Yesterday after work I trekked through the rain in search of crewel supplies. I bought Katherine Shaughnessy's book, The New Crewel, as an early Christmas present to myself and have yet to start on any of the projects. Well, that’s about to end. At least, I had hoped that it was about to end. I got home to discover that I had picked up tapestry wool instead of crewel wool. I seem to have a gift for this sort of thing. (Anyone need some pink and green tapestry wool?)

I know I should just ask better questions, but the store was slightly intimidating. The shop was in a high-end neighborhood, and there were a number of well dressed older ladies working on their projects and gossiping. (I overheard one woman say in a dramatic, scandalized whisper: “Oh yes, that’s right. That’s after she had embroidered the snowman.”) The store owner smiled at me, but I got the hint that I was intruding upon their social hour.

So I’ll need to get my act together and try a new store this week. There really is a wealth of inspiring places to find materials and ideas around here, and I thought I’d make a game of it. This week I’m going to try to go on at least 3 trips for inspiration and/or supplies. [Note: I’m going to count today’s trip to buy the Harry Potter DVD since that’s a crucial backdrop to any project making.]

If I find anything good, I’ll let you know.