secret revealed

See, I told you I had a good reason to be ignoring my cq!

I promise to have some pictures later.

and yes I know there is an extra l in celebrate! I didn't catch it when I ordered them.
and if you saw what kind of spelling mistakes I usually have, you be impressed that that's the only one that got by me! ha!

I am getting some champaign now......cheers!

Happy Yule!

may he touch you with his noodley appendage

wedding belt and vest

 I have finally finished both of these
 and just in time too

 I started them so long ago now I have forgotten the last post i did of them.

 here's a better picture of the peacock
the last one was yellow and dark




and I finally found a white vest!
you'd think there would be more of these things lying about in stores
but no.
I had to order it special after I found it on line.
Its a lovely white linen

I added a few things to it

And so it's christmas

hello all! and a happy holidays to you all!

I have decided this year, as I do almost every year, to forgo the mall crawl mind numbing sameness of the "traditional" shopping season and stay home making Christmas presents from parts bought at local businesses.

I hate this time of year, not for the reasons you think ( though there are those too!).

the rampant commercialism and ruining of this years thanksgiving peace, was the last straw in a growing list of grievances with the walmarts and targets of the world.

at this point I'd rather pay and extra dollar at my local store than go to any one of them for anything.




anyway, I put the tirade at the end of the post, for those who simply wish to enjoy the eyecandy without the vitriol.

 I have been working on these little beauties for a month now and have gotten it down to a science!

I can do 2 1/2 in a day if I put the radio on.

so far I have made 20 phew!

 obviously not all of them are here some have been sent off to their new homes.

I have also been working on and off on Uncle the Monks coat of arms. I am in, various shades of blue split-stitch hell, right now and will get pictures when there are any new developments because it looks the same as last time just more blue.

 the other projects I am currently ignoring in favor of the holidays are Skellie, my faerie project and the lace and pearls rr which we all decided to ignore for the holidays.

so you understand why I have been inordinately silent, there will be big news (for me anyway) in the new year, which I am currently obsessing over and will let you in on when it's all done.


and yes, here is the end of my aforementioned soapbox tirade.  I felt the need to unburden.


I'm not going to go on about corporate greed and their willing minions in congress, form the gist of this post I think you already know where I'm going and either agree or don't so I won't bore you here.

Except to say, I vehemently disagree with the way the season is being used, by all parties to fleece on of the hard earned and paltry scheckles we have left at the end of the year.
This includes the church, who lost my interest, with their treatment of the abused children and their adamant refusal to do the right thing in dealing with the priests.
then there's  congress who can't seem to get out of their own way to get anything done.
I didn't agree with the GOP before but at least they could get their jobs done.
Now it seems they revel in the fact that they don't do anything and are being paid quite well for it thankyou.
PTHHHH! if there is any justice in the Universe they will all be out on their collective hinies  in 2014 and 2016.

WTF??!    If any of us behaved that way at work we'd be fired tomorrow. why can't we apply the same metric to them? I could go on and have at length I will stop now.
grumble, grumble, fuss, fuss, fuss..............

the munk from uncle part deux

These are the colors of trebizond silk I chose for uncle Carl's coat of arms.

I haven't decided yet to do the outer rim in goldwork or not, would it be too much or just enough?
would it clash or diminish the big maltese  or enhance it?

decisions, decisions.....

 to help the silk lay flat you need to give it an under layer of thread or felt, depending on the loft you want to give it.

I chose to give the blue waves minimal loft and used a neutral DMC floss for the under layer

 the stem and leaf of the lily came next

I used a cross over leaf stitch for the leaves as it looks stunning in the finished  product









and here are the lilies finished in satin stitch and french knots

I have started the underlay for the crosses and the arms that go with the first cross.
though I need the anchors for the second cross before I start that part of the project.


I have started the background of the shield in a lighter blue I am variegating it because I haven't decided if I want to add a slight gradation of darker blues going up to the top. this was depicted in the initial picture but I'm not sure I want to do this.

