Getting back into a routine

I was thinking the other day--the last few years, I have not been as productive as I thought I would be. Actually, I thought I would spend the majority of every day with a needle in my hand--and I did, the first year I retired.

But then I had some health issues that sapped my energy, then there was the Big Move, and, to put the cherry on top, I lost a big chunk of this year with my wrist in a brace.

And I got out of the habit of stitching. I was still going to classes, I was still enhancing the stash--instead of stitching, though, I was puttering and scrolling through my phone and playing online games. And, at the same time, I want all this stuff stitched!

So, I'm going to try to limit my time playing on my phone (OMG, it is addictive, and I don't want to be that person who is physically attached to my phone 24/7), and I'm going to start the day out stitching, and I'm going to work on what I want to do when I want to do it.

This is what I've been poking a needle into for the last couple of days:

I'm taking an online class from Sara Rickards, the same tutor who's been teaching the deep dive classes I've been taking. It's an advanced crewel class. I'm already a little behind, but I've got a rhythm going now and I think I may be ready for class on Tuesday.

Carmen still has my heart, and she's going to actually get some love this week. After all, her boring border is done, and I almost have the framework for the middle of the design finished, so I can see some progress happening.

One side of the Hapsburg Lace needle book is stitched. I have the framework for the other side done, but I'm going to save the filling stitches until our EGA meeting so I can demonstrate them there if anyone needs to see how to work them. I haven't loved working on this because the canvas is really stiff and harsh--possibly because it has metallic threads running through it. I love the design, but I am really going to be thrilled beyond belief to have this finished.

And I think I need to get back in the habit of more frequent blogging. If I blog, I stitch, and vice-versa. Therefore, I will continue to babble away about what's on my frame , , , er . . . frames.

Well, that happened . . .

I have been a busy stitcher.

And, OMG, I have the borders for this section of Carmen done! This is the part that I've moaned and groaned and whined and whinged about ever since I started this beautiful sampler--and it is a beautiful sampler despite my weeping and wailing.

I think the last time I wrote, I said I was probably just going to work evenly across the piece, the way I generally do borders on school girl samplers--just working the part of the border that meets the fun part of the design. Not that borders can't be fun in small doses--I just find it boring to do the same pattern over and over and over again.

So I am basically delighted with what I've done on Carmen the last few days.

And then . . . well, I am either the luckiest stitcher alive or it's true that God looks out for dim bulbs.

I was going to do my homework for the advanced crewel class I'm taking online, but I woke up earlier than I wanted to and couldn't get back to sleep. I had stayed up way past my bedtime reading a murder mystery--I got to the point I had to find out whodunnit and couldn't put the book down--so I was a bit too weary to think about what I was stitching.

Apparently I did something similar when I started the embroidered panel for the Artisan's Workbox. I started the design lower than I should have on the linen. 

Now, I picked this up today because I figured it would be an easy stitch--just counting and remembering when to do Smyrna crosses and when to do long arm crosses and when to do rice stitches or straight stitches. But as I stitched down one side, I started thinking that I was getting awfully close to the bottom of the linen. SO close, so very close to the bottom of the linen.

I nearly had a sinking spell.

I counted the number of stitches needed to get to the bottom of the design. I counted the number of threads I had left on the linen.

I have about four or five threads more than I absolutely have to have.

If I counted everything correctly.

I can't decide whether I want to continue with this to see if I do have enough space to finish or if I want to to scrub a floor and not think about it at all.

Adulting is HARD!

I got up an at unearthly hour and had my annual mammogram this morning.

The Marquis de Sade would have loved the mammogram machine. Quite frankly, if men had to have their dangly bits mashed between two plates on a yearly basis, there would be a much less uncomfortable option.

Then, just as painful in another way, I came home, balanced the checkbook, and paid bills.

I think I've been a grown-up for quite long enough today. 

So, I'm going to stitch.

