Hockey Sticks and Balls of Steel

First, let me say that field hockey is the best sport. They give you a big wooden club which is weighted with lead at one end! There's nothing that can make a teenager happier. Just for fun, here's a picture of our more laid back spring hockey team from my sophomore year. I'm the one at the back holding her stick aloft (with dark hair).


Second, I grew up with St. Trinian's comics. We used to look at the books when going to work with my dad, starting when I was in second or third grade. Those nasty girls were part of my life before I went to boarding school and became the terror of the field hockey field (right forward, if you must know). There's never been any other sport which I've loved playing more. I liked playing soccer, but it was for a bit of fun, whereas I was actually competitive with field hockey.

So I am now stitching some fearsome field hockey lasses from St. Trinian's (by Ronald Searle) and wanting to rewatch the recent St. Trinian's movie remake with everyone.

It's a lot more solid stitching than I've done before. I used satin stitch on the right side there, because it seemed like it would work better on the narrow parts. I've used long and short stitch on the rest of it and it's honestly looking better than I'd predicted.

I go back to feeling very childish with non-counted embroidery. I just think back to being shown how to thread a needle and make a stitch and how frustrated I felt at not being able to make my stitching perfectly neat.

Cthulhu!

Man, I've been so dozy lately. I'm sure it's partly just the summer, but I don't know, there's a serious case of ennui here.

In any case I finished Cthulhu, and I must say, I'm quite pleased with it. The pattern is for sale in my shop now. Getting the greens to work and be distinct but blendy was a fucking nightmare. Seriously, I hate the color green, I think it's worst for "Oh these look completely distinct unless I stitch them at which point they are indistinguishable."

Now I've started a small piece or St. Trinian's art, featuring field hockey players of course, but after/in the middle of that I have many plans for this thoroughly unimpressed owl.

The first one is for a parent friend, and will say "Yes, please tell me your opinions on my parenting decisions." Then I think one for me that says "Yes, I'm sure yoga will cure my neurological disease."

It's a concept with no bounds, I feel. Oh, the owl is from a medieval motif, which makes it even better.

Cthulhu

Geez Louise, guys. I have wanted to do anything but needlework lately! 

In spite of that I started the Cthulhu subverted "bless this house" piece, and it's looking good. Trying to choose greens that didn't just disappear into each other was really tough though. I sort of hate green now.

There's a bit of text in a large font that will go above Cthulhu, and I have to say, I think it will look pretty awesome.

After that, I'm going full artsy. Maybe. My real focus should be finding something truly awesome to stitch on the large piece of dark red linen I bought as a remnant. It's so gorgeous, guys.

I also bought a stamped embroidery tablecloth with a gorgeous floral design that I might start soon. If nothing else, stamped embroidery is just so mindless for me anymore, and that should help. I'm also mentally devising a cunning sort of harness for the q-snap frames to facilitate easier stitching, but SHH. We'll save that for Dragon's Den (I'll admit, I'm a bit tipsy right now, since I think that shows...).

While it doesn't need to be done until 2015, I'm also thinking about the wedding sampler I want to make for my sister (2015 will be her tenth anniversary). I think I either want to go pretty traditional with a few nontraditional elements or else completely nontraditional and crazy. In my mind's eye I see rows of beer bottles...