What a relief it is!

The lines met on both ovals!

This was quite a relief!

Obviously, it is not on par with the relief from hearing, "The growth is benign" or "The plane landed safely" but it is a relief.

After all, how many samplers are languishing, forlorn and alone, because the border didn't match? And how many hours has the stitcher spent, trying to find that one thread or stitch that is off?

Anyway, I was very happy that both borders on this cartouche met and matched, and that now I can color in the blanks.

Or I might do something else. I'm feeling particularly fickle at the moment, and there are many attractive projects begging for my attention.

Happy Fourth!

The neighborhood has erupted with fireworks in celebration, but here at the Fuddy Duddy residence, we're watching a documentary on the Revolution in the air conditioning.

And today I declared a day of Independence from finishing and pulled Eve in the Garden out of her pillowcase.

I think I need to alternate finishing with stitching, although I have made great progress during the long week-end on Fair Maiden.  This is where she stands now.

I still have to stitch the spangles on the lid so it can be finished, and I have more twisted cords and a handful of tassels to construct.  The big hole in the middle of this is going to have a drawer that will pull in and out. I think I'm going to make a prototype out of scrap fabric and cardboard to make sure I have the right fit before I cut the silk and do anything that can't be undone.

I also need to sew ribbons together to make the handle, but that is a task for yet another day.  I hope that, by taking the steps slowly and thinking them through and giving myself a lot of time to work on each stage, I will be happier with the overall appearance of my finishing.

Or I could stop trying to be such a perfectionist.

Dearly Beloved just said that will happen when I'm no longer in this world.

Fiddling

I had planned to show you a picture of what little I was able to accomplish in assembling the Fair Maiden Etui, but apparently the battery on the camera has died.

I've managed to get the back attached to the front. This is about half what I wanted to do, but everything takes longer than I think it should or want it to.  At one point, I had to just walk away and stitch some more on the needle roll that will eventually live inside the etui.

Of course the needle roll will have to be assembled, too.

To add to the aggravation, I realized when I was getting ready to put the lid together that I had forgotten to sew the spangles on. This meant I had to dig through the project bag until I found the spangles. Then I had to dig through the basket by my chair to find the thread I've been using to sew the spangles to the linen.

I am seriously thinking about taking a day or two off from assembly. Nothing against the project--I still love it. I think I just need to do something totally different for a day or so.

And it gives me an excuse to play in the stash.

Engineering, Phase IV

With a three day week-end starting, I decided to work on Fair Maiden again, and I got the back panel put together, including the drawstring pouch.

I have a feeling that I made it much more complicated than it should have been--but at this point, I'm so happy it's assembled and actually looks not half bad, that I don't care.

I still have to make the tassels for the ends of the drawstring, but there are a lot of little fiddly things that need to be done next in the assembly.  I think tomorrow is going to be fiddly day, unless I get a mad urge to vacuum and dust.

Since I've rarely had a mad urge to vacuum and dust, I imagine I'll be putting together little fiddly things.

Just a little concerned

I finished the framework on one of the pieces for the Fair Maiden Needle Roll--and I'm getting a little concerned that I won't have enough of the green silk to do all the areas that will need it.

I still have to do the leaves that will go around the flowers that I need to stitch on both this piece and the other.

I've decided to do a Scarlet and worry about that another day. Meanwhile, I think I'm going to fill in some of the areas with broad chain and the overdyed silk. And that is going to take a while.

I may go stash diving to see if I have anything close to the green to hold in reserve, just in case. I'm not sure why I'm running short on this one thread--I have oodles and boodles of the other colors.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I've already pulled the orts out of the ort jar just in case.

And if auto-correct changes "ort "to "rot" or "oft" one more time, I may scream!

Nibbled to Death by Ducks

That's how one of my great-aunts described the way she felt when life seemed to be one petty irritation after another.

I've been nibbled on for a couple of days.

So tonight I decided to ignore everything, live in the moment, and stitch.

All the framework on one piece of the needle roll is complete, and I'm almost through with the other.

And, yes, I am working in hand. I couldn't find stretcher bars that would work, and the only side bars long enough for a scroll frame in my possession are attached to something that has the sides laced. I don't want to roll the piece because I don't want to smoosh (technical term) the Gilt Silk Twist.

This is another of those petty irritations.

I think I'd like to run away to a tropical island with a cabana boy who brings me fruity drinks.

Reverse Stitching

I found the mistake on the needle roll.

Notice I did not say I was please to announce that I had found the error. Nope, I wasn't, but after careful consideration, I decided it would be better to rip back than to fudge compensate.

So this is where we are now:

And this is where we're likely to stay for the rest of the day. Dearly Beloved has a project in mind, and I'm afraid I'm part of the work force.