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I'm sick, yea it's true
I simply can't help it but what can I do
When you're sick it just shows
With these two bleary eyes and this dammed runny nose
And some really flushed cheeks
Though adorably meek,
I must admit that I'm weak
Oh ick, isn't she sick, sick, sick
Oh isn't she sick, sick, sick

I'm the one on the floor
Yes it's loud when I snore
No one wants to hear, what a bore!
I can barely breathe at all
I feel so terribly small...

I have drugs and have taken the past three days to rest at home only sleeping, eating and walking the dog. Not even any embroidery to boast of this time off. Worse of all I think I might have to bag on Gulf Wars as time in a car, carousing in Nawlins, and sleeping in a cabin hardly seem condusive to improving my health. Bleargh.

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I'm sick, yea it's true
I simply can't help it but what can I do
When you're sick it just shows
With these two bleary eyes and this dammed runny nose
And some really flushed cheeks
Though adorably meek,
I must admit that I'm weak
Oh ick, isn't she sick, sick, sick
Oh isn't she sick, sick, sick

I'm the one on the floor
Yes it's loud when I snore
No one wants to hear, what a bore!
I can barely breathe at all
I feel so terribly small...

I have drugs and have taken the past three days to rest at home only sleeping, eating and walking the dog. Not even any embroidery to boast of this time off. Worse of all I think I might have to bag on Gulf Wars as time in a car, carousing in Nawlins, and sleeping in a cabin hardly seem condusive to improving my health. Bleargh.

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The Plimoth Jacket will be on display starting tomorrow (Tuesday 3/9/2010) in the Textiles and Needlework Gallery at Winterthur. Tricia Wilson will also be giving two lectures on the project at 11am and 2pm on Sunday 3/14 that is included in your admission fee.  If you can make it, I highly recommend attending as Tricia is a talented presenter and has been integral to the project from the beginning.

The jacket will be on display on its own until Fall 2011 when it will be included as part of a larger exhibit also at Winterthur. Someone mentioned this weekend that it is a shame that the coif and forehead cloth won't be on display with it and I erroneously contradicted them. Oops. The Coif and Forehead cloth will join the Jacket on display in Fall 2011, but will not be on display with it initially. Regardless, the jacket is a sight to see and completely worth the visit. I can't wait for my own visit to Winterthur, and wish I could make it on Sunday for the lecture by Tricia, but will be on the road to Gulf Wars instead. If you go, I'd love to hear what you think.

The few pictures I took from Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival are loaded onto my Flickr account. I had lots of fun, talked too much during the day, saw lots of neat stuff on display, and even brought out the embroidery for display. I had a wonderful drive down and back with chargirlgenius  and tattycat  and a very yummy dinner out with more fine company including thatpotteryguy , dona_violante  and anabeig .

Comparing my sample so far with a close-up of an embroidered smock in the V&A.


Also comparing to the cuff of the same smock in Patterns of Fashion 4

When I looked at pictures of other smocks or coifs I noticed that those that had texture and stood out more from the fabric used different stitches such as a stem stitch or chain stitch. So, if I was going to do those stitches I might choose a different thread, but with the double running stitch I plan to use on the whole coif I think the Soie Gobelins is better. (And you could see some ink showing on the smock close up in Historic Fashion in Detail, as well as the indents between stitches.)


A blue and cream "simple" worm from the V&A jacket 1359-1900 that was used for the embroidery pattern on the Plimoth jacket. You can barely see two exposed horizontal ladder rung lines across the worms body near the gold curlicues. It looks like they were wrapping two together without leaving one exposed as we did. (Click once and then click "All Sizes" to view larger)


My "Oops" worm on the reproduction jacket in cream and black showing an obvious saddle where one two many rungs were left unwrapped. Luckily this is hidden under the left arm now. Still very close to the original.

So I did another thread test doing one leaf half in Soie Perlee and half in Soie Gobelins to try to compare closer and side by side. Then I pulled out Patterns of Fashion 4 and Embroidery in Britain 1200-1750 by the V&A on loan from Kit.

