Yesterday was a washout as I made the decision not to get all sweaty yucky and try to compensate for Thursday's cleaning. I did one Good Thing for my current art project, and had a BLAST doing it. I dug into my library and found Valerie Campbell Harding's amazing book "Edges and Finishes in Machine Embroidery" to gain direction with the next step of the current piece. I expected to sit for a leisurely half hour and gently think, but in true Ropple fashion within a couple pages and five minutes my brain was off and running. Then it was zigzag all the way as I blended a neat braided yarn with a thin gold cord using variegated thread, and finally some metallic thread too. I made yardage of the stuff and know it will be wrapped and coiled, and beaded, to become a balanced part of the piece. As soon as the hands are working again. Grrrrr.
It is so therapeutic to play with textural materials. I am so grateful to the amazing authors of all the books I hoard and treasure for carving such an eccentric path with their accomplishments. Even if yesterday was mostly a washout, I was able to make this and open a new door onto using handmade cords as embellishments and edges. Niiiiiice. Cheers.