And somewhere I have this strange feeling that I bought four little gold frames to finish them off.
Meanwhile, on the home front, I have been puttering, trying to decide what I want to do next.
Rebekah French was sitting close by, so she got three more eyelet letters worked.
Baby Girl is urging me to finish this one. She has a vested interest. Because her eye and hand are much steadier than mine, I got her to do all the tracing for the bottom part of this sampler. Therefore, she believes that, after five years, I need to get 'er done.
I'm not so sure I want to get involved in another humongous sampler at this moment in time. What I'd like to do is empty out the auxiliary finishing basket. And work on my new Barbara Jackson project. And maybe do a Christmas ornament or two--it's two months from today.
OMG! Christmas is two months from today!
wow . . .
The crewel work angel is adorable! Lucky you, able to stitch at lunch.
ReplyDeleteCompletely understand your hesitation to get into finishing another huge project. Hmmm... what's the Barbara Jackson piece?
Or Christmas ornaments - quick and satisfying. Though I need to get to my sewing machine and actually make the finished stitchery into ornaments, rather than just a pile (sigh).
I've learned over the years that I have to have two stitching projects--one I leave at the shop and one I stitch on at home. I have a tendency to forget to bring the project back and forth, therefore my system. Late afternoons at the shop are when I manage to do some stitching (when things are slow). Though I make little progress when duty calls!
ReplyDeleteLove your crewel angel, so cute. Well done maximising that lunch break. Great progress on your eyelet letters, so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI found a vacant room in the building, turned the radio on & made a whole applique quilt, the very best hour in the whole day... beautiful sampler!
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