I also need to add another layer to the book on the right side I want it to look like an open book before I set the lettering 

also just received the flur de lis
for the corners  when I get to that part they will look lovely!

The monk from "Uncle"

 Let me preface this by saying,
My family is weird.

I know we all have pockets of odd in our families but I have one branch that is entrenched in it's strangeness.

I also know some of you will try to tell me I'm the one that's weird and well,

That's Ok because I embraced my peculiarities a long time ago and am comfortable with them.

Franciscan cross

One of my Uncles has become (ordained?) as a monk of the knights of Malta at the rare old age of 79 (or so)

and I have been asked to make him his very own personal coat of arms

and for anyone who knows me, this is funny af all by itself.

but that's not why, I feel my family is so odd

Notre dame cross

I am the logical person to ask, as I am the one with those skills.

It's that I was asked to do so by my uncle the Buddhist.

cross representing philosophy and the law

 I am an Atheist BTW just so you understand why I'm giggling through all this.

I thought you all would like to see the process I go through to design and map out a large sewn piece like this.


I will also take you through some of the imagery and why it's so personal to my Uncle.

 the three crosses represent the religious orders in which he was taught the first for the Franciscan order who taught him in grad/High school.
 the 2nd and 3rd are for Notre Dame where he went for collage and  graduate school.

the lilies represent Mary, the script on the left the hosanna, uncle has sung in the church since he was a choir boy, and LEX CHRISTI< LEX CARITAS, for the law as he was a lawyer for 40 years

 the three waves are for Lacrosse where the three rivers come together, the black the snake and the mississipppi.

all on a large maltese, the rosary all around and the maltese cross dangling to a banner (not yet drafted) at bottom reading OBLITUS MEI

I drafted out the whole thing on a large sheet of drawing paper in pencil,

then traced over this with black sharpie,

then transferred this onto the 18"x18" piece of ecru linen, I will be using for the base, with a blue water soluble pen

as this is going to be mostly sewn in trebizond silks and stretched on a frame it should be safe from disaster but one can never tell at this stage.

 I am hoping to start on it soon and show my progress as i,
                          well progress.

I don't know how long it's going to take I also don't know if i actually have the skills and patience to get this all done in a timely manner.

so it's an adventure in sewing possibilities for me and I hope you all come along with me

P&L and the new oven saga

I promised you pictures of Suzies block when I finished with it. here it is the last time you saw it

not too bad but a bit empty. though I do like this fan seam treatment

 and this little bit of sre, the butterfly was a piece of jewelry from one of the girls that I kept he looks comfy sitting there in that branch doesn't he?


now for the new stuff, its not much but it makes this corner look more complete.

I added 2 MOP chinese characters that used to be earrings I no longer use.

 since Suzie loves all things oriental I thought she would like them.
 I also added more bitty butterflies and a fuzzy catterpiggle.

uh-oh, he looks hungry!

there plenty of room for the others and it looks "finished".

 In other news, I got a new oven! woo!Woo!

our best guess for the old on is that it is original to the house.

that would make it almost 50!

It looks 50, doesn't it?

poor old thing it worked hard over the years

 our problem was finding a new stove that fit in the dimensions of the old, cause if you notice the dishwasher has Just thees much clearance.

when we put the new stove in the 1st time it was 1/8th of an inch too wide,

AHHHHGGG!

so a week of the new stove in the middle of the floor
yes, we plugged it in and made pizza anyway!  ;)

then we had to dismantle the bottom shelf of the cabinet overhead and raise the stove up 4".

4" is a lot when your trying to horse a 100lb stove into a precise hole with two people!


but it's in! YAAhHHHH!

I'm making cookies!

Pearls and lace RR

 remember that pile I showed you earlier?

well It had some more stuff in it,

I'm currently doing the Pearls and Lace Traditional #3(?) RR with Talia, Pam, Therisa and Donna







this is Donna's block

isn't it lovely?
she wants to make it into a purse when we're all done with it.

what i find hardest about being the first person on a block is knowing when to stop.

