Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Hello Rainbow!

Hi Guys,

Hooboy, where does the time go? Sorry I've been a little MIA lately, I've been slowly working my way through some crafty stuff, but I don't have anything I can share just yet, gotta love the super secret stuff. I wish I could say I've been more productive. Seems lately the more I have to do, the less I'm able to actually do it. I'm in the home stretch on three different projects for three special ladies so I should have something to share soon, promise.

In the meantime, I do have something that I think was so special. I know it's going back a little ways but this deserves its moment in the sun. Many months ago (I think) I may have mentioned to Jill that I'd always wanted a rainbow cake. Just in passing. That lady has the ears of a fox! The weekend after my birthday we'd made plans to go out to San Francisco to the Crown & Crumpet, which we did, it was perfect and lovely of course. But when she showed up at my house the morning we left for the city, she was carrying this...

BEHOLD!!

 Awww yeeeah!

Before we left, I had to have a piece. We took it out on the patio, it was a nice morning.

Dig those lovely colors!

This made me so happy, I can't believe she did this just for me for me!
What a pal!!

Thank you Jill, you are wonderful! Isn't she wonderful?? Yes, she is.

oxo,
Lisa


Monday, September 5, 2011

That's How I Roll

Boy, it sure is nice to have an extra day off from work. Happy Labor Day everyone!

Now that my package is safely (fingers crossed) winging it's way to its new owner (and because I don't think she knows I have a blog), I can share with you guys the piece I made for the most recent Phat Quarter Embroidery Swap, the theme of this swap: Food!

Excellent, who doesn't like food? This is a swap I can really sink my teeth into, harr-harr.
My partner, told me that her favorite foods were Indian & Sushi. Not knowing much about Indian cuisine, I went with sushi.

Three happy, little sushi rolls.

I used felt applique for the body of the rolls, then embellished with several other kinds of stitching. Lots of French knots, a bit of beading, padded satin stitch, straight stitches comprised the ingredients to my sushi.

Their smiley faces are done with open lazy daisies, and their garnish is done in long, straight stitch. I used satin stitch and an oriental font that I found for free online to trace on and fill in the words at the top.

Here's how I've been finishing my hooped, embroidery pieces lately. I trim the fabric to about 1/2", then use a thin bead of hot glue just inside the edge of the inner hoop, and fold, fold, fold down the fabric as neatly as I can. Then I use white felt, cut to exactly the inside hoop diameter. I spray the felt with adhesive, then carefully lay the felt inside the hoop. This is a one & done kind of deal, that spray adhesive is seriously sticky, and you can't move the felt once it touches the back of the embroidery, so this step always a bit nerve wracking for me, but I really like the results. In this instance I made and attached a note for my partner before I sprayed and added the felt to the back of the hoop. 

I also made an extra little goodie for my partner, a bottle-cap pin cushion in the shape of a sushi roll, it was fun and quick. I hope she likes it.

This was a one way swap, so I received my piece from a different partner. I love what I got!
 My partner, Pam asked me if I liked The Simpsons, and if I was a meat eater? Yes & yes!

The words are a bit of dialog from the episode called "Lisa The Vegetarian", an episode with Paul & Linda McCartney! How rad is that? I ♥ Paul McCartney.

Oh Homer, you always deliver the giggles. You can check out his disbelieving thoughts on where bacon, ham & pork chops come from here. So funny!
Pam is one heck of a stitcher, you can see her other work here.
Thanks Pam, I really dig what you've made for me, it's currently living on my kitchen counter, and I also have a strong craving for bacon!

This was a fun one, the Phat Quarter swaps never disappoint!
Whad'ya think?

oxo,
Lisa

p.s. MY SHUSHI PIECE WAS FEATURED TODAY ON CRAFT GOSSIP!! Yes, I was yelling, sorry about that, I'm just so thrilled and honored!  Heeeheeeeheeee!!!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Too Pretty To Pass Up

Hi Kids,
I hope you're all enjoying a long holiday weekend.

Yesterday was pretty productive for me, not in the creative sense, although I got a little work done last night on a small antique quilt I bought a few weeks ago. All the hand tied points need to be redone, they're falling apart and a bit delicate. I snipped them all out and retied two rows, but not much else as far as stitching and sewing. Lord knows I've got plenty to do, I just can't concentrate properly right now, most of my focus is elsewhere... I'll share this with you guys in due time.

We got out bright & early, Sean and I, and our dogs, Butch & Lola went downtown for breakfast, we sat outside on a patio and watched our little town come to life. It was a nice scene, one I don't get to witness often. The dogs loved getting treats (most of my bacon) under the table, and watching people pass by.

Later on I accidentally did a little antique shopping, you guys know how that goes, right? You don't mean to, but you see that the store is open, so you decided to pop in for a sec, just to see if there's anything new. Not going to buy anything, oh no, no... but... well, you end up finding just a couple of things. That's what happened to me yesterday. I picked up a handful of new-to-me stitchies, none of which were priced yet. When I inquired about a price, the lady asked me if I thought $1 each sounded fair? Let me tell you, I whipped out a fiver faster than you could say "jack-flash"!

I think this might be a small table runner, the stitching is about 12" across. It's brand spanking new, not a single blemish. It looks like it could have been finished yesterday, and then folded up and tucked into a drawer.

I think this is a small napkin, but I couldn't resist it's charm. I think it'll look great under a candle or whatnot.

I think this next piece is machine stitched, but the stitching is with a single thread, it's very delicate, and old. It's also brand new, still has the sticker on the back from China. I think it's might be a hand towel, but I'm not sure, the fabric is very thin, maybe it's a napkin also.

And then there's this, isn't it pretty? I have the perfect place to put it this Christmas, over an antique plant stand from Sean's grandparents estate.

This last piece is a vintage pillow case which I thought was so pretty, and so finely stitched, I had no choice but to rescue it. It's also in pretty good condition, with only a small spot of yellowing, some of the stitching has come out, but I think I can fiddle with that. After consulting my stitchy peeps, I gave it a nice long soak in a basin of cold water and Oxyclean, then a delicate wash in the machine with Woolite. It's currently out drying on the patio.

Isn't this a cute scene?

The handsome gentleman.

A lovely lady, I can see now that her umbrella is missing most of it's handle, yes a repair is in order.

Look at how finely stitched the trim on her bodice is! That is tiny, tiny blanket stitch. I think it's gorgeous, even if it isn't as perfect as it could be. Someone stitched this with a lot of care, and I'm so happy to have it. No life safely stashed in a closet for these two, they will be used and loved by me.

The pretty edging is done in pink & white crochet, lovely. I need to learn how to do this. Does anyone know if it's hard? It looks hard...

EDIT:
Just to share a bit of happy news, and some 'after' pictures. The Oxyclean worked perfectly! After a quick iron, my new pillow case looks great and ready to use for a nap!


Have you had any good thrifty finds lately? Tell me all about it!
oxo,
Lisa

p.s. I don't know why my pictures are coming out so blue?! Anyone have any idea? These pieces are all snowy white. I don't get it, I need photo lessons...