Lacy Confection

After a stressful week of "What can I do to solve your problem?", I decided I needed to do something for myself.  Yes, I know that's selfish but it's amazing what a pick-me-up a little creativity and a lot of lace can do.

My creamy lacy confection of a purse (ok, it's probably big enough to haul a baby in) is the final product.
I have had this ticking stripe forever but it was so pretty I couldn't cut into it.  This was the perfect project.  I think it is a perfect balance for all the lace and the floral lining.







The bottom most layer is a vintage lace fabric.  It reminds me of the lace on my 1990 wedding dress.

The second, most prominent layer is an antique french lace from the lace ruffled drapes that I detailed last week.  I really love that stuff and still can't believe my great fortune.

The top ruffle is a one inch wide Irish lace.

The bag has three inner pockets, one with buttons, and a flap and button to close it.  The lining is the same floral that I used for the lace eReader cover.

The main set of handles is a bamboo set I bought a few years ago.  There is also a set of long straps for when I need to throw it over my shoulder.  Both handles can nest inside the bag when I don't need them.
It is 13" tall, 15" wide, and 5" deep.  It holds my current crazy quilting block and various other things that we women must have.
I am planning to make some smaller purses for my etsy store soon, so keep an eye out.  In the meantime, please visit the store as I am adding vintage and antique lace to the menu.

Lace, Lace, Lace!!

eReader cover for sale on Etsy

Tiny snips of lace...lace doilies...lace tablecloths...lace ruffles...yards and yards of lace.  How could anyone not love lace???  Especially the antique and vintage finds.  I love the warm colors of antique lace:  ecru, eggshell, tan.  I can sit and stare at old lace all day and marvel at the patience that went into it.  Then, of course, you wonder what a snippet was used to embellish.  Was that medallion leftover from a wedding dress?  Did that ruffle once garnish a little girl's pinafore?  The hours, the dreams, the visions!
I have been through many love affairs with lace.  I can recall what was probably polyester lace around the yellow organza lampshade I had as a little girl.  Then there was the lace on my Gunne Sax style Easter dress (I can remember going shopping for that dress because I loved it so much!)  Scrimping and saving to order a white Battenburg lace comforter set after I married.  Then my husband laid a newly cleaned and oiled gun on the comforter.  Yes, we are still married and no, the stain never did come out.  I made a duvet cover with a fabric covered in violets to stuff the comforter into.  I am a generally very patient person.
These days I invest in antique and vintage lace.  As I learn more about it, I find myself being much more finicky than I used to be.  I can't say that I have a favorite type because they all interest me, from the heavier tape varieties to the delicate bobbin lace.   Even the ones that need extra TLC are welcome in my home because it can be a challenge to bring them back to life.  

Lace still attached to the curtain fabric that I had removed for laundering the lace.

Last weekend I helped a friend with an estate sale she was managing.  As I was pricing the linens (smart girl, that Lisa!) I uncovered a set of drapes dripping in lace.  Nine inches deep, and two and a half yards of lace gathered onto a curtain comes out at a bit over nine yards when removed.

Examples of 3 of the lace fragments

Close-up of one lace

Yes, I have 18 yards of vintage lace.  There are about six different vintage laces that were sewn together and attached to these curtains, probably in the late 80s/early 90s.  I remember those decades, and I do not recall this being the "in" thing.  But I am so glad this woman had it done!  I'm still flying high about my find. 

The baby bonnet from the side and back.

At the same time, I found a lace baby bonnet and a gallon size bag of upholstery remnants that will surely find themselves in a crazy quilt.  All of this for helping a friend.  I realize that there will not always be finds like this, but I can't wait to help her again!

As a bonus, there was this piece of lace on a remnant of bed skirt.  It is luxuriously soft and reminds me of the skirt of my wedding dress in 1990, so I am dating it then.  Not old, but a large piece and it will be really nice to work with.

May Crazy Quilt Journal Project Block

I love May.  Besides being my birth month, it's not too hot, not too cold, the flowers are blooming, and the garden has new things to discover every day.
Have you ever found that with a crazy quilt you made?  Whenever I look back at a block, I "discover" something new.
This is my 5th block for the 2013 CQJP:

The little girl is my grandmother, circa 1918. As you can see, I tatted a tiny flower for her and embroidered a duck pull toy.  The frame was pinked with my awesome vintage pinking machine and embroidered in an aesthetic style. 

