In my part of the world we say you are a fool if your passion for a pursuit overcomes all practical sense. I am a stitching fool, and I stitch foolishness.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Not a finishing week-end

 I could not face putting something else together this week-end.

So I didn't.

I have worked a little on the Needlewoman's Work Tray, which is the project that Baby Girl and I are working in tandem. The needle case is stitched, and I've started on the tray itself. So far, I have two and half of the borders done.



Top photo was made in lamplight, bottom in daylight. The real color of the linen is actually somewhere in between.

And then I decided to drive myself completely around the bend and get the plaited braid on the last bit of the Golden Accessories stitched.

I am not at all happy with the way it worked out. My tension was all over the place, even after working another quick test practice bit before I started. It occurred to me that the way I originally worked the stitch was the way that the legendary Jane Zimmerman taught it, and she had you work it from the bottom up. This version has a different twist and is worked from top down. There is a theory that earlier learning can interfere with later information processing. That sounds like a wonderful excuse to me at the moment.

I am seriously thinking about ripping it all out and doing it again. I am also wondering if I would make another attempt or if this project would go back into the stash forevermore. I'm also wondering if anyone but me would care how it looks. Quite frankly, there are no stitching police (despite some self-appointed ones), and a finish is a finish.

Sometimes it's best to consider something a learning experience and to move on.

I just wrote that, and my inner first-born, perfectionistic girl-child responsible for the turning of the earth on its axis if anything isn't done exactly as it should be is already pulling out the metal thread scissors to cut it all out.


Saturday, March 20, 2021

Strawberry Fields Forever

 Last week-end, after I finished the Strawberry Purse, I was rummaging around in the pile of stuff by the wing chair to pull out one of the two projects that needed finishing. And this is when I discovered another project bag that had four more small projects that needed to be put together.

Well, they were very small, so they shouldn't take long at all, right?

Not so much--but they're done now.


Two of Barbara Jackson's strawberries that I picked up at Haus Tirol in Williamsburg several years ago. I am going to miss going by that lovely store on our next trip to W'burg, but I have several projects from them yet to stitch.

A tiny needle book and even tinier hornbook scissors fob from Catherine Theron. These were sold at the boutique at Christmas in Williamsburg several years ago. 

It would appear that some of the sweetest designs I've done have Williamsburg associations.

I had planned to do more finish-finishing this week-end, but Baby Girl sent me off down another rabbit hole.

We had a lot of fun stitching Emie's Etui together, and she suggested that we do another project as a stitch along. So, at the moment, we're both working on Jackie du Plessis' Needlewoman's Work Tray. It's been my after-work project this past week, and this is where I am at the moment:


And, yes, it is cross over one. I am a glutton for punishment, but it does give such a lovely, delicate look that I can't resist. This part will be a needle case that sits in the work tray, and I would love to get the flowers done this week-end.

Then back to finish-finishing next week-end. There are still two projects by my chair that need to be assembled. 

And there are two bins upstairs that are also full of things I need to sew together. I shouldn't think about that, should I?


Saturday, March 13, 2021

In the Bag

 Continuing the current plan to do finish-finishing on the week-ends, the Strawberry Purse designed by Catherine Theron is completed!

Of course, I expected that it would take an hour or two max to put together.

And, of course, it took all morning and part of the afternoon, but it's done. Now I just have to decide which of the two projects still by the chair that I'm going to tackle next.

Stay tuned.

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Another finishing week-end

 It appears that I've already landed back in the work rut after my lovely week off, with little time or brain power to stitch in the evenings after spending the day at my job. However, I am getting some finishing done this week-end.

As you can see, I have the scissors case and fob, the pin pillow, and the needle case from Catherine Theron's Strawberry Purse all together.

I do not have the purse itself put together. It could be mostly done on the sewing machine, but that would require dragging the sewing machine out of its case, winding a bobbin, threading the machine--by the time I do all that, I could hand sew it together. So that's the task for tomorrow afternoon. 

And then I will have only two projects left by the wing chair to put together.

Unless, of course, I succumb to pressure from Baby Girl for another Stitch Along with her. She has already started, and keeps asking when I'm going to join in. I don't believe I'm being given a choice.