15 January 2021: In Which I Answer the Friday Five in Much Too Much Detail
Today's Friday Five, on Friday, for a wonder.
1. Are you crafty? Yep, I do needlepoint, crewel embroidery, and common, ordinary embroidery.
2. Do you own a sewing machine and what brand is it? If you don’t sew, do you own a glue gun? No sewing machine, no glue gun.
3. What is the bane of your sewing/crafting existence? I mean, is it button holes, zippers,
or something else? Right now, I have a color selection problem. I'm needlepointing a new footstool cover in four colors: black, 2 shades of grey, bright red, and white. Now I need to needlepoint the portion of the cover that will cover the sides of the footstool, like so:
I find that I am using more of the two greys than I initially planned.
The remainder of the center will be in the two greys. If I want to use red or the dark grey for most of the sides, I need to buy more. I have plenty of black and plenty of white, but the white doesn't work for me. I'm sorta, kinda thinking of using black for most of the sides, with red for the 'straps' and white for the date and, on the opposite long side, my initials. My problem: that's a lot of black.
4. When and how did you learn to sew or craft? My mother taught me during the year we lived in Walnut Creek, California, so I was 13 or 14. What I don't remember is whether it was my idea or hers. Certainly I never saw my mother embroider; perhaps a neighbor inspired me. My motivation is lost in the mists of time.
5. What do you consider your sewing/crafting opus or is it still a work in progress? By definition, my current work in progress is always the opus. Aside from that, I have these three projects that turned out well enough to be an opus:
The top piece, a souvenir of a Dunnett meeting in New Orleans, is not in the competition.
The bottom piece is also a souvenir, this time of a visit to Rye, England. It was sold as a kit, complete with stamped canvas, yarn, and (probably) a needle. Unfortunately, using the basketweave stitch I like best, the yarn in the kit was not enough to complete it, and I had to supplement the kit with yarn bought here. Based on the evidence of one kit, our colors are brighter than U.K. colors. So that was a challenge. (Hint: There are more clouds in the sky than the designers of the kit envisioned.)
Another kit, complete with canvas, a pattern to work from, and all the thread needed. (Hint: There are places where I erred in needlepointing the design. I don't think this picture is large enough for you to find them, I'm sorry to say.) Also a souvenir, this one of a trip to Maine.
Another souvenir, this one of Walter's and my first trip abroad together. We rented a car and drove all over England and much of Scotland. I traced the outline of the map of Britain from the road map we used there. Walter drew in the route, the pictures of the castles, Stonehenge, and the Tower of London. That done, I started sewing. FanSee
1. Are you crafty? Yep, I do needlepoint, crewel embroidery, and common, ordinary embroidery.
2. Do you own a sewing machine and what brand is it? If you don’t sew, do you own a glue gun? No sewing machine, no glue gun.
3. What is the bane of your sewing/crafting existence? I mean, is it button holes, zippers,
or something else? Right now, I have a color selection problem. I'm needlepointing a new footstool cover in four colors: black, 2 shades of grey, bright red, and white. Now I need to needlepoint the portion of the cover that will cover the sides of the footstool, like so:
I find that I am using more of the two greys than I initially planned.
The remainder of the center will be in the two greys. If I want to use red or the dark grey for most of the sides, I need to buy more. I have plenty of black and plenty of white, but the white doesn't work for me. I'm sorta, kinda thinking of using black for most of the sides, with red for the 'straps' and white for the date and, on the opposite long side, my initials. My problem: that's a lot of black.
4. When and how did you learn to sew or craft? My mother taught me during the year we lived in Walnut Creek, California, so I was 13 or 14. What I don't remember is whether it was my idea or hers. Certainly I never saw my mother embroider; perhaps a neighbor inspired me. My motivation is lost in the mists of time.
5. What do you consider your sewing/crafting opus or is it still a work in progress? By definition, my current work in progress is always the opus. Aside from that, I have these three projects that turned out well enough to be an opus:
The top piece, a souvenir of a Dunnett meeting in New Orleans, is not in the competition.
The bottom piece is also a souvenir, this time of a visit to Rye, England. It was sold as a kit, complete with stamped canvas, yarn, and (probably) a needle. Unfortunately, using the basketweave stitch I like best, the yarn in the kit was not enough to complete it, and I had to supplement the kit with yarn bought here. Based on the evidence of one kit, our colors are brighter than U.K. colors. So that was a challenge. (Hint: There are more clouds in the sky than the designers of the kit envisioned.)
Another kit, complete with canvas, a pattern to work from, and all the thread needed. (Hint: There are places where I erred in needlepointing the design. I don't think this picture is large enough for you to find them, I'm sorry to say.) Also a souvenir, this one of a trip to Maine.
Another souvenir, this one of Walter's and my first trip abroad together. We rented a car and drove all over England and much of Scotland. I traced the outline of the map of Britain from the road map we used there. Walter drew in the route, the pictures of the castles, Stonehenge, and the Tower of London. That done, I started sewing. FanSee