And the mood strikes!

Jim and I are having a run of bad luck lately.  Our roof needs replacing… it’s only seven years old, but wasn’t well done and has some issues that need resolving… the windows also need replacing… we replaced the dishwasher last year right before Thanksgiving, but now it seems that the oven may be going as well.  At first, the light started coming on all by itself, and wouldn’t shut off.  A couple of days ago, the oven was warm inside.  Kind of freaky!

Oh yes and our router is dying.  I have a replacement arriving tomorrow… I am SO not looking forward to rewiring and configuring the entire network!  I wish that were Jim’s area of expertise, ugh!

I was feeling a bit depressed and not really in the Christmas spirit, but the mood hit yesterday!  I decided that rather than climb into the attic (ugh) and pull everything down, decorate in the homespun look we’ve adopted since living here, I was going to go get a four foot tree and put it in the window seat, and go with the vintage look that’s captured my heart lately!

I took this last night so you can’t see it very well, but Jim and I strung pearls, gold ribbon, and gold and silver leaves on it.  We had a really good time doing it!  Then I decided it needed some lace, so those lace medallions I’ve been working on?  I made more and strung them on the tree too!

I actually prefer these to the snowflakes I made last year. These are the Sue Box designs, I just love them!

I’m feeling all happy and excited once again (doesn’t take much!) and have some more projects I am hoping to make for the house for the holidays.  Some silverware pockets for the table, a couple of Christmas stockings… and whatever else I find time for.

I think Jim’s fourth and final Singer 301 might arrive today (this one is black) along with my 401a.  I can’t wait to see how a mechanical zigzag machine sews, I’ve never sewn on one!

Design wall Monday

I’ve been up most of the night pressing and sewing ruffles… high priority on my list of things to learn is to use a hemmer foot!  Double folding, pressing, stitching and pressing again quarter inch hems is quite time consuming.  Good thing to do in the middle of a sleepless night!

I’d love to tell you what I’m working on here, but as of yet I have no idea.  Something with linen and lace!  I spent yesterday embroidering lace, and have had my Bernina 830 running all night making more.  The first laces, pictured here on top, are done in Ecru with So Fine 50wt thread, on a double layer of Vilene.

The lace on the bottom, also done in So Fine, in white.  These are Sue Box designs, aren’t they exquisite?  The So Fine is absolutely fantastic for lace making!  It looks like cotton, there’s no build up of lint in my machine, and it rinses out to be beautifully soft and supple.

I also covered some buttons in the same linen I used for the ruffle, which is hanky weight.  The dark linen and the ivory linen are a medium weight.

I have a lot of projects that aren’t quilts that I am really looking forward to making, and as you can see I’m kind of on a vintage kick.  In fact… I’m seriously thinking about going for the vintage/shabby chic look in the studio and remaking the machine covers I’ve done so far!

Today I’m going to whiz into town and see if Hobby Lobby has any silk dupioni I can play with.  Do you suppose if I had an art degree and a background in sewing, I could eliminate all this “test” sewing/designing stage?  Sometimes I waste a lot of supplies in this process, but it’s the only way I can get the ideas from my brain to form.

Head over to Judy’s and see what everyone else is up to this Design Wall Monday!

Free standing lace

I have to admit, I’m crazy about this stuff.  I can never buy anything nice in my area, and I really enjoy making it.  Embroidery thread doesn’t look the greatest… the white lace in my picture below is done in Isacord… it’s the first piece I ever tried making “endless”, and it really turned out quite well, except the thread is just wrong.  Too bad… I made a full yard of it!

Today I experimented with using Superior Threads So Fine to make the lace with.  It’s a poly, but with a matte finish it looks just like cotton, without all the fuzzy mess in my machine.  Awesome!  It works great so I am thrilled with this discovery.

The ivory lace medallions are done in the So Fine.  Some of the pretty buttons I picked up yesterday, and some linen I pulled out of my stash…. some sewing machine cover ideas simmering, with a little different look!