01.26.12
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
Stitch Dilettante. That would be me. 
One of my defining characteristics as a stitch dilettante is that whenever things get stressful I have a tendency to start a new project with string – often in a technique I’ve never tried before.
Things I’ve learned this way include: needle tatting, needlelace, reticella, pulled work, drawn work, lace knitting, and thread crochet. Add to this the fact that I’ll also start a new project just to try out something new, or because I like the “pretty picture,” and you can see how I might end up with unfinished rugs, ornaments, pillows, cafe curtains, and more tucked into nooks and crannies all over the house.
Last year was especially stressful, with my Dad passing, and my husband fially recovering from a fight with lyme disease or Starry, or whatever they’ve decide to call tick-borne diseases in Carolina, because we all know deer ticks won’t cross the Mason-Dixon line. (Sorry. That’s another rant.)
Rather than starting new techniques last year, though, I became a designing fiend. And I drew a lot – filled many sketchbooks with small doodles that really only belong in the trash can. 
I played in mixed media – how do you feel about mixed media cross stitch designs?
And I actually started finishing my UFOs from those nooks and crannies – especially the knitting. And I started slipping out into the world more – in January I found that two of my designs had made it onto the pages of the Nordic Needle catalog – the printed one!
This year I feel in a much better position to keep moving on into the world. It will be an adventure.
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01.11.12
Posted in General at 7:00 am by deRomilly
I’m putting the Elmow program on hiatus for a little while until I can figure out what I want to do with it. I’ve got so many ideas, that I’m getting a little overwhelmed by them!
Remember that Elmow #16 was complimentary, if you’re looking for something to stitch right now, and the last 12 Elmows are still available for purchase.
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12.16.11
Posted in General at 11:20 am by deRomilly
One of the major lights in the embroidery world – Scottish born designer, teacher and inspiration Erica Wilson passed away this week. She was 83. The Telegraph has a lovely online obituary.
I have several of her books on my shelf, and in reading them for fun last year I found the answer to “how to transfer that huge design onto my shower curtain” question that I’d been annoyed about! I’m still looking for a source for tapes of her television show, Needleplay.
Rest in Peace, Erica. You’ve earned it.
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12.03.11
Posted in General, Samplers at 7:00 am by deRomilly
One of the things I finished Thanksgiving weekend were two motifs on my ongoing embroidery/crewel sampler. This is a place where I play with threads, play with colors, and learn…
I finished the bottom two motifs last weekend. The top one is all in Appleton wool, and it was a stitch exploration that turned into a color test. The pink actually turned out to go with the golds quite well! The design is the crewel work design out of the Anchor Little book of Crewel stitches that goes with the basque stitch – which is the stitch around the circles and in the center of two of the leaves.
I relearned that I really dislike working with Appleton yarn – it’s quite fuzzy, although the fuzziness does hide some of the little stitching mistakes. It also stretches out and thins faster than some of the other yarns I use.
The bottom motif is an art deco design that I tried using some of the Art needlework techniques I’ve been reading about – and all of the strands of Eterna Silk floss. I got the look that’s so prevalent in my antique Poppy Piece, but I ran out of green silk before I could put in the stem — so today I used a green hand dyed that I won from Sharon Boggins years ago. Finally actually using the pretties! I can’t save them for the “perfect project” forever– and it WILL be forever if I try that!
I’ll go into detail about these four little motifs later.
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11.26.11
Posted in General at 4:21 pm by deRomilly
Dora (front) and Pookah, her mom-cat, (behind)
We’re all exhausted. Especially the cats.
Begging for turkey is hard work, you know! I’ve been stitching — more news on that front later. Hope you US folks all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the weekend is wonderful for EVERYBODY!
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