Category: Embroidery for fun & pleasure

If I’m writing it must be Saturday

Still mostly ghosting the online life. Work and Whatnot — with more Whatnot than I believe is allowed under the Terms of the Contract.

Still fighting the good fight against our Android Overlords. I will get my books off of my tablet before it dies, or I’ll know the reason why — which? I’ve never understood why that was a threat.

I have committed retail therapy. A light — mat? flat? you can hardly call it a box at 0.16 inches thick — is on its way to me, which will make several projects I have in my longeye easier.  Also, in case I get Really Crazy, which there are Signs that I might, it’s small enough to fit in my laptop bag, in case I want to take it with me.

[Tangential Story: Back aways, my father took it into his head that maybe I was so weird because I was An Artist. He was something of a minor draftsman himself, so he took some pains to provide me with a light box, and two sets of beginner design packets (fashion and monsters — covering all his bases, as it were). I did really enjoy the light box, which, back then, was a sloping plastic “table” with a white plastic work surface, powered by a 40 watt bulb, and kept it with me for a long time (I think I still had it when I moved in with Steve), but as it turned out, I wasn’t An Artist, which was kind of a disappointment to my dad. Many years later, when I announced that I was A Writer, he bought me an unabridged dictionary.]

Here in Maine, it’s hot and sunny, with hotter coming down the pike.  I have the curtains closed over the many windows in my office, and the heat pump on COOL.

Steve is doing something with phyllo and blueberries, and I — have a short story to write.  Well.  *cracks knuckles*

Guess I’d better Get To It.

What’re you doing this weekend?

Stitching Time

Some folks have asked about my embroidery projects, so here’s a quick tour.  Remember that all of these projects are kits, and they are considered beginner work, samplers, what-have-you.  No, I don’t mind being a beginner, or an amateur or whatever that one young person over there was getting at.  It’s relaxing to do something that’s relatively undemanding.  I, mean, I write novels; I already have enough difficult and mentally demanding projects lined up.  Embroidery is a complete change of pace, like, oh, coloring, or putting together a jigsaw puzzle.

So, for those interested, here are the projects I’ve completed so far.  The cross-stitched napkins were the sole leftovers of my former stash.  One had already been completed when I took up my needle again; I finished the other kind of to prove to myself that I could actually hold a needle and manipulate thread.

The piece to the far left is the first new work I completed, a simple sampler, to relearn, and in a couple cases, to learn, stitches.

The astronomical is a novice-level piece.  It came with directions, and possibly with floss, but I varied from the suggested colors here and there, because I Am A Rebel.

The work in the hoop is the project I’m currently working on — another stitch-learning sampler.

The next photo features work in queue.  They’re still simple/beginning/amateur kits.  Eventually, I want to design and stitch two particular pieces, but I expect that’s down the line a bit, and in the meantime, I’m enjoying myself.

The next photo is of Trooper, who got bored with me taking pictures of pieces of cloth, and stumped out of the living room into the jetpac in my office.

Oh.  I should add that I got my kits from Etsy — littledear and wildflowerfox; and from Snuggly Monkey

And that’s the news from the hobby side of things here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

Well, he walked up to me and he asked me if I wanted to dance

So, I’ve been working along at my Proper Business, and will in theory finish a story in first draft this weekend, which will give me room to start another story, while I’m doing my pass through the novel chunks given to me by Steve.  Turns out that I can edit/expand pieces of a novel and write one short story on the side, but not more than one short story.  A Revelation.

I’ve been neglecting my embroidery for a couple days, because of the tendency of the Proper Business of writers to slop over into every other part of life, but last evening, I thought I’d have a Go at designing/practicing my embroidered signature.

In all, I had three Goes.  The first two were worked in three strands of blue thread; the second in yellow thread, name in one-strand, date in two-strands.  Yes, yes, I’m telling you this for a Reason.

For my First Go, I decided to see if I was an Undiscovered Artist of Thread and could sign my name freehand.  Spoiler:  I am no sort of artist at all, a revelation that surprises no one.

For my Second Go, I used the so-called “fabric pencil” I had purchased at JoAnn’s to try to sign the fabric.  This was a Disappointment for several reasons, the most important being that the pencil dragged along the cloth and barely left a guideline at all.  Still, I Made the Attempt.  The result was Somewhat better than the freehand, and I was encouraged to think that, if I used not three strands,  which is standard embroidery sewing thickness, but one, I might get a more readable result.

For my Study in Yellow, I used a fountain pen to sign the fabric, which left a good sharp line for me to follow with my thread.  I signed my name with one strand, and it was readable, but I felt, too thin.  I worked the date with two strands, and I think I have found my Grail.

