Wow, this week has been a whirlwind! I was busy plotting and preparing and being anxious all week. I shouldn't worry so much, everything usually aways comes out great. Earlier in the week, I eluded to a surprise that I was planning for my husband. Here it is in all it's geeky glory! I surprised my darling with 2 tickets to see the Star Wars in Concert Symphony Orchestra! I scored major points for this little secret, Sean LOVES Star Wars! We had fantastic seats too, 4th row front & center, thank you eBay!!
This event is the coolest I've been to in a long time. I really think George Lucas loves his fans, and makes every effort to make all things tied to Star Wars extraordinary, the Star Wars in Concert tour is being accompanied my a mobile museum of artifacts, some of which have never been seen outside of Skywalker Ranch. I took tons of pictures, but I'm only posting a few otherwise this post will get WAY out of hand. 
This is Boba Fett, he is Sean's most favoritest dude. A bad guy, a bounty hunter. Sean always likes the bad guys... I don't know why that is. I guess I should first start by saying that Sean is a HUGE Star Wars fan. He was in 3rd grade in 1977 when the first movie, Star Wars: A New Hope came out in theaters. His mom took him out of school for the afternoon to go see the movie, a very special treat indeed. It's been a life long affair ever since. Here are a few scans of Sean when he was a wee little nerd. He's different ages in all of these snapshots (and isn't he the cutest little 70's dork you've ever seen?? Eee, I loves him!)... and yet there's something similar in all three photos... can you guess what that might be?
Hmm, let's see... Star Wars toys in the car, a Star Wars Mug at Christmas, and Star Wars sheets on his bunk at camp... See the obsession growing here? Sean had everything, and I do mean everything Star Wars related when he was a boy, he's not much different as an adult :o)Hahaha... it's ok, I have too many obsessions of my own to count, and he tolerates, and sometimes encourages each and every one of them.
These guys are creepy and I like it!! Sean tells me that they are Imperial Guards. There's something lethal about them covered head to toe in flowing velvet, and slightly haunched in the shoulders. Quite menacing, I assure you. Even on a mannequin encased in a glass box.
I'm not much of an aficionado of Star Wars myself, I've seen all the movies (numerous times) but they don't seem to stick... I can't remember the details. Science fiction involving space fighting isn't really my thing, but there's one that I do like... I dig me some Ewoks! Remember these guys? Aww, aren't they cute?!? They're like buck-toothed teddy bears! And yet fierce little buggers, I'm told. I wouldn't want to stumble upon one on a moonlit night on Endor.
Here we are in the lovely city of Coruscant. The seat of galactic government, Coruscant is alive with glittering lights and rivers of traffic, a bustling megalopolis that refuses to sleep. Like San Francisco, with less crime.
Here is the man of the hour with two Stormtroopers. The one on the right is "a little short for a Stormtrooper" so that must be Luke. That means the one on the left must be Han Solo! Excuse me a minute...run, run, run, tackle, scuffle, *forcibly removing helmet*, ooh, it IS Han Solo! Schwaa, kiss, kiss, kiss... 
Ahhh, the music! The reason we're all here! This is a piece of original score by John Williams, the composer of the music featured in all six Star Wars films. He is prolific and so amazing, his music has moved us all at one time or another. Truly, whether you've known it or not, you would have had to live under a rock to not have heard his music in your life, especially in the last part of the 2oth century. God Bless this man, he's made so many people happy.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU6846aUWgY
Here is a few minutes of viedo I took of the opening sequence, it's a little shaky, but you get the picture, enjoy! (I hope this loads right...) *EDIT* Darn it, it isn't working right... I'll keep working on it... in the mean time, I've posted a link above.
Encore! Encore! Wow! Goosebumps, fire, smoke and lasers, this night had it all! I wish we could go again! Sean and I had a great time. Needless to say (I hope) my suprise was a raging success!
Whoa, there's a tea mountain beginning to form.
Making a mess of my dining room.
Isn't it beautiful? This is the view that I woke up to on Sunday morning. It had snowed/slushed the night before while we were outside celebrating Mom's birthday with a bon fire, this is what the next morning left behind. This is the view from the kitchen, looking... east? My brother lives on a mountain crest with a valley on three sides, it gets confusing... I think this is east. Yes, east. The sun rises in their kitchen and sets in the living room (that's how I remember things, bizarre, I know). They have a deck that wraps around the east, south & west sides of the house, it's gorgeous I tell you. Gorgeous.
See like this? Going left to right, there are:
I only used 1/2 a yard of fabric for each, I was militant about the measuring & pinning. Each runner is exactly 16" wide and 40" long. I used an iron-on fuseable interfacing too, so that the runners are a little more stiff. I sewed a button at the triangular point of each runner, then hung a small tassel over each button. This way I can throw these runners in the washer & dryer without damaging the pretty tassel.
As soon as I saw the dress I envisioned exactly what I wanted her mask to look like. I could see it finished in my minds eye, but could I pull it off? Ana trusted me completely and gave me total creative freedom, which I have to say is pretty amazing for a 16 (at the time) year old girl. Off to JoAnn's to gather my supplies! 
I hot glued the "wand" into place, then finished the inside of the mask with soft, black, peel-n-stick felt so that it would look finished, and more importantly, so as not to scratch up a pretty face!
Viola! This is the finished mask, bellissimo! But you don't get the full effect until you see it in the hands of a beautiful girl. So without further adieu... meet Ana. 
Anyway my bloggie buddy, 
Measure, measure, measure... (as we say in construction, measure twice, cut once.)
I picked up this small quilted pot holder from the dollar bin at JoAnn's several months ago... I didn't have a specific project in mind when I bought it, just vague plans for some type of embroidery... I thought it was a cute little blank canvas, and for only a buck I wouldn't be too upset if I ruined it.
I chose a pretty transfer with flowers look like little bells, but also kind of like Lily of the Valley...
I vowed to not let my little pot holder sit unfinished for too long, I didn't have a lot of time on Friday evening and I spent what little time I did have, adding a few more tid bits to my sampler (music notes, soo cute!). Saturday was busy too, in fact this entire Labor Day weekend has been very busy, but close to home and very productive, so it was a good thing! So after an afternoon garden tea party with my mother-in-law and my 4 year old niece (more on that later), and making dinner for Sean, I finally sat down and started stitching in earnest at about 8:30pm on Saturday night and didn't stop until I was finished!
Which wasn't until 3:10am!! Whew! I was getting a little bleary-eyed near the end. I think I can see some wonky stitch work... but I'm not telling where... This was also my first time using the Satin Stitch. I was really leary about that type of stitch, I'd only ever practiced them on the cross stitch fabric, and they didn't look very good because you just can't get the stitches close enough together to fill in a solid area so I didn't know exactly how to do them. Should I outline the design in back stitch first then fill in or just start filling the design in right from the get-go?
