A Stitch in Time . . .

My favourite embroidery shop has just joined Facebook and what do I find when I become a fan but the most fabulous and exciting news that Jane Nicholas is going to be conducting Master Classes on the medieval mirror.  But not only that, there is the choice of doing a peacock and grapevine as well.What to do?


Mirrors were so important in myth and legend.  Speakers of truths, portals to other worlds, and just plain looking glasses for those lucky enough to afford them.  There is also something reminiscent of Adelina’s work in The Stumpwork Robe and The Last Stitch in the mirror and perhaps I just have to sign up for that class.

But the peacock and grapevine remind me of the Moorish-inspired work that Lalita would have seen as she was imprisoned in the seraglio in A Thousand Glass Flowers, as the book seems destined to be named.  So perhaps I should do that course instead.  Some very clever stitchers manage to do the two classes, that’s a week of intricate stitching, classwork and busy homework so that one is ready for the next day.

I couldn’t.  My peepers would look as if someone had stitched red thread all over, my mind would be jelly and any thought of being able to continue to write fiction through this process would be . . . unlikely.

Ah well, perhaps like Finnian in A Thousand Glass Flowers, destiny must be decided in the flip of a coin.  I shall call tails and let you know . . .

By the way, you can find my favourite embroidery shop at:

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandy-Bay-Australia/A-Stitch-in-Time/266975651457)