A Change of Pace

Last spring, my friend Nancy talked me into buying this kit at a quilt shop we had visited in Barrington. I pulled it out last fall and cut out the pieces from the wool felt included in the kit and fused the various parts together. After that, the project stalled because I was afraid of the blanket stitch. I had done the stitch before but it found it awkward so I was reluctant to continue with the finishing of the kit. Last night, I decided I was in the mood for something different so I picked up my kit, made a few practice blanket stitches on a scrap piece of wool and here you see the results from last night and today. I still have more blanket stitch to do as well as some French knots and then it will be on to putting the pieces together. The pieces will become a needlebook, pin cushion and scissorkeep when they are finished. I have to say that I'm enjoying the stitching but I did have to go buy a thimble on my lunch hour as the tip of my middle flinger on my right hand was really sore from pushing the needle through the layers of wool felt and fusing. It is much easier going now!

This is what I have been working on while listening to Happy Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch. Heather, I must say it's the first book I've listened to on CD and I'm not sure if it's my boombox or not but you can't rewind very easily if you miss a part as you can with cassettes. You have to go to the beginning of the section and then listen all over again. But the book is pretty good - I always look for the unabridged version at the library so I know I'm not missing anything from the original. By the way, I loved the bit about pancake day on your blog!