Practice while finishing a UFO

 I wanted to practice a few of the stitches before starting the companion piece to the Autumn Ornament. The mentor who started me on this adventure very wisely gave me a bit of canvas to play with. I needed a bit more than she thought I would. What to do?????

In clearing out more “stuff” I ran across this uncompleted bookmark from my daughter’s Girl Scout days. It needed the bit of border finished. I mused that it needed something after the exclamation point. A smiley face? Something with Spring in mind? My mind wandered to the final stitch I thought I would practice.  Hmmmmm will it fit?

I think it did! Now to find a home for it. I’m thinking of including it with a book I’m returning this weekend

Afraid of.....

 

This is on the side of a box that arrived. The product inside is supposed to help keep moisture down in the 3-D printer. It provided a giggle and smile to our family!

I'm ready for Autumn

 

I’ve been working on this sporadically. I will be figuring out how it’ll be finished after I get into the class on finishing techniques. Stitching on canvas seems easier as there was no hoop or frame to deal with. I like working with Pearl cotton thread. The pattern was easy enough to read. I just needed some help with a few basics that experienced stitchers know to assume. Sigh!

I hope your world is as golden and colorful as this little bit.

Passage of time

 I’ve found myself spending quite a bit of time on YouTube lately. Not learning new tatting techniques or figuring out how to stitch or finish. I’ve been exploring the files posted of all the broadcasts of servicesfor Queen Elizabeth II. The music side of my life has overtaken the fiber side of my life. When an important event happens in your field of interest, it’s wise to be familiar with what occurs. How many Brides choose music that a Princess chose? That works because music taps into who we are and what we do more than many realize. I understand that. So, I figured I’d better look into what music was chosen to remember and honor the life of a very important monarch. I have discovered quite a few points to consider as I chose what music to offer when I play for a service such as a funeral. You’ll have to come listen to find out.

The fiber side didn’t completely get pushed aside. I worked on the background to the Elephant. I’m very close to finishing. Just about 4 more sessions should finish all that Bargello. Then to finish the border. I still think I may need more of 2 of the threads. Since I changed my mind about what colors I wanted to see, the recommendations for amounts needed of the designer won’t help me. Fortunately, there is a shop opening next month. If I can carve out a couple of hours to drive there, I may be able to figure it all out with help from an experienced stitcher.

Queen of Reuse

 

I acquired that title when I was working as a volunteer in a High School. As we were clearing out a storage closet, another volunteer kept asking, “What could this possibly be used for.” Since she hadn’t been a classroom music teacher, and I had, I figured she was curious. I was wrong. She was getting frustrated and my answers to her questions weren’t helping. A third volunteer decided to dub me Queen of Reuse to dissipate the tension. It stuck!

I do like to repurpose things. I try hard not to hoard. I’m mostly successful. The bits and pieces I had in my tatting bin came to good use yesterday. Remember my silk adventure? The colors in the pansy are very close in value and hue. So close, I wanted to be sure I wouldn’t grab the wrong color. So, I went looking for something to organize the silk floss.

I have plenty of ways to organize cotton floss, but I wanted to be sure to treat the silk nice. No snags or fraying! I needed something smooth and soft with holes. After thinking a bit, I decided to look in my supply cupboard. Nothing was leaping out at me. I thought about digging into my storage closet, but I didn’t have help….especially someone who could be creative enough to come up with Queen of Reuse. Then my eye fell on a bin that hold bits of tatting.

So, when you make a mistake tatting up a pattern and find yourself cutting out a section of a doily, you end up with some rings and chains in soft thread that just happen to have holes like a thread keep. 

Ta-da! I think it works well!!

I finished this step

 

I finally completed the stitching on the Ukrainian stitch-along. True to my over-achiever tendencies, I decided I wasn’t going to use just 1 stitch for the small squares of red in the corner, so I doubled the stitch count. That meant I was stitching 4 instead of 1 for those squares; 16 insteadof 4 for the center; and a ton more for the yellow. I was confident that I would have enough floss as I settled on 18 count Aida for the fabric. As I stitched the center, I found a rhythm of peaceful, hopeful thoughts. So far, so good.

I liked the heart motif of the original but found the dove element just didn’t work for me. Like almost all folk art I know of, each use of a figure, each color has a meaning. One day as my hands were too tired to stitch, I went down the Internet rabbit hole looking at the History of Folk Art from the Ukraine. I decided that the dove had to go. I also decided I needed to tat 4 hearts to sew on the surface of the stitching. To make it really show up, I completed the background field in black.

I found a heart in Teri Dusenbury’s book, Tatting Hearts, that made sense. I tatted a sample in size 30 thread. Too big for the area available as designed. I’d already started stitching the corner and liked it, so I went hunting for a better thread. None of my size 80 thread matched the floss, so I went looking at the sewing thread I have. Bingo! Now to finish tatting the 4 hearts and sew them on.

The final thought I have for today: yes, there is a fair amount of cat fur trapped in the stitches. My pet sensed I needed support and help to work through this project. I couldn’t say no. Her purring in my lap did make the stitches better. For those that can’t tolerate pet hair in stitching projects, “Move along, these are not the droids you’re looking for.”

Look what I was gifted!

Isn't it nifty?

It's still being developed, but I was so excited I HAD to share a photo. There will be a lid of some kind designed and I’ll be testing for fit of all my picot gauges. More info as the designing is finished. 

I can relate....

 

I snapped these pictures the other day on a walk by the Bay:

I can relate to the seals. They were just THAT exhausted. The scientist told us that they are males back from breeding. Now, the breeding area I know about is the Channel Islands. It takes your average pleasure sailboat a day to get there from here. Cruise ships schedule 6 hours or so to sail that far. At times, over the past few months, I’ve felt that tired from the push of a grand celebration or large project.

I can relate to the birds. I tried something new combining tatting and embroidery. It worked…sort of….I just wanted to tuck my head under my wing and rest. Maybe a better idea would come to me. Or not…..

Goals defined

Well, I’m getting there…..

I find I first need to learn a bit before I can set goals.

I need to learn what other organists in my area are doing. What goals they have. I need to learn what music people would love to hear on the organs here. What music is being offered on all instruments and what is popular. I need to learn who is interested in helping achieve those goals.

I need to who knows about tatting, who would like to learn tatting, and what groups are interested in helping people learn to tat.

I need to just “do the thing” and design and tat and publish and show and sell my art.

I’m getting there……