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.