Many things to share

Finally, after a long time, the garden blooms again!

I've got many things to share, I even thought of splitting in various posts to separate the subjects, but leaving everything together shows how much happened during my absence from here.

First of all, the nativity scene is obviously not done yet - if I couldn't find time to update the blog, imagine embroidering! Some things changed in my routine (against my will, I must say), and now there's less time for the personal stuff. Christmas is in 2 days and this is the last picture of the scene:

The young shepherd isn't done yet. And it still misses the details, the stars, the sky, the contour. It'll really be for next Christmas, but I do think it's coming out beautiful! Something that made me lose time was that "little mistake" I've made in counting stitches, remember?

Couldn't get it? Look closer:

Anyway... next year.

Another day, I believe two Sundays ago, I've had a big surprise: when I got home, I found out that there was a package waiting for me! Look what it was:

My Trish Burr books! I've waited for them for several weeks (imported books take a while to get here), but I was really glad to get them. Is there a better way to start a new week than with books that beautiful?

They all explain the basic stitches of thread painting, the same technique that Mary Corbet taught (and that I've followed for a while, before holding everything to start the nativity scene). I'll get back to her lessons, and then start a series of posts inspired by them and Trish's books. I hope I can teach the little I know, and that you get as excited with it as I did!

Something sad: I've ordered Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches book, but it's unavailable! Not even Amazon has it on stock... it's been really well recommended by Mary Corbet and also by Amazon customers, but... I don't know how to get it.

Two weeks later the last book I've ordered arrived:

My friend L. will have to wait until next year to put her hands on it! I can already tell you that I loved it, I've started reading the moment I got it out of the box. EZ, like the folks in the knitting lists use to call the author, has also written the famous Knitting Without Tears - it's on my gift list for myself, but just like the nativity scene, it'll be for next year! The Knitter's Almanac has a story+project for every month of the year - it follows the north hemisphere seasons, so maybe it would be more comfortable to follow a different order over here. If you get started in doing everything like EZ does: she urges the knitter to change all things, follow the instinct and adapt the projects at will. Sometimes it seems like she's giving a hard time on people who follows everything as is on the graphics (like me, for instance... but I've just started knitting!). I recommend it, it's really lovely to read!

What else? Oh yes, my friend S. came to visit, and I had a book to give her as a gift. But I am absolutely against paper wrap, you know? You spend money, make a nice wrap, the person opens it, and it goes to trash. Inadmissible. So that I just HAD TO MAKE a last minute gift wrap:

Isn't it cool? She can use it to take books with her to the subway, or use it to keep something at home, documents or anything. It was really simple and quick, and I think it came out nice. She loved it! I'll publish a post later with the tutorial.

Are you in a hurry this year-end too?