A little progress

I always think that September means a new year, mainly because the school year starts around that time. Yes, I know most school districts start in August, but in the Dark Ages when I went to elementary school, we started the day after Labor Day. In my mind, that's still when school is supposed to start.

So, I have already been up for several hours, and have taken a lovely long walk--the weather is cool and crisp this morning and it was so nice to be outside. That weather pattern won't last, but I'm taking advantage while I can.

And I have been patting myself on the back for yesterday's accomplishments.

Another flame on Eternal Flame has been filled in:

And there are two fewer projects in the finishing basket:

 

Baby steps . . .they may be small projects, but at least they're assembled.

Never Mind

 Not much stitching has happened since my last post. I've been stocking the bookshelves in my stash room, and I've started unpacking the stash and stowing it in various cabinets and on various shelves.

As I was packing up my needlework books and projects for the Big Move, I said to myself that I have enough. I have more than enough. I never need to add another project or book to my already overflowing stash. I was going to just stop adding to it. I've repeated that as I've started unpacking it all.

I lied.

The Crewel Work Company sponsors a lovely needlework event, one that I would love to attend. Meanwhile, occasionally, they have additional kits from previous events which they sell after the event. This was one of them--they only had twelve of them, and I was able to snag one. It arrived this morning. 

Then Mary Corbett had a sale on books. I've been looking at these two publications from Inspirations for awhile, but talked myself out of them every time I was tempted. But Mary offered them at a discount, and I wouldn't have to pay for shipping from Australia, so I succumbed.

So, am I diving into new projects?

Nope, because as I've unpacked things, I keep finding project bags which have completely embroidered pretties that haven't been turned into anything, and class projects that I've started in the last couple of years that I'd like to have stitched, and some treasures that I forgot I had (like three Merry Cox kits that have never been touched). 

I have filled two baskets with things I want/need to work on, and I'm going to see what I can get done between now and the end of the year.

Of course, I know of several new things that are going to be offered in the fairly near future, and I've signed up for seven (seven!!!) new classes in September and October.

I have two obsessions: stitching needlework projects and collecting needlework projects. 

Highs and Lows

 I've had a couple of stitching successes in the last few days--and a couple of stitching flubs as well. Nothing out of the ordinary, actually, given the way I stitch.

A major high--a finish!

Bird 'N Berry Box

Barbara Jackson

I believe I need to trim the leaves on the wee, tiny berry some more--they are kind of overwhelming--and the needle book will never be opened. I needed to do fractions to figure out the size of the fabric to use for the lining. Apparently I still have problems adding fractions, because the lining is a little smaller than the optimal size. I made it work, but I am less than thrilled. I am, however, thrilled with the box top. I got it situated, attached, and avoided having globs of glue showing.

Assorted Zoom meetings have enabled me to finish the grassy hills under the tree, and to start the tree trunk on my crewel project. I'm still very happy with the way this is looking--no flubs here!

Eternal Flame has had its moments, too.

I stitched the two diamond motifs on the huswif part--although I had to frog one and restitch it because it was a thread too high. To take a break from the flame pattern, I stitched one of the pocket pieces for the inside.  And after stitching the whole thing and admiring it greatly, I realized that I had apparently misunderstood the placement directions on the piece of linen. I don't have enough to fold up to form a self-lining. After ranting and raving and employing foul language, I decided to sleep on it--and figured out a work-around in the middle of the night. All is now good. So far.

However, I am still fighting with a stitch on my stumpwork sampler from the deep dive online class. I am trying to work Ceylon stitch. I have successfully worked Ceylon stitch in the past. More than once have I successfully worked Ceylon stitch. I have ripped out everything I've done three times on this piece.

I think I'm working too tightly. Before, I used metal threads, which have body and stiffness and can hold the shape, and wool, which is thicker than the thread I'm using for the sample. I think the thickness of the wool thread helps hold the shape. I'm working with double strands of cotton floss on this piece, and the floss is not holding the shape on its own. 

I just have to turn into a loose stitcher.

Or use lots of straight pins to hold each loop in its place until I get the next row done.

And remember to breathe.

 

Flaming Out

The first flame on the Eternal Flame Huswif is finished, so here's a big Ta-Da!

