Today I lined a box with a lovely silk for the sides and a rich velvet for the bottom.
I almost got the pin cushion that will live on the inside cover of the box stitched, and I learned how to make the pockets that will fit inside the needlework case.
This was a very productive day, quite unlike my usual time in class where I rarely stitch and never get anything done.
I could get used to this!
It's cold and rainy here at Ocean City, but I actually stitched in class! Wonders will never cease.
I also ripped because I can't count and follow a chart at the same time in a class, but it's all fixed and everything is fine now.
And I indulged in a bit of retail therapy. Aside from replenishing my needle supply and replacing my broken clip & flip magnifiers and picking up a skein of AVAS I need for a sampler project, I found this:
I saw this design by Ellen Chester on Facebook the other day and thought it looked like it would be fun to stitch and a good travel project. And then I decided I would really rather stitch it in silk, and Salty Yarns has a nice supply of Gloriana, so BDE and I had a color consultation and I'm going to work it in this. It's a little more muted than the original colors, but I think it will be fine.
There are two more days of class and two more projects to add to the pile of things I want to do right this minute. (I need more minutes.)
And, interestingly, Dearly Beloved has been checking off items on his Honey-Do list while I've been gone. I am beginning to wonder if I should leave him alone more often. He seems to be much more industrious when I'm not around. Hmmmmmm . . . .
At the moment, it doesn't look so very fine. Actually, it looks as if it barely survived a typhoon.
This is the paper mock-up for the etui from the class I've been taking with Jackie at Salty Yarns for the last couple of days.
I am assuming (and hoping) it will look more like the photo on the front of the instructions.
Both BDE and I have been coveting this project since I first saw the photo of it, and finally, it is within our grasp--plus, I have decided that the pattern for the pin cushion that goes with it would be absolutely adorable worked in gold metallic thread with green and red silk accents as a Christmas ornament.
So many stitches . . . so little time.
And I have three more classes during this trip. BDE may have been more realistic and is only taking one of them.
Or she has realized that she is going to get all my stitching stuff anyway, and has the patience to wait.
The next band of Carmen has these lovely, lovely leaves.
This pattern forms a framework across the band. I would love to get that done today, but I am doing the pre-trip laundry, then I'm going to start packing for this week's gallivanting with BDE to Salty Yarns for classes with Jackie. I continue to stalk Jackie.
Besides, the minute I make stitching plans, something always interferes. Therefore, I am NOT planning to stitch leaves today between loads of laundry and organizing stitching supplies.
I have been stitching, very slowly and somewhat painfully at times, but, quite frankly, I'd rather stitch with some discomfort as opposed to not stitching at all. There are just too many pretty things in the world that I need to stick a needle in to waste time!
And, I am thrilled to announce, I have finally finished the part of the border that surrounds the first band on Carmen.
I could go ahead, while I have the border pattern in my head (more or less), and work the border areas for the next band. Just to get them out of the way, you understand.
There is a little zigzag interior border that I could zip through.
Or there is a new band pattern, a lovely new pattern, that I can't wait to stitch.
Do you even have to ask? I'm going to start the new pattern today.
She is supposed to keep my wrist stable while it recovers from being hyperextended when I tripped up the stairs. She is also supposed to stop me from re-injuring myself.
I can stitch with her, but it's slow and awkward. Hopefully, though, she will do her job quickly and efficiently.
In other news, I just had the recent Covid shot, recommended for people over 65. Every other one I've had has left me tired and vaguely achey. This one did me in--unbelievable fatigue and chills and fever--and to top it all off, I had a dizzy spell and keeled over. Luckily I landed on the best padded part of my anatomy, but I have a rather large bruise. And I have bruises elsewhere as well, so I am stiff and sore.
These times do try us.
Hopefully I will have something of a stitching nature to show in the near future.
An apologetic employee of the Post Office appeared with my box from Inspirations today,
I have decided I am not allowed online when I am too ill to stitch. It's dangerous.
Here's the Betsy Morgan sampler I mentioned.
And, because this Deep Dive into Whitework class I'm taking has pulled me into loving that particular branch of needlework, with all its offshoots, again:
Tiny little pictures of projects worked in white on white don't show up well, but I have a Richelieu Lace piece and two Schwalm pieces, one of which can go on the rack on the antique golden oak washstand that was the first antique we bought we were newlyweds. I already have a couple of Barbara Kershaw's finger towels hanging there, and I think this will be a nice addition.
I only need 36 hours in the day.