I also tatted the cross from a pattern in Tatting Collage by Lindsay Rogers.  I had originally planned to put it below the picture, but it was too dark.  The lace that it landed on is from my stash of antiques, as is the flower and leaf surrounded by silk ribbon french knots.  Check my etsy page for an awesome holder for your tatting needles, hand made out of Texas mesquite.

The mixing bowl and rolling pin are my own design.  And yes, I do use a vintage wooden rolling pin with green handles.  I think old things should also have a function.  The mixing bowl reminds me of some of the Pyrex bowls that have been passed down to me.

 

Last but not least, my little tractor.  We do not use John Deere, but love International Harvester.  The design is from an Aunt Martha.  I had to shrink it quite a bit to fit, but it was a lot easier than trying to draw one.

First Block...Finished??

I think this block is finished.  It just seems like it still needs something.  I think it is because of the muted colors.  I am used to the vividness and contrast of the other quilt.  Any suggestions for additions?  After the whole thing is assembled (a looooong time from now), I may add some beads and more buttons for embellishment.  I am hesitant to do that until after all the blocks are sewn together, though, because I think it will be more difficult to work with if I add them before.  By the way, the block is 6 x 12.

 My little drum was very sad so I added some flowers to spruce it up.  The drum was my first foray into silk floss.  Yummm (she says with dreamy, far away eyes).

The teacup was my second try at silk floss.  It was just as good as the first time, so I guess the ease of it wasn't a fluke.  Unfortunately, I used the whole skein of green.  The little flower was cut off from a venise motif and dyed.

 The little girl in the picture is my great grandmother, Maggie Dukes Brown.  She is with her baby brother and parents in a circa 1900 photograph.  I am planning to use family pictures of children in the quilt.  This picture was originally a lot smaller and it just wasn't working, so I blew it up some more and ended up appliqueing it on.

This motif was inspired by Brian Haggerd.  Along with the Kreinik floss, Santa brought me his newest book.

Have you ever noticed that when you get something new (or want something) that you suddenly see that item everywhere?  Whenever my husband gets a new vehicle, he is suddenly able to point out everything similar in a 2 mile radius.  That is exactly how I am with this piece of lace.  I found it in an antique shop in Goliad, Texas (Hanging Tree Antiques--check them out if you are in the area, these are super nice people).  There are several pieces of it that equal a few yards.  Anyway, in the couple of weeks since I bought it, I have seen it online in at least 4 other blocks.  Then when the husband and I went to Goliad for Market Days on the 12th, we went back to the Hanging Tree and and I found another length of lace which has the above lace as an insertion.

2013 Block One in Progress

I really, really don't like cold weather.  I live in South Texas where the temperature is in the 90s six months of the year.  Three months are in the 80s, two in the 70s, and one in the 60s.  This 40-50 degree weather we've had lately is positively killing me.  I don't know how those of you who have four real seasons deals with it.  I mean, I can see the beauty of having seasons.  Leaves changing colors, the flowers blooming in the spring, etc.  That would be awesome.  But I hate being cold!!! 

And the worst part is not being able to sew.  My studio is housed in a portable building in the backyard.  Since it's not cold 98% of the time, it does not have heat.  I could take out a portable heater, but with all the fabric and stuff it just doesn't seem very safe.  I have one overhead florescent light.  Did you know that those lights will not come on when it's cold??  So when I get home from work after 5 and it's already dusk, I can't see to sew!  Plus it's cold!!!!  For a week I have wanted to put together a crazy block to give me something to embroider as I sit wrapped in blankets on my bed.  It would take my mind off the shivering.  On Saturday I was finally able to sneak out when there was enough daylight to assemble a block.  Go, me!!  I should have made a few, but that was all the time I could spare.

 
While I have the idea for the finished wall hanging in my head, I hadn't thought much about colors and such.  As I slapped the block together, the colors came out.  It will be muted colors and a lot of browns.  I will be embellishing with the same.  The next question is what theme I will use for the patch embroidery.  Suggestions would very welcome at this point.  The middle block will be adapted from Helen Scott's bonnet girls and will be a turn of the century family of five in the parlor.  The crazy blocks will include antique pictures of families and children.  My first inclination is to embroider toy motifs.  Would it seem odd to add things like sewing, cooking, and more manly pursuits?  I think I spend too much time over-thinking things.  And yes, I think about that, too. 

I am including pictures of one of my Christmas gifts.  It's a Craftsman pink 12" tool tote.  I will use it for hauling around my "work-in-progress" from room to room.  I haven't loaded it up yet, but probably will tonight now that I have a block ready for handwork.  It is a very, very pretty shade of pink with lots of pockets that I can lose things in. 
 

