A Sad Anniversary

Today marks the two year anniversary since my little friend left.

 

Six Months of Reduced Productivity

Today marks six months since my furry helper passed away. In some ways the time has flown by, and in other ways it has dragged beyond belief.
I've been sick almost constantly. I've tried to maintain a reasonable level of productivity, but it has been a real struggle. I underestimated just what a good 'helper' she was.

I miss her every day.

15th Birthday Celebrations!

I have previously shared the very upsetting news that my furry helper is slowly deteriorating due to congestive heart disease and kidney disease. Her vet has warned me that I will, in all likelihood, lose her before Christmas, so we are making the most of every day (in a slow and gentle way befitting an elderly lady who can't get too excited at the risk of a heart attack.)

My little friend recently had her 15th Birthday, and of course we had to celebrate.

The part she celebrated most of all was taking off the Birthday t-shirt, which stayed on for less than a minute! But she also did enjoy some special vegetable treats and gifts.

She has been a part of every single project since 2003. In the beginning, her 'help' mainly involved stealing threads, ripping up pattern paper, laying on my fabric and distracting me with requests for games. But over the years she has been my 'fabric inspector' and someone to bounce ideas off of. I honestly can't imagine sewing without her around, it just seems too bleak.

Stress Sewing A Chalice Cover

My furry little helper has been very ill lately. We had a public holiday here recently, and I was waiting to hear from the emergency vet on how she was responding to treatment. The hours were ticking by with no word. I was too agitated to work on anything for someone else, because my concentration was elsewhere. So I converted a vintage doily into a chalice cover for use at outdoor SCA events like tourneys. We have a real problem with European wasps here when it is warm, and a cover for my drink seemed like a good idea.

The original, vintage doily

I marked my heraldic design out by tracing it onto the linen doily with a removable pen, using a window as a light box.

The stitching is double running stitch with a double thread of DMC cotton floss. I'll admit that it is not terribly accurate stitching because my mind was elsewhere. I knotted the embroidery off on the back as this will be washed in the washing machine and needs to be sturdy.

When the main embroidery was done, I did a line of running stitch around the edge of the doily and also wove some floss around the needle lace edging.

Some beads were required to finish it off and add weight to the cover. I used some green glass beads and secured them with the embroidery floss.

My cover is very simple, but suits my needs. I had just finished pressing it when the crucial vet call came in, so the timing was good. Quick projects can sometimes be just what I need to get my motivation and enthusiasm for craftwork back.

Here are some SCA-period chalice covers (used in a religious context) in case you feel inspired to make something more complex:

Image from V&A Museum: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O125784/chalice-veil-unknown/

Chalice veil - Place of origin: England (made)
Date: ca. 1560 to ca. 1600 (made)
Materials and Techniques: linen, silk embroidery
Museum number: 1415-1874
Gallery location: In Storage

Image from: LACMA https://collections.lacma.org/node/224478

Chalice Veil -England, circa 1600
Costumes; ensembles
Linen plain weave with silk embroidery, metallic-wrapped thread lace
22 1/2 × 22 3/4 in. (57.15 × 57.79 cm)

''Shepheard Buss'' Textile held in the V&A, Image from https://www.pinterest.com.au/malcm2557/shepheard-buss/

Place of origin: England (made)
Date: 1570-1600 (made)
Materials and Techniques: Embroidered linen in silk, bobbin lace
Museum number: T.219-1953
Gallery location: British Galleries, Room 58, case 6
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78790/shepheard-buss-picture-unknown/

Russian Chalice Veil. Image from Pinterest https://www.pinterest.se/pin/386887424219161266/

Chalice veil Date: 16th century. Culture: Russian. Medium: Metal, silk Dimensions: 18 1/2 in. (47 cm). Classifications: Textiles-Embroidered, Textiles-Ecclesiastical.: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accession Number: 2009.300.3453
Attribution not confirmed.

A&S Century Challenge - Secret Scribey Projects

#100DaysofAS
I've been working on projects for other people and doing scribal work, so no photos. I do have a picture of my special helper. :-)

Doggy Zibbellino

My furry helper got a squeaky 'zibbellino' for Christmas!

(It was draped glamorously over one shoulder, but she just can't resist attacking it!)