Normal-ish

 I was under the weather for about 24 hours. Actually, I was totally useless all day yesterday, and I'm still moving a little slowly, but I have been able to thread a needle.

And I believe I am going to work on this flower until it's all filled in.

There are only four colors, and it's pretty much all block stitching, so I believe I can handle it.

Hopefully I will be back to full stitching ability by tomorrow because I am starting a class in needlelace. I have my threads, I have my fabric, I need to make sure I have all the needles suggested, and I need to set up my hoop on the worktable.

I also feel the need for a nap.

Filling In

 It's Sampler Sunday again and I am filling in Motif 4 on the Spot Sampler.

There isn't much to see yet. I stayed up way too late finishing a book last night so I allowed myself to sleep in this morning. I got a very late start on the day, then the Great Lakes Region of EGA offered a lecture this afternoon with Dr Lynn Anderson on schoolgirl samplers which I wanted to watch and listen to. Usually I can listen and stitch while the lectures are going on, but this one had a lot of eye candy. I spent more time with the needle held motionless in my fingers than I did moving it in and out of the linen.

I really want to get to some of the petals today so I can see how the colors actually look. I'm still thinking it looks like an iris, but maybe a tulip? We'll see. But first I absolutely have to get the leaves done. Veggies before dessert, you know.

And speaking of dessert, I am going to assemble a banana pudding before I start stitching again. I figured that would be cooler than making banana bread. Even with AC, the oven can add heat to the house. The house is hot enough. 

The older I get, the less I like summer. You can always add layers of clothes and wrap up in blankets in winter, but you can only take off so much in the summer before you start scaring the family, horrifying the neighborhood, and creating opportunities for incarceration for indecent exposure.

It's the Heat AND the Humidity

At the moment, I think I want to move to Maine, just so I could take a dip in a chilly lake. Taking a cold shower isn't quite the same.

As it is, I think the heat and the heat index and the notices about "excessive heat" are doing me in. To the point that I don't even feel like stitching, even with the AC running. 

And that is why this is the only thing I've accomplished with needle and thread in three days:

And that accomplishment occurred only because I attended three stitch-ins and worked on this potted plant during all three.

I am now going to get another cold drink and read one of the Longmire books that takes place in the winter in Wyoming where the snow is three feet deep and still coming down.

If that doesn't help, I'm going to look at summer rentals in Maine.

Hurray for Stash!

 I am taking a class on needlelace from the Royal School of Needlework, starting next week. When I received my class confirmation, the message mentioned a kit that would be sent in plenty of time prior to class.

Apparently that is a form letter that isn't edited for specific classes.

I had emailed to ask about the kit for this class since it hadn't arrived, but the kit for the class I'm taking in August had. I had no answer.

Anyway, I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, wide awake, but knew if I got up then, I'd be a zombie by 7. So, I decided to check my email on my phone and hope I'd get sleepy enough to go back to bed.

And there was a message from the RSN Eduction department, telling me the supplies I need to get for the class.

Apparently there isn't a kit.

You need a variety of needles and Perle cotton in three sizes, plus calico ( which in the US we call muslin).

So I spent the morning stash diving, looking for Perle cotton in three sizes. No idea how many skeins or balls needed, if the colors need to be coordinated (from the photo of the project, the answer is "nope."), no indication of the size of the piece of calico needed. It would appear that we are either being given a great deal of latitude in our choices or we'll find out when class starts if we chose wisely.

Here are my choices:

I have needles and I have some white cotton that is the weight of muslin. The only thing I need now are the paper covered cake wires that can be used for raised embroidery, and I think I have some of those left from the Deep Dive into Stumpwork class I took from Sara Rickards. Otherwise, I have an excuse to go to Michael's with BDE. I also need to be sure I have hoops in assorted sizes that aren't otherwise occupied.

Once again, I'm glad I've spent a lifetime accumulating stash and didn't downsize that when we had the Big Move. You never know when there will be something in one of those bins that will come in handy!

But now I really need a nap.

Frameworks

 I started to title this one "doing the boring stuff,"  but I am trying to put a positive spin on my needlework experiences.

And, yes, I'm still frogging Carmen and not feeling particularly positive about that experience, but I'm trying to persuade myself that I will be much happier when it's done and the frogged stitches replaced.

Anyway, I got the red motifs on All That Glitters outlined. From here on out, I just have to fill. I don't have to count anything, just go on autopilot.

And I decided that maybe I needed to get a little more of the border done on Sarah Ann Purdy:

I'd like to get the next two motifs on the left side of the sampler stitched, then move over to the right side and catch that side up to the left.

I really wish my lousy photography showed just how gorgeous Sarah Ann is looking! One reason I like working on 40 count linen with overdyed threads is that I get a very delicate look, but the colors are saturated and vibrant. I don't like seeing the "legs" of my crosses because I think that takes away from overall effect of the design.

And this is a small-ish sampler--it will be only slightly over 10" wide and slightly less than 10" tall when it's done--but the intensity of the colors will make it stand out.

I have the opportunity to participate in two stitch-ins tonight, so maybe this will be a good day to get some things accomplished.

Another Good Mail Day

 I have absolutely got to stop cruising the innerwebs late at night.

It was another good mail day:

On the left, the kit for a class I'm taking through the Royal School of Needlework at the end of the summer. Yes, I have already opened the box. Yes, I have already reviewed the directions. Yes, I think I could stitch it without the class, but Kate Barlow always has a tip or technique that elevates your skill level, so I will wait.

I am a little concerned, though, since I have another class set to start next week, also from the RSN--and that kit hasn't been mailed yet, nor do I have a materials list. I am wondering if the wrong kit was sent before its scheduled time and the other hasn't been shipped--so I wrote to ask.

And then the Strawberry Sampler from Liz Matthews. I was absolutely NOT going to buy any more schoolgirl sampler charts (other than Country Sampler's Threads in History kits) this year. I was not. I solemnly swore to myself I have enough to keep me busy.

But this one has all the things that I like, like motifs rather than alphabets. And no big honkin' house.

I succumbed.

And, I am not surprised I succumbed.

Neither is anyone else.

A Tisket, a Tasket

 Three pretty little baskets!

I'm still in the midst of trying to bring order into chaos on my worktable, and I think I'm making a bigger mess than I had when I started.

I had to stop for a little and actually stitch something to maintain my sanity, so Sarah Ann Purdy wound up on the frame stand--and I have three little baskets in the center of the sampler.

I wish the picture showed how vivid the red and white are against the linen--they glow!

Back to arranging--I do get a break this afternoon when we have one of our EGA region stitch-ins, and I think that All That Glitters is going to get some love then.