The girls drew self-portraits and I talked about Catherine of Aragon, though I didn't mention her name, just to see if they could guess who it was. They couldn't. I gave lots of hints about the husband--they guessed Charles I, Edward II, and Harold. Don't know who Harold is. Unless she was thinking about the last Viking, Harold Hadrata...not likely. Anyway, I said he had six wives and THEN they got it! Fun to watch those light bulbs go off. :)
I demonstrated the stitch, but we really ran out of time for them to practice enough, so they are having trouble working on it at home. Maybe I'll have a refresher course for next meeting and they can keep on working while we talk about other things, brainstorming how to change the world and stuff. I'm going to be meeting with Brownie leader and the Service Unit leader in a couple days to see if I can get more information about when the books are actually coming out and if there are any other online sources to consult to get a jump start on earning badges. I'm really irritated that they left us hanging without much to work from for the first part of the school year.
One of the things I was looking into was the "artist" badge that each level can earn, and it appears that there are no needlework or fiber-related badges anymore. Nothing. No quilting, knitting, weaving, sewing, embroidery...nothing. It's all drawing, painting, and that sort of thing. I think there's also a digital photography badge. OK... And geo-caching. Really? I don't have a GPS. I don't know how we're going to do this, but we're gonna wing it.
Anyway, I got a bit more done on my blackwork sampler. I decided to make a few of the blocks different sizes. I did a bit of research and it turns out these samplers were very common in the 1500s; this was a way to practice stitches and, I suppose, to use them as a reference later for when you want to do a big project or need a variety of patterns for a shirt, skirt, stomacher, or some other big garment. I'd like to try to make a garment with blackwork on it, so I might go down and pick up some wash-away stitching stuff I saw at the store. I think I'll need it to make a coif since I don't trust my linen to be even-weave. I need to look up the how-to on making a coif. When you start, they're just this rectangle with wavy edges (like these at left), then you sew one seam and it's a hat. I made one once but it turned out a funny size. Maybe I mis-measured or put it together wrong...I'll have to check that. This will count as my A&S 50 project as well as a costumer's guild Journeyman item. 
Dad sent me some pictures of the fishing adventure he and Cammie had last month. She had a blast hanging out with him and catching a few fish. And she looks just adorable in these armpit waders and fins. 
What's really funny is that with the sunglasses and hat, she looks an awful lot like my Dad. Without the cigar. She's really looking forward to going out again soon.
We've been running ragged this past week with soccer practices, games, Girl Scouts, karate, and school. Today was picture day at school followed by picture day for soccer teams. I ordered a group picture for each of Cammie's and Ben's teams, but I snuck this one while they were setting up. These really are a terrific bunch of girls. Not all of them are destined to be stars, but a couple of them may go on to play high school or college ball--they're good and passionate. One of them is new to our team this year--last year, her coach was not very supportive and critical of her speed and grace. Not a good experience for either of them. Our team isn't about that, so Coach P (on the right) asked her to join our team and she's having FUN! And that's the important part.I'll have to keep that in mind for scouts, too. Even if they don't earn badges, we can still have fun.
K
So sorry about the scouts ruining the badges. Too bad they didn't just add the new ones and leave the old ones in place for those who wanted to work on the "traditional" skills.
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