Keeping Promises

Okay think I figured out the camera, Photoshop, writing in html in style sheets and other geeky stuff enough to post a couple more pics of some of the work I've been blathering about. I am not a tech person and so I don't make any promises about this working.

The model for the article is a voided band bookmark. The pattern is from a historical model book. I stitched it in a limited edition Gloriana thread in double running and cross stitch. I wanted it to be something an experienced stitcher might find fun to do and the newer stitcher something easy to do. It was an interesting balancing act.


My brain candy is the Crazy Quilt Bargello. Spent some more time stitching on it this weekend to recover from the Reticella class. Think the class worked well except it took 5 hours instead of 4 and even then they had lots more work to do. I think they all walked out with a feel for the method of working the technique and the style if nothing else. Want to make a couple changes to the handout then will post it on my website (all 3+mgs of it).

-- stitching renews the brain - I am convinced --

Paperwork Stitching Paperwork Stitching - which would I rather do?

Spent yesterday AM writing reports and doing general paperwork. All I could think of was - "I want to get back to stitching". Spent the afternoon working on the Reticella handout. Decided I really needed at least some diagrams. The stitch diagrams are all from the web - with citations. Then used Canvas to create diagrams of the piece. I had already done the "pattern" piece that you put on the needle pillow and stitch over, so added letters and numbers to it - in various versions, to show the order of stitching. So the handout is done - all 12 pages.

Unfortunately it is 2.7 mg even as a pdf - large numbers to get the detail in the jpgs (sigh). Tech alert - it is too big to mail to husband at work to get copied. Nor does he have a way of taking a disk. So last night - 11 pm, husband created a space on our server where I could put it and he can get to it to get the copies done. Normally I'd have printed the copies myself, but my equipment doesn't have the fine resolution I want. Oh well!. I will post it on my website next week if anyone wants to look.

Then I got to have fun - my reward for being good. Spent part of the evening doing the model stitching. Also did a bit more on the Bargello piece. Had decided that one color REALLY didn't work so had taken it out. Courtesy of Linn I had a Dinky Dyes silk that was just perfect. Took the section in a completely different direction than I had originally planned - but it works. Hurrah.
Yes I know - pics. I promise soon.

Now back to the "paperwork" - actually building the class listing in html for the July event - 100 classes in a weekend plus about 10 demos, plus 8 competitions, plus a play, plus.... Yes I'm running it :)

-- Sabrina (renewed by stitching)

Filling my mind with Reticella

I'm on Reticella overload. Spent the better part of Sunday and yesterday immersed in reviewing my books on Reticella. The 10 page handout is mostly done (hurrah!!). The bibliography is over a page long! I am spoiled though - I spend my money on books. One book is actually a huge oversized 2 volume set of the Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace. There were 300 printed in 1913 and I have #217. The photos and tipped in prints are WONDERFUL. On many I can see each stitch. I makes me feel much better that my piece is a bit flopsy (another Linn-ism) even with using the needle pillow. Ahhh total immersion.

Have "designed" the class project by looking at and decontructing one of the pieces. There are a couple ways to do it, but I think it is one I can present to novices. It has every thing I need to teach - make the base square, satin stitch overcast edges, figure 8 overcast "brides" with picots, single thread "brides", buttonhole covered brides, and a section of detached buttonhole. Have decided to be nice to my students and bought them 28 and 32 count Irish linen and 12 pearl cotton. I originally was going to really make them work with 36 ct and 80 dentelles. Now I have 3 days to make the model :).

Feels really good to be immersed in needlework (sigh). Well almost immersed - spent Saturday gathering more information and classes for the be A&S weekend in July. Need to get the website done next week. A friend also tapped me to teach a section of her college class on ADR - so it will be a "professional" night next Tuesday in front of 30, hungry for information about Arbitration, students. Fortunately I have done this before. The overheads are done and the talk only needs to be updated at bit.

Now back to finishing the handout. It is hard to explain in words what would be easier in pictures - but I don't have the luxury of time. At least I'm stitching.

Hurrah! Model Done!!

Finished stitching the main part of the model on Wednesday night. Did the fiddly bits (a Linn-ism) last night. The husband did the scan and today I uploaded the whole package to the managzine. Now the waiting begins. It feels great though to know the first, and thus, probably the hardest one is done. The next article is sitting in my brain. The charts are mostly done and the model is about 1/2 hour from being finished. But before we go there we need to finish the Reticella class handout.
Guess I better decide what pattern I'm going to teach.

I plot out the process for teaching first. Determine the key points to cover. The handout is more a brain dump of bits I want them to remember and a guidebook for the project. I've learned more about desk top publishing than I ever wanted in the process.

Have really gotten into Adobe Acrobat. It can do wonderful things. Once I have the handout finished I put it into Acrobat. This makes it a smaller file and easier to print. I can also set permissions so the copy that gets uploaded to the website is read/print only.

Also need to finish the smocking article. I have it partially written. I need to decide whether it should be web or document on web. There is lots of interest right now and lots of misinterpretations running around. Part of me feels the need to put people on the right track - at least make them question what people are saying as absolutes.

Need more time. Anyone have some time I can have?

Finally Close - & more running in circles

Spent lots of time this weekend doing the model stitching. It takes bloody forever and of course I found a mistake and now need to fix it. If it was just for me, I would not bother, but since it is supposed to be in a national magazine... (slow grin - yes I'll post details when it hits the streets -- sometimes the best "revenge" is just to ignore the rest of the world and do your own thing).

The husband was wonderful this weekend. He decided he did not like the fact that I was frustrated with my blogs and so not having fun with them. He spent a couple hours last night "fixing" my blogs. He is a programmer, but not familiar with CSS - but through trial and error he did it. Hurrah!

Will be teaching Reticella on April 10th. Since I have 6 very hungry students coming, guess I better get the handout done. Started this weekend pulling books and information. I get a bit frustrated as lots of reticella is identfied, but it is more by style than strict definition. I keep finding that when I do research - you get generalizations based on the style of something rather than the actual stitching or needlemovements. So the first thing is always to define what I'm talking about. Of course not everyone agrees, but at least I can focus my words.

Always wish I had more time to stitch. There is a couple fun projects pulling at me, but need to get stuff done that I've already committed to do. So, back to clearing my desk so I can focus.