I have been doing Karen Ruane's (link on sidebar) Embroidery School this winter as a way of getting another voice in the studio that is interested in cloth etc. We've been learning a bunch of new stitches. I have several of them in my own stitch books. I say, I must do that, it looks interesting and then I wander away from the book. This way, I do a few new stitches on a sampler, promptly forget the name of the stitch but do remember doing them. I have incorporated the web stitch in a few places already. Below is the ....
I had to look it up. It is the Pekinese Stitch. I have stitched it with wide loops, narrow loops and a wide/narrow combo and added beads to the longer loops. There are lots of options if colours get introduced to the playing as well.
Some of the ladies are making up lovely little patches of stitch samples and working towards a stitch booklet. That is part of the lesson's agenda, how to present the sampling. I am going to stick to a very low effort, write the stitch names on a piece of paper and staple it to the back. I have too many other things going on to pay a lot of attention to this, but it is certainly restful and soothing to work on this Friday afternoons, while watching Karen's videos.
About a book. I haven't mentioned any books here for a while. I have to say, it has been a bit of a desert lately. Long time readers know that Steve and I usually have a read-aloud book on the go and that has been most frustrating lately. We picked up John Steinbeck's The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Steinbeck, sea, exploration, how could we go wrong? We could. Steinbeck took it upon himself to record all the tiny details of the packing/loading/day by day account. The back of the book says this book combines science, philosophy and high-spirited adventure. When, I ask?
Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill is great. Either aloud or on it's own, Cotterill has a nicely paced mystery combined with the mostly unknown setting of Laos in the mid 1970's. Dr. Siri is a 72 year old coroner for the entire country. He is called to solve unlikely situations that the government is uncertain it wants figured out. He is also the human conduit for the god Yeh Meng. This is news to Dr. Siri and he is trying to sort out this as well. This is the second book in the series, and we are still very engaged.
Last book. Maybe not a good read aloud option but a very fine book indeed is The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan. Emmanule (Emma) is the only baker in town during the occupation in the 1940's. I think it takes place in France, but I am not positive. Emma finds a way to turn 12 loaves of bread meant for the Kommandant into 14, using two loaves to trade and barter and feed those seriously in need in her village. Skirting the fine wedge between survival and the resistance, (not the formal Resistance) both seem to be actions subject to death. Emma and her fellow villagers struggle on. The plot isn't complex but the range of characters makes this a very good drama.
I'm off to Ontario for some good times. I'll be back on Monday but may not get the post up until Tuesday. Cheers.
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