All the small things...
This is what I'm working on right now:
That's the upper right sleeve piece I've finished outlining - 86 hours. Once I've finished the outlining, I'll go over all the pieces and do decorative fill stitches, detached buttonhole stitch, and gilt thread work. Once all the embroidery is finished, I'll apply spangles all over. Then, and only then, I'll cut everything out and sew the pieces together by hand.
I have an absolutely glorious acid green Dupioni silk for the lining, which I got from Fabric.com.
For reference, this is what 36 hours of work looks like:
That's the lower part of the right sleeve that I'm working on currently.
Materials:
That's spangles from Reconstructing History, tambour gilt, gilt silk passing, and gilt silk twist (in black) from Thistle Threads, and 4 yards of European Linen in Ivory from Fabric.com. The silk thread in black is from Halcyon Yarn, as I can get it from them cheaper in quantities - I have 10 cones of silk.
It's going well so far.
Sorry not to write in more detail, but I've spent the day going from work to the doctor's office, and from there to the pharmacy to get my script filled, since current drug dispensing policy will not allow me to get my meds filled automatically. And I'm one of the lucky ones - my doctor doesn't argue with me about whether I need to continue getting pain medication.
But days like this are more tiring than most, so I'm going to curl up on the sofa with my pretty pretty project and watch TV.