What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 856

Well that was a week!

My Workdesk is unchanged in terms of any sort of action except the dumping kind...but silver lining - I've dumped actual Christmas presents on it! They aren't hand made or anything but of course they are a secret at least until they're wrapped. And that will happen soon because that's my one solid plan this year - I am not going to spend a whole day or however many evenings it takes to wrap all the presents. I'm wrapping as I go (excluding the fancy bows etc), and then they can be stored in a box in the room of shame, just as they would be normally only more ready than not. I'm determined!

So, for a photo...

This is what I'm calling the desk. It's just the kitchen worktop but shows the crochet off. Originally I had the idea to make some placemats with this gorgeous teal cotton. A rectangle of blue in moss stitch with a silvery subtle decorative edge. Sounds nice, but it's not going well. And this is about the fifth attempt. The cotton is so fine and satin smooth that the foundation chain looks horribly scrappy. If I can't get one to look right, a set of six may will be beyond me. Any tips?

I have sad news to impart. We were joined at some point in the WOYWW story by Tertia. A South African mother, teacher and crafter. She didn't join in much after she retired but we stayed in touch by Facebook, as I'm sure a few of us have. I was really saddened to see that her family posted details of a commemorative service for her probably only a handful of days after I'd seen one of her regular posts. Hr posts were always loving, usually involving pride in her family or celebrating the success of a former pupil.  Absolutely no doubt that the world is a poorer placed without Tertia and isn't it true that condolences just don't seem enough.