Here's where I am currently on the Stitcher's Workbox project. I think the purple flowers might be clover.

And I'm jumping from one area to another on Carmen, which may be the best way to tackle this very large band.

I think Carmen will get some love this afternoon, then more twining leaves and blooms tonight. Or I may do something else entirely.

Whatever it is, it will not involve mature, responsible behavior.

The Stitching Slump

I fell into a stitching slump a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now recovering.

I think I had too many things going on at the same time, and I kept hitting the wall on all of them. Why? Who knows--maybe I had been stitching so much (is that possible?) that I burned out a bit.  Anyway, I pretty much stopped stitching for a few days. I read three books, and then, last week, I went to Salty Yarns for classes with Jackie.

And all three classes are amazing and enticing and extremely doable.

 Cleopatra's Needle is one of those deceptively simple designs that don't show up well in a photo. Let me tell you--there is very subtle stitching that looks almost like hieroglyphics on the obelisk itself, and an interior structure that serves to store needles and three spools while sitting on a stack of pin cushions.  I still think Jackie would be an engineer in another life.

Oh, and the white blob on the right of the picture is my slightly smushed, definitely askew paper mock-up. Some things don't travel well.

Just look at that luscious purple silk! This is an amazing storage pouch for all sorts of silk spools and thread winders and whatever you need to store. To be perfectly honest, I was totally intimidated when I first saw it opened--like, how in the world does this thing go together? It was too much to take in. Then we went over the directions, and it's going to be a breeze. I mean, a breeze to assemble.

And, OMG, look at the colors in this one. The original name was All That Glitters--you can't see it in the photo but there is gold metallic along with the silk colors. The stitching is going to take a minute, but I think it will be perfect to work on during a long winter's night with something good on TV. That gorgeous silk makes pockets for the interior as well as lining the back of the embroidery. It's just yummy.

Have I started working on any of these yet? Nope, I decided once I was home I need to simplify my stitching life and clear a few things out of the way. So, I put a couple of the headache pieces in time-out temporarily. I set Carmen back up, and I decided to pull the Artisan's Workbox out from the last trip to Salty Yarns.

This will be the stitched exterior of the sewing roll. I was hoping to audit this at Sassy Jack's in November.

And that leads me to the weather. I live in North Carolina, where part of the state has been decimated by Helene's rain, winds, and flooding. Where I live, we had torrential rains, flash floods, and tornado warnings but nothing like the destruction in the western part of the state. The area around Asheville, where Sassy Jack's is located, is one of the hardest hit--the flood waters rose to a point that hasn't been seen in over 100 years. There is no cell service at the moment. The roads are cut off--I have a very dear friend who lives in the area, and there are no roads open in or out of her town. 

It's going to take a long time for the area to recover, so there's no guarantee that we'll have classes in just six weeks. Actually, I'll be surprised if we do. I'm hoping and praying that Kim is fine, that the shop isn't damaged by flood waters, and that the whole area will be back to normal sooner rather than later. And so I'm going to continue to work on Carmen and the Artisan's Workbox so I can take them to class, whenever and wherever that may be.

Back and forth

 I needed something relatively mindless to stitch today, so I'm filling in areas on No Place Like Home.

All the grass at the bottom of each piece has been planted, but you'll have to take my word for that since I've rolled the bars. And those things that look like green clouds will become the leaves on a tree once it grows. There will be another tree growing on the back cover, and then I have to build a house and plant some flowers. 

Which may or may not happen today since I have fallen into a book and I'm having a hard time digging myself out of it. I was just going to read a few pages, but the next thing I knew I was 100 pages in. I also missed the MidAtlantic region's virtual stitch-in this afternoon because I totally lost track of time.

Maybe I should have set a timer.

Adding to the List

I think I forgot to mention a goody that arrived in the mail a week or so ago.

The Crewel Work Company offered The Peach Tree from the Feller Mirror. Kate Barlow designed a metal thread and silk motif inspired by one in the mirror.

