Happy Place

I am in my Happy Place.

Every year at this time, I join a group of stitching friends in Williamsburg for a week. It is a wonderful, enabling, energizing group of people, and I look forward to it all year.

I decided I was not going to take a class this year. (Having seen the projects now that I'm here, I am kicking myself for making that decision. Oh, well, as with all the projects I love and don't have, if I'm meant to have it, it will come my way somehow.)

I planned to stitch all week in the aptly named stitching room.

After two days, I have the green vine for the border across the top of Carmen.

And I've started the next drawn thread band on Love that Red.

It is quite possible that I could have accomplished more stitching in my nest at home. However, a big part of this event is seeing friends I see only here, once a year. And, of course, seeing which projects they brought and hearing about what they've been working on and have been up to since the last time we saw each other. And there are new people, here for the first time, to meet and greet and become friends with.

All in all, a perfect week.

Frustration

I am never, ever going to make plans when it comes to my stitching again.

Never. Ever.

I was going to post daily progress. That assumes that some needlework is accomplished every day.

Unless, of course, being a major klutz gets in the way.

I was carrying laundry upstairs and caught my toe on the edge of the first step. I fell up the stairs, which is better, I suppose, than falling down the stairs, but it meant I twisted my back, whacked my right shoulder on the stair rail, and came down on my left wrist, bending it slightly more than it should perhaps be bent. Nothing is broken or sprained,  just twisted, bruised, and sore, but twisted, bruised, and sore enough to make plying a needle uncomfortable. I was out of commission for a couple of days.

I finally felt like threading a needle, and I finished the one tiny border I had been working on. If you look very, very closely, you may be able to see it.

 I am leaving on Saturday for a week of stitching with my friends in Williamsburg. BDE is going, too, so it's very definitely a girls' week. Tomorrow I pack, and decide what projects I want to take.

But no plans, or goals, or decisions about the future of each project will be made.

I may have learned my lesson.

Day by Day

I have been working on Carmen for the last couple of days. I know, it isn't in the rotation plan, but after looking at the calendar for the next couple of months, it's going to be hard to keep any kind of schedule. So I'm going to reboot again after my trip in April and we'll see how things go between now and then

As usual, I always think things are going to take much less time than they actually do. My friend Rachael posted her daily progress on her latest casket on Instagram, and I've decided to try to do the same on the blog as I work on Carmen. If nothing else, I may become more realistic as to what I can do in any given period of time.

Does this mean I'm going to be monogamous? I don't know if I will succeed, but it's worth a try.

So here's where I am as of this evening:

 Let's see where I end up at the end of the day tomorrow.

Real Life

When I retired, I thought I would spend the whole day, every day, with needle in my hand.

HA!

This past week, I have had my own doctor's appointment and accompanied Dearly Beloved to two of his. DBE had car issues, so I have transported her back and forth and back again, from one garage to the service department at the dealership to home to work, etc. Luckily her car is now repaired (I hope).  And we know what's going on with Dearly Beloved and can move forward with a plan.

However, in the minutes between medical people and car people, I have managed to finish Flowers & Berries. (Keep in mind I thought I would get it all done on Saturday afternoon and this is now Thursday.)

After a trip to the grocery store this afternoon, I may, quite possibly, have a couple of days I can stitch.

But I am not planning on it.

Ring Around a Rosy

 Well, actually, they would have been called pinkes or carnations, but I couldn't think of a blog title with carnations in it, so you got ring around a rosy.

Despite thinking that I would not live long enough to get all the rice stitches done, I persevered and am happy to report I survived. I just have to stitch a different flower in the center and stitch in the date and this band will be done.

According to the rotation I set up for myself, I should be doing some assembly today and tomorrow. However, I have only one big band left and this can go in the finished column. As I am the boss of me, I believe I will make an exception.

Actually, I'm thinking I should just set aside one week in the rotation just for finishing. By the time I set up everything--ironing board, sometimes sewing machine, various threads and other finishing materials--it's about time to put it all away.

It's a thought . . . I will mull over this.

Drowning in Rice

 I am going to be stitching teeny tiny rice stitches for the next millennium.

When I pulled Flowers & Berries out of the basket, I had the thought that there wasn't much left to do and I could potentially have a finish this week.

HA!!

The big red petals on the eight flowers in this band are worked in rice stitches.

Over two threads.

Each of the four tie-down stitches is worked over one thread.

One thread.

Granted, I like fiddly little things, but . . . .well, I have no words.

At least I can report that the two motifs for this week's online white work class have been completed with little to no angst.

But now I have to go back to rice stitches. Many, many rice stitches.

Life gets in the way . . .

 Sometimes life gets in the way of stitching, which means life gets in the way of blogging.

But there were a few things accomplished.

I decided this is the week to pick a random project to work on, so I pulled Flowers & Berries out of the basket.

I'm enjoying it, now that I have all those double running "ropes" stitched. I'm going to start working on the flowers that fill four quarters tonight.

I did a wee bit of finishing over the weekend, and when I say a wee bit, I mean a wee tiny bit.

The Orange Coast Sampler Guild decided to disband this year, a sad, sad occasion, but there comes a time in many organizations when there is no one who can take on leadership positions. As a parting gift, members were sent this pin keep, one of Cathe's creations from Needle in a Haystack. It's hard to see, but the logo for the guild has been etched in the surface. The kit included the felt for the inner part of the pinkeep and the thread to attach the front and back discs, so I put it together.

Hey, it's little, but it's a finish!

I get it now.

 I think I understand how rotations can work. I really want to continue with Carmen, but I have to put her away for a bit.

Here is where she was as of last night:

I am not where I thought I would be. I went gallivanting with Dearly Beloved on Wednesday--this meant an excursion to Wally World and a lovely, romantic lunch at Burger King. When we got home, I fell into a book and didn't dig myself out until almost bedtime. That was not the original plan, but sometimes you need to climb out of the regular rut.

Today I have half a dozen things sitting on my worktable. I am going to start assembling one of them, once I decide which one to work on.

I should probably just close my eyes and grab.