Well, here we are at the end of yet another year, and as bad as 2020 was, I can’t say 2021 was much better. On the global stage, the world is currently embroiled in a catharsis unlike any previous; civil liberties are being lost on an unprecedented scale, all in the name of “safety”, as the plandemic continues. Division is being pushed by the talking heads, and the indoctrination of the last 30-40 years is finally coming to light. Is it too late to sort out? I don’t know. I just find it so hard to believe that we (the world) have lost all we had gained from the lessons of the past. I could go on with a poli-sci lecture, but I won’t bother – there are too many out there who do it better than I do, and in the proper forum, which this is not. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging back to center for a bit.
On the local front, this year has been quite the roller coaster; weddings, funerals, workplace changes, and just for fun, the never ending construction right out front that was 24/7 over the summer, making sleep impossible. I was officially promoted to the job I’ve been doing for a couple of years and officially stopped the job I’d kinda been doing off and on during that time (which I still do as it suits me and my current duties). We had managerial shifts that had me juggling a department as co-interim babysitter for a while, which was a huge PITA. Get rid of one hat, pick up another, even if temporarily. I am a permanent work-from-homer now, since I don’t actually deal with anyone here, so that is pretty awesome. But – kinda hard to justify a shiny new Mustang if I’m not driving anywhere. I do NOT miss driving in Atlanta traffic on I-85. We did buy boats this year, though – yes, plural. Bought DH a john boat for Father’s day, bought a 20′ cuddy during the summer, and then DH sold his john boat and bought a full size bass boat. So guess where he is when he’s not working? Out on the Most Haunted Lake in the World, chasing the Big One.
We have a new family member – Little Kid got married in August! We got Big Kid home from Spain (with 36 hours to spare, I might add – good to see things haven’t changed much in the 30 years since I was active), and headed to Gettysburg, PA, for a great week, doing touristy things and being part of our son and daughter’s celebration.
The Gettysburg battlefield was a pretty sobering experience; having never been there before, and with our current turmoil, it seems like maybe it ought to be required viewing for everyone who encourages division.
My kids lost their last remaining grandparent in November; my mother passed away just a few weeks after I’d been up to see her. I hope she is at peace and with my brother.
And of course, I stitched through it all – a lot of stress stitching, some deadlines, and actually managed some finishes and finish-finishes! I said last year that I wanted to work through 1 rotation of all of my Chatelaine WIPs before I started another; I didn’t quite make my goal, but I definitely got close, and that works for me 🙂
When I last posted, I had started the 2006 Advent Snowflake; that got done shortly after that post – with more beads than were charted, as I had predicted:
My next project was Desert Mandala, which was really good to get back to – the colors were just what I needed to get through the January/February drearies. I got the top totem done, as well as the sunset corners and upper borders. The backstitching in the bear was very difficult to see on the chart, so it may or may not be customized 🙂
Next, I worked on Hummingbird Lace. I needed to fix the purple hummer that blended in with my fabric, so I added a bit of contrasting backstitch to him, and now he stands out much better. I got the entire inner border completed, including delicas, and got one of the inner lace corners in; that lace bit was riddled with frogs, so that was my indication to put it away again.
Next, I broke out Deep Blue Sea and did 2 sections (it being the smallest one I have going, 2 sections are pretty quick). Sea horsies, jellyfish, fishies, starfish and kelp! And check out the scallop-shaped stitches on the outer corner! How fun is that?
I had to take a small break and do a ring bearer’s pillow for the happy couple – you know how I am with those last minute ideas (though this was not entirely last minute – I did plan for it as soon as I knew when it was needed). JBW Designs, pink silk, navy and pink delicas, and pretty damn close to a perfect match to her pink – not bad for having to look her dresses up online and pick from 7-8 silks that I had to audition. I sent the completed stitching to my friend Tricia, who made it into a pillow for me (yeah, not even going to try to sew something this important – me & straight lines aren’t on good terms most of the time). I added a bit of simple lace to finish it up, and the tiny ring bearer did a good job (there were decoy rings on the pillow, the Best Man had the real ones)!
Back to the Chatelaines – next came Japanese Zen Moss Garden. The center sand part bogged me down when I started it – I never stop before finishing the center section! But I got the center done, and half of the next inner ring of blues.
I needed a break from Chatelaines for a bit, so broke out Growth Rings – my all-bead version – for about 10 days and did a pretty good chunk on it. Next time I get in Finish It mode, this will be near the top of the list.
