I’m almost embarrassed to say
What I’m doing today.
With all the hype around here
(‘Cuz the sun’ll disappear)
The topic is almost cliché!

It’s true. I’m eclipse watching today. I contemplated packing along some needlework, because I’ll be stuck away from home for about seven hours while the sun and moon are not really doing anything too different from what they normally do…

…except for that 2 minutes and 38 seconds of daylight darkness!

But the dirt, the humidity, the sunscreen and the sweat that coincide with the Midwest in August – coupled with crowds of Celestially Enthusiastic People, the chance of thunderstorms, and no real bathrooms – isn’t all that conducive to embroidery. I’m leaving the stitching behind.

Good morning, and a Happy Monday all around!

Today, just a quick little freebie for you! This is a pattern I’ve been playing with off and on for a while, with the hopes of stitching it. I even got as far as picking out threads and colors, but I’ve never actually gotten to the embroidery. Who knows? Maybe one day!

It’s not on my current list of stuff to get done, though, which means it won’t happen too soon, so I thought I’d share the pattern, anyway. Maybe it’ll tickle your fancy, too!

You’ve probably gathered that I have a tiny weakness for good needlework books. I really do. And I’m weird about them, because, whether or not I use them as they are intended to be used – i.e. to stitch a project from, to learn a specific technique – I always read them.

I like to read needlework books like other people like to read novels. I read needlework books from cover to cover. And I get a lot of pleasure out of doing so. I also learn a lot.

There’s always something to learn from a needlework book, and reading one from cover to cover is kind of like a treasure hunt, wherein you gather up little morsels of knowledge, little surprises about approaches, techniques, designs, color choices that you never considered and that make you say, Wow. What a neat idea! or Golly, why didn’t I ever think of that?.

Oh, my friends. I’ve done it again!

I flubbed up!

And I’m feeling rather sheepish about it.