Busy couple of weeks!

It's been a busy couple of weeks! Unexpected house guests, out-of-house obligations, generalized chaos. It was difficult to find time to stitch, but somehow I managed at least a little: less than I'd hoped for, but more than I'd realized!

Week 5 TAST: Herringbone


Week 6 TAST: Chevron


Week 7 TAST: Detached Chain


I might get a little more work done on the Detached Chain before the next stitch comes out, but that seems unlikely, considering the rest of my weekend schedule!

I've decided that I'm going to make it my mission to make friends with metallic threads. :P Not my favorite yet, but I am learning how to make the relationship somewhat less than abusive. :)

There was a postcard and an ATC to create for a birthday swap:



and a re-creation vintage dress (UFO) that I finally got half-sewn together:


The front of the dress has gathered details at the shoulder, bust, and waist. I put top-stitching thread in my needle to stitch parallel lines with a long stitch length to pull the gathers, and then instead of pin-basting (which always seems to let the gathers shift and get messed up), I thread-basted with herringbone stitch. It worked like a dream and was much quicker to work than I would have expected!



Sharon Boggon's Studio Journal class started at the beginning of the month, and I've been struggling to balance my schedule to allow enough time to work on that, too! One of the first week's suggested exercises was artistic frottage (also known as "brass rubbing"), and I spent some time experimenting with textures around my house:



Then Valentine's Day came along, and my husband sent flowers!


I took a lot of pictures of it with the intention to add a floral motif to this month's CQJP block.
With all of the other demands on my schedule this past two weeks, I've hardly even begun to stitch on February's CQJP block! Ack! .. and I will need to make the BJP mandala soon too. I did get a lot done, so why am I so fixated on what I DIDN'T get accomplished?