I took a closer look at the embroidery on the coifs and smocks pictured, especially those in pink or red silk. It's a tough call but I'm leaning towards the Soie Gobelins now. Mind you the linens in use then are finer than what I have, but the stitching seems to lie closer to the weave. There is one chemise that has a more pronounced thread, which I think is Italian. But the stitching on the English smocks better matches the Soie Gobelins on the linen I have. So SG it is.

Another fun find was a worm on the bit of the jacket used for the embroidery pattern for the Plimoth Jacket that is pictured in Embroidery in Britain. There is a blue and cream worm who has the same mistake I accidentally did on the cream and black worm on the reproduction jacket. It has the same skipped thread to create the saddle like on my worm, which is also by a columbine flower. I admit, I totally squeed.

Now I think it is time for bed.

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As I ponder further which thread to use on my coif, last night I finished up the first vine coil of Plaited Braid Stitch. It took 4.38M of the #4 Gold Passing thread, and took 3.5 hours of time (including the rose center and the rosebud stem.)

Thistle Thread Blog instructions for Plaited Braid Stitch start here, but previous posts have good info too.
You Tube video on the Plaited Braid Stitch
Calico Crossroads Plaited Braid Stitch Tutorial for $6- worth it if the others leave you scratching your head.

The entire rose is done in one strand of Soie Gobelins #2914. The center petal and center of the fleur is done using a doubled thread of the same thread. The outside petals and bottom is done in Soie Perlee #741.

Any opinions? I think the doubled thread turned out too sloppy, possibly due to trying to maintain even tension on both at the same time. The Perlee definitely covers better than the Gobelins, but I think the Gobelins is neater. Torn. I have 150M of the Gobelins thread, and 42M of the Perlee on hand.

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The entire rose is done in one strand of Soie Gobelins #2914. The center petal and center of the fleur is done using a doubled thread of the same thread. The outside petals and bottom is done in Soie Perlee #741.

Any opinions? I think the doubled thread turned out too sloppy, possibly due to trying to maintain even tension on both at the same time. The Perlee definitely covers better than the Gobelins, but I think the Gobelins is neater. Torn. I have 150M of the Gobelins thread, and 42M of the Perlee on hand.

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So, this weekend I had no grand plans other than a date to see Beth Patterson at the Old Brogue with friends at 4pm on Sunday. (She was fabulous as always and we're already pressuring her for another CD even though she just put out a new one On Better Paths last April.) Alan headed down to Two Dog Hill on Friday to do some woodworking in Kirsten's larger shop, only to return Sunday afternoon. This meant I pretty much had 48 hours in the house with just the dog and I. Ladybug was walked, fed and let out back to play, but the rest of the time I spent either eating, watching tv, embroidering or preparing to embroider, or asleep.

Friday night I spent transferring the pattern to the linen for my embroidered coif. I think I had the Olympics on in the background as I ironed the freezer paper with pattern on it to the linen, and then taped it up to the fish tank in the den for use as a light table. I've decided that this is my least favorite part. My hands hurt more from the pen work than they do from needlework. But I did get it traced out that night, and even sat down to stitch a bit to see how the thread I had on hand would cover my ink lines. Honestly I'm not sure. When I did a test bit it seemed to cover just fine. Then when I had a portion of the first flower done it looked to be sparse and I thought I could see the ink through the embroidery. As I finished a motif and set it aside, I think I'm okay with the coverage now, and the dark depressions between each stitch (which wouldn't be as obvious in black) was giving me the illusion that the ink was showing through when I think it is a lighting illusion.

Regardless, here is my progress so far. I'd love some honest feedback. Is the thread too thin, a Soie Gobelin, and should I perhaps order some Soie Perlee in the same color to test it out? Are the stitches too small or too big and that might be leading to the inking showing? Or is it just a trick of the light and it looks fine, shut up already? ;)


Then I moved on to work on some more of the miscellaneous bits on the third panel of the nightcap. I'm finding the Gawdie Green GST a bit tough on my eyes. I'm not sure if it is the green with the gold or my lighting or what, but I find it harder to see more than any of the other GST colors. Bizarre. I also decided that I wanted to work just a bit of the Plaited Braid Stitch in the #4 Gold Passing thread to see how it looks, to show off and practice the stitch and also to work up a measured sample to let me do some calculations to see how much more of the #4 Passing I need to order. It looks like 50cm of GPT gives me ~2.5cm of PBS. Since I need to allow extra for the rose centers, some bug eyes, and the lines sprouting from the lilies, I think I'll need at least 2 more spools. Might order 3 just to be safe.

