Needlework Projects 1995

Tedious – according to two dictionaries I have means wearisome and/or boring.  I don’t necessarily agree.  Some of the needlework I do is ‘close’ work requiring patience and it’s challenging, to say the least, but certainly not boring.

One day this week, it fell my lot to do two jobs that were very tedious and very tiring.  A friend wrote a note on a card with tatting attached and my immediate thought was “Oh, I can do some of these for gifts.”   Well, it was fun doing the tatting, even though tedious.  To begin with I painted (and I can’t paint) foliage stems and leaves on blank writing notes.

Then to the matter of gluing the tiny tatted ringlets in place so that they look like blossoms – first the ringlets were dipped in Elmer’s Glue (one by one), removed with a toothpick and then placed in proper position on the notecard.  On the sample the blossoms are painted; however, I really like my tatted blooms (ah!) and have opted to leave them just as they are.

To add insult to injury, another friend sent a sample using the tatting in a little different way and I wanted to try it, too.  Am I ever gullible!  With this method, three ringlets with long threads (stems) were tied together with another piece of thread to make a bow.  Tedious!!!!  I have finished enough for two givings and I quit.

That same day I decided to complete a job started by a very crafty lady.  Mairlyn had constructed three Santas from an old quilt I had given her.  They were to be gifts given by me and I wanted to make the bags, attach them to the backs of the Santas and then stuff the bags with miniature toys – or whatever.  At least that’s what I thought I wanted to do!  Tedious is not the proper term for this task –

it would have to be something stronger.  I had never even held a hot glue gun in my hand to say nothing about using one.  With the tiny items gathered together and the gun plugged in to heat, I lined up the Santas to do what I expected to be a minor procedure – wrong!

Just to find a few scraps of Christmas greenery turned out to be a major  job (any other time I would see bits of greenery as I looked for something else).  Pulling down a big box that I knew contained greenery, I discovered a batch of ornaments made several years ago which needed hangers (another job for the glue gun).

As I pushed a tiny car into a bag, two other items hopped out and went all the way to the floor.  Now I had to hold the bag, keep what was in it from falling out and retrieve the fallen items.  How did I get into this?

By the time I finished, my fingers were burned (as well as stuck together) my shoulders hurt, my neck hurt – even my elbows hurt, but I had three cute Santas, hangers applied to ornaments and a few note cards for giving.  But never again!!

Next year I hope I remember to shop at the junk store and just stay with crocheting, knitting, tatting, smocking or whatever I can do with a needle and enjoy country living.