It is criminal how tired and worn out I am. Hoping to hit the YMCA tomorrow and do some hot tub soaking but I also want to hang out with my nephew and sister for a while. They literally just moved down here. Benjamin seems to be settling in well, but toddlers are pretty flexible about things that don't involve food or toys.
Meanwhile my apartment is a complete wreck but my legs just don't want to cooperate. So instead I've done a bit of lethargic picking up and a lot of stitching on the Celtic B project. I was thinking about making these letters to sell but they are too much of a pain. All those little tiny pockets of color just frustrate me to no end. There's a reason I do a lot of text pieces which primarily feature one color and have borders that can be thoroughly connected without the endless starting and ending of numerous new threads.
The pictures once I start the black backstitch outlining will 
change the look of the piece completely. It's amazing what a difference it makes. Working on the even weave is a joy. So much nicer on the hands than old Aida (though I know I'll continue to use that as well).
I did, however, finish the logo and banner and such for Hardcore StitchCorps which I share with you here. I think it turned out pretty well.
Well, I finished my rhyme samplery thing! So happy to have it finished and ready to be ironed, framed and wrapped. I feel like I've been working on that thing non-stop for days, which is true, I guess. I neglected my Roman piece but Christmas is fast closing in so priorities change.
My direction on the red borders changed dramatically, because there just wasn't going to be enough space for it to still look nice in the frame and those flowery borders wouldn't have fit in with the style. I'll work those irises into my next project, perhaps using the Carl Sandburg quote "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits."
In any case, I'm quite pleased with the final result. I like the borders, I like having the text in black and the borders in three dark colors. Again, I think my dad will really like it. I can't wait to see his face. I ordered a print for him that I'd temporarily forgotten about and now I'm wondering if I should just hold onto it until his birthday.
Well, we'll see. There's nothing like seeing my parents happy. Lately I don't feel capable of much else. Just waiting for Christmas so they can be distracted by my complete lack of ability to function in all other arenas. C'est la guerre.
Well, I wouldn't say it's been fun, but at least my blackwork piece is over 50% done. It might be 100% finished but I haven't decided yet. I'd like to do another border on the top and bottom, something with a little bit of color (green and blue are colors, granted, but they're dark and monocolored).
My usual confidence has deserted me though. This piece has been such a nightmare and I still haven't decided whether or not to fill those gaps at the end of two text lines. If I do fill them, what with? Something completely different? A motif from the green border? I have no idea. It seems like pressing forward is also pressing my luck.
In the end, I know that I will press on. I have a plan, I have a pattern and I want this present to be impressive. Depending on the person, handmade gifts can be viewed as a cop out, cheating at Christmas or something. The effort that goes into a pair of hand-knit gloves or mittens is often not understood by those who don't knit. However, it must be understood that my dad is the opposite. He would rather have something his children made than pretty much anything else on earth (possibly he would enjoy a case of fine single malt Scotch whiskey even more, but don't quote me). Baked goods, knit things, wood projects (my brother's arena), etc... He loves it. Watching his face when I tell him I baked him something is one of my favorite things on earth. It drives me to wear myself down to a lump of pain and exhaustion, no matter what, just to see him enjoy something I baked.
Stitching one of his favorite old rhymes with elaborate borders and framing it is something I know he'll adore. I know he'll love it as-is but I want it to be huge. For the past few years at Christmas I have focused on my parents. For the past five years my sister and I have done their stockings (since they did ours for so many years) and I've gotten my siblings just one or two things while trying to get four or five presents for my parents. This has been a problem since my income is extremely low but happily my parents love the hand-made.
99% sure that the final lower border will be the irises shown on the chart in some previous post. The same dark green for the stems and a lighter (but not super bright) blue for the flowers. Still sliightly unsure on the final top border. Happy to have it this far done though! I still love blackwork more than anything. The even, certitude of cross-stitch but with more flexibility, what's not to love?
Though I had done some embroidery before my sister became pregnant with her first baby it was that event which really propelled me into regular embroidery and from there into cross-stitch and blackwork.
My sister is my best friend, and has been since I was seventeen years old. She is five years older than me or I'm sure we would have been best friends even sooner than that. Of my eight nieces and nephews (this time next year it will be ten!), her son Benjamin (often called Bunny) is the only one I see regularly. I don't want kids myself and I've never been a baby-person, but the Bunny is the light of my life. He is two years old, and the happiest toddler I've known (knock on wood). He recognizes me and gives me unsolicited kisses, and I appreciate that.
Before he was born I embroidered a number of white onesies for him and just kept doing it as he grew. Now I've got three pieces that just kept being forgotten until he grew out of them, but luckily my sister is pregnant again so these, along with the smaller sizes, will be passed on to the new baby. I feel a little guilty since two of them are the best I've done, but Bunny got two sweaters I knit just for him and the new baby is unlikely to get a new sweater from me (sorry honey, hand-me-downs will be the name of the game for your whole life).
Here you find my favorite original embroidery pattern to date, a green and brown snail sliming along. I love the way the slime trail turned out with the two close shades of green and two stitch styles. What I will eventually add is a thicker line of darker brown next to the light brown of the shell, as it is too thin compared to the body. Otherwise, I love it! If I make another copy on regular fabric I will probably use metallic thread for the lighter green of the slime trail.
It is criminal how tired and worn out I am. Hoping to hit the YMCA tomorrow and do some hot tub soaking but I also want to hang out with my nephew and sister for a while. They literally just moved down here. Benjamin seems to be settling in well, but toddlers are pretty flexible about things that don't involve food or toys.
change the look of the piece completely. It's amazing what a difference it makes. Working on the even weave is a joy. So much nicer on the hands than old Aida (though I know I'll continue to use that as well).
