Shopping at home

I went shoppping for notions in my sewing room last night, and found quite a few different things.

I was looking for the notions I needed to make the smocked dress. I found cording to make the piping, which surprised me, because I don't remember ever making piping before. (That is one of the things I am procrastinating about.) I found the tiny buttons I need for the front of the bodice. I found a perfect match for sewing thread. I did not find a good lace to use to trim the sleeves. I found about 6 inches of a lace that would work, but I need 12 inches. I found a chunkier lace with enough length, but the scale is all wrong. Lace is the one thing I wasn't worried about! I found a bottle of ribbons, and a tub of trims, but I haven't found my stash of lace yet. There's got to be some in there!

I did cut out the pattern, so I am making progress.



Earlier this week I ordered a tatting DVD; tatting is something I've always wanted to do, but haven't learned yet. I didn't order the inexpensive tatting shuttle they recommended, because of the shipping charges, which were more than the shuttle itself. I am very glad, though, because look what I found!



The yellow shuttle is loaded with pearl #5, but the wood shuttle is beautiful! It looks like it is hand-crafted, it has a hook, and it is stored in a cardboard tube that fits it perfectly. I also found Cebelia thread that should tat up very nicely... now if my order would arrive!

I found and organized my crochet hooks. I had picked up a stash of crochet hooks at our guild garage sale, from someone's estate. Previously my smallest hook was a size 4, now I have a size 14! Most of the ones I picked up I did not have before, so that was a very good find. If I had started earlier, I could have crocheted a lace edging for the smocked dress sleeves.

I found the silk ribbons I had wanted to use on my current temari (before I got distracted by my new threads from Japan). I found a whole fist-full of bias tapes to use for thimble bases.

Maybe I should go shopping at home more often! It's a lot of work, though, this store isn't very organized.

Still Procrastinating!

Progress on projects

I made some progress on my projects this weekend. I got some good uninterrupted time in the stitching chair on Saturday, and got this far on the smocking. The purple is irises, and I still have to add the stems, but that is only about 5 minutes of work. Then the assembly.



C discovered this on my stitchy chair and was asking her mom about it. I haven't had a chance to tell her yet that the yellow one is for her dolls.

Here's my current temari. It is taking fully as long as I was expecting, but is not turning out as drop dead gorgeous as I was hoping. I think there are two problems: the colors are too close together, so the flowers are tending to run together visually, and the color changes in the rayon thread, so beautiful in the individual flower, are keeping it from showing up as one unit when these flowers start bunching together.



There is still a long way to go. It may get better. You see a pin in the surface. That is marking an incomplete flower so I can find it back when I go back to stitching with that color.

I got some good chair time on Sunday too, on my advent calendar. I'm working on square #17, which means I'm about 2/3rds done. Doing the math, however, means I still won't get it done for this Christmas. I usually work on it on Sunday at church when I'm there during DH's Praise Team practice. C is usually along and helps a lot. She calls it "our" project. Her main job is telling me what to stitch next. (We don't like people without their faces stitched.)