What Is Home?

Hi All!

So, here's something I made several months ago that I've been waiting to share with you. This piece was made as a submission (my very first!) to an art show that my pal Ellen was curating in Los Angeles, it was called Home Is Where The Needle Marks. The show was comprised of stitched pieces and textile work, exploring the theme of the word "home" and what it means to different artists. The show has now closed, and was a great success! My piece was not used in the show, but now that the show is over, it can see the light of day because it holds some powerful truths... 

Are you ready? Can you handle the truth?

{snort-giggle!}

Oh. Yes. It. Does.

Upon submission, applicants were asked to fill out an Artists Statement (yikes!). The following words are my artists statement and the meaning behind the piece... This is kind of an over-share, and I'm a little nervous putting this out here into the big, bad internet, but it's good to be honest, and if I was prepared to share this information with the world in an art show, surely I can share it here with you guys.

Home Is Where The Bra Comes Off

by

Lisa Leggett

Embroidery gives me permission to go slowly, one stitch at a time. For a woman who hurries through everything, stitching is a gift of time that I give to myself. A reason to sit still, calm my rushing mind and still hope to achieve something beautiful, funny, or useful; sometimes all at once. Embroidery is my meditation.

I try to approach life with a sense of humor, from the best news to the worst; no problem seems as serious if you can laugh at it. Whether what I’m working on is pretty, whimsical or subversive I enjoy a good laugh, and I try to incorporate humor into everything I do.

Home is where the bra comes off. Not only something to garner a giggle, but an unbending truth in my life, one which I believe many women can relate too.

I haven’t left the house without a bra on since I was in the 3^rd grade, I was seven years old. All at once my body developed, and it was no longer ok to go to school or anywhere else, without wearing a bra.  I didn’t feel grown up, perhaps the way some girls might, but rather slightly ashamed and embarrassed.  My budding boobies must be bundled up, and they must stay that way! That was 30 years ago. Home for me, is where I feel safe enough to be unguarded, to remove that armor and be free of the straps, hooks and wires. Home is many things to many people, myself included, but maybe one of the best things about home is that, home is where the bra comes off.

So... yeah... that. I'll be even more honest here; most days I'm dying, literally dying to get home and get this damn thing off. I hate it. Days when I don't put on a bra at all are like a vacation! Please girls, tell me I'm not alone in this? Being rather, ahem, "well endowed", bras have never, ever been comfortable for me. They are a necessary evil. They hurt my shoulders, they pinch, they poke. They are the devils work.

Right? Right.

This piece was a stretch for me even though it looks simple, I don't do cross stitch very often (oy, the counting!) and don't feel like I'm an artist, so modifying a font to the right size to be seen from a distance, and a developing a border which all lined up properly was a challenge, but one which I enjoyed. I don't know what I'm going to do with the piece moving forward, right now it's just chillin' on a shelf in my craft room... I'm kind of getting used to seeing it there, maybe I'll just leave it. 

What do you think, girls?  How do you feel about your bras? Are they a cage or a comfortable familiar? Do tell! I am always genuinely curious how other women feel about this subject. I'm looking forward to your comments!

oxo,

Lisa

p.s.

OH! I've been featured on Craft Gossip!

Check it out!

Corny, Corny Corn Dog

UPDATE!
8~7~12
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!! This piece is being featured on Mr. X Stitch today!! I'm floored, FLOORED I tell you! So honored and humbled and grateful, and truly, truly gobsmacked! Here's the linky should you like to visit.

Happy weekend, chums! 

We made it though another week, whew!

Today I thought I'd show you what I stitched for the next in the series, the 5th of 11 embroideries for the Spring Fling Tea Towel Swap I've been participating with some of my stitchy pals. This is for my friend, Bascom. 

Bascom and I concur, nothin' beats a corn dog, don't you agree? 

I like mine with mustard.

Careful of the stick, guys. I've been known to poke myself with these dastardly sticks in my rush to devour (because I'm a piggy, oink!).

Like the piece I made for Jack, I used chain stitch as a fill stitch for the crunchy, bread batter layer. Round and round I went until I filled up the corn dog. I love chain stitch as a fill, it's like getting two rows of stitching for the effort of one, and it's fast.

For the mustard squiggle,  I used six strands at once and chained the right amount of condiment right on top of the bread, then satin stitched over that to get that mustard to really stand up off the corn dog.

This is kind of making me hungry...

I love this silly embroidery and corn dogs are awesome. Happily, Bascom likes this corn dog almost as much as the real thing, woohoo!

This was a fun embroidery, I almost want to make a whole series of junk foods. I wonder if I could pull off a taco truck taco...{thoughtfully scratches chin}. Those are almost as good as corn dogs... almost!

So what are your plans for the weekend, pallies? Anybody going by Der Weinerschnitzel? I'll buy if you fly!

oxo,

Lisa

Nature Break

Hi All! Did you have a nice weekend?

