Bits and Pieces

I've been fighting off a sinus infection.

I was beginning to think the sinus infection was going to win.

Particularly when I had to take a work-related trip in the midst of antibiotics and steroids instead of curling up in a miserable, head-achy heap.

And, yes, I would like some cheese with this whine.

This means that the sum total of needlework I did all last week (until yesterday, that is) resulted in this:

This is the very, very, very beginning of the inside border on "No Place Like Home," the needlebook class I took from Catherine Theron at Jeannine's a couple of months ago.  It was my travel piece and this is all I managed to accomplish in my hotel room the night I was away.

After that, I staggered home from work every night, nibbled at dinner, and collapsed in bed at 9 or 9:30.

Things got brighter yesterday--maybe because I was through with the antibiotics and maybe because the infection is finally cleared out--but quite probably because I took a class from Debbie Stiehler with my ANG chapter. We are piloting the two-day class she is teaching at ANG's national seminar this year.

And talk about spaghetti!! Just look at this:

(Sorry for the dim picture. We have no sunshine today.)

I love taking Debbie's classes. Like taking a class from Carole Lake, you find you laugh as much as you stitch.

And I always get a tip or a technique that make it worth the price of admission. Yesterday's was a way to select strands of overdyed threads to really assure a random color pattern when you want to avoid color matching.

In addition, Debbie has a way of choosing stitches that create the effect of architecture (like this doorway framing) or fabric (any one of her fan designs) that are not overly difficult to create while entertaining to stitch. 

And then she adds interesting surface stitching with silk ribbon and textured threads--there will be a climbing rose on one side of this design and arborvitae on the other.  And it will have a real live door knocker and door knob attached.

Added to that, I got to spend the day with some of my very favorite people.  As one of our members says, it's like a therapy group with laughter.

So, all in all, I feel much better than I have in almost two weeks. While it might be true that it's a result of better living through chemistry, I think it was more an effect of taking a needlework class with a delightful teacher and spending the day with friends!