Here is the progress so far when I quit last night. One section of the PBS was done too close together so it looks a bit smushed and pudgy. Ah well. Learning experience and figuring out the right spacing will take practice.


I also pulled out the real camera instead of just my iPhone, so I got some better pictures of various elements.
Froggie, Snail, Bee, and the Brown and Gold bug

And what was I watching during this stitching? I pulled out the three pack of Elizabeth Gaskell BBC productions, and popped in Cranford for part of Friday night and Saturday, then North & South, and then some Pride and Prejudice on Sunday. I found Cranford very entertaining, a wonderful intertwining of stories, and obviously Judi Dench is amazing. Sadly I enjoyed North & South too much and really found it gripping, so it really slowed down my embroidery progress. Richard Armitage is so dreamy and really needs something other than Guy of Gisborne in the newer BBC Robin Hood series. Although in all cases he looks well if severe in black. I had to pop in P&P to have something a bit more familiar that wouldn't detract from my stitching as much.

Stealing from anabeig 's FB post, PBS is doing a special on Dolley Madison and they have a page on it up with some video clips. I think she posted it to show clips of Montpelier but it has so much more.
PBS American Experience Dolley Madison

Y'all, they have a bonus clip Behind the Scenes: With the Costume Designer working on research, sketches, consulting with the tailors and fittings with the actress. It's awesome. But wait, there's more. They also have a 5 minute bonus Behind the Scenes:  Dolley's Famous Turbans about her turbans with the Milliner for the production as he talks about the fashion, and construction, etc.

It's visually stunning, and shows some gorgeous clothes. soon.

Do not need more time periods...

Because kass_rants  is evil, and was showing off her current wants, she pointed out that there are two early 17th Cent jackets in portraits that appear to be the same floral embroidery style only on a black linen (I assume) base instead of a white/cream linen.

Lady Anne Pope by Robert Peake c. 1615
Portrait of a Lady called Elizabeth, Lady Tanfield c. 1615 in the Tate Gallery


Wow.

So a while ago I found some of that black linen/rayon at JoAnn's with cream sprigs of flowers on it and picked it up thinking at the time it would be a cool jacket at least and jacket and skirt combo perhaps. I made up the jacket most of the way with a pink linen lining, pulled out the lining since it was laying funny and left it at that. I have set aside with it the pink linen to make a skirt for the jacket.

Recently Alan looked at it in a pile in my sewing room and asked about it. I said that after looking at portraits and working on the Plimoth Jacket it just feels wrong somehow. Not the right aesthetic. Then I thought if I embroidered in coiling vines between the sprigs it would look better, but seems like a lot of work for still some meh payoff. But now seeing these two portraits I'm thinking, maybe it's not such a bad idea... Heaven help me.

Also, last night I finished drawing out the pattern for an embroidered coif for myself. Despite the amazing job attack_laurel  has done creating these faboo embroidery patterns, apparently I can't leave well enough alone. I took the Genevieve coif pattern and had to monkey with it a bit for my own purposes, centering up, sizing down a smidge, and switching around some of the designs in the lozenge shapes, etc. I think I'll transfer it to linen tonight if I find the energy.

Now before anyone says anything (like you would, I know) I'm about a quarter to a third into the nightcap project, but I wanted something that would be a different style of embroidery (double running stitch instead of surface embroidery) and something I could put in a hoop instead of working on the frame. Sometimes working on a hoop is nice since the shoulders are more required when working on the frame, with or without a stand to support it.

Does this really look like 2-3 big embroidery projects I'm lining up? Yoiks! At least none of them have deadlines, although I'd like to have the nightcap or coif done for the Jacket Study Tour.

Of course, now I'd really much rather be home embroidering!

For Living Out Loud, because I should occasionally do something outside my comfort zone.

+++++++++++++

My relationship with money could best be described as profoundly Unamerican.  At least by any American who didn’t live through the Great Depression.  Nowhere is that better evidenced by my approach to retirement.  I started saving for retirement with my first paycheck, when I worked part-time for a hardware store in 1979.  I opened my first 401(k) account on August 1, 1987, the very day I was eligible.  I was making all of $19K a year, and still managed to save enough to get the full employer match.  I was also living in a group house, eating a whole lot of beans and rice, and staying away from clubs, full-price movies, and other spendy forms of entertainment.

