I can't get no satisfaction--but I did

Last night Martha Edlin and I sat down together. At this point, I have two more floral bands, three alphabets, and a spot section to complete and she will be done.

This is better than having umpty-leven floral bands, three alphabets, and a spot section to complete. However, if you look at the sampler overall, this is a good third of the length.

That's a lot.

I'll be the first to admit the projects that call my name are the big ones. I mean, just look at all those luscious stitches to create, those intricate designs to reproduce, those incredible threads to ply. And then, either stitcher's ADD or burn-out . . . or both . . . hit.

I really don't want that to happen with Martha. For the most part I've enjoyed her, even though there are times when I look at her and wonder what I got myself into. (This is not the only thing in my life that pertains to, but this is a stitching blog. We will leave it at that.) It was obvious that I needed to have a feeling that I had something--anything--completed.

So I hit up the finishing basket to find one small thing that could be put together relatively quickly and painlessly.  In other words, no sewing machine involved.  I came up with a bunch but decided to keep it to two, especially since I do want to get some holiday stitching done on Martha.

So (drum roll please) here they are:

These are both small projects that Jackie duPlessis sells. I generally pick up a pile of them when I go to Christmas in Williamsburg just so I will have quick projects when I need to have quick projects.

The pincushion has a really pretty woven ribbon at one end, which of course I should have photographed before I sewed it on. The other piece is the top of a neat container which Jackie calls a button container. I have placed some antique buttons in it.

This is a close-up of the embroidery on the top:

It was fun to stitch--free form sprigs and French knots around the flower buttons--and, as we know, I don't do a lot of free form--so I broke out of my mold.

Now that I have two finished projects, I feel ever so much better and am ready to tackle Martha again. I should probably plan to do this more often, since I am appalled at the number of things I found in the finishing basket--especially since I found one that not only do I not remember buying, I don't remember stitching!  That's when you realize you've buried too many things in the finishing basket! Or that my absent-mindedness is worse than I thought.

Dearly Beloved is convinced that I can auto-stitch. This may be proof.