Architecture and a Rabbit Hole

 The house in the middle of the Liberty sampler has been built. It just needs to have the front door hung and the landscaping finished, and I'll be ready to stitch the bottom third.

I was stitching merrily along, thinking I just have a bit more of this to stitch and then Clara's skirt and I would have my planned Fourth of July projects done . . . until, that is, I remembered something buried deep in the stash. And then I fell down the rabbit hole.

A vintage Elsa Williams kit--I wonder if it was originally designed for the Becentennial fifty years ago. I can't remember if I found this at an estate sale or a stash destash or what, but if there was ever an appropriate time to stitch it, I guess this is it.

Plus, assembling the stool part and painting it will give Dearly Beloved something to do. Lately he's really needed something to do.

And if you've been married a certain amount of time and are retired, you'll know exactly what I mean by that.

Can't Put It Down

 If you've followed me for any length of time, you may have noticed I don't tend to be a monogamous stitcher.

But I can't seem to put Liberty for All down so I can work on what I'd originally planned to stitch this week.

I have passed the halfway mark as of tonight, and something tells me that one of two things will happen:

• I will continue to work on this and this alone until it's done, or . . .
• Tomorrow morning I will hop out of bed and decide I can't stand to do another stitch on it.

I guess we'll both find out what the answer is tomorrow morning.

A Tisket, A Tasket, a Patriotic Basket

The first motif for the center part of Liberty for All is now complete!

I have to admit, it was the berry border that drew me to the design, but I do love this basket.

 Just a little more and I'll be to the center of the project. This may actually be a finish before the Fourth.

(And just to let my nerd flag fly, I did watch part of Star Wars today so I can say "May the Fourth be with you" and move on. )

Robin was kind enough to fill me in on what people are currently doing for Maynia now. (See the comments on yesterday's post.) If I get five projects finished, I could finally say that I have participated. However, as I have once again decided that I am not going to work to a deadline on anything and stitch on whatever strikes my fancy, I am not going to declare any goals.

Although, after the way the first third of the year has gone, I'll be happy if I manage to thread a needle on a daily basis.

Stems and Veins

 I got a very late start on Sampler Sunday today, and this is all I have to show thus far.

I had hoped that I would get all the outlined areas filled in today but, unless I stay up all night--and that would run into Sampler Monday, which isn't a thing (yet)--I don't think that will happen.

However, I did spend a delightful hour with a lecture sponsored by the Great Lakes Region of EGA. The people behind Relics in Situ talked about raised or dimensional embroidery of the 16th and 17th centuries. OMG, the close-up pictures they showed were phenomenal! The things the embroiderers of that time could accomplish--simply amazing! And, yes, I know there are people who do the same sort of work now, but what really amazes me is the tiny scale of some of the artifacts. It all makes me want to get back to that sort of work, if only to see if I can get my arthritic fingers to produce something resembling it.

Stay tuned for that.

That may have been written with tongue in cheek.

And on to another topic that rose to the top of my brain in the middle of the night:

What has happened to Maynia?

Do you remember when people started a new project on every day in May? Is anybody still doing that?

Or is that the reason there are now so many WIPGO programs to help people finish their started projects?

Inquiring minds want to know. I'd love to hear what you have to say.

The Merry Month of May

Whew! April is over! It was a very tiring month for me, but I am feeling more like myself and think my stitching mojo is coming back.

(However, in the Aging-is-NOT-for-Sissies category, I rolled over last night and threw out my back. These times do try us. Icy Hot patches actually do help, although the aroma can also clear out ones sinuses.)

Anyway, I have done a little on Stacy Nash's Liberty for All sampler.

 Not quite to the halfway point, but close.

I also started assembling Jackie du Plessis' Carmen Etui yesterday, but at the moment there isn't enough put together to make sense.

And tomorrow is Sampler Sunday, and I'd like to get the leaves on the second motif filled in with tent.

I should probably mention that this is more stitching in three days than I have done in the last three weeks.  Let's hope I can keep the momentum going!

Poorly and Puny

 When my elderly relatives felt a little under the weather, they would say they were "feeling poorly" or "a little puny."

I was under the weather last week, thus there was virtually no stitching. There was a lot of gazing off into the distance and napping. I felt poorly and I was a little puny.

It just occurred to me that I am now the elderly relative. 

Anyway, I feel much better now, and yesterday I did the backstitch for the second motif on The Essamplaire's Spot Sampler.

Today I am going to reorganize the work table so I can start doing some final finishing on a project or two.  And if finishing doesn't do me in, I'm definitely on the mend.

One Down, Forty-One to Go

 Sampler Sunday resulted in one finished motif today.

Other than the straight stitches for the veins in the leaves, this is all worked in tent stitch or backstitch. And I made a major mistake--I decided to see how many stitches it takes to do a square inch.

1, 225.

That's a lot.

And there are forty-one more motifs on this sampler.

I'm glad I decided that this would take a couple of years to stitch if I work on it only on Sundays. It may take three years, but I'm trying to be optimistic.

I also worked on one of my Fourth projects, Clara 1876, during the past week:

I had several Zoom meetings this past week, and Clara was perfect stitching--lots of fill-in. I just wish she didn't look quite so confused.

Fingers are crossed that I can make some headway on Peony this week. I didn't have the bandwidth this week to focus on goldwork after the long, long trip home. I read somewhere that travel is tiring because you're constantly making micro-movements as you ride, whether in plane, train, or automobile. I must have been making some macro-movements as well as all the micro-movements. Or maybe I'm just getting old.