Curveballs and finishing… oh joy!

I’m not sure what happens when I enter my office. I had a simple plan for the day: I was going to input records into my library catalog. Sure there would be little pop ups here and there, but basically the day was going to be spent with me and my catalog. I should know better. I’ve always explained my job as “triage,” but does *every* day have to be an example of it? Here I am at the end of the day and not a single record got in the catalog. And, considering the follow-ups that I know are coming tomorrow morning, I’d be willing to bet the chances of entering data tomorrow are slim too. Sigh.

On a nicer front -- how amazing is this?! I have stitching to show, but no stash. Hmmm. I was beginning to think it was one of those immutable laws of nature: stitch=fresh stash. Oh well.

This to-be-humbug is made up of motifs from a Drawn Thread sampler ornie from the 1999 JCS issue.

It’s done in DMCs save for the trees which are Needle Necessities. I obviously haven’t put it together yet, and this will be my first one. On the surface it looks quite easy so I hold out high hopes for humbug making to be one of my favored finishing techniques. I would like to put in a word with fabric manufacturers that we could really use some more options for banding though. Yeah, yeah. I know. I could seam the edges of the humbug, but why bother when there is banding????

This little darling is to be a pendibule. It’s made of one of the corner motifs from Debbie Draper’s Little Book of Stitches from one of the Gift of Stitching issues:

It’s done in Needle Necessities and a little DMC 321. And, Michele, can you tell it's destined for the Pals ornament raffle/pile/swap???

I’m sensing my ornie fervor waning however. The problem is that I have about 3 more to do before I head to Myrtle Beach for the Cross Stitch Pals Reunion. Certainly I can manage not to loose my enthusiasm for red and green before then, right? Fingers crossed! If I get through those 3 then I can begin (gulp! Why did I wait so long????) my center bit for the Pals “signature piece.” Mind you I still need to finish the designing on the wording and all the backstitching on a long overdue RR. Sigh. If only I was of independent means.

You know the next problem with all these finished ornies is the finishing. I think I am going to designate this weekend as Finishing Weekend. I’ll plow through the pile of ornies awaiting backing, stuffing, trimming, ribbons, etc like a hot knife through butter! Hah! Hope springs eternal. Anyway, I figure there are other in my boat – lots of stuff done, but no energy for sewing and stuffing and stuff. So who’s with me? Want to join me for Finishing Weekend? It coincides with the Ornament SAL so you’ll have lots to post on Monday! lol