Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Some shopping and some stitching

Earlier I saw a couple of stitched fabric purses on Contemporary Embroidery's Etsy shop, and one of them made my heart go pitty-pat, so I went for it. Isn't this beautiful?

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The fabric is silk (!) and the flowers are made up of French knots. It is very beautiful, but I'm not sure I am going to use it because I'm afraid of spoiling it. If I put coins in it, the inside will get very dirty, and I don't want that to happen, but I would love to have it with me all the time. We shall see what happens.

After I finished my last temari I picked up the thimble I had been stitching on, and finished that too. The base is from Chloe Patricia, and it will be a pin-cushion, when I find the small pre-finished cushion that came with the kit. I like the colors and the way it turned out.

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I need to get back into making these, it is so satisfying to finish something so beautiful in just a little bit of time.

Monday, June 28, 2010

I Finished!

I took the last stitches in this one on Friday evening, and scared my family by breaking into a happy dance. They looked at me like I was nuts, but I couldn't help it, it turned out so beautiful. I couldn't see how beautiful it was going to be until I took the last stitch, and then I amazed myself. The picture, of course (even if it were a good one) doesn't show the beauty.

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I enjoyed this one so much, that I'm planning another 482 facet temari, that reminds me of Queen Anne's Lace. I've been looking at that pattern (in Temari for 4 Seasons) since I got the book (which was my first Japanese book) and now I've advanced enough in making temaris that I know I can do it.

On Saturday I walked in the Hunger Walk, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and our church pantry. We had 44 people in our walking group! You can see what a lovely day we had, just a little too warm, but since thunderstorms had passed in the night, we were grateful for the weather we got. (I'm the one with the floppy hat.)

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Here's most of our group at the finish line. I've dithered the picture a little bit on purpose.

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I was amazed that I was even able run errands with DH during the afternoon (after spending some time on the sofa, recuperating) and I'm only having intermittent soreness, nothing incapacitating. I did a 5K walk when I was in my teens for a Girl Guide (Girl Scout) badge, and it took us only about 5 to 10 minutes longer this time. I was quite pleased. Our pantry will get a nice benefit as well.