I really want to pull this out and put a stitch in it, but I have so many WIPs at the moment, I can't start another one. As it is, I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. I think I need to have something finished.

There is that basket filled with things that need to be assembled sitting there, staring at me . . . Maybe this is the impetus I need to put some things together.

Too, Too Boring

 I am too boring for words because not much has been going on. I have been unwell and decided maybe I shouldn't do anything that required more than about three brain cells.

My stitching this week has consisted of working the frameworks in double crosses (similar to Smyrna crosses except the vertical stitch is worked over the horizontal stitch, which was not the way I usually cross, so I had to reverse stitch more than once). There are about forty bazillion of them.

I'm doing this project because I volunteered to teach it to the local EGA chapter. It's the Hapsburg Lace needle book from Tanja Berlin. The teaching, such as it will be, is going to take up two meetings. Then we'll do the finishing in January. Luckily I don't have to do that--actually BDE is going to do the finishing part of the project.

And what has happened to the hummingbird, you ask? He has flown off into time-out for a bit, along with Term 3 of my deep dive into goldwork class. I've been wanting to get back to Carmen for awhile, so today  she is back on the frame stand. 

And, since I don't have enough to do (please note sarcasm), I have three online classes--one that started this past week and two that start next week, plus a trip to Salty Yarns for three more classes with Jackie next weekend, which will be followed in November by three more classes with Jackie (assuming I got my registration in quickly enough before the classes filled up) at Sassy Jack's.

And then I have at least three more online classes that start in January--I seem to think there may be another one that I've forgotten about.

I may be boring but I should never be bored.

Fighting with a Hummingbird

 Not a real one. A stitched one.

I've spent far too many hours over the last few days trying to get this damn bird to look like it has feathers. I have finally decided that I'm done. Done, done, done. I've also decided that if I look at it from across the room, it's okay, and that once all the bling is added, maybe the feathers won't be as important.

As usual, the problem is that I can't stitch random. There were about two hours of videos on this part of the design that literally showed where each stitch should be placed, but when I started, my brain and my hands said nope, they don't work that way, random bothers them.

This is not my first rodeo with silk shading/thread painting--and I haven't been happy with any of the previous attempts either.

Today I think I'll try to get the wings stitched--they're satin stitch and I like doing satin--and then I'll start the metal threads.

And just accept the fact that random isn't my thing.

My fine feathered friend

 Finally! All the padding for the silk and metal threads is sewn down--stitches are supposed to be about 1 mm long, and about 1 mm apart. That is tiny! 

The plan is to start the silk embroidery on the body and head tomorrow. 

But we all know where plans lead me . . . 

Not a Canary

This is going to be a hummingbird, but right now, it looks like a peculiar canary.

 I've started the Hummingbird in Silk and Metal, an online class EGA offered earlier this year.

Earlier this year, my hand was in a brace and I was not stitching. Luckily for me, the access to the class materials was extended to September 29.

Wait a minute. This is September. I do believe I need to get cracking and get 'er done. Basically, I have printed out all the lessons, but there are the most spectacular videos that show just about every single stitch as it's worked. Talk about a major help!

Today I started the felt padding that both silk and metal threads will be worked over. It's fiddly and finicky but gives everything dimension.

So this is what I will focus on for the next couple of weeks--and let's hope I can continue to focus on one project for that long.

September Stitches

 There were very few stitches added to anything last week.

I did plant all the grass on one side of the stitching book, and started on the other.

I also had the wonderful experience of attending my "old" EGA chapter's summer social. Seeing my buddies again--well, there are no words for how lovely it all was. I miss every single one of them, and need to figure out a way to get back more often.

And I have decided to work on some other projects for a bit. After all, after years and years of school, September always feels like a new, fresh start. So I'm starting some new, fresh pieces.

So tonight I'm going to set up stretcher bars and an embroidery hoop, and will spend Labor Day stitching.