All of this doodling around with thread has, I fear, Inspired me.  I wish to create a sampler of my own.  To do this, I will need to practice my letters, but that’s not much of a hardship, there being tutorials on the web.  What’s going to be hard is getting my design on fabric so I can stitch over it.  I see people saying that you can transfer from PDF patterns onto cloth by using a sunny window (and a fabric pencil? errr…), but that really seems like a non-starter to me for what ought to be precision work.  I used to have a lightbox (yeah, no, not an artist — I did layout), but it’s gone the way of Things Long Ago.  I suppose I could buy a kid’s “toy”  lightbox; they’re cheap enough and ought to do the job.  OTOH, I’m already into this hobby for thread and needles and a sewing box, and I’ll really need to eventually break down and get an iron, and Where Will It End, I ask you?

So, there’s That.  And now the reason I went on and on endlessly about colors and thread and the Science of my approach.

Here are the Blue Attempts:

And here is the Yellow:

And, just for fun, here’s the sampler I finished the other day:

Today’s blog title is brought to you by The Crystals, “Then He Kissed Me.”  This is one of those songs from the 1960s that I love, and which would probably be Deeply Disturbing if I first heard it today.  Culture moves on, I guess.  Anyhow, here’s your link.

We started out for paradise

So, there’s been an inquiry — what the heck are we doing, anyway?

I’m pleased that people care enough to wonder after us, and I do understand that the terms of my profession include the tacit understanding that I will be Endlessly Entertaining on the Internets.

However.

The truth is that I’m not especially entertaining, all by myself — rather boring, really — nor are these entertaining times.  My household is doing what many other households are doing — getting by, working quietly at our various tasks, communing with the cats, and just trying to stay strong.  Yes, I’m reading a lot.  I like to read; reading is what got me into the Author Biz in the first place.

As reported just a few days ago, we’re working on the next Jethri book, and that goes like this:  Steve is lead on the story.  When he finishes a section, by which we mean, he feels it’s correct and will require no more adjustments or updates, he passes it on to me for editing, adding clarifying bits, and occasional bridge work.  All very so-so, but it gets the job done.

We have two stories under contract, one for an upcoming anthology, Girls in Tank Tops, edited by Jason Cordova; the other for Baen.com, to be published in mid-November.  Both of those are specifically Liaden stories.  On the side, because there’s nothing like the thrill of writing a side story when you have work under contract, I’m writing a short set in Low Port, working title “Our Lady of Benevolence.”

I believe I mentioned, though I repeat it now for the people in the back, that there will be no new Liaden novel published in 2021.  Steve and I are very sorry about that; it’s completely our fault.  The mass market edition of Trader’s Leap will be available in September, and a new paperback edition of Local Custom, in November.  We have also signed a contract for the fifth Liaden Universe® Constellation, to be published sometime in 2022.  I’ll get the TOC up as I can.

For those who may have missed the announcement, the audiobook edition of Trader’s Leap, narrated by Eileen Stevens, is now available from Audible.

We do still have Liaden books under contract, those would be two Jethri books (Steve is lead on both, and is writing the first one now, see above), and two to be named later.  Right now, I’m inclining toward the doings at Tinsori Light for the first of those, though that’s not set in anything even resembling stone.

Regarding conventions, Steve and I will be Guests of Honor at AlbaCon (the one in Albany, New York).  This is a virtual con, and here’s your link. Yes, it says “2020;” it’s this year’s information, trust me.

Steve and I are also looking at DisCon 3, that’s the upcoming WorldCon, in December.  We’re still talking about whether that will be a virtual attendance, or if we’ll be physically taking the train down to DC and actually attend a convention for the first time since Forever.  Here’s your link to DisCon.

Other than the above, yes, I have taken up embroidery again, which is not a bad thing; it is not “taking me away” from writing any more than reading “takes me away” from writing.  Woman cannot Just Do One Thing every waking hour.  Well, OK.  Some women doubtless can, but not this one.

Today’s blog post title comes from “Start the Car,” Jude Cole.  Here’s your link.

 

Writers have hobbies, too

Back in The Day, I used to do needlework.   Then, my hands went bad, and I stopped for awhile, by which I mean 30 years.

Much more recently, I had been prescribed drugs that did really nasty things to my joints and muscles, especially my hands, and in desperation, I took up needle-and-thread again, hoping to restore some kind of flexibility to my fingers, because you’d be amazed how often you need your fingers in this life.

To my surprise, working with a needle has helped return suppleness to my fingers, which had already been somewhat improved by bidding the meds good-bye.

So, now I have a hobby, which means y’all are going to be troubled from time to time with pictures of the Work in Process.

Here’s the current sampler, front on the left; back on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

In business news, Steve and I are still working on the next book (which is a Jethri book), and have a couple short stories under contract.  A new mass market paperback edition of Local Custom is scheduled for the fall.

We have both been vaccinated, and it’s getting hard to resist the lure of the sudden spring sunshine.  Two weeks ago, Maine was a grey and mud-brown mess.  Now, everything’s greening up, and pollen is in the air.

For those who have no interest in embroidery.  Here’s a picture of Sprite.