Slow stitching, a skirt, a stencil & some spools ...

Hello, and I'm happy to report that Kate Atkinson's 'Shrines of Gaiety' is a proving an excellent read, and I'm halfway through and lovin' it. Luckily I've finished the Jude Hill inspired slow stitching, so that's not a distraction any more. I was going to add further details to this - a couple more feathers, a stylized comet flaring through the sky, more spirals - but when I reached this stage it felt complete, as if adding more elements would make it too busy. I didn't get the expression on the moon's 'face' completely right, but it was as good as I could manage.

In between devouring chunks of 'Shrines of Gaiety', I nipped into town, and did the obligatory rummage around the charity shop, my purchases joining those from the other day. A pretty skirt that'll be cut up for patchwork - it's about a size 20, so there's lots of fabric to use - and that cost 99 pence. As did the stencil of the three kings bearing gifts. I want to stamp those onto plain material and embroider them in vivid colours.

Today I also found these beautiful wooden spools, six of 'em at 50 pence each. One even had the original paper around it, so the thread wasn't discoloured by age or dust, it still had that brand-new sheen to it.

There was a basket of old threads. Most were on plastic spools, but burrowing into the basket I found these vintage wooden ones.

Don't you love the old labels too?

The spools were a lot chunkier than the usual wooden ones I've previously bought, as you can see in the photo below where I've added a plastic spool for comparison.

Must've been my lucky day, huh?

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