Needle in a Haystack

And here is my version of long and short stitch in smooth purl metal thread:

It's supposed to be random and organic. This is as random and organic as I get. 

Having been slightly under the weather for the last 24 hours, I believe I am going to sip a little ginger ale and nibble on a saltine, then go back to bed. Hopefully I'll be back to whatever passes for normal tomorrow.

Planting Grass . . . and Letters?

 I am still slaving away on the projects I decided to focus on.

I needed to set up the foundation for the motifs that will be stitched atop the hills. And I looked at the fact that there are letters (I don't like to stitch letters) and a lot of tent stitch (which I find boring) and thought maybe I should get this done and out of the way. So that's what I need to do.

And then there is my goldwork class. 

This is in no way a reflection on the teacher or the class. This is more a problem with my skill level, or lack of skill level, but I have to admit, I am frustrated.

We had to do a trellis stitch pattern. I've done trellis stitch patterns umpty-leven times on crewel pieces with no problems. However, I found that metal threads are much less forgiving than wool crewel threads. 

Even with eyeballing and measuring and eyeballing and measuring, I could not get my base lines for the trellis itself to lie straight and evenly separated. Thus, I ended up with something that looked more like fishnet than a trellis--no two spaces were the same size, sort of the way part of a fishnet can get wadded up. That meant that I couldn't do the filling pattern we were supposed to do. So I just threw in sequins fastened down with loops of smooth purl and called it done.

Then the motif next to it is supposed to be worked in long and short stitch. Once again, not like long and short in crewel. I fought with that for a good chunk of the afternoon and finally said I believed I should just do tent stitch for awhile.

And that's when I got completely and totally bored to tears.

I think I'll read a book.

GRRRRR!

Almost like Christmas

 It was a good mail day today. The materials came for the crewel class I'm taking this fall from Sara Rickards of Well Embroidered.

The "gift" box

with the contents wrapped in tissue

and all the goodies inside

Just look at those luscious colors! And the design is already transferred to the linen twill--be still my heart!

Today, though, I am taking a day off from stitching, at least until this evening. I have a list of Domestic Diva activities about a mile long and, thus far, I've only crossed off two items on that list. I must don my Head Housekeeper attire and tackle the living room.

And hope it doesn't tackle me first.

Before and After

 This ungodly mess is the beginning of what is supposed to become a trellis pattern in goldwork.

Don't even ask. I have faith that it will all work out. Eventually.

And this is after a weekend of various Zoom meetings that required something I could stitch but also follow and participate in conversations.

All the spiral trellis stitches and over-one cross-stitched leaves and vines in the border are done. Now I can sew this to the scroll frame and start on the innards.

So that's what I've been up to for the last several days. Yes, I am deadly dull and boring.

So close . . .

So very close to having this motif finished.

Actually, all I have to do is plunge the ends and sew them down on the back and this will be done.

And I have learned several things about Or Nue and me.

• If I stand at least five feet away and don't use magnification or the camera lens to see the motif, if doesn't look half bad. It doesn't look half good, either, but I'll take what I can get.
• Not only am I incapable of drawing a straight line, I also can't stitch a straight line.
• I do not foresee much Or Nue in my future. Now that I've said that, the next seventeen projects I want to do will have Or Nue as a major design element.

I spent most of the day hunched over my embroidery hoop because I was determined to get this done, done, DONE. The result is that my back has said enough for today. I am going to lean back in the wing chair, hold my linen right next to my nose, stretch my legs out on the ottoman, and work on No Place Like Home.

After, of course, we dine on Julia Child's crab quiche. Today is her birthday, and I always pull out Mastering the Art of French Cooking and bake her quiche on August 15.

And that will be the extent of my Domestic Diva tasks today. 

Challenge vs Comfort

 I think I figured out why my Or Nue motif is taking so long.

I do about three rows and decide I've had enough of this and I go do something else, like clean a bathroom. When I step away from stitching to do housework, it is obvious I'm not having a good time.

