Finished at last

The Book Store

by Country Cottage Needleworks

stitched on Lagana, Mushroom, 28ct.

Now that the book store is complete, I can go browse the books and find something to read.  A nice cozy mystery would be great.

My next stitching project????  Well, I have two still in progress and many, many waiting to get started.  However, I must get some more binding done first, and some quilting projects, and some knitting projects, and work on my postcard exchange and my artisit's trading card exchange.  Oh my, I do sound busy.  Not too busy to read blogs though.  Hmmmm.

Stitching Wisdom

Slow, slow progress on my CCN The Book Store – BUT…….

at my advanced age, I am still learning.  I wanted to get this piece done so that I could start in on the new things I purchased.  When I hurry, guess what happens?  Yep, you are right.  I get knots and snarls.  Then I try to undo the knots and snarls......then I get mad........then I fling my work across the room – which makes me look like a mad woman.  It makes me hate stitching and I vow I will never stitch another thing for the rest of my life. So there!


That happened the other day in my peaceful, quiet living room.  I got up from my chair, turned out the lights, and did not return to the room for several days. 


When I felt somewhat sane again, I returned, picked up my Q-snapped project, calmly cut out the huge snarl, undid the work back to where I had enough thread to weave it into the back, and checked to make sure I had not damaged anything.


So, what did I learn?  I learned to be mindful of my stitching – to feel the thread on the back as I pull it to the front checking that it is not forming a knot – watching the stitch on the front making sure that it is lying flat.  Stitching is not something to be done quickly or mindlessly.  Yes, this is about the twelve-hundred and umpteenth time I have had to learn this lesson. 


I hurry because I’m always in a rush to get to the next thing.  It would be so much better if I focused on the moment, enjoy what I am doing, and be more present in my life. 


Maybe a nice cup of tea will sooth my hurried ways and help me enjoy my stitching time.

The Book Store

The progress on my stitching project - CCN The Book Store - is slow.  The door is stitched in two shades of brown and the colors are so close it is almost impossible to see the difference between the door frame and the door panels.

I didn't like the look, so I decided to add one strand of black and backstitch around the panels.

I like this much better.  It looks more like a door, and now you can actually see the different shades of brown.    Lots more to do on this little piece, but guess where I am going tomorrow.....Yep - a needlework shop.  I'm just looking!  Seriously.