and time passes

Convention has come and gone.   It was a wonderful week.

In the pleater class I took with Judith Adams I learned how to roll oddly shaped fabric onto a dowel rod and get it through the pleater in record time.  The next day, in another class with Judith,  I accidentally pulled a couple of pleating threads out of the bishop top I was working on and had that sucker unpleated, pressed, re-rolled and repleated in less than 6 minutes.  When you consider that this included rethreading the stupid pleater needles, this is awesome!  Seriously, this class was worth the price of the entire convention. 

Somehow, I managed to lose the porcelain half-doll for my pin cushion and my dowel rod for pleating at the hotel.  They didn't turn up in the hotel lost-and-found, so I'm on the hunt for a new half-doll.  It would be tragic if I had to take a ceramics class and actually make one.  Wouldn't it?

Miss Buford's Bonnet was another fun class.  I got the threads pulled for hemstitching and a few other bits of the bonnet prepared, but it will be a few weeks before I finish it as I have to continue working on my nephew's Christening gown. P I'd like to have it in the mail by the 15th.  The slip is half done, and the gown is cut out.  I'm misplaced all the laces I bought- I know they are in the sewing room, I just can't remember where I put them when I needed to do something else on the ironing board. ) I don't remember learning the trailing stitch in class, which is a good bit of the bonnet embroidery. Hopefully I can find a video on the internet. 
   I love to look at Jeannie's work.  Check out her blog at http://oldfashionedbaby.blogspot.com/ .  Her designs, with are mostly based on vintage and antique garments that she's collected, are lovely, and her stitching is absolutely exquisite! 

I'm still suffering with the remainder of the poison sumac rash I picked up back in early August.  A side effect of my fibromyalgia is that my histamine cells are a bit excitable, so when I get a rash, it likes to spread.  I haven't noticed any new blisters since the 28th....but geez, I am tired of being itchy.

The next SAGA convention is going to be in my town, Pittsburgh, PA.  While the hotel isn't the most convenient for off-site excursions, it's well laid out, has plenty of natural lighting in the classrooms.  They have both and indoor and outdoor pool, and don't close the outdoor one until the weather actually gets cold!  I am very much looking forward to staying there. 
"What?" I hear you ask..."You're going to stay in the hotel in your own city? "  Oh, you bet I am.  I live on the southeast side of town and the hotel is on the northeast side.  (you can look up Highland Park and GreenTree on a google map if you like) Traveling across the rivers at 8am is Not Fun In Any Way, and driving home after a day of classes and extra activities such as meetings and Design Show and a Wee-Care workshop doesn't sound like a lot of fun, either.  At least half the fun of convention is hanging out with other stitchers, which I can't do at home.