BUT, I want to get this done (remember, I am stubborn and bloody-minded) so I decided to work until I had at least doubled the amount I had already stitched. And I did.

In the middle of the night when I have my hour or two of staring at the ceiling (every night and I'm getting a little cranky about it since I'm not awake enough to get up and do something, but I'm not sleeping peacefully) I was thinking about projects in my stash. And I figured out I have two distinct types of projects.

One big pile is full of challenging things to stitch--new or unfamiliar techniques that require concentration and focus to accomplish. A lot of them I always considered my retirement projects. Let's face it, if you're working full time, it's hard to have enough energy at the end of a work day to work on some of the more complicated projects. So . . . retirement projects.

Then there are all the projects I've accumulated over the years from all the designers that I love. Of course I want to work on all of them. They are comfortable and comforting to work on.

Then I realized I've sort of figured out how to handle this stuff. I work on the more challenging things early in the day when my brain and body are fairly fresh. Right now, it's the goldwork piece. Then, after dinner in the evening, I work on something from the comforting pile--at the moment, Catherine Theron's No Place Like Home.

So, challenge in the mornings, comfort in the evenings. And by golly, I am going to get this Or Nue motif done this week!

Making a little progress

 It helps to have only three threaded needles at a time, down from six.

I can't do this for very long before I need a break, but I'm making progress.

And I'm also making progress on Catherine Theron's No Place Like Home stitching book:

As soon as I get all the leaves filled in, this is going on a scroll frame. That means that I need to dig into my scroll bar stash in hopes that I have a free frame that will fit the linen. I do not want to take something off a frame. 

When I win the lottery (which means I'd have to buy a lottery ticket), I'm going to hire someone to sew linen to scroll frames or mount fabric to slate frames. 

Now what?

 The Olympics are over.

What am I going to do with myself?

Maybe I could get this mess cleaned up.

I've started the Or Nue motif on my goldwork class. 

This is the result of about two hours work. We were warned this is a very labor-intensive form of embroidery, plus you need to have an artistic eye. I'm a decent technician. I am not an artist. This may be more labor-intensive than I had hoped.

I shall persevere.

Debbie

We battened down the hatches because we were in Debbie's path today.

Thus far, not as bad as feared for our part of the track. We expected heavy rains and wind. We got the winds, but not continuously. We got heavy rain (and flash flood warnings) but only in spurts. We actually saw the sun several times, which was nothing short of amazing considering past experiences.

However, Dearly Beloved had to take a long detour after a doctor's appointment because a tree was down across the road he was traveling. And our power went out for a big chunk of the afternoon, but we were very lucky and repairs were made quickly. Something to be said for being close to UNC.

Have I stitched?

Well, I watched stitching--today had a demonstration from Golden Hinde's Academy and a class from Kate Barlow for the Crewel Work Company. I was able to see the first one before the power went out and the second one on my phone after we lost electricity. 

BUT--and this is major--last night I finished all the spiral trellis stitches on the front and back of No Place Like Home, and I can fill the leaves in around them.

They give almost a tapestry-like effect, or maybe the look of an elegant woven silk ribbon--anyway, well worth the time and energy.

So I may spend tonight's stitching time and energy on this.

And hope Debbie continues to move away and loses her energy.

Ups and Downs

This band on Carmen pretty much sums up the way I feel. It's been one of those up-and-down days.

I didn't sleep well last night, then I've had a little, nagging headache all day. I decided maybe I shouldn't attempt Or Nue on my goldwork sampler, especially since it's a technique I have done exactly once previously, and that was close to two decades ago. 

Then we've been watching Debby's track off and on; we're in her path although we're in the middle of the state. Depending on which weather witch doctor you watch, we're supposed to get anywhere from 2" to 10" of rain and there's a slight chance of tornadoes in our area. 

