Royal Winton Queen Anne - Finished!

Today is an historic day. I have finished my chintz napkin. There are a few little things I might go in and add/fix, but it's pretty damn finished and that's the main thing.

After months of working on and off, horrible hand cramps, unfocusing eyes, pricked fingers and bouts of swearing, I'll never need to stitch that damn pattern again.

If you'd like to stitch it just contact me for the pattern. It's easy enough to get from the china, but mine is already finished and in a handy .jpg file so I'm happy to share.

Now I can rest and get some good laziness in before the next project!

new project

Started a new project the other day. It could be finished but I think I'll add another row of the moth pattern before the top one, but with slightly different colors. 

I do like how they've turned out, and it makes the frustration that comes with satin thread almost worth it. I hate satin thread. Hate it to death! Sometimes you need the effect though.

Might I recommend to all a book and a sequel to that book? The books are Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See. They are absolutely wonderful. She's most known, I think, for her book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan which is quite good, but the two I just mentioned are a lot better (and that's saying something). Shanghai Girls follows two sisters sold in marriage to strangers in California. They're going to avoid going but then the Japanese come and their tickets to the US seem like the only escape. That's just the very beginning of the book but you can read longer descriptions elsewhere. Trust me when I say it's a wonderful, worthwhile read and the sequel, Dreams of Joy, is even better.