12.31.08
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
For art, needlework, blogging… or anything else that’s really important…
Our lives are busy, just in making a go of it – we have jobs to pay the bills, family to attend to, friends who want to see us, not to mention chores that need to be done for health, if not for just wanting a clean house. In short, life takes over. Or rather, we let life take over.
If you’re feeling horribly frazzled, as we often are, especially at this time of year, I invite you to stop for a moment – just a moment, to take stock. That frazzled feeling is, at least for me, generally an indication that I’m not paying attention to what is truly important in life.
I don’t remember where I read it – but there was a book on finishing projects for perfectionists (did I mention that I iz one?-perfectionist, that is, not a book), that said there was a place for perfection – for example, building a piano. It encouraged you to stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, “Is this a piano?” If the answer is no, just make sure it’s “good enough,” not perfect. Cleaning is not usually a piano. Attending your daughter’s school concert on time is closer.
Making art, or doing anything you love, is not a piano – it doesn’t have to be perfect. But I would argue that it belongs in the list with doing your laundry – it may not need to be perfect, but it does need to be done. Doodle. Take five stitches on that sampler every day. Just five. Find five minutes to play that Bach minuet on the piano gathering dust in the family room.
Take time, even if only a little time – to LIVE, not just survive.
May your New Year be full of living, loving, and joy.
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12.29.08
Posted in Stitching Genres at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I finally named my big huge sampler pattern – it will be Tramatina when it is released. And after I named it I promptly forgot why I named it that. I do remember that it’s a combination of the names of some very complicated friends. Unfortunately, I’ve had a big setback on that front. And it’s all my own fault. This is me being very depressed about this:
This is the sampler in question – see? I’ve made LOTS of progress! Two pages out of 18 already stitched. Yeah. Right. I AM really proud of this. It looks better stitched than it did as a bitmap on the computer! Unfortunately, one of those pages has to be entirely ripped out.
This is why. See that red circle? That’s the spot where I left out a little line of three cross stitches. Just three blinking stitches. In the first motif I stitched. And I didn’t even notice. The EO noticed on Christmas that the balancing motif didn’t look like the first one. He’s proud of himself for noticing. Actually, I’m glad too. It could have been so much worse. If this was for me – if it was a true sampler and not something I think I might want to put on the cover of the pattern, I’d just fudge it. But it isn’t. Because I based all of my counting on the location of stitches in that motif, everything in the sampler is off by one row vertically and three several horizontally, too. So I’m frogging the thing. That’s going to take time, and I have to admit I’ve been really tempted to just pull out another yard of linen and start completely over.
The thing that really grates on me? I made a conscious decision not to grid the thing because it was so big. I look at it now and realize I could have gridded it in page-sized pieces. A grid on the fabric would have saved me most of this grief, because none of the stitches would have lined up on the fabric grid where they do in the pattern grid. I hate the prep work for stitching. I am very tempted to skip it. And every time I skip it I regret it. Hopefully this will teach me. It better, because it’s a very painful lesson.
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12.26.08
Posted in Book Reviews at 7:00 am by deRomilly
On the same shiny, glitzy front as last week’s review, we have Bead and Sequin Embroidery Stitches by Stanley Levy. If you ever think you might want to bead your own cabaret bellydance costume, or just add a bit of shiny glitz to an embroidery project or crazy quilt, this book will teach you how to do it.
Mr. Levy has been doing beadwork since World War II, and has become highly respected in the field, beading many of the costumes for British figure skaters — and later teaching beadwork for the City & Guilds program. It is this teaching background that is wonderfully evident in the book.
One of the first things Mr. Levy tells you is something he tells his students — “do it my way and then go on to do it your way.”Once the basics are known, experimentaiton is what develops good design and new technique.
What I like most about this book is is carefully designed excercises for learning how the materials work with the stitches he teaches. I highly recommend getting sequins and beads specifically to play with and create a sampler of these excercises. The rest of the book contains a chapter of designs you can use to embellish clothing or costumes, or just to practice and frame. The book wraps up with eye candy and inspirational pieces from Mr. Levy and his students.
Very very pretty, and a book I go back to repeatedly when I’m working on a beaded costume.
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12.25.08
Posted in General at 10:48 am by deRomilly
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12.22.08
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Last night as I was ironing the EO’s shirts for work, I had a little epiphany. I caught myself thinking “I never thought I’d be doing this.” After all, I consider myself a feminist, I’ve become over the years a very casual person, and the thought that I’m spending my Sunday evening in my studio ironing my husband’s work shirts seemed a bit incongruous.
But you know, I enjoy it. I’m not the best ironer in the world: the EO could and probably would do a better job on his own – but I find it meditative and it gives me time to think. Generally the EO does our laundry – something I absolutely detest, especially the standing around folding it part, so it balances out nicely.
But my thought was in error, too. As soon as I thought I never imagined I’d be doing it, I realized it wasn’t true – when I was 9 I begged Mom to let me iron my father’s work shirts and pants; and yes, handkerchiefs. I thought I’d be helping Daddy by doing it. I realize now that when I learned to do the ironing I took a real chore off Mom’s hands, making life easier for her.
So I still enjoy ironing. Unless I’m sewing. I’m impatient, and the time it takes to move to the ironing board and press a seam irks me. Strange how the same act can feel so different. I think it’s because one way is long and meditative, and the other I perceive as an interruption to something otherwise meditative. I haven’t integrated it in with the sewing: it’s still a separate chore. I think it’s time to readjust my thinking.
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