I’ve been dividing my day time lately between embroidery and beading. I still knit by night.
Beading
I managed to finish these 3 necklace/earring sets.
1) In periwinkle, to go with my favorite sweater.
2) A set made from a string of hand-made ginko raku beads I bought at Kiowa Rose last fall. I think I’ll have to restring part of it, because the two strands are not centered on each other. The earrings were a challenge for me because of the wirework.
3) And a 4-strand necklace made around the focal bead I bought at the last show.
In the last few years, DH and I have established a tradition of attending a once-a-year mass at a historic chapel in Slick-poo, ID. There is a raffle to raise funds for the church that sponsors the mass, and I decided to make a couple of things for the raffle. I made a flat peyote tube necklace and earrings very much like mine, and knit an Orenburg-style scarf, which has yet to be blocked.
Embroidery
Recently I bought a new sewing “computer” which does embroidery, if you buy enough extra stuff. There’s no end to the stabilizers, hoops and attachments one has to buy just to embroider over the hole on the knee of a pair of pants, not to mention the expanding thread collection one needs for color variety. But I practiced first on some dishtowels and handkerchiefs before attempting to cover the holes.
Then I got brave and covered a hole on an old tee-shirt, then the darned knee of DH’s jeans.
The hole in the knee was so large that two designs did not cover it, but this is good enough for these jeans.
I’ve learned a lot in the process, and pass these tips along. For example, make sure the corner of the towel is not turned back under the embroidery (that one cost me an hour of excruciating picking!)
Another good lesson was to not cut a hole when attempting to remove a knot of bobbin thread. (This was very early in the design, so I was able to shift the design to cover the new hole).
Next, I’m supposed to put DH’s name on some tee-shirts. I’m hoping to spell it correctly, to get it on straight, and to not make any new holes. We’ll see.
Knitting
I wanted to try Lily Chin’s reversible cable method, so made her scarf (Fiber Trends “Dancing Flames” #103LC) in Galler Prime Alpaca for DH’s daughter, who now lives in the snowy Lake Tahoe area.
My studio is currently crowded with embroidery and beading projects and paraphernalia, which I need to clean it up before I can get to my blocking. But I did finish knitting the Orenburg-style scarf for the raffle and my Peace Shawl.