The Log Cabin

Once again, the newest block is my favorite.  This is my take on a log cabin block, albeit a tad off, in greens and cream/brown.  You can't really see the cream and brown for the lace, but you get the idea.  I tried to keep the seam embellishments simple on this one.  I know, that's not the Victorian way, but the colors of the log cabin were just too pretty to cover.

Where to start...the purple geometric design on the solid green satin to the right is from the design on my aesthetic bedside table.  I think it started life as a plant stand and was painted black, but I stripped and refinished it and use it for my lamp and stuff.  Ok, it mostly has needles, thread, scissors, and ribbon.  But when I clean it off it's really pretty, and I try to clean it every time I finish a block. 
The yellow thistle-like embroidery on the green velvet is taken from my great-great grandmother's amber Madrid depression glass that I inherited.  I traced it onto water soluble stabilizer, but this time I used the paper kind and it's really, really hard to soak off.  You can still see traces.  I will get them off during a really patient moment.  It may be a while.

The flower basket took a while, but was so much fun!  All of the ribbon and lace motifs are hand dyed, including the brown velvet that makes up the basket.  I really tried to layer things when I put them on, but they were all so pretty that I didn't want to cover anything up.  I cut the yellow flowers, leaves, and butterfly from different larger Venetian lace pieces.  I hope they all show well. 

I bought the peacock last year at the Victoria, Texas quilt show from the same lady that I bought my dyes from.  I have been afraid to dye it all this time because I was afraid to mess it up.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I used blue satin DMC floss to make french knots as "eyes" in the feathers, which made a nice accent.  After I have sewn this to another block, I will tack his head down and add an eyeball. The yellow velvet ribbon that the peacock has roosted on and the turquoise lace were also hand dyed. 

Church Window

Here I go again, not posting in a while.  Honestly, the thingie to download pictures from the camera was lost and I was too cheap to buy another.  I finally broke down and bought one.  It was the principle of the thing.  It's been in my camera case for years, but the husband and kids played with the camera when we went to the beach on Memorial Day weekend and it suddenly disappeared.  Of course, no one saw it or knows where it is. 

This block is supposed to look like a stained glass window.  I tatted the cross a few years ago with no real plan.  It was originally going to be a bookmark, but it ended up way bigger than I had envisioned.  The main window at our church has a Jesus on the cross statue with a purple cross behind him in stained glass, so I dyed some purple lace to go along with the black ribbon (leading) around the window.  The red background came with gold sequins sewn on, which seemed appropriate. 

The "L" is my initial, and the lilies of the valley my birth month flower.  They are made with the wider white silk ribbon.  Each is 3 petals with a bit of yellow hanging down.  I drew the little Victorian boot when I was bored one day and added it as an after thought because I couldn't come up with anything else to put in that spot. 

I am very, very proud of the Mexican dahlia.  I dyed the ribbon and just kept adding petals that naturally curled.  It's very thick and looks just like I imagined it.  That almost never happens. 

The whole thing is finished with hand dyed fans and velvet ribbons, and some vintage lace at the bottom.
I promise that the next post won't take so long, since I almost have that block finished and I can download the pictures now.

Floating Along

This block came along quite easily compared to some.  It took a while to finish simply because I didn't have a lot of time to devote. 

This is my aunt (okay, technically my husband's aunt).  I was the domestic daughter she never had.  She taught me to make a lot of the traditional Tex-Mex foods that my husband and kids love that her daughters weren't interested in.  We would also sit at her dining table hemming pants by hand (that part of the family is vertically challenged) and talking about sewing projects, kids, church, and whatever came up.  Those times reminded me of going with my mom as a small child to the neighbor's house where they would sit over a cup of coffee every morning.  Back when children were to be seen and not heard.  Ms. Ruby could crochet like you wouldn't believe and had many dolls that she had dressed.  I would sit and admire them after I finished my juice and the adults were still talking.  Anyway, the ribbon around the picture is a luxurious dark blue velvet that you would have to see in person and touch to appreciate.  I love the floral spray of lace at the bottom.  That piece has been auditioned on every block, but just now found the perfect home.  Ms. Ruby did not make the crocheted lace to the right, but as it is a gorgeous piece of workmanship, I can imagine it being hers.

This is another piece of a kimono grab bag that I got in the San Antonio show in September of last year.  It's a lot bigger than the pieces I usually put in the quilt, but I hated to cut it up.  It's hard to tell, but I outlined the top wings, antennae, and body in matching threads for some dimension. 