This is one of those days when I'd like to make a trip to Krispy Kreme. But only when the Hot sign is on--I believe a hot doughnut, fresh out of the fat and off the glazing table, might just elevate my overall mood.

Oh, Christmas Tree . . .

 Tricia Nguyễn has designed a new Christmas tree ornament for 2024. The instructions are free. However, she also offers a complete kit, and I, of course, ordered one.

It came yesterday.

I am having a very hard time sticking with the things I'm already working on. As we all know, I have the will power of a squirrel.

Stay tuned to see what happens . . .

Puttering

I needed a break from intense projects and intense competitions, so I took a day off from the goldwork class and Carmen, and I turned off the Olympics for one day.

So I've been puttering. I moved some things around in the stash room, and I dug into my stash to find some multicolor threads for a project that BDE is doing. I couldn't go for a whole day without stitching something, so there are more spiral trellis stitches completed.

 I may just stick with this for the evening. Or not. I'm taking the day off from my regularly scheduled programming, so who knows what may happen!

Taking the Plunge

 I have lots and lots of thread ends to plunge to the back of the work and sew down.

I have stitched both diaper patterns, and it will be time to move on to a different but similar technique with the next motif as soon as I get all the excess thread taken care of.  To be honest, after spending most of the afternoon watching track and field, I am exhausted. I realized I was holding my breath in each event, which I don't think helped any of the athletes, but certainly wore me out! So the ends will be dealt with in the morning.

I was asked what a diaper pattern is. In this context, it means a repeating geometric pattern--the top one is a fairly simple zigzag (maybe fairly simple for some people, but I had a bear of a time getting it going correctly), and the bottom is a diamond pattern, which I think I would have had less trouble with if I had alternated colors. And I still need to work on my tension, but it's better overall than it was, so I'm counting that as a win.

My version of the Olympics!

Sloooooooow Saturday Stitching

 I've done a little--a very little--on a diaper pattern on the goldwork project.

Why so little?

One word.

Olympics.

More Gold

 I made myself stitch today, and I have more gold.

Definitely not my best work, and I noticed some twisted stitches only when I looked at the photograph. Unfortunately, where they are would mean taking the whole thing apart. I've decided this is definitely a learning piece, so the errors will stay as a reminder in the future.

I have a horrible feeling that I'm going to have a lot of reminders in this project.

Olympic Stitching--Not!

 This is all I've managed to stitch in the last few days.

Pitiful, just pitiful.

I literally cannot tear my eyes away during some of the competitions, especially the gymnastics. This means that I can't watch my stitching at all, so I've just decided to watch and not even think about threading a needle during certain sports.

At the moment, though, Dearly Beloved is watching fencing, which I do not understand. Everything happens super fast, then a bunch of people in blue suits go look at a computer screen, then one of them comes up a short flight of steps and waves a hand, and then the fencers start over again. Dearly Beloved and the Big Kid used to fence, so he gets what's happening and has tried to explain, but his explanations sometimes go back to the Middle Ages in France and Italy and beyond. I glaze over after about the first 15 minutes of the lecture.

And I still have no clue what's going on.

I may actually get some stitching done today.

Wild Hair

I started on the next motif on my goldwork class. I think it's having a bad hair day.

It is quite possible that I was more than a little distracted by the Men's gymnastics team finals since my bricking is a little wonky. It is also quite possible that I can't stitch in a straight line, which has me somewhat concerned since the next motifs involve diaper patterns.

Carmen is going to get some attention this afternoon once my back unkinks, then there will be more spiral trellis stitches in my future tonight. Or maybe not, since they're going to show the show jumping event in equitation, and there may be more fencing before that.

I'm about as athletic as a potato, but I do love watching the Olympics, especially the more obscure events. 

One of these days, I'll tell you about Dearly Beloved and the Big Kid fencing in front of our house.

Spiraling

 I really am going to talk about stitching, but I have to take you on a trip down memory lane to get there.