I want to get my idea's down but I don't want to take up all the real estate either








what I have done so far is to frame the center with lace, motifs and pearls








I took one of the motifs she left in the bag a fan and embellish that with my own hand dyed flowers and a few fronds

then added this little fellow to watch over the proceedings






 this is Suzies block 

she had to drop out of the official RR unfortunately. she had a windfall and is going to be moving away (WAA!)

but we didn't let that stop her form participating!

we all meet every wednesday and can pass it off any old time,  she gets to have fun when she can make it in.

 I have a few more things to throw at this one so I'll show you the finished picture later.

catching up

 my to do pile is growing!











 she is going to be a pouch/purse at some point

right now, she is misbehaving and being very difficult to pin down

the pearblossom boy is also being recalcitrant!

I have gotten this far with him and he refuses to help me with the rest!

*SIGH*







skellie is the only one of my "artsy" projects that is at all cooperating.

I added a row of beading
and some more fill under the chair. also filled in the eyes and hearts.
those ribs are going to be interesting though........

scissorland

I'm a scissor girl!
are you a scissor girl/boy too?



like anyone who deals with sewing or fabric I have a special relationship with my scissors.
Therica over at pigtails and quilts is running a ginger giveaway through kens sewing center so if you want to try for a pair I recommend them.









 I have 2 pair 1 pair pinking shears that were my Mother-in-laws, they came to me after she died in 93, and are still sharp cutting 4+ layers at a time! the others were hers also and they are my go-to pair for anything dressmaking pattern wise




my other pair of  go-to's are 3 olfa cutters and my pink skull and crossbones fiskars which are sharp, sharp, sharp!
best for piecing and patching. I can make nice clean edges with these babies!

they live with my Viking Lily whom I LOVE in spite of her tension issues.





this pair are actually cuticle scissors masquerading as thread snips, they came in one of those manicure kits you never use but always used to get from relatives who apparently think we as youthes were laking in hygiene

the fob is made from a rosary give by my grammi ( it was blessed by pope jp)
poor old thing was terribly neglected
( i'm an atheist what am I going to do with a rosary?) but it was a gift from grammi so there it sits appreciated for it's utility and not the purpose for which it was meant. 

old ones

 these are my traveling scissors I had to get a new pair as the old ones were dull as ditch water. the new are cheep DMC so I don't mind loosing them. they are a pretty purple and go with me when I take classes,go to cq group or travel anywhere else.
 

 these are the first pair of quality scissors I ever bought for my self back when I worked for Hoffritz cutlery, in highschool. I was so proud of them, they are now my utility cut paper or whatever scissors




 everyone should own a pair of hemostats but do they count as scissors?
meh!
they are uber-useful so why not?











this brings me to my pair of Case scissors, whisper silent and sharp as the dickens! don't get you finger caught in these, It will hurt....A LOT!  

and my "real" thread snips they are so old the their corners are nicely rounded.
the fob on this one is special too.

I made it from beads and ric-rack I had on hand when I moved to washington 4 years ago so I would stop loosing them under things.
the netsuke I found at the puallup sew expo at a time I was really missing my girls. It seemed to be kismet and reminded me of the two of them, as one or the other always seemed to be dragging the other around, depending on which way up the piece was!

my youngest was nicknamed mouse the day after she was born because she made little hummy squeekie noises when she slept, that sounded like a pet mouse I had as a child.
My eldest girl on her 7th birthday we took a visit to china town in chicago and came across a 10 gallon tank full of about 50 1" baby turtles being sold for $10.00 each all 3 begged for a turtle she was the only one who took care of her though and was turtle crazy for the next 10 years or so.



my chicken shears!
will cut through a whole chicken like butter, including the breast bone.


don't fillet without them!






now the bachelor scissors!
does every unattached male have a pair of these in their cabinet?
they barely cut nails let alone hair and every bachelor seems to have a pair they use for everything.











 the other pair of scissors I bought while at Hoffritz were a pair of hair scissors so I could (finally) cut my bangs straight.

 I use them to trim my Fiancée now.
none of them have let me down (except the bachelor scissors)


whats your scissor tale?