Final Flame

So I'm back to Eternal Flame today, and have outlined the last flame on the outside of the huswif. Actually, I've done part of it twice since I missed a stitch on the first attempt and had to frog. I counted twice and stitched once on the second attempt, and everything matched up this time.

 The critter is still in the wall. He did not take advantage of the escape route provided by Wildlife Rescue; they are coming back tomorrow to tempt him/her with Lord-only-knows-what.

I do not need this kind of excitement in my life.

Critters

 If you look very, very closely, you may be able to see the shiny thread that now outlines both of the creepy crawlies.

My plan for today was to start the snail that will make up the other part of this set. However, most of the day was taken up with dealing with Wildlife Rescue and the critter in the wall of the condo we're renting.

Apparently it came through the opening between the flue of the fireplace and the chimney itself and has been scrambling to find a way out since. It is most disconcerting hearing something run around inside a wall, and even more disconcerting to hear what will have to be done to remove the critter if it doesn't find its own way out.

We had a squirrel in the attic of the previous abode, and the Wildlife people could trap it with ease and little fanfare. Dearly Beloved's geezermobile was attacked by a squirrel who liked to chew on wires, and the mechanic advised putting mothballs under the hood. That repelled the squirrel. However, we've never had one running around inside a wall.

They say that new experiences help us grow and learn to adapt. I would have preferred to have a different type of new experience.

Shiny Stuff

I had thought I would start assembling Elizabeth today, but I read over the finishing directions and decided I may need to make a mock-up before I work on the real thing. I also realized that I needed to sew a bunch of paillettes on before I did anything else, so Elizabeth is still in the wings.

Truth be told, right after I realized that I have to add paillettes, the lovely Amazon driver delivered the new Craig Johnson Longmire book. Stitching flew right out of my mind. I really was going to read only a couple of pages, just to get a feel for the story. 173 pages later, I went to bed.

Today I had to dust and vacuum and unpack a few more boxes in the stash room. Today's box was from 2008-2009. It appears that I signed up for a bunch of correspondence courses through EGA that year that I never got around to stitching, much less have evaluated. (I have to admit, though, that I rarely send anything in for evaluation. I generally sign up for the courses because I like the projects and want to do the technique.)

I finally sat down to stitch just a little while ago, and the thing that leaped into my hands was the project bag for the Casket Keepsakes. I have added very shiny trim to each side. 

After dinner, I think I'll work the outlining stitches around each part--more shiny thread.

Or I could finish the Longmire book.

What's a stitcher to do?

Well, after I found the Elizabeth chatelaine in my stash yesterday, I had to finish stitching the design.

 And I did, in just a few hours. I do wish I could figure out why I didn't do that years ago. Actually, that's one of the reasons I started blogging. I needed a way to remind my feeble brain when I worked on something.

Today, I opened some more boxes, some of the older ones that I didn't repack, just taped up and had moved. It truly has turned into an archaeological dig--today I found projects from 2001 in one box and 2006 in the other. It appears that anything I didn't get to in those years went into a box or bin with the idea I would get to it eventually.

I suppose this is eventually.

BDE made the point that I had a full-time job and still had spawn living at home way back when, so my time was limited.  She also mentioned that I should not expect much from 2023, since it has been and is still being taken up with the Big Move. However, I feel the need to keep my fingers flying. I keep finding things I really want to stitch, and I want them all to be done. Like right this very minute.

Why, oh why?

 Could someone please explain to me why I stopped working on this lovely thing?

When I am this close to having it look like this?

The design is by Jane Timmers, who taught classes for some beautiful smalls 25 or so years ago. I understand she bought a needlepoint shop in the Atlanta area, and no longer traveled to teach after that. I found this in one of my older bins that I was excavating, mainly to see what I had stored in it.

It's truly like an archaeological dig. I never know what treasures are going to appear.

And, needless to say, I have brought this downstairs to work on sooner rather than later.

Creepy crawly

 The caterpillar on Amy Mitten's new series of Casket Keepsakes has been outlined, and peacock feathers have been couched along his little body.

The peacock feathers add a wee bit of fuzz to the caterpillar's body, but not as much color as I had hoped. The feathers have just the slightest tinge of green, but by the time they were attached, I couldn't see it any longer.

I'm not sure how much stitching I'll get done today. BDE grabbed me to go on a shopping excursion with her earlier today. And when I walked in the door, Dearly Beloved informed me that he had put up the shelves he's been promising for over a week--so I can unload the rest of the boxes of needlework books.

So, stitching or getting settled in . . . decisions, decisions, decisions . . . but the faster I get the rest of the bazillion boxes unpacked, the sooner I can stitch guilt-free.

Tasseling

So, two more things out of the finishing basket and into the finished pile.

 The fob on the left actually has no stitching--it was just a cutie Make-It-Take-It. I will confess, I swapped out the skein of AVAS that came in the kit for a skein of Anchor. Yes, I am a silk snob, but for a fob, cotton floss is perfect. And this gives me a skein of dark green AVAS to add to my silk stash.

I also finished the cover for a tape measure, and the tassel to pull the measure out of the container is definitely having a bad hair day. Somewhere in the stuff that is waiting to be unpacked in the stash room is a doll brush and comb set. I found that they are great for combing or brushing out threads, especially in tassels. That is my public service announcement for the day.

This morning, I have been fighting with Ceylon stitch again. Sadly, I had to remove half of what I had stitched, and decided that was a good strong hint that it was time to stop that foolishness and do something else.

Like dust the living room or unpack more boxes.

I think I'll stitch for a little while longer instead. After all, it is a holiday weekend!

Dearly Beloved just mentioned that we are retired, and every weekend is a holiday weekend. I have stuck my fingers in my ears and am singing La La La very loudly so I don't hear him.