 There are a couple of really thick linen threads in two different places along the left side of the flame. Under magnification, they really glare at me. They also seem to be glaring at me from this picture.

I could thread up a sharp needle and cover them with thread in colors corresponding to the stitches on either side to try to camouflage them.

Or I could describe them as an interesting design feature and leave them alone.

This may sit across the room from me for a day or so. If it can't be seen from the back of a galloping horse . . .

We have wings!

 My little worker bee has her wings!

It's a really good thing that I have never aspired to becoming a professional embroiderer or to working in a fashion atelier or even being an RSN graduate.

I am too slow.

SOOOOOOOO slow.

Those wings took me almost 6 hours to accomplish.

You'd think, as much stitching as I have done over the past 60-plus years, I would have worked on silk organza before. Nope, or I might have figured out a way to transfer the outline of the wings in a manner that would enable me to see it. That was the first problem. Then I had to overcast the wire that holds the shape. Even with good light and magnification, that was a slow and painstaking process, followed by working buttonhole over the overcasting. Again, slow and painstaking--and that was before I had to cut the wings out. I'm not sure I breathed while I was cutting and trimming.

I'm not even going to discuss mounting the wings, other than mentioning I had to use a sharp awl and insert wires. If I observed that some DNA may have been left on the back of the work, it would not be a surprise to long-time readers.

It is all worth it, though. She is a cute little bee, and, even better, she doesn't sting!

Figured it out! Or a trip down memory lane . . .

 Yesterday I was trying to decide what I could do during Zoom meetings and stitch-ins that required very few brain cells to do while chatting or listening to programs or lectures.

I do not know why I even had to think about it. There is always the very first serious needlework technique I attempted, after, of course, stamped dish towels when I was really young.

Crewel embroidery.

I know there are a lot of people who refer to it as "cruel" embroidery, but when I was young, it was normal to work on crewel pieces. Counted thread techniques hadn't taken hold yet. Goldwork was something you saw--maybe--on ecclesiastical pieces. Whitework was found in pockets where the stitchers' foremothers had brought the techniques here. Quite frankly, I do not believe that EGA had been established yet when I was a mere child, so there really wasn't an organization that explored various forms of needlework.

There were a lot of yarn shops and department stores that also carried needlework, though. Basically, you had crewel embroidery or needlepoint, and a lot of needlepoint that I remember consisted of filling in the backgrounds of pieces that had the designs already worked in the center (this is why you may have inherited sets of dining room chairs with sort of drab needlepoint seat covers).

I went for crewel. And, like anything you learn when you're very young, it was easy to learn, and the stitches have actually become automatic to execute. 

I got away from it when all these other techniques became attractive, and different kinds of threads because available. However, I have quite a stash of classic crewel pieces accumulated over the years.

So, I started a crewel piece last night:

Wool is an amazingly forgiving fiber. It lofts up and fills in and blends quite beautifully. And it goes really fast! I mean, REALLY  fast!

If I ever get into a competition as to who can do the most projects in a year, I might do nothing but crewel. Actually, I have a friend who has a stash of crewel pieces that she is saving for her old age, so that when she can't see high counts of linen, she can still stitch. (I'm not sure when old age is going to hit her--she's 80 now and still going strong.)

Anyway, if you happen to be in a stitch-in or Zoom meeting with me, this is what you'll likely see.

going buggy

 I seem to be fascinated by bugs at the moment.

My little bee needs her wings, but the turkey work is finished and clipped. I see a few spots that I could trim a little more, but there comes a point at which you can get carried away. I do not need or want a bald bee, so I think I'm going to leave her alone. Other than stitching her gauzy wings, of course.

My caterpillar now has its grass completed. I have to do some outlining--including a section done with peacock feathers!!!!--and then this section of the project will be done.

However, lest you think I've gone completely bug-nutz, I did fix my flame stitch section and started filling it in.

I love the brocade effect the stitches give this bargello pattern, but I've found I do need to watch the chart to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Which leads me to this dilemma . . . I have several Zoom things coming up, and none of the things in my current workbasket lend themselves to stitching and talking, not even the bargello pattern. 

I believe this gives me permission to start something else.

Like I need permission to start another project!