Progress Report - January 2013

The last paragraph of my progress report in December 2011 was "I already know that I have taken on too much and will struggle to meet all of my goals but there is nothing that I want to cut from my list! It looks like being a busy year."

It did not take me very long to decide that I did need to cut something from my list and that something was TAST. Even so, it was a very busy year!

At the beginning of the year Camellias was on Frame One. My aim was to finish this phase by the end of February but I had a far more important deadline to meet before I could progress with it. Camellias is by far the biggest challenge that I have faced in Japanese embroidery so far; I found it very difficult to get to grips with long and short stitch. Lack of time and greater lack of confidence caused me to doubt that I would meet my deadline; however I persevered and achieved my goal. I also overcame my anxiety about this technique.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

The next piece to go onto Frame One was Queen of Flowers. Unlike long and short stitch, I was really looking forward to learning Fuzzy Effect at Phase VIII so my class in March was a far more relaxed affair than the previous year. As seems to be becoming a tradition, as soon as the class in Bournemouth was over, I put Queen of Flowers away to focus on other things. Apart from a few days stitching in the autumn, this piece has not progressed since then. I am not able to attend the Bournemouth class this March so I am not under any pressure to complete this phase by then but I would like to make a start on Phase IX this year, possibly in September. My aim is to complete Queen of Flowers by the end of August.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Embroidery Bridge Between East and West is still on Frame Two and has not progressed at all during 2012. I would still like to complete this piece but it is a low priority. I don’t expect to work on it much during 2013.

My first goal in 2012 was to complete Floral Melody; I completed it on the last day of January.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Frame Three remained empty for several weeks while I dithered about what to stitch after I returned from Atlanta. In the mean time I worked on a few smaller projects but eventually I put the Tudor and Stewart Goldwork Sampler on Frame Three and spent the next 4 months working almost exclusively on that. Although completed in October the piece is still on the frame. Taking it off and mounting it will remain a low priority until I need that frame for something else!

© Thistle Threads/Carol-Anne Conway

I resolved the dilemma of which frame to put my Phase V beading onto by purchasing a second 39 inch frame (Frame Five). No sooner had I finished stitching the Goldwork Sampler than I resumed work on the Pouchette. I am really enjoying beading at the moment and simply cannot find enough time for it.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Amazingly, Frame Four has remained empty for over a year but that is about to change. I have two projects vying for that position. The Oxford Branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild are holding a members’ exhibition in early spring. I would dearly like to submit a piece for it this time but am already concerned that I don’t have sufficient time to do what I have in mind. If I started now, I might feasibly finish it but the second project I want to do needs to be finished by early summer and that too will be a time consuming piece. I don’t think that I can complete both by the end of May. It looks like I am going to have to choose between them unless I put the beading away and concentrate on these two projects but I don’t want to do that either. It is more important to me to complete the second project, so I think that I will work on that next.

I have a really exciting trip to look forward in the first half of the year and an equally exciting class lined up for the summer. It promises to be great year I just need to find the time to fit everything in (and not take anything else on)!

Happy 2013