…bless our pad?
When we were in Portland last December we did our fair share of thrifting. While in one shop that was a particular favorite when we lived there, I stumbled upon something that looks like this:
I was all, let’s get it! Let’s get it! And Sean was all, “We don’t have room for it in the suitcase, etc. etc. etc.” Later we went back to see if it was there, and it was, of course, gone. I mourned the loss (is it a loss?) of something that wasn’t ours, and then kind of got over it.
…UNTIL the other day, when I started googling. I found a poster version, but that’s not what I wanted. THEN, I found the pattern for sale on Ebay for $4. I snapped it up and began my foray into embroidery.
I learned something Very Important while at the craft store: if you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing, ask for help. I very humbly (and even excitedly) asked for help, and discovered that while wool yarn might be more authentic to the 70s nature, embroidery floss would be much easier (and way cheaper). I also discovered that embroidery needles are really tiny like sewing needles (for some reason I was imagining something like knitting needles). I had no idea what size embroidery rings to get, so I bought all three that they had — they were like $1 each.
Here’s what I’ve got so far:
My biggest concern when I started was that I wouldn’t find the time to finish. I actually began this on the way to a wedding five hours away, but I had to rip out everything I did because I made it WAY too big. I’ve been happy to find out that between two jobs and a little kid I do actually have the time — I just have to make it. Sometimes I’ve stayed up until one or so, watching Human Planet and working on this. Other times I take Jasper downstairs and let him run around, bouncing balls and being crazy, while I work on this. I don’t ignore him, and this is usually for 15 or so minutes until he wants to do something else, but it’s still something.
I’ll post more photos soon! I’ve made some progress, added flowers, and deviated from the original map, so we’ll see how it turns out.