 

I spent down my savings while I was in graduate school, but somehow kept my retirement money, by then in an IRA, sacrosanct.  Sleeping on the floor in my brother’s spare bedroom and a parental car loan made it possible.  When I rejoined the workforce, I repaid my parents with my remaining non-retirement savings, and started socking away cash in my new 401(k), discounted employee stock purchase plan, and every other place I could find that offered free money.

 

The retirement benefits were a key reason for me taking my current job.  If I stay for another ten years, I retain full health benefits when I retire.  That’s no small enticement, considering that health insurance is likely to be our single largest retirement expense.  The next step is research long-term care options.  The premiums skyrocket when you hit 50; I want to have a plan in place by then, if we decide to get one at all.

 

My retirement savings strategy is about as basic as you can get:  have my employer take the money off the top, so I can’t spend it; spend less than I take home; check occasionally to see how my investments are doing; and don’t get freaked out about wild swings in the market.  It’s had ups and downs, of course, but overall seems to be working well.

 

It took a bit of self-control in the early stages.  There were trips I didn’t take, bands I didn’t see, restaurants I didn’t try, and clothes I didn’t buy.  Most people supported my choices.  In the rare instances I felt left out by a friend because I didn’t consume the way he or she did, I figured I deserved a better class of friend.  Even now, if I want something, I save so I can pay cash.  It’s a lot less irritating to mend a coat or get a computer repaired if you aren’t still paying for it.

 

I’m really not sure what I’m going to do when I retire.  Gardening and raising livestock—chickens and maybe a goat or pig—are at the top of the list.  I’d like to do more volunteer work; preferably for a literacy, food, or public health charity.  I’d like to have extended access—maybe three to six months at a stretch—to the world’s great libraries.  Of course I have plenty of hobbies to fill in any loose pockets of time, and there’s always the temptation to go for a PhD.  But no matter what I decide, I know that I’m doing my best to plan for comfort and stability for all the days of my life.

If you somehow missed it, there was a bit of bruhaha the past couple of weeks over some stupid comments John Mayer made in an interview with Playboy.

Racialicious did/linked to some great articles on it and what it can be indicative of:

When Racefail Meets Playboy: The John Mayer Interview by Andrea (AJ) Plaid
John Mayer: The writer behind the controversial Playboy interview speaks out by Ann Powers, LA Times
...and the 'hood pass' by Adam Mansbach, Boston Globe

It almost seems like he does his best to offend every group out there. No, he wasn't drunk during the interview, just trying to be clever, per his apology. (An apology I find extremely contrived with the clever back beat and preaching to the choir nature of doing it at a concert.) When I first read about this I wanted to post a burn his CDs rant, but time has mellowed me, and really burning the CDs would be bad for the environment. What it comes down to is that he's an arrogant egomaniac who didn't even consider how his words would effect others. That kind of attitude may be the privilege/result that comes with being a rock star and surrounding yourself with yes men, but it had roots prior to fame. And really, no amount of fame can excuse his remarks. He has apologized, but it is easy to apologize after the fact. Try thinking before you speak next time.

Even before this news I hadn't been a big fan of his. I find his song Waiting On the World to Change whiny and kind of lazy. Why should we wait for the world to change, try taking your own steps to push it along? The Daughters song is irritating and patronizing as well. Your Body is a Wonderland translates to me as your body is my play-thing. Really? The way he has treated his public romances is despicable, and shows no respect for lovers despite his pretty words.

Ultimately, I'm glad I've never spent money on him, I sure as hell won't now. I encourage you to consider his messages before you spend any (more) on him as well. And I hope that we are all respectful of the people in our lives; lovers, friends, coworkers, family, service personnel and random bystanders.

Froggie is finally finished! He took about 9 hours, which is mostly due to the density of the trellis stich. I've now put 85 hours of embroidery into the nightcap project so far.

Alan has made a mock up of a stand to hold my embroidery frame for me. It will take some getting used to, and I think I'd be better off doing the outlines off the stand and using the stand for filling stitches, but we'll see.

