Monday, July 30, 2007

hoop dreams

Another Eye Candy Friday has come and gone without any eye candy around here. I have soooo many pictures and such a non-system of organizing them that it's a chore to go through them looking for eye candy sometimes. But I'll get back to it. Meanwhile, how about a project post? Here's what I'm currently working on:

I'm embroidering some pillow cases because damn if I can stop with the hoop and the needle and the floss. All those DMC colors, so sweet like sugarcane. The silky feel of the mercerized cotton as it glides between the fingers. The slow, savory filling in of the carefully chosen design. It's all too much. I do love it so. There are many stitches to learn and mastery takes time. I don't profess to be there and perhaps I never will. But the journey. Oh, the journey.

The printed fabric will embellish a birthday present I'm making for a beloved friend. It's from a line called Mameyakko. It's duck cloth, from Japan. It's only $16/yard at Michael Levine's. I kept fondling it longingly until finally it dawned on me that 1/4 yard wasn't that much money. Notice I said it "will embellish" a project, not it "will be" the project. I haven't started that million-dollar-a-year job yet. It's probably occurred to most anyone who sews that the way to indulge in pricier fabrics is to use them for small projects but I'm new here and to me it was a novel idea. I'm glad I realized it, because this fabric would put a freshly powdered baby's behind to shame. It's that soft. I haven't cut into it yet. For now I take it out and sniff it and rub it up a few times a day.

When I can't embroider, I entertain myself with this:

Well lookee there. Is that knitting? Turns out it is like riding a bicycle. Who knew?

This is the most knitting I can handle. Simple mistake rib that gets its intrigue from magic self-striping yarn. I've hit a wall on all my more complex projects, even those that shouldn't be difficult to knit. I figure my gumption will return with cooler weather. Meanwhile, I'll keep a scarf on the needles.

6 comments:

Lola and Ava said...

The embroidery is lovely; I never got the hang of it as I sucked at it. A friend suggested adding some of to a project and I almost cried because I knew what would happen. That brown and blue fabric is intriging. Is that from the Japanese line? Can't wait to see what that becomes.

Ellen Bloom said...

Your embroidery is looking good! I haven't done ANY embroidery since I added little flowers to my bell-bottom jeans in 1969! LOL!

carlita dee said...

Hey Lola/Ava (I think this is Lola. But it might be Ava.) Yep, it's a Japanese fabric from a company called Kokka. I'll be using it in such tiny bits that you might not recognize it. Ha ha. Sorry about your embroidery woes. I'm not such a hotshot myself but I'm hanging in because I enjoy it so much.

Ellen! Bell-bottoms? 1969?! That's hilarious. Your hands have been quite busy since so you're excused from embroidery.

Anonymous said...

Your embroidery looks very good to me! It's not hard to master, patience is.

I enjoy the exact placement of stitches, when I need a break from the linear rythmn of knitting. For me, it was needlepoint, although I don't like filling in backgrounds. Boring.

I can see where embroidery can become addictive. It's picturemaking at its best.

Anonymous said...

Oh by the way, your scarf is intense. I love Mistake Stitch ribbing, as it's reversible. Beautiful work!

Susan said...

That scarf is gorgeous! I looove the colors. Great job.

Knitters-Delight