Wednesday in Changsha – Embroidery Institute

Once again we were all up early, had breakfast and were ready at 9 am to tour the Embroidery Institute. Talk about impressive. Penelope was born in 2010, the year of the Tiger and coincidentally in Changsha they are known for their embroidered tigers. In embroidering tigers there are two specific different types of stitches one for the tiger fur which is a technique of 12 layers of silk to produce the fur effect, the other is a circular pattern of 120 circles that create the tiger eye. The embroidered art we saw looked like photographs they were so well done. The other type of embroidery they are known for is two sided, it is hung vertically in a frame that spins and on each side there is only one piece of fabric but on both sides there are two different pictures, and totally different colors on each side, it is amazing how they can hide the silk colors from the other side and create a totally different scene. From there it was off to a “mall” in hopes of finding Gramma a crochet hook (lost in the last airplane) but to no avail. It was fun looking at the yarn stores. A trip to the grocery and pizza for lunch and we spent the rest of the afternoon in our hotel as it was once again, cold, wet, and rainy outside. We are all looking forward to Guangzhou.

It was a bittersweet day with Penelope. This morning we had her giggling, laughing, and all smiles. She is so beautiful when she smiles, she lights up and that twinkle in her eye comes out and you see her personality. After the embroidery tour she was so tired and would not lay down for a nap. She screams and cries if I am not holding her high on my hip and standing. As soon as I sit down or lay down with her she starts crying. After trying multiple options and experimenting with every scenario, all which lead to much crying she finally fell asleep on my lap on the couch, in a not so comfortable position for either of us. Then later that evening when we were all tired and ready for bed she wasn’t happy with either the crib or our bed, so she cried in her crib. I guess just like some say with birthing labor, we forget all the growing pains until you are experiencing them again. We had to work out a system with Violet and she does great now, it will be the same with Penelope. One thing is for sure… Penelope has a beautiful laugh and sure is ticklish; we have been blessed again with another beautiful daughter!