Egads, I do an appalling amount of work...just reading my LJ for the year utterly exhausted me. I was thinking that I never get out, and then read about going to Florida and Las Vegas. I do think the quote I posted at the beginning of the year kinda sums it up:

January:

The difference between a creative person and a creative producer is hard work.
~~Mary Elaine Jacobsen, Psy.D.

( The rest of it back here.... )

Yea, verily I shall be there.

I know I shall likely see elfie_chan, alysaundre, shiningmoon, janabard, grian_ruadh, corvideye  and hrothgar1  there.

Who else? ariadne3? arianadream?

I shall be there (possibly even with bells on), with herodocles in tow (poor man!).

So...not the best pics, and it's on a men's dress form, but here it is, waiting for handwork:

My specialists office just called and my last blood tests came back fine.
I am officially released from having to see her.
I'm going to celebrate with some really dark beer a co-worker made for me.

I just had such and interesting moment on my Facebook...one friend from Australia, posting about it being too damned hot, and the next post another friend exclaiming that it's snowing in England.

Both really amazing women that I'm getting to know through electronic media, both amazingly talented in this weird land of historical costuming. Both of them part of what I consider my "tribe", people who understand the total "SQUUEEEE!!" associated with *finally* seeing the inside of an extant gown, the delight in draping a pattern just so, the love of our esoteric art.

More than anything else, LJ and Facebook have been a lifeline for me this last year. Those connections, those interactions, have helped me feel less isolated and weird and part of something.

Thank you, each and every one of you. You have no idea how much that means to me.

Found this on one of the crafting blogs
Faith, known to many as the Plimoth Plantation jacket project, is complete at last and was revealed on The Embroiderer’s Story blog on December 10. I’ve followed this project since my first day as a CraftGossip editor. I know the level of effort and expertise applied to it — by 260 volunteers! — and so I expected a lot; but the jacket goes far beyond my imaginings.
Publicity materials from Plimoth Plantation note,

Since the winter of 2006, the Museum has worked closely with historic needlework scholar, Dr. Tricia Wilson Nguyen, who has coordinated the unmatched creation of a woman’s 17th-century linen waistcoat lavishly embroidered in silk and gold. This unique and significant jacket is based on surviving pieces from the first quarter of the 17th century in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London, England. Additionally, because of the intricate and specific detail of this jacket project, historic metal threads that have not been in production for centuries, have been brought back, not just for use in this project but also for the general public too.
“It is interesting to note that the Museum’s research into these jackets has yielded several interesting discoveries, helping to recapture lost technologies, which have now been shared with the next-generation-needlework community and beyond,” said Ellie Donovan, Plimoth Plantation Executive Director. “Rediscovering lost technologies and sharing them with the world is at the heart of what we do at Plimoth Plantation, and it is of the utmost importance to future innovation in all areas.”

Congratulations to everyone involved in the project for its unqualified success. And sincere thanks for the education and entertainment the project has provided to needleworkers worldwide.
Read more about the jacket process at The Embroiderer's Story blog
Read more about Plimoth Plantation (Massachussetts, USA)

Edited to correct the state. My apologies to all former and current Bay Staters.

December 29th, Tuesday
December 30th, Wednesday


Where should we go?
What should we do?
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Where should we eat?
*grin*

Has arrived in Eugene, be careful coming south, gang!