Another monogrammed hankie...

This weekend I had to use a hankie I stitched for the hubs years ago...

It was not for a sad occasion, but for a joyful one!

I've embroidered 3 handkerchiefs for my friend -- the first one was for the day her beautiful d.i.l. became part of her family:

The second one I made for the day of her husband's memorial service:

...but for this day, I needed to use "something old" & "something blue" so I figured this delicious old crocheted-edge linen would do!

Her new monogram:

posted from Bloggeroid

Poor lil’ neglected blog…

Life has swooshed by in such a blur, lately. I don’t find as much time to sit at my PC composing posts – but I am still making stuff. Right now I’m working on 3 major quilt UFOs in between “urgent” little projects such as this latest completed work:My sis got married a couple weeks ago. I made her “brooch bouquet” and the groom’s “broochonniere”But this is not your average brooch bouquet, because Beth was not your average bride… Her baubles came from various stops along her life journey:a flag from Russia, a Georgian cross from her time spent in the vicinity of the Caucasusa locket from our grandmother (complete with pictures inside), rhinestone earrings from our other grandma…
The pieces were unified by affixing them to kanzashi flowers. But first I had to twist miles & miles of jewelry & florist wire. (I borrowed the hubs’ drill to save my fatigued hands!)You might notice an elk pin which was pilfered from belonged to the groom. The blue lights that were tucked amongst the blooms (& illuminated when the bride first walked up the aisle) were also in honor of his favorite color.
There are many more stories, but that is for another time…

Technorati Tags: #crafty

They Did (for 50 Golden Years)

April 14, 1962 is a date very important to me & my family. It's significance for my birth family has to do with my mom being 7 or so months pregnant with me. The day played a vital role in my current family -- for it is the day my wonderful in-laws were wed. Without that day there'd be no Keith & Melody; there'd be no Zachary, Alexander or Harrison.

April 14, 2012 was a day I should've had this project finished, but that's not how I roll...

I kept adding time-consuming crafty components.

(...like a fake certificate & love note for the pocket...)

This is way better than scrap-booking, IMHO!

(took me a l-o-o-o-o-ng time to bend those letters with my needle-nose pliers...)

I started by printing the photo on fabric.

I then completed my embroidery elements. Their names adorned a length of flat lace. April 14 was put on a white satin pseudo ring pillow. The year I stitched on a piece I fashioned into a bow made from fabric left from my wedding gown.

Layer after layer was stitched together. Old jewelry findings, vintage lace, ratty silk flowers way past their prime all found their way onto my canvas. My hands got really tired of all the hand stitching!

I hand-stamped a little brass medallion to hang from the bow.

Each of the flowers were disassembled from their plastic components & stitched together. Some I beaded with pearls.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom & Dad! We love you.

ampersand

(source)

I believe life is better when you are "ampersanded". For too many years I lived my life unampersanded; until just about twenty years ago my best friend gave me a permanent ampersand: Keith & Melody -- man & wife.

We were blessed to attend a gorgeous reception last weekend for a sweet friend who had just been upgraded to ampersand. (It was a marvelous party with lots of food, friends and fun. The decor was incredible and the cake was gorgeous.)

For the reception gift I decided to go with the old standby -- a monogrammed throw. (Although it's Spring here in the Valley, the newlyweds will be spending half their time in Montana. She's gonna need warm and snugly after being a desert dweller for so many years...)

Because I did not have an embroidery the dimension I desired; I printed out my own appliqué. I used Baskerville Old Face at 873pts, printed in outline form.

I pinned my print-out to the top of the black velour I was using for the appliqué, and secured it all to the throw. I stitched with the sewing machine around the outline.

After carefully removing the paper from the stitching, this is what I had. (I was sorely tempted to leave it just so...)

Had to do a heap of figgerin' to plan the lettering exactly...

...but sometimes things don't turn out just as I'd planned!

Sometimes things have a way of working out on their own.

Congratulations, Janet & Rod!

God bless your marriage.

(source)

un-Christmas gifts

My favorite gifts are the "just because" gifts. Not required by the holiday, birthday, or anniversary...

These gifts say, "I was thinking of you."  These gifts are from the heart & speak to my heart. They could be extravagant or picked up from a dumpster. 

My lil' sis knows me well. She knows my heart. She knows I am a lace & pearl romantic, and have a wedding shrine in my bedroom. She knows I love wedding gowns of all shapes & sizes, and have a small collection of them. 

My sweet sister happened across two and brought them down for me over Christmas. 

ahhhhhh! 

the lace -- the ribbon -- the chiffon -- the horse-hair braid in the hems... 

She also knew that if I didn't want the gowns themselves, I'd certainly find a way to use the fabrics.

Thank you, Beverly! 

Love my Daddy!

He's an amazing man -- a one-armed farm boy turned preacher turned school administrator turned teacher turned principal turned substitute... A regular jack-of-all-trades along the way. There is nothing Daddy cannot do. (Well, since he's "retired", there are some things he chooses not to do.)

He's a mathematician extraordinaire, a hunter, a singer, a tinkerer, a fixer... He does a bit of wood-working in his spare time. Here are a few items from his portfolio:

I treasure the time I was able to spend with him assembling my college graduation gift: 

 There are no words to describe the precious oak cradle he crafted for Harrison:

My boys love their "Poppy" & wish they could spend more time camping with him:

Daddy has always been there to support me - rescue me when a car breaks down, bring my boys home from school... give me away on the most important night of my life:

(...goofing off at wedding rehearsal...)

I love you, Daddy! Thank you for being the most wonderful second-most-important man in my life.