I also did some framing – I had to get 2 done to go to PA with us, so I could get them to their recipients without fear of breakage during shipping – has the USPS NOT destroyed any package recently? Passing Saturn for my great nephew, and mermaid Cara Mia for my great niece. Not shown – a purple bookmark for another great-niece
By the time we got back from PA, I was definitely ready for fall, and Halloween stuff just started yelling at me. So I cranked out Halloween Cat by Satsuma Street in record time:
Halloween wasn’t done there – when I got the Halloween tree out, it needed some new Mill Hill ornies, so I did some:
And the Halloween itch still wasn’t scratched, so I broke my deal with myself – but in a good way. I started – and finished – Chatelaine Halloween-y Pumpkin Mandala. I have to admit, despite it being Halloween, this was my least favorite Chatelaine to date (roughly tied with the meadow section of Mushroom & Fern Mandala that about killed me last year). Not sure what, exactly, but didn’t really enjoy the Caron Wildflowers used for the blackwork pumpkins – too thick, kind of obscured the fact that they are pumpkins, but even though i had the same color in silk, I decided not to swap it out, hoping it’d all pull together in the end. I also probably should have used a shade or two lighter fabric, to help those details stand out. But, it’s done and I’m happy with the end result, it’s just not my favorite Chat.
THAT fixed me for Halloween. Halloween Cat got framed, but I don’t seem to have taken a pic of it; the mandala may be framed in time for next Halloween.
Next on the Chatelaine countdown, Winter Watergarden. I needed some lighter colors after all the dark Halloween stitching. I managed to get two blackwork corners done, and 2 of the over-1 cardinals. These cardinals are a lot pinker than I thought they would be, but from a distance, they work.
So I managed to finish 2 small Chats, and worked through a rotation on 5 of the 7 big ones I have going. Not bad! Those, coupled with the other pieces I did, feels like a LOT of stitching; again, lots of stress stitching gong on this year. And that’s not all! I also whipped up a couple of Christmas presents for my sisters, again Mill Hill kits. And then did a very last minute gift for the newlyweds, who don’t have a Christmas tree yet, but when they do, they will have a Christmas Pickle to put on it 🙂
When I went to see my mother, I took some finished pieces for my sister to see – she wants a piece or two to hang in her house. My Birds of a Feather SAL and Celtic Banner will get framed and go to her, along with a By The Bay WIP I’ve had, which matches her decor so perfectly, it’s a little bit spooky – she has a print that is very similar, so I wonder if BTB is a fan of that particular artists too? I finished Meadow Hills a few weeks ago. There are a couple of other pieces I am doing for her – have a hank of black silk from Silks4U for some motif samplers, either a Long Dog or a Vierlanden from Wiehenburg that I have, in red & black. My LD Pandemic red is the wrong red for her house, so that one will stay here (and who knows, maybe get finished).
As I was wrapping up Meadow Hills, Snow Queen was hollering at me – it was pretty cold around Thanksgiving, so was in the mood for winter-ish designs. NOTE: I still despise winter. I worked the dress down to the border that contains the Wisper – I blew if off as long as I could, but ended up finishing this section, including the Wisper, before I needed to move on. This thing is HUGE, I haven’t even touched the reindeer yet. And I’m really itching to get beads on it, but as many bugles as are on it, I will probably wait until the end and do them all at once, since bugles aren’t scroll-friendly.
And with that, I thought I deserved a New Year’s start, a few days early. I was patiently waiting for Martina to finish her Elizabethan mandala when she unexpectedly passed away. Knowing the design wasn’t finished – no instructions for backstitch or any of the specialty stitches or crystal call outs/placement – I bought it anyway. I got the kit from ECC, got a yard of Colonial Parchment jobelan from HDF by Stephanie right before she stopped carrying jobelan (why oh why did my favorite dyer stop carrying my favorite fabric? Fiberlicious it is from here on out, I guess). I figured I’d better get Elizabeth going while I’ve got the brain power to make the choices I’m going to have to make; the way the chart was delivered, takes a lot of back & forth between pages to get it figured out, and it has a lot of too-faint-to-print stuff in it, so I’ve actually had to work on my work computer’s 27″ monitors to blow the flesh-tone over-1 charts up so I could get the middle section started. Way too many flesh tones in this (like 12-14? A lot), but I think you get an idea who it’s supposed to be (if you know English monarchy history at all) even without the ruff and bodice – with seed pearls no less – done yet:
And that is a year’s worth of stitching! Still to see daylight – Tuscany Town Mandala and Mushroom & Fern Mandala, which was the newest start, so good that it’ll be the last to make a rotation. I still have a good pile of Chat kits waiting in the wings – have been waiting a YEAR for 3 threads for the Gothic Arches bundle; good thing I’m fairly patient, huh? Not shown – I also did several jewelry pieces over the summer, though I don’t know why; working from home, I have nowhere to wear any of my pieces now, since fishing on the lake is strictly casual. I had not made an album for jewelry before, just because it’s kind of a don’t care if you see me in person wearing things, but someone at work in another location wanted to see some of my pieces, so I created an album and took pictures of the new stuff and the old stuff.
May 2022 be a MUCH better year than 2021 was. May the world right itself and all the hardships lessen and anger that fills the air dissipate. May calmer heads prevail, and may the propagandists get their due. In the words of one of the greatest books I’ve read, which is now one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, Fear is the Mind Killer; I think we’ve all had enough of the fear these last 2 years. Time to get back to living.
Be well, and Happy Stitching!