These are some little medallions I tatted forever ago when I was bored.  They make a great little take-along project for the doctor's office, waiting for the kids during practice, or when your husband is driving.  If you have never tried needle tatting, you should really try it.  At the Houston Quilt Festival several years ago, the gentleman from Handy Hands Needle Tatting showed me how in about 5 minutes.  No kidding, I had to make the bus so he had to hurry.  Barbara (the owner) is the nicest lady and helped me over the phone once when I had gotten myself confused.  Hobby Lobby also has some of her line and books, but I prefer to buy direct.  Got to support the small businesses when you can!

This is the prettiest green velvet.  I hate to cover it, but the swan scene was perfect.  A swan was the first thing I remember my mother teaching me to draw.  When my friend Laura sent me a copy of the Sublime Stitching book and I saw her swan, it inspired me to make my own. 
Note:  Never, ever, ever take cattails home to arrange in your studio.  They dry and explode tiny white dandelion-ish seeds.  You will never get them all out and will think a rat has nested in your batting.  Dad harvested some for me, thinking they would be really cool since we don't have such things where we live.  It's a sight I will never forget and will always make me laugh.

Golden Anniversary...Take Two

I revisited the anniversary block and came up with some additions.  I think it looks much, much better now.  This has made me want to take a harder look at a couple of the other blocks, which I will do in time. 

For starters, I added a satin stitch bow tie to my dad and white and red french knots to my mom's bouquet.  Just a touch of color, and true to what they had on their wedding day.  Then I threw in some pale pink (the color of the bridesmaid's dresses) satin ribbon to the lace framing their picture. 

I moved Laura's flower over to the center of the patch and made some buttonhole and split stitch leaves.  Then I added a length of hand dyed velvet ribbon.  I think this should all finish the block out nicely.  What do you think?

Golden Anniversary

I tried really hard to get this block finished and posted by yesterday (April 19th) in honor of my parent's Fiftieth Anniversary, but with my business trip this week, I ended up a day late.  I guess I could use the argument that the 50th should be special all year, right? 
I'm afraid I rushed this block too much because it just doesn't feel finished. If you have any suggestions of what I could add or what it needs, please drop me a comment. I might think your idea is perfect, or it might set the wheels in my rusty brain in motion and make me think of something else.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!  They were married in Houston, Texas, where my mom was born and raised.  Dad was from Tuleta.  They met as students at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos.  Their wedding silver was smuggled from the dining room at the college by their friends.  We used that stuff every day.  Among other things, my parents taught me to enjoy sewing, reading, cooking, woodworking, and saving a buck.  School projects were never plain; they usually involved something eye-catching and well executed.  Not that I was great at execution, but Dad believes if you're going to do it and turn it in, it damn well better be done right.  My first school box was a painted cigar box (thanks, Mom) and my folders were decorated with drawings by my mom.   Spelling word sentences read as a story, with an added challenge of using at least two or three spelling words per sentence.  We had three channels to watch on tv.  Those were the days. 
So, even though my brother was the favorite and I had to walk to and from school uphill both ways, in the snow, etc, etc, I would like to say thank you, Mom and Dad!

The star and leaves are from the Texas state seal.  In the real seal, the branch on the left is from an oak tree and the right is the olive, for strength and peace respectively.  My embroidery isn't good enough to actually look like oak and olive, but you get the idea.  As a side note, some historians say that my 5th great-grandfather, General James Smith, was responsible for the use of the star seal.  Follow that link to read about his fancy buttons.  So this part of the block is for Texas, my family heritage, and my husband, who proudly wears the badge of a Texas peace officer with this emblem on it. That's a lot to pack into one spot!
This actual applique is from a set of stars from a dress my granny made me when I was a baby.  She gave me the rest of the stars when my oldest was born. 
The flower on the bottom left is for my oldest friend, Laura.  We've been buddies since kindergarten.  I am not telling how long ago that was.  Although we are many miles apart and lead very different lives, we remain very important to each other. 
The green heart I bought several years ago at the first International Quilt Festival (Houston) that I went to.  It was during my battenburg faze (I know, it should be phase.  I like faze better, but my father the perfectionist read this and made sure to point it out.)

Second Block Finished

I finished the second crazy block!

 This is a close-up of the silk ribbon wreath, fan, and monogram.

#3 is ready to go!  And I think I'm ready to start trying to add fabric photos with number 4.