Yawn. I can't believe I'm watching ice dancing. Time for bed.

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I have Ymir Pictures from evening court and the elevations of both Llwyd and Adriana to the Order of the Pelican.


Ymir was fun, mostly because I got quality Bera time. That was much missing from my world and greatly appreciated. Also celebrating some hard workers, blah blah blah. I miss my Chris and Bera.

Thanks to the Frost Giant's presence I've also made a bit more progress on the nightcap. Froggie is well on the way to completion, and I'll soon be moving on to the third of four panels. Here is the progress so far, showing ~83 hours of embroidery time.


Oh, Froggie, how I adore you!


Apparently that is all my brain can spew at the moment.

Well, we finally dug out and the Bug has been for two longish walks. I'd be content snuggled in at home but Alan was busy shoveling snow and/or on work calls, so I took her out to stretch her legs. Harder work than a normal walk, but not as often as she'd like. We still haven't left the house in a vehicle yet, but I think we'll have to tomorrow, as I have a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow morning (if they are open) and I have a couple of prescriptions I'd like filled, but they aren't critical. (Also I just got a text that work has declared tomorrow liberal leave, not closed. So now I have to decide if I want to take leave or head in.)

Anyway, I've got a set on Flickr for our Snowpocalypse 2010 experience.

Frankly I've enjoyed being snowed in, spent some time embroidering, napping, accomplished laundry, watched some good/bad tv, and the Superbowl. (YAY Fleurs!) I could take a few more days like this and it looks possible with tomorrow's incoming storm.


Mailbox drift, Alan and Bug dig to freedom, stalactites, Bug doesn't like her view

So the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow, my work will be open, but then again so are the county liquor stores... Of course our bar is fully stocked so really not necessary for us.

We received about 6 inches of snow on Friday, and it was very heavy. I even cleared off the patio table so we could take fresh accumulation measurements.
By Saturday morning we measured almost 16 inches, so Alan shoveled 10" or more off the drive, walks, paths and patio. When the snow stopped this afternoon the table measures 20 inches of snow. (pictured above) It seemed like he cleared two more stages of 4" so I guess it has compacted or some drifted off the table to fudge the count. It would seem that we have no more precipitation in the forecast until Tuesday and little warming so I think we are stuck with Alan-tall piles for a while.

Ladybug is fairly displeased with the situation. She's freaked out and barked at something in the backyard, but I can't see how anything can move out there without wings. She has two paths to run in but they aren't the same as a 30 minute walk.

Since we are without delivery food and home I've actually "cooked" some meals. Last night was chili with fresh cornbread muffins. Today was salmon and cream cheese omelets for breakfast and grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. Luckily we have enough supplies to last us a while and I think Alan and Ladybug will succumb to cabin fever before me. I'm happily embroidering, napping, facebooking, cooking and making snow cream.

So far all denizens of the house are faring well except fir one distressed Torpedo Barb we can't see a cause for.

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It pains me to do so, but I believe it is prudent to cancel Winter University scheduled for this weekend in Mineral VA. Though the storm
MAY allow us to get to the site, it looks like we'd be in danger of being stuck there. Please everyone stay home, and safely off the roads
if the weather is treacherous in your area. Let us instead think forward to Summer University hosted by the Barony of Tir-y-don and the
bevy of classes to be offered then.

Thank you Lord Mungo Napier and good gentles of the Shire of Isenfir for being wonderful to work with.

Regretfully,
Genevieve d'Aquitaine
University Chancellor

I've been sick for the past week. Tired, sniffly, coughing, you get the idea. I started napping after work and then finally succumbed on Friday and went to the doc. Sinus/respiratory infection, antibiotics, good cough syrup and lots of rest. So my four day weekend was spent either asleep in bed or on the couch. The one upside is that I've accomplished a bit of progress on the nightcap.

Of course I didn't have any fun in the snow and made Alan walk the Bug since my lungs were cold-air-aphobic. I did manage to brave the store tonight to stock up on grilled cheese supplies and chicken noodle soup. I'm afraid University might not happen on Saturday given the incoming storm, but will wait until Friday to make a call and hope.

Sigh. At least I'll get more embroidery done.

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