My husband and I read and contemplate a philosophical reading of some kind every morning. Every now and then there is one that is so helpful it stays with me, like this one from The Daily Stoic:
“A long To-Do list seems intimidating and burdensome – all these things we have to do in the course of a day or a week. But a Get to Do list sounds like a privilege – all the things we’re excited about the opportunity to experience.”
Yesterday I was again reminded of this powerful reading as I sat waiting for my husband to be released from what we both had thought would be a minor surgical procedure. Until it wasn’t. Until things went wrong. Until this minor medical procedure turned into an all day long nightmare for him. A day in which I kept saying to myself, because of modern medicine he gets to have this procedure done, no matter how awful it is. Because of the times we live in, we get to call a car in 95 degree heat and have someone drive us to where we need to go. When stuck in traffic we get to consult WAZE and take the most expeditious route. And while waiting in the waiting room I get to have uninterrupted hours of stitching to calm my nerves.
He is home now and recuperating, for which I am extremely grateful. A big thanks to all of you who reached out to me and wrote such nice comments in my Stitching Circle.
And now I get to go do some work with my daughter and then I get to do a whole lot more stitching on my current project!
Not easily deterred, I just placed an order for a few different threads that I will experiment with for dyeing. For those of you who heard about my previous thread dyeing fiasco, you will be shaking your head in disbelief. I know, I know, I don’t have a wet studio, I barely have a “studio”, and given my last disastrous attempt, you’re wondering what’s possessed me. But I figure the upside to learning how to dye my own variegated threads, so they go with the linens I’ve just dyed, is as good a reason as any to give this whole dyeing thing another shot.
My first stab at dyeing my own threads in #5 wt & #8 Wt Perl Cotton
Oh! And before I forget, want to learn how to make a Dorset Button? Well, of course you do! Who wouldn’t? My Dorset Button Workshop, the one that is for those who’ve never made a Dorset Button before is coming up, so don’t forget to sign up now! Click HERE. In that workshop, besides having an absolute blast and hanging out for three hours we will cover what to do when your thread runs out in the middle of wrapping the ring and what to do when your thread runs out in the middle of making those spokes, and while we’re discussing spokes, how to line them up so that they don’t look like a spider’s web gone rogue. And once everyone has wrapped at least one ring, lined up those spokes and finished making the woven center, we will tread off the beaten path and learn how to add other stitches. This workshop covers everything you need to know in order to make some truly fabulous Dorset Buttons, like this one.
Carnival Dorset Button
And for those of you who already know how to make a Dorset Button, how about taking it to the next level? My Dorset Buttons Gone Wild II Workshop is one week later, so it’s perfect for those who want to take both! In that workshop you’ll learn how to make little works of art using Dorset Buttons as your jumping off point.
And for all of you really, really adventuresome types, sign up for my Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Scissor Case Workshop which is both the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild AND the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild II workshops combined, with tons of other tips, techniques and information culminating in a finished product – a scissor case covered in Dorset Buttons! This design is exclusive to the workshop and not available anywhere else. Whether you are just beginning to learn how to hand stitch or are an old pro, this workshop has something for everyone.
And if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter (just to the right of this blog post and below the Google Translate Button) do so now, so you don’t miss out on anything, including giveaways, fun little tips and information regarding new workshops, projects and designs.
Animal Videos, Stitching, Dorset Buttons and a Couple Other Things Thrown in for Good Measure was the original title of this post, but that was way too long, so I had to shorten it.
A friend of mine (and of my mother’s) sent me this video, which of course I had to share. Thank you Linda! ❤️
I added a few Dorset Buttons to my Scissor Case, which I am now declaring finished. Seriously. I need to be stopped. However in my defense I had to wrap a whole bunch of rings in preparation for my advanced Dorset Button workshop that I’m teaching tomorrow and since I was already wrapping them, why not make a few more for the background of the scissor case? I mean, that’s just basic time management at work, right?
How fabulous are these? And I don’t mean that in a boasting kind of way, but more in an exuberant-whoopee-these-are-SO-much-fun kind of way…
These are going to be 5-day workshops once my website is finished and up and running. Did I mention we’ve been working away on that?!
AND this weekend I begin my Improvisational Workshop, which I’m just way too excited about and will need to sit in quiet, meditative, stillness for a few minutes, just to calm down.
Have you ever looked at a piece of cloth, stitched a few stitches into it and thought – well now what? That’s what this Improvisational Stitching Workshop is all about! It will answer the “Now what?” question that can loom so large. We are going to be discussing design, composition, adding different elements, colors, shape, line and pulling the whole thing together into a cohesive piece. I cannot wait. I’m so excited. Did I already say that?!A much larger improvisational stitching piece (44″ x 36″) that I have held off working on, but am SO excited to begin!
First things first. My mother sent me two videos this week and both are too wonderful to not pass along.
The text within this video roughly translates to: “What an animal concert: The Cologne pianist Thelonious Herrmann came up with this unusual idea. He took his piano to the Koln Zoo to play among goats, monkeys and giraffes. Many zoos are closed due to the COVID19 pandemic. He hopes to collect donations for the Cologne Zoo. Usually the young musician travels all over Europe with his piano. He has already toured 18 countries with his project “Stadtgeklimper”. Incidentally, the music for the zoo animals was composed by himself. The sea lions seem to like it in particular!”
And then there’s this. Adorable…
And finally, I have some spaces left in the Dorset Button II workshop, this coming Wednesday, March 31st from 2-5pm EDT.
Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Part II: Wednesday, March 31st 2-5pm EDT. $60 This includes a recording of the entire 3-hour class that you can refer to whenever and as often as you like.
This workshop is for those who’ve already taken the Dorset Buttons Gone Wild Workshop and/or have a good working knowledge of how to make a basic Dorset Button. We will NOT be going over the basics, but instead will be going rogue, incorporating all kinds of other materials as well as changing the way we make the spokes so that you can make “tree-like” Dorset Buttons, as well as more abstract looking buttons.
For those of you who are interested in either workshop you must send payment via Paypal, Venmo or Zelle using my email address: ariane@arianezurcher.com.
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