I was a child in the 50's--I know, ancient history. At that time, foul language (aka "technical terms") or cuss words were simply not heard or allowed in polite society. When my father needed to express distress, he usually said "dagnabbit" or "dadgummit." My paternal grandmother would say "Heavens to Betsy" or, if the situation was especially dire, "Merciful Heavens." Mother never said anything--she would just huff quietly.

But my maternal grandmother, who was perpetually angry about something or another, would mutter under her breath, "Oh, the dibble."

The what?

I asked Mother once what a dibble was. She told me to look for it in the dictionary. It wasn't there.

Anyway, one summer The Saint, my two older cousins, and I were all at Grandma's for a week. I have no earthly idea why we would all be there at the same time. Grandma didn't particularly like children and really didn't want to spend time with any, but there we were.

It had been one of those days when "Oh, the dibble" had been uttered more than usual and we had been sent outside. The subject of dibbles came up. We were all confused and bemused by the term. My cousin Wylie, who was very quiet, but who had ears like a fox, said he was going to try to find out. He went back inside, where he apparently startled Grandma into a dibble fit and she had sent him back outside immediately.

"She isn't saying dibble," he reported  "She's saying, 'Oh, the devil.'"

Well, calling the name of Old Scratch was just about as bad as any cuss word we could imagine, and to realize our strict and stern Calvinist Presbyterian grandmother was invoking his name was more than we could comprehend. I do recall we were all on our best behavior the rest of the week.

And what does this have to do with my needlework?

There are 34 spiral trellis stitches on this half of the stitching book. I thought, maybe I could frame up the other piece of linen and do the accessory bits before I tackled the 34 spiral trellis stitches for the other side. Then I looked at the charts.

And almost every single additional part of this project also has at least one, if not more, spiral trellis stitches included.

I have only one thing to say about that.

Oh, the dibble!

Olympic Stitching

 Maybe I should have titled this Olympic Non-stitching. It is very hard to stitch when your eyes are glued to the screen. I can knit without looking at my knitting (unless it's a complicated lace or cable pattern) but I cannot stitch without watching where my needle is.

I managed to finish one of the small dividing bands and work the final one on this page of Carmen.

So, that's four pages down and twelve (I think) to go.

Carmen is a very big girl.

Going for the Gold

 Except for the body and the antennae, my butterfly is stitched.

Most of it was done while I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics this afternoon. I had a brief and fleeting thought that perhaps I should try to stitch a motif for each day of the Olympics, but I stomped that idea flat. 

Stitching plans never work for me, as we all know.

Anyway, I had four threaded needles going, plus all the strands of gold passing thread which then had to be plunged to the back and sewn down. By the time I finished doing all that, I felt like I had competed in the Olympics.

I may look for something really simple to stitch tonight, something definitely non-Olympic.

Thread a Needle Day

 Apparently this is National Thread a Needle Day.

I have threaded up several needles, because I have finished the first wing of my butterfly and plunged all the metal threads to the back. It's not quite what I envisioned, but it's close.

I want to go back and look at the original version to see exactly how the couching on the upper wing is supposed to be done before I start it. I am not sure if I'll tackle that today--my fingers are sore from pulling all those metal ends back. Some of them really wanted to stay on the surface and required persuasion to move.

Last night I added more spiral trellis stitches to No Place Like Home.

Once the rest of the spiral trellis stitches for this side are done, I'd really love to put this on a frame and do the back of the book--but spiral trellis is the only stitch I can't do in a frame comfortably.  I have to do it in hand. I do not want to spend the time to frame up only to take the piece off to do the trellises on the front piece. So, I shall persevere.

However, I'm also thinking about working on the next dividing band on Carmen.

Lots of needles threaded today . . . 

Achy and breakey

 I threw my back out again. All of my arthritic joints joined in to sympathize.

A flotilla of mosquitos somehow got into the house and feasted. On me.

My stitching mojo went somewhere else for a few days, probably to get away from me.

