The Last Blush of Summer

I usually see this flower during late July or August. The blossom will last about 36 hours if the weather is perfect. The fragrance gets more intense during the middle hours and goes down hill fast. The fragrance would be the perfect perfume. Oh, how short the tome is to enjoy this lovely. It did not bloