We are still married--at the moment

 This is probably all the stitching I will get done today.

We bought a new television since the old one is on its last legs and the remote for it no longer works (horrors!). Dearly Beloved has been trying to set it up today.

Apparently there is something in the male genome that refuses to read directions or (Heaven Forbid!) call the help desk. You should just be able to plug it in and it will work, but somehow he has screwed up the remote for the new television. I do not know what he did--I was reading the set up directions to determine what should be done beyond plugging in and turning on while he was fiddling with it.

I did promise "til death do us part" but I don't remember anything about setting up a television in the vows. 

A little sidetracked

 I started working on the three pieces of the Golden Acorn set of smalls this afternoon. The first bit involves a little embellishment of the base tent stitch designs.

There are bullions on the acorn:

The centers of the pansy and carnation are worked in spiral trellis, but there was only enough room to do two rounds, so didn't think it was enough to bother with a photo.

And that got me sidetracked. No matter how many times I've done spiral trellis--and I've stitched a couple of pieces that each have at least forty bazillion spiral trellises--I can never remember exactly how to point the needle and which thread goes over and which goes under it. Apparently the experience is so traumatic I repress all memories of it.

Anyway, as long as I had the diagram out, I decided to pull out the sweet bag I was working on earlier in the year and get the center of the main flower spiral trellised. I realized I didn't have quite enough thread to work it in the color it was supposed to use, so I subbed for another shade that had plenty, but I don't think it made a lot of difference.  Anyway, the main design is now finished.

And I could begin putting it together, and I have thought seriously about that.

However, I think I want to continue with the smalls and get them stitched and assembled while I have lovely long days to do both.

A Finish!

 On the first day of my stay-cation, a finish!

All the gold and silver threadwork have been added to the Petite Pin Cushion--and I've put it together!

There was a twisted gold thread in the kit that could be used as additional cording for the pin cushion, but its shade of gold and the gold thread in the stitching were from different families of gold. It just didn't work for me, so I made the executive decision to leave it off. There's already a lot packed into a teeny little cushion--it's little over 2 inches square--so I stopped.

And what next, you may ask? Probably this:

I did all the tent stitch months ago. All the blank spots need to have gold and silver thread added, plus there are some silk embellishments that will be added as well. I do not believe this will be finished in a day. Or maybe several days.

These projects came from the Goldwork online class that Tricia Nguyen offered. I finished the spot sampler a couple of years ago and the Tudor Pincushion earlier this year. I still have two projects from the class, this set of smalls and a band sampler.

The band sampler is the only part I haven't started, and I've been thinking about getting it on a scroll frame. On the other hand, I have some other pieces that are almost finished and there is the Basket Of Unfinished Objects full of things that need to be assembled. On the top of that basket are all the bits for Jackie du Plessis' Ode to Jane Austen, and I really want that assembled before the end of the year.

I believe I have enough to keep me out of trouble for the rest of the week. Or quite probably, the rest of the year.

Back in the Habit

 I am totally out of the habit of blogging.  However, I'm taking a week off from work. Right now, I have two goals:

• Stitch something every day
• blog about it

I did finish Barbara Jackson's Fair Flowers Sewing Basket this week.

I might need to trim the leaves on the big strawberry just a tad--or I may leave them.

That strawberry gave me fits, by the way. I was supposed to work the berries, choosing the shades of red randomly. I am so left-brained that random is not in my vocabulary. I was literally trying to chart out random, and if that's not a left-brain thing to do, I don't know what is.

I am very pleased, though, with the way it turned out, especially those happy, happy colors.  They make me smile every time I look at this.

Now I am going to plunge my hand into the basket by the wing chair and see what pops up first for this afternoon's stitching pleasure.

Second band complete!

 The second basket band is stitched!

Each part of the band looks like a different snippet of ribbon:

I think I've stitched more in the last couple of days than I have in the last month.

One more piece to go, and I'll be ready to put the basket and its accessories together.

Pretty Flowers

 I haven't been in the mood to stitch lately--think the monotony of living with the Pandemic got to me for a little bit--but decided late last week that I needed to do something besides being generally grumpy, so I pulled the basket band linen for Barbara Jackson's Floral Basket out of the basket by my chair.

I was waiting for stretcher bars to arrive to start this part. They did, and, not surprising for 2020, one of them came broken. So I dug around and found a scroll frame that would work, sewed the linen on, and got started.

The whole world is stitching for fall and Halloween, and I'm stitching spring flowers.

But why not? Right now, I think we need to focus on what makes us happy, and these are the colors and motifs that do it for me!

Happy little flowers (I may be having a Bob Ross moment.)

And a cheerful little lady in her garden. Even if it is 2020.

Actually, I was having such a good time with this that I stayed up until after 1 a.m. Saturday morning--after getting up at 5:30 on Friday and working all day--to stitch. With the Labor Day holiday tomorrow, I may stitch all day today and tomorrow.

No maybe about it. That's the plan.