Thanksgiving, and the Bookworm Award

I don't have any pictures today, my daylight light-bulb burned out last night. It had been flickering, and I ordered a new one yesterday, during the day, just in case. I didn't expect it to give out quite so quickly, though.

I will be gone until next week, celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. At this time of year I think of everything I'm thankful for: friends and family, DH, cotton and silk threads, linen fabric, patterns that make my heart sing, and over-arching everything the goodness of God. My house, my bed, my pet, my car, my job... The list is endless.

Marjorie tagged me for the Bookworm award:

Open the book closest to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, and turn to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that. And pass the award on to five blogging friends.

Well, since I'm at work, the book closest to me is the New Testament in the Girawa language of Papua New Guinea. Page 56 reads: Kiro totok amam kon onok kesek, Anut nukas atai koi roasiret wasarewaraun ses opok, kon sarau eitek akas Sata nukan roasiret ak Anut nukan roasiret pak erek turur rain pakan wasare imwareanik, ep nawau orip orip jere raiau opok pote ep unik uru kurewarna, ak akan aiakpanak kartitirianik wai rawaiei. (A lot of the a's have umlauts on them, but not all.) I can tell it is Matthew 13:49-50: "This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." No, I'm not reading it, I'm cataloging it for our display.

If I were in my car, I would be listening to "The Phoenix Unchained" by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, in the fantasy genre. In my chair at home is "Japanese Temari, a colorful spin on an Ancient Craft" by Barbara Suess. On my bedside table is "The Angel Seeker" by Sharon Shinn, also in the fantasy genre.

Okay, that's probably too much information. I'm discovering that I really like audio books, I can "read" and do something else, drive (to and from work) and do hand-work. One thing I can't do while I'm listening, though is be with DH. I can't hear when he makes a comment, or asks a question, and we both feel too much alone.

Drawing

Today is the day for the big drawing! Let's see, I promised 2 winners, and I have... 3 entries (one friend entered by e-mail, since she couldn't figure out how to comment). So I declare Everyone is a Winner! Paula, Averyclaire, and Nora, please send me your addresses, and I will get your gift to you before a year is up. Three guesses on what you are going to get! LOL

Here's the Temari I finished on Sunday. I really like it! It is a s10 division, with interlaced stars on this side, and a kiku design on the other side. The base is cone thread, the marking was done with DMC spool metallic, and the design is done with DMC perle #5. I just made up the interlacing of these stars as I went along, and it is really cool!



This is the other side. I think it would have been too plain, except that the white outline on the edge really makes it pop.




I seem to be sticking to mostly mono-chromatic or analogous color schemes, but I do that in my needlework too. I guess it's a case of "stick with what you know."

Nice Weekend!

Here's the temari I was talking about last time. It is a c8 division. The base is wrapped with cone thread, and the division is made with gold DMC metallic on a spool. The yellow and light orange are DMC perle #8, and the darker rust is perle #12 (which I bought thinking it was #8). I am pleased with how this turned out.



On one of my on-line groups the discussion has been about what causes projects to languish, and what to do about it. The gist of the advice was to just power through problems without expecting perfection, and if you need it to be better, do it again. I finally got up the courage, following this discussion, to finish the project shown below. I was hung up on the bias tape on the pinafore "wings." My previous efforts at making doll clothes (when I was in my teens) had their downfall in attaching the bias tape, and I think the memory of those previous efforts was paralyzing me.



I finally sat down at the machine, and in less than 1/2 an hour was done with the pinafore, and in another 1/2 hour was done with the nightie shown below. (I had a specific request for an additional pair of jammies, since C's dolly didn't like to wear the same thing to bed every night.)



I can't wait for her to see these!

I have another tamari done, that I will talk about tomorrow.