I'm certifiable

     It's true! Not remedial anymore! I have physical proof that I no longer qualify for that moniker. Well, at least not all the time. I received my evaluation (very complimentary and gratifying) and certificate of completion for "Florentine Fancywork" at the end of last week, and that made my day. Day, year!

     So there you go. I encourage everyone to join a needlework guild of some sort. There's so much that they have to offer at little to no cost other than the membership dues, which are not excessive. Do you need more proof? How about the stitching projects available on the ANG Web site at no charge?

     Over the past week, but mostly on the weekend, I've managed to catch up on the ANG Stitch of the Month Mystery. I'm now working away on the September installment and should be able to complete it before October. Woo-hoo! How, you may ask, did I manage to get so much done in just one week or so, considering my dedication to the slow-stitching movement? Two sessions with my stitching groups and a sleepover at a stitchy friend's house that involved about 12 hours of stitching. We had a blast, especially when another friend joined us on Sunday for the 9- to 10-hour marathon of movie-watching and stitching.

     At last night's monthly Potomac Chapter ANG meeting, I continued working on the SOTM, after discovering a problem with the prework I was doing for a Ro Pace workshop I'll be attending tomorrow and Sunday. The workshop is only available to members of the chapter. I'm really looking forward to it, though with some trepidation now. I'm doing the Solar Flare colorway, but there are other colorways that give very different effects (as you scroll down the linked page, you'll see what I mean). Since this may be the only opportunity I would have to take a class with Ro Pace, I jumped at the chance. I'll let you know whether I return to my remedial state over the weekend.

     kthxbai.

Florentine Fancywork Finish!

     It's been a busy week, but I've finally got time to sit down and post a picture of the finished "Florentine Fancywork."

     Ta-da! Overall, I'm happy with the final result. As those of you who have followed my achingly slow progress with this know, there are certain bits I'm not so happy with. But as a learning experience, I'd call it very successful. I am much more confident in my grasp of bargello, enough that I feel capable of tackling a design for the small footstool. I've learned about what threads I like for bargello, and what ones I'll avoid if at all possible. They're very nice threads, but I don't like working with them on this type of needlework. That would be most stranded floss, cotton, silk, bamboo, whatever. (I left out rayon because it's a given that I would never, ever use it for anything. I'll always find something else. My experience using it on "Turnberry Ridge" confirmed that.)

     So I'm back to stitching the ANG stitch of the month mystery, working on the June installment. I've seen two that are complete through August, and they're beautiful! I can't wait to see how my colors work up.

     Kthxbai.