Catching up...

I haven't had a chance to get on here and update, so I am a bit behind. I haven't actually worked on my main project at all. I feel terrible about that, but I am not surprised as I have been busy with a lot of other things.
I have gotten the last badge finished for the West Kingdom cloaks. Thank goodness! I did both devices with split stitch as the main background and I used chain stitch and stem stitch for details and outlining. I think it will put up with wearing and some abuse. We shall see :)
I have also gotten the lace started for my friend's wedding and I have about 5 inches done so far. I had to do a repair already as I had a baby pull one of the bobbins and break the thread. Oh well... I have tied in a edge and center gimp using Caron Watercolors in a green variegated. Her colors are green, white and blue, so I will use blue ribbon to attach the lace to.

One of the main reasons I am behind schedule is that I have spent the past month helping my daughter's Girl Scout Troop get ready for "Thinking Day". This is a yearly event where the girls focus on learning about scouts from other countries, and the challenges that can be faced by scouts and the world population in general. Our country focus this year was Kenya, so we made painted shields, learned a hymn is Swahili, and even made some Irio (good Kenyan food!) for the girls to try. Our troop covers all ages from Daisys (kindergarteners) all the way to Seniors (high schoolers) and we tend to try and keep our activities open to all activity levels as we also have some special needs girls as well. It is worth every minute of time away from my projects to help the girls learn something new and have a great time :)
My daughter Genni painting her shield :)

(added later...boy...) I also forgot to mention that it was my month to teach a class for our needlework guild. So on top of everything else, I had to assemble 20 Sashiko kits and handouts for a class in this particular style of Japanese embroidery. It is cool stuff actually, and it is pretty simple, but very striking. Here is a cool site to get a basic overview of how to do it http://www.purlbee.com/sashiko-tutorial/. I get most of my supplies at http://www.shiboridragon.com/sashiko.htm ....there you go :)

So anyway, I do have a lot to catch up on and time is starting to get crazy. My intent is to actually get the smocks mostly assembled by the end of next week, and get the blackwork cuffs strongly started....we all know what intentions are good for... :P

ADHD anyone?

It is Tuesday, and I haven't gotten very far with my main project. It isn't surprising though. I am a member of a modern needlework group, and we do a big retreat the last weekend of January. So instead of working on my outfit this past weekend, I sat and watched movies, used the jacuzzi and generally lazed about. I did get a few things done though. I had agreed to work on two patches for a set of cloaks being made for the King and Queen of the West (for the SCA). The cloaks will be covered in patches that are the arms that stand for each of the groups that exist in the West Kingdom. I agreed to do our group, Winter's Gate, and the Juneau group, Earngyld. I actually got the Winter's Gate one done (yeah me!) and I have the Earngyld one set up. I did the Winter's Gate one in split stitch for the main background, and chain stitch for both the estoilles and laurel leaves. I used stem stitch for the laurel branches. It was fun to do, and should hold up in wearing.
I am not sure what I will do for the Earngyld one yet. I may stick with the split stitch as it is a tough wearing stitch. I want it to look good, but I also want it to wear well also. Decisions, decisions....
When I got back from the retreat, I was all set to get started sewing the smocks together....good intentions and all that :) However, I received my new bobbin lace pillow in the mail, and it needed to be covered. I adore my wool stuffed cookie pillows that are my mainstays here, but I needed a roller pillow and preferably something a bit lighter than what I had. I ordered the One and Only from http://www.snowgoose.cc/ Pete is an awesome storekeeper, and I would recommend his website full heartedly. The pillows are made from foam, are light, but are also very resilent. I have a garter that I need to get started for a wedding in early June. The bride is a good friend, and I look forward to getting started.
I did get the smock cut out, and I even got my cuff design worked out for the blackwork I want to do on them. I have picked up some black silk to do the blackwork on, and as the smocks are made from 100% hanky weight linen, it will be a pleasure to work on.
One last note before I run away for the night...I had some really neat visitors yesterday. I have lived in Alaska for nearly 28 years, but seeing Moose really close is still a great thrill. I had a mother moose and twin babies visit my yard yesterday. they had a grand time nibbling on the birch tree right outside my picture window. In fact, before they wandered off, one of the babies got right up close to look in. That was sooooo cool :) Yet one more reason I put up with the cold and snow....