IHSW Report - January 2012

Doesn't time fly when you become an adult?  When I was a kid, days and weeks were so long, and the six weeks summer holiday seemed endless. Now, every time I turn round, that's another week over and I still haven't got done what I wanted to get done.  Do you have that problem too?

Well, this weekend was International Hermit and Stitch Weekend and yesterday I certainly hermited and stitched!  I didn't so much as stick my nose out of the door and, following a latish start, spent most of the day working on Noah's Ark.

The Ark itself is now complete and work has begun on the whale.  The plan for the coming week is to complete the whale and get started on the sea.  I now have a deadline in mind for this piece.  My cousin's birthday is 9 February and I would like to have this completed and framed to send with her birthday card.  I have a cunning plan for the sending which I will tell you about if it comes off.

Today was also laundry and shopping day, so despite an earlier start, there was less hermiting and less stitching.  Visible progress has been made on the Beetle despite the need to frog the first half hour's stitching because I had used the wrong colour thread!  The large dark patch at the top left is a greyish purple (DMC 3740) and is part of the shadowy interior of the Beetle.  I also completed the section between that and the diagonal orangey line - this is where the frogging came in.  I think that part of the problem with this piece (other than the million fractionals) is that the chart is so big - about twice the size of the fabric that I'm working on.  It makes it easier to read, but also means that it looks like there is so much more to do than there really is.  Next week I plan to carry on with the back of the car, working up and then round to the front.

In my last post, I talked about wool.  Well, I made up my mind and with any luck, my colleague will be bringing me a black and white scarf tomorrow, with a fuchsia mix one to follow in due course.  I decided to treat myself to an every day scarf (black and white) and a scarf for occasions (fuchsia mix).  I might even get carried away and have loads of scarves made - there were so many yummy colours to choose from.  Pictures will follow when the scarves arrive.

I have also treated myself to some new books.  These were my Christmas present to myself.  I collect girls school stories, often by authors that most people have never heard of.  I get them either in second hand bookshops, on the Net (Ebay or Abebooks) or from a specialist publisher - Girls Gone By.  My treats this time were as follows: "Evelyn Finds Herself" by Josephine Elder, "Leith and Friends" by Clare Mallory and "Mermaid House" by Gwendoline Courtney.  I would thoroughly recommend anything by these three authors.  Does anyone else out there enjoy this sort of book?