Things are beginning to look back up.

Looking like Quasimodo, I lurched into the doctor's office for my annual physical. We discussed possible treatment plans for my back (surgery--last resort; shot in my back--after my wrist, would prefer not; physical therapy--let's go that route, so we're seeing what the insurance will cover, of course) and the staff vampire drew blood (my numbers are all, surprisingly, really good, so I was happy with that) and it turns out that my blood pressure is that of someone 20 years younger. I am very surprised by the last.

Anyway, I have a clean bill of health at least for the next few months. 

And my mojo came back a little.

I finally finished the second big band and the first of the next three small dividing bands on Carmen.

And I pulled out the materials for Term 3 of the Deep Dive into Goldwork class from last year. We were in the middle of packing and moving when Term 3 started, and I wasn't sure I had sufficient functioning brain cells until recently to dive back into it.

This mess is the beginning of a butterfly, worked in Italian shading. All those raw ends will be plunged to the back of the work and sewn down.  It's fiddly but I hope that what I'm doing will result in a quite lovely motif. Maybe. Fingers crossed.

But at the moment, I have to go with Dearly Beloved to buy another bookcase. I believe the assembly of the first bookcase is what led to my back problems.

Sigh . . . 

Domestic Affairs

 I had hoped to have this band on Carmen finished by now.

Dearly Beloved has had other plans.

At the moment, he is planning to assemble two bookcases, which requires me to stand nearby, ready to hand things to him as needed. We have also taken my car in for inspection and servicing, which I could have done on my own--I would have enjoyed some peace and quiet in the waiting room for a couple of hours. Then there is the trip to the grocery store tomorrow. I like to make a list and grab what I need and go home. He likes to sightsee, up one aisle and down the next. (As there are no babies in our lives, I'm not sure why that includes the baby supply aisle, but apparently you never know when you might see something you need there.)

Anyway, I have my annual physical on Friday. I do not want to see what my blood pressure is unless I get some time to stitch between now and then.

Counting to Three

I had hoped to finish this band on Carmen today, but I stayed up way later than usual last night, then slept way later than usual this morning. Apparently this resulted in the inability to count to three because I spent as much time frogging as I did stitching today. There was some forward progress and here it is:

The day was not a total loss, stitching-wise. I had a meeting of the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild this afternoon, and Christy and Erin of Relics in Situ presented a program on embroidered book covers from the 16th and 17th centuries.

You may have picked up that Tudor and Stuart embroidery is my jam, and I was gobsmacked by some of the photos they showed in their talk. I mean, goldwork and silk shading and raised embroidery and just amazing designs. I didn't drool on the computer but it was close. 

If you ever get a chance to hear one of their lectures, take it. They have access to stuff a lot of us will never see, and it's well worth the time.

Saturday Stitches

 Actually, there haven't been many stitches today. There were other things going on today, so I stitched early this morning, then a little more this evening, and spent the rest of the day in other pursuits.

Here's the little bit on Carmen:

And this is my evening project, now that the stitching for House on the Hill is complete:

Catherine Theron's No Place Like Home Stitching Book

I seem to have started a "home" collection in my evening stitching.

This project was started at Jeannine's Sampler Symposium twelve years ago, so it's another project that's been aging in my stash for awhile. I know why I didn't work on it right after the workshop; I was stitching a pilot for one of the guilds that had a strict deadline. Then I had a project I was leading for my local EGA chapter that had to be done. And at that point, it had vanished into the stash.

I imagine it will take awhile--I may have Carmen finished before this--and it has about umpty-leven spiral trellis stitches in the borders for front and back, and probably more for the bits that will live inside the book. It's a very good thing I don't mind doing spiral trellis stitches since Catherine loves including them in her designs. However, they're the only stitches I absolutely have to work in hand, simply because I need to have my left thumb holding the thread down as I pull it through. I will be much happier to have this on a scroll frame or stretcher bars once the trellises are all done.