We had the opportunity to get out of town and up to the mountains yesterday for a much needed nature break and time with my family. We met up with them at Kirkwood Lake where they'd been camping for the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and it's so pretty up there, thought I'd share a few pictures.

Kirkwood Lake

Handsome hubby.

Me & the pooches.

I would have loved to go for a swim! Alas... unprepared.

This fallen tree was gigantic as were the mushrooms growing all along it's sides.

We enjoyed a nice long nature walk with the dogs.

This was Boswell's first time out in nature and he did great!

Kayakers on the lake. 

And the main reason for our excursion, this handsome fellow!

Happy Birthday Josiah! You're the best 10 year old I know!

♥

Hope your weekend was wonderful, too!

oxo,

Lisa

Fresh As A Daisy

Morning All!

Did any of you get a chance to see any of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics last night? We watched almost all of it, although I admit, I dozed off during parts of the procession when teams were entering the arena. That bit is a little tedious, but I thought the opening was terrific. Such a grand scale!

Fresh as a daisy, I've always liked that saying. Daisy's are fresh, so simple and pretty. Easy peasy. Clean. 

I stitched some daisy's for a very nice lady for a Phat Quarter embroidery swap recently, the theme of the swap was "Spring" and my ever so patient partner, Sophie waited half way through summer for her piece. It's safely in her hands now in England, so I can share it with you guys. 

I tried and tried to make a different piece for her, and ultimately pitched it. That's a first! I've never given up on a project before, but this one was going nowhere. The more I stitched, the more I disliked it... so bizarre. Maybe someday I'll try again. Sophie is a very, very talented stitcher, I wanted to make her something really pretty and that first piece just wasn't cutting it.

 I'd had this pattern saved as a favorite for a long time, so when I realized that I was scrapping the other piece, I got to work on this one. Lots of satin stitch here!

I love the simplicity of this pattern, other than the leaves and centers of the flowers, this wee dragon fly is the only other color, I chose a soft lavender for his wings and a mossy green for his body, made with graduating French Knots.

 Here are some of the flowers & leaves close up.

 And some more leafy texture... I enjoyed making those leaves, each one was different.

I just happened to have some Shasta daisy's in the mixed bouquet on the kitchen table (sometimes I treat myself to a small bunch of flowers when I do my grocery shopping at Trader Joes, you can't beat fresh flowers for $3.99!), so I plucked them from the vase and borrowed them for a few photos outside with their stitchy counterparts.

I'm glad I had them, they're so pretty!

Even my little gnome got in on some photo action.

I love this pattern...  I might make another one for myself some day. Yeah, I'll just tack that on the bottom of an ever growing, long list. I better live to about 120 years, I've got a lot to do. Oh, and that pretty mat there on the table, I picked that up at the quilt show I went to with mom a few weeks back, only $5, what a bargain!

So any big plans this weekend, ladies? I think we're going to a concert at a local winery tonight, tomorrow we're headed to the mountains to visit my family, it's my nephews 10th birthday, a fact which I can hardly believe at all. Seems like he was just a baby yesterday.

Wishing you well!

oxo,

Lisa

A Basket For Bozzy

Hi Girls! 

Hi New Peeps!

Do I ever tell you how happy you guys make me? It's true, y'all make me smile! Thanks so much for your sweet comments on the puffy little pillow both here and on Flickr. 

Today I wanted to show you a little something I whipped up for my boy, Boz. You know, this little dog is one cool character, nothing fazes him. I had a feeling that he'd dig going for rides if I had a way to carry him on my bicycle, so I searched out a basket that he'd fit inside of. It was a bit of trial & error finding one that worked with my bike, but I found one. Next up, I needed a liner so his tiny feets wouldn't slip through the bottom of the basket. They sell these at the bicycle shop for $39.00 (pfft!) so I decided to make my own, here's what I came up with, and it cost me less than five bucks!

I used this pretty fabric from Ikea, $3.99 per yard, yo!

Wanting something "grippy" on the inside so Boz had some traction and would feel more secure, I cut up an old terry cloth bath towel. Also, I had no pattern and was sort of winging this project, so I didn't want to spend a bunch or use my "good" fabric from the stash. 

As it happened, this 'practice' liner worked out just fine and I didn't have to make another. So, how does Bozzy like it?

He likes it a lot! He loves going for rides! He sits perfectly still and smiles the whole time. I think people in my neighborhood get a kick out of seeing him too, everyone smiles and waves as we pass by.

To keep Boz safe, while he rides in the basket he is tethered to the center of my handle bars, I didn't take a picture of the method because it's not much to look at, but it's secure and functional. He's never tried to jump out, but this worried mama isn't taking any chances.

He stays pretty relaxed in there, sometimes he lays down and rests his chin over the side.

Ok, here's a keeping-it-real confession... We all know that riding a bicycle hurts the uh... "tender bits" when you haven't ridden for a while and so yes, that is a "comfort seat", or what I like to call my "fat fanny saddle". Whatever, I'm telling you  my buns have never been so happy! Best purchase ever!

I'm pretty happy with our little set up, bicycling is a fun way to stay active, and it's nice having a little buddy to tag along. 

I could be wrong, but I think Boz likes it too!

He cracks me up, such a ham!

Do any of you guys ride with your little buddies? What's your set up like?

Hope you're all having a great week!

oxo,

Lisa

Little Puffy Pillow

I was going to title this post 'poofy purple pillow' and challenge you to say that three times fast, but that's just silly. *waggles eyebrows*

You guys, something really neato happened yesterday which made me get on the fast track. My vintage flowers for the July Stitch Along was featured on Feeling Stitchy! I'm so flattered and it totally made my day so I thought, ya know, I better get to moving on making that pretty little thing into something other than a piece of fabric that goes into the WIP pile (y'all know how that goes, right?). So Saturday night I got busy and whipped it out.

Ta-da, poofy purple pillow! Go on, say it three times fast!

I raided my precious charm pack stash of 30's vintage inspired fabrics to jazz up the front of the pillow. The pieces I used were actually cut from scraps from my on-going yo-yo project. Charm packs are small pieces of fabric to start out with, just 5" square, but I'm going to save & use every square inch.

 It was fun choosing which patterns to use, I love them all so much. Here's the left side.

And here's the right.

I used a different fabric for the back to make removable envelope style pillow cover. I love this fabric too, I've had this one in my stash for well over a year. I'm glad I finally got to use a bit of it.

Viola! A quick project, done! Kinda pretty too. It's always so nice to tick something off of the 'to make' list.

Gratuitous beauty shot!

This picture is deceiving, it looks so nice and shady and cool, HA! It was 103 degrees this afternoon when I took this photo. Oooofa! That's hot!

Thanks for visiting today, I see there are a few new folks following along, welcome! I'm glad you're here, please pop in often and say hello, I love meeting new people! 

Hope you all have a great Monday!

oxo,

Lisa

p.s. Eeeep! My little pillow is featured on Craft Gossip today, check it out!

Blackberry Season

Greetings Friends,

I have something a little different to share today, a bit of an experiment for me, but it turned out so well that I just have to tell you guys about it!

 A couple of nights ago we went for a walk by the river to look for blackberries, and boy did I score! Last year I didn't get any so I've been keeping my eyes peeled this year.

(This picture incidentally is, I believe, the best photo I've ever taken. I love it so much I'm thinking about marrying it. Click the picture to bask in the blackberry glory)

Loads of delicious, sweet blackberries.

After washing them, and eating my fill, I sought out my favorite place for inspiration to find something to make with these dark beauties, once again, Pinterest to the rescue! I found what I wanted to try right away, blackberry syrup! I've never made syrup before, but it looked simple enough, so I decided to give it a go. I used this recipe.

The recipe called for two cups of berries, as you can see I had a little more than that, meh... I went with it. It couldn't have been easier, gently boil the 1/4 C water, juice from a lemon and 1/2 sugar for 10 minutes,  to make a simple syrup. Pour the syrup over the cleaned & rinsed berries which I'd put in the Cuisinart, and give them a whirl. Since I had more than 2 cups of berries, I also blended in some of my favorite local honey for a bit more sweetness.

Mmm, messy! Time to sieve, seeds are yucky! As I'm sure you already know, blackberries are slippery, and they stain. Sorry about your shirt, Mom.

Ta-da! Blackberry syrup! I got almost a pint out of that small gathering of berries.

I couldn't wait for the weekend to try this yummy stuff, so we made pancakes for dinner tonight. Do you guys ever have breakfast for dinner? Isn't it the best? I must confess that I don't make the pancakes in this house, Sean does. He makes the best pancakes in the world.  I'm a lucky girl.

Oh yeah! Dark and sweet and just a little bit tart and oh, so wonderful. Thank you mother nature, your berries are divine.

The blackberry bramble down by the river is heavy with these berries, and many, many of them are just starting to turn black so there's probably going to be a lot more where this came from this summer (if my neighbors don't get wise and find my secret patch!). I need to get myself some 1/2 pint jars so I can can some of this heavenly nectar.

This was really so easy and tastes so lovely, I'd encourage anyone to try it. You'll be so happy you did. So! What else can I use this yummy stuff for? I'm thinking it'd be great in some kind of a fizzy cocktail, on ice cream, maybe over cream cheese on crackers? What else? Do you guys have any suggestions? Do tell!

I love it when an experiment works out so well it keeps me smiling for an entire day! 

Let me leave you with a parting shot of some more beautiful, blackberries.

Have a great day, my dears!

oxo,

Lisa