Monday, November 26, 2018

I actually finished something!



No, not a book this time. Lacking a decent sense of humility, I will brag that since resuming a writing career in 2017 I've established a decent track record for not only finishing books but getting them out there. Eight books out in that time period, five of them published this year; three more in the queue to get covers and formatting; and a twelfth book on track to be done by next week.

No, it's the piece of embroidery up above, which I currently love so much that I'm thinking of making it my header pic. In the course of cleaning up the sewing room and tackling the mountain of things to be mended or altered, I came across this piece of "fabric" which I made during the years before back problems knocked me out of doing anything at all. It's actually a conglomeration of different fabric scraps, some painted and dyed silk, some dryer-wrinkled, some insubstantial bits of net, all fused to a felt background and held down by a ton of ribbons, stitching, and rose montee crystals.

Hmm. Felt-backed, pretty, about the size of an opened book; what to do with that? Well, my current favorite writing spot is one end of the new couch, with its handy footrests that rise at the push of a button. It's got broad arms suitable for holding a cup of coffee, but the catch is that if I keep drinking coffee there the upholstery will eventually have coffee-colored stains. Enter this little piece. With a bit more embroidery to hold everything in place, and a blue cotton back cover from the fabric stash, it's almost perfect to lay across the arm of the couch right where I want to keep a cup or glass.

"Almost," because the surface is just a bit scratchy. So, eventually it will probably be replaced by something less decorative but smoother to the touch; one of the cotton prints I brought back from India should work. But for now, I'm going to admire my pretty turquoise fantasia... and stitch on the unfinished crazy quilt blocks I unearthed at the same time, which make a nice break from summarizing A Revolution of Rubies to send off to the cover artist.

4 comments:

  1. I didn't realize you've written so much since 2017! WOW...your embroidery piece is lovely....but I'm still waiting for that 2nd Embeadery book!!! You know you are the reason I have this obsession with beads and embroidery!! Just sayin! I promote your Embeadery book anytime folks ask me about stitches or how I got started, yada, yada!

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  2. Goodness that is pretty. I wouldn't want it catching any coffee stains! But that's just me - at least it would be nearby to enjoy and admire. If it's about the size of an open book, could it become a book cover with the addition of more fabric? Oh, please, you HAD to mention unearthed crazy quilt blocks. I know right where mine are . . . and they are staying put!

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  3. Lovely bit of work, I would be reluctant to use it as you intend to, because it's so pretty.

    And, congratulations on all the books, well done indeed!

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  4. Well... better out where I can admire it than stuffed in the drawer where it's lived for the last six years, no?

    As for the crazy quilt blocks -- they weren't even in my UFO drawer, because that is completely full of other projects that I haven't begun to think about yet. You have to start somewhere, right?

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