Embroidery as Camouflage

Why I left a skirt that only needed a waistband and a hem as an unfinished object for more than a year is a mystery to me. Several times I took it out of storage, putting it in the things-to-do pile in my kitchen work area — so many times, that it eventually faded from exposure to the bright morning sunshine. The hem and waist band took about an hour. It only took a couple of evenings to run the band of flowers and squiggles around the hem to help camouflage the fading. Then, I read a little of the Alabama Stitch book and realized that I needed to tack down all those flower petals. The stitches are bigger than a quarter inch, which is the the longest stitch length recommended to avoid snagging. It took another couple nights just to do the tacking, which gives the once rounded petals a slightly weird geometric look. Now, I'd love to make one of those gorgeous skirts from the book, which at my rate could take about ten years.