Week Forty-Nine: Progress and Planning

I had a super social week and can honestly say I'm exhausted. I went to the office twice, a concert, and a work dinner party. My brother was over yesterday because he had to take his car in for service and the lobby is closed at the dealer, so he needed a place to hang out. His car wasn't ready, so I drove him home and had dinner with my parents as well. I talked to two friends who live out of state. Today I have museum class for two hours and tomorrow I have to go to DC to do my tour observation homework. So many people. So much time outside my house. 

I shouldn't complain. It's nice to see people, especially people at work who I only know from Zoom or email. However, I'm much more of an introvert, so this much interaction is rough. I feel like this is how social stuff has happened during the pandemic: nothing, nothing, nothing, hang out with one friend or my family, nothing, nothing, EVERYTHING, nothing, nothing. As much as I want to do things, I also want to stay home.

Anyway, working on the stitch journal always helps me find a little quiet time even if it's only in five minute increments. This section came together nicely and I have one more big fabric move before the end of the year. With three weeks left, the plan is to move the fabric tomorrow and spend two weeks working on that section. The final week of the year will focus on adding stitches wherever I decide they need to be. And then it'll be done. Wild. 

I've also started working a bit more on the plan for the 2023 stitch journal. I've been working on the concept since October. I thought of the idea while traveling to New Mexico and wrote out the initial sketch of the idea while there. I always go through all of my clothes at the end of the year to see what I can donate and what needs to be thrown away. This got me thinking about clothing as a sort of journal and I decided to go with that idea. I picked twelve pieces of clothing that either can't be donated (condition, stains) or don't fit, but I love too much to donate to use for next year's project. Each month I'll pick one piece of clothing and do something with it. I might stitch on the whole garment or reconfigure it to be something else using embroidery. I may keep it as is and embellish the item further. It's sort of a play on visible mending, although I don't know that I'll wear any of the items again, and also a nod to artists like Louise Bourgeois and the Tiny Pricks Project, who use(d) clothing and found fabric in their art. I also love fashion and I love what you can do with clothing, so this is a perfect way for me to bring together several of the things I love into one project.

Over the next three weeks, I'll share the articles of clothing and a few ideas I have for the pieces. I've only decided on one month so far, so I do need to work on deciding what goes where. I'm also going to be working with fabric stabilizer for the first time; a lot of the pieces are made from fabric that might be difficult to stitch on without support. Stabilizer helps make it easier to stitch on certain types of fabric. It also means I'm learning a new embroidery skill, which is very important to my growth as an artist. 

More to come on the 2023 project. Enjoy this week's recap and a sneak peek at two contender's for next year's Keely Christmas card.

This week's recap:

December 4: I brought back the Hungarian braided chain stitch. Not sure why, but I did. This is two separate lines. The top line is the better of the two.

December 5: I went to the office on a Monday (weird), so I did my entry a little later in the afternoon and caught some lovely sun and shadows in the studio. This is the last longish piece of blue thread of the 2021 ort jar thread. I have some short pieces that I may or may not use before the end of the project.

December 6: It was a gray day, so you got gray chain stitches.

December 7: I also went to the office on Wednesday and went to a concert that night, so a very short line of pink back stitches was all I could muster. Being social is a lot.

December 8: I'm also coming to the end of usable purple thread. I think I still have one or two pieces that I can use for a single line of stitches, but the rest will be pieced together if I use them. Or maybe the first entry of week 50 will be a mess of blue and purple French knots. 

December 9: Two lines of long neutral colored back stitches. I thought the one piece of thread was long enough to span the entire section. It was not, so I found another piece to finish the line.

December 10: Ending with pink stem stitches. 

Tomorrow is the last big fabric move.

My remaining thread - I think I'll make it to the end with no issues. I also have some non-thread materials left that I might try to use. Maybe sequins on New Year's Eve?

We also have two strong contenders for the 2023 Keely Christmas card photo. Why is this cat so freaking photogenic?