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.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Sparkly Stuff

 I didn't mean to drop from view for several days, but I've been catching up with the Deep Dive into Goldwork class I'm taking online from Sara Rickard.

This is what I've done in the first half of the first term.

It may not look like much, but it's literally hours of stitching.

I am a very slow stitcher, and I generally don't get much done during the actual class. I've found that I do much better if I watch the class, then stitch, referring back to the taped lesson as I work. Each class goes into great detail on how to work the steps involved in that week's assignment--including the angle of the needle as it's inserted into the fabric.

Sara is a phenomenal teacher, one of the best I've ever had--and I've taken a lot of classes over the years, both face-to-face and online. She not only tells you what to do, but why to do it that way. If there's an alternate method, she also demonstrates it, then tells us which method she prefers and why she does.

We're really covering the basics during this first term--padding with felt, both single and multiple layers, and with soft string. I've learned a lot about both. I also recognize that my soft string padding isn't great, but I know what I can do to improve it the next time I try. We've also learned how to couch gold threads and fill in shapes with couching. Again, I know how I can improve mine the next time I use that technique.

I'm also taking Sara's Deep Dive into Stumpwork class, and I have a couple of class motifs to work for that. I'll show that one when I'm caught up with it.

Meanwhile, I will be spending the next couple of days cooking and cleaning. We're having Thanksgiving early as usual, and I keep seeing things I need to do before Saturday. The grocery list has been completed, and Dearly Beloved is going on a hunting and gathering expedition. So I may be off the grid again for a couple of days until we go back to our normal rut.

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