Some days your my mind runs a 100 mph on different things. Images of vintage sewing from the 1700's to the 1800's. Infant clothing with tatted edgings, knitted jumpers with cabled designs running through them creating fabulous waves. Why did you know that when the Irish men knitted their jumpers (and men where the ones who did knit their own jumpers) the cables and designs in them meant certain things. It was like reading their hopes and dreams. For example the honeycomb pattern meaning busy or hardworking like a bee. The Cable was good luck and the diamond a wish for success and wealth.
Other days I sit and long to complete something on the long list of projects.
Today is just such a day. I am pressed between getting my son's homeschooling papers graded and off to complete his coarse and mopping up the downstairs from where the dogs have tracked in. So what am I doing? Nether! I am making bread and in the interim I am sitting down to do some blogging. That's right my longing for french bread slathered with butter and garlic dipped into my chili tonight has outweighed my since of completion.

Completed Projects

As for now while I am waiting for my bread to rise hopefully, I will show you some of the things that I have been doing and one of them is a complete jumper or sweater to those of you in the U.S.A. I have completed a "Debbie Bliss" patter of a simple button up sweater. I used some of the chenille thread that I purchased as stash in Ireland and then used some of my pig buttons (cause I am partail pigs) I also tea stained some of my hand made tatting that I did and placed it around the collar. In short it is done.



Another little snippet

This babies hat that I did in an extra small to offer for sale on my web site is another item that has reached it completion. Again I had to order some silk thread for the flowers and used embroidery techniques to make the designs around the bill of the bonnet. There is my hand tatting again on the edges. I think that it makes a wonderful touch.

So there you have it. What I have done. The list grows longer and longer. I am the white rabbit and I am late very late for a very important date. The date of getting my things done. And where the cats are in the above photo is what I have to do. But rest assured they will hold my place in the sewing room and wait there until I return.

Just posting for Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! Why? Because it is also my anniversary. I also love the vintage feel that seems to flourish during the month of February. The vintage roses and thoughts of Victorian times. It just gets me in the mood to create some new graphics with that type of theme running through them. I love to flip through hours of vintage photography and paper crafts that the Victorians seemed to churn out in volumes. To read how things where made and created and what mediums they work with. Add in sewing and I am in heaven.
I wish that I had a time machine that would take me back to some of the creative people of that time and just watch. Of coarse when I was in need of a restroom or some of today's modern conveniences I would just push a button and here I would be.
Well I must be off. I am but a white rabbit here in my home today with a list of chores that must be done. Always checking my watch proclaiming "I'm late I'm late" and never quite getting to that what ever that may have been. But in the mean time don't you be late to check out some of the ever increasing graphics in my "Valentine" line at my store. I am adding daily now until the second week in February so head on over and check it out. Just click on to any image!

The Sewing Bug Bit

I made it through the holidays and into a New Year. Along the way I picked up the flue so I have welcomed the New Year from the confines of my sofa. I find that there I may be sick but still orcatrated the daily chores and keep the house running even from my sick bed or in this case my sick sofa.
I have indulged my self during this time with wonderful old classics. Weather watching PBS with their great adaptations of the Classics and by this I mean anything from Dickens to Christie to Elizabeth Gaskell. Just yesterday during the last few hours of my recouping I watched the PBS version of Elizabeth Gaskell's "Canford". Oh the execticy of being able to escape to a time where there are no phones or computers. Where you interacted with neighbors and news came by word of mouth. Oh I know that all was not as perfect and the time definitely had it's cracks but oh the ability to wear those wonderful clothes and hats. The ability to sit and sew these fabulous dresses for children and adults. Oh and don't forget the lace! But I do ramble and tend to romanticize about it all. To dream and be content within my own imagination.

Well on to things that I have been up to and that is sewing. I have had that bug bite me again and have given into that desire full heartily. Soon I will have to produce some more graphics in time for valentines day but for now the thread is occupying my time.

Here are a few of the items that I have been working on in the studio. These baby booties have worked from the pattern 2867 Simplicity Vintage 48
Amazing Effects A top rated seller on e-bay has this fantastic pattern for 4.97$ a steal if you ask me even with shipping and handling. The retail price is 16.95$. So you can see the math LOL.
I have added my own version of needle work on my booties.














Working with white and pink. (White floss on a lovely pink wool felt.) I thought that the white floss added a soft look. I used the same floss to create the ties for the little booties crocheting the floss. Being that these are my first pair they will be my worst pair and thing after this will be more practiced and refined. The stitch work is done with Bullion stitch for the roses and a Blanket or Button hole stitch for the edges and a Fish bone stitch for the ferns.

Along with this endeavor I have started to Tat. Oh yes the ecstasy of lace making the ability to produce the fabulous edging that I lust after at estate sales or on e-bay. This is perhaps the most rewarding undertaking that I have done thus so far. (You know to keep up with the knitting and tatting I do have a blog that I keep uploading pics of my little endeavors for those of you who are interested just click my info for a link) Well that is it for right now I don't know about you but I prefer those blogs that are not too wordy. The ones that give you a flavor not a full coarse. Inspiration over saturation . I will say this the one resounding message that I do get from all those books that I read and the world of the past that I visit through such authors such as Dickens and Gaskell is that the things left unsaid and undone are the most regretted. So in this new year I want to try and live each day by creating my needle work or graphics to the best of my ability and to always always tell those around me how much they are loved. Thanks for stopping by and being patient with me during these holidays while my pour blog went untouched.

Getting Ready For Christmas

Seems that these two months are just preparations for impending holidays that they both hold. My days are spent in starvation and constant cleaning. Happily these months contain relatives that have not been seen and laughter and wine and cheese. With all of this Jim and I have found a wonderful little house in the Florida area that was built in the 1920's we are currently looking it over and evaluating the estimated repairs to try and renovate it. I will be blogging about our adventure in that area if indeed we are able to purchase it and start. We should know in Feb. So fingers crossed we could be in for some interesting blogging. In the mean while here is a little pic so you can see our project.

On the art front of my life I am currently trying to master the art of Tatting. Not Tattoo but Tatting a form of lace making. Lets say I have now deep respect for lace makers! I have been working these past 4 days and I can start to see some progress out of what appeared to be a tangled mess. I wanted to take this task on to provide another layer to my sewing skills. I love making baby items due to the smallness in size and this would add a great touch.
Here are some fantastic "How to sites" :
How to Tat
Shuttle Tatting Instructions
Reverse Work
Tatting Lesson one
Tatting Lesson Two

Looking these web sites will give you some idea of what I am up to. It looks complicated but in reality it is not. Getting your hands to preform the holding of the shuttle and the tension and making the picots are the most difficult. I have found that the interpretation of the directions is the most trying. I would suggest using a fine crochet thread in order to get used to creating the stitches and then graduate on to the use of a more expensive thread for that soft look. This is great to do for wedding garters and for embellishments for infant wear. Hankies or dollies are great also. Now for those who are just not into obsessiveness then there are some great artist that tat and sell their wonderful art. Here are a few of those web sites:
Bella's Tatting Designs
Your Crowning Glory
These are a very small few of talented artist that sell their works to see more just go to Etsy. and type in tatting in search. You can spend hours there just marveling on the lace work.
Another great web site for these fantastic handmade things is ArtFire

Ahhh now you asked well dear where are your Christmas photos what are you doing and where have you been this season? Well to tell the truth I have struggled with the season. Some how some way these holidays take more and more out of me each year! But I have managed to click a few pics this season and continue to up load them to my Photo blog a day so stop on by and check it out! Don't forget to subscribe to the feed. And happy holidays to you!
JeweledFrog

How was your Thanksgiving?

I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that things are going smoothly for the Christmas deadline! During this time I am always mindful of the members who are away serving our Country in far off lands. No matter if you agree or disagree with the choices of our government the men and women are individuals and they are all away from the friends and family. So please remember them in your harts and thoughts and box off a little something for them to enjoy with each other. As of my son whom you know is serving in Iraq I am fixing him a little box to enjoy with his friends. So on the next blog I will include some recipes and a few ideas that could be useful in your boxes.
Ahh Thanksgiving a time of year to be thankful and over indulge. This year I gave Jim strict orders not to fix too much stuffing. Since Zach (my Sgt.) could not take leave to be here we have to be mindful not to fix too much.

Fantastic Bread Rolls

With all that was going on you may think that making bread from scratch would be just too much for that day. In truth , not so not so. I found this delightful recipe from Better Homes and Garden and it was such an easy thing to do. In fact it made 24 so it would be a great gift to take to the neighbors house as a special treat if you needed to split them up. However this family didn't have any trouble eating them up.











Sitting Down For Dinner





We made good on the estimated time of eating. And clean up was a breeze. It paid to have everything cleaned prior and as we went we cleaned up














Pumpkin Pie




After our dinner we enjoyed a fantastic bit of homemade pumpkin pie
















New Projects

It is amazing what you can do with some oven cleaner and a few old mirrors. I love doing digital work and recently started to redo some mirrors that I had laying around the house. I started on a small scale no bigger than a 6 x 6 mirror. Arming myself with a can of easy off and some gloves I sprayed a bit on the back of the mirror that I wanted to do.
Keeping in mind that I still wanted to center to be reflective, I sprayed around the edges. Now I would have loved for it to give more speckled effect but I believe there is something better than oven cleaner. I want to to lift in certain areas and not in others. Giving it a more aged appearance. A more eaten away look!




Now I work as you know digitally so I wanted to incorporate my efforts as a digital artist. I took some clip are that I have collected and started to compose a PhotoShop document. Keeping the document the same size as my finished product would be. I took a measurement of the center. By that I mean only a rough measurement. Just to get an idea what would be blocked by the mirrored part. After doing that I started to layer and age the images. Getting the the right placement and balancing the placement of color I printed the finial image on Kodak paper that was a semi-gloss. Now since these mirrors had backings like those of photo frames it was unnecessary for me to use glues of any kind. So I trimmed of the excess paper and popped it behind the mirror.


This makes a fantastic gift. I have already given one away! Trying playing with you clip art and put a hidden message in it for your recipients to find. Gear it around who they are of a favorite movie that they may have enjoyed with you. Or a family joke . It adds a whole other dimension the art work.