A bit of procrastination...

Last night, what with a deadline pressing for the quilt to be completed, emails to write and overdue proofreading to complete (I am halfway through proofing a book on Japanese suicide missions in WW2, and the subject is as depressing as they get, so can I really be blamed for procrastinating?) - Anyway, last night I started a new project. It's like skipping school; I got a cheeky pleasure out of ignoring the 'ought to' and playing on the floor with paper and glue and fabric and a hot iron. (Sharp scissors and a hot iron! Hahahah!) - 'Scuse me, that's the naughty school girl crowing with glee.

Of course, because I was in denial when I went to "just be a few minutes in the front room, dear", I didn't set up the ironing board, instead choosing to lay out an old white bathmat and to do my ironing on the carpet. Which I do more often than I am willing to admit. 

Anyway, the new project: it's based on the Swedish designs I discovered in my new secondhand book, and it's my first attempt at using doublesided underfacing, Wonder Under. The intention is just to create a little scene and to use it as a base for hand stitching and embellishment. As I write this, it suddenly occurs to me that this might be the perfect project to take with me on our travels for hand sewing to soothe the stitching beast. Mmm.

I think, and this is the hard part to write, I am retreating into some stitching to soothe some things that I have seen going on this week. Some days I feel very lucky to be in a happy and supportive relationship - and the world feels like a bit of an ugly place.

So that's why I had to stitch a smiling woman in beautiful clear colours on a white background, and not to do my dutiful, income-generating, polite bill-paying member of society activities. This woman's mad, and a little bit sad, and watch out, she's wielding a needle!

Enough for now. May you find peace in stitching too. 

Bev

Things to make me smile:
- Podcast of Miriam Margoyles interviewed by Andrew Denton - rich and ripe and very, very funny. This one prompted uncontrollable snickering on the commuter train. Now my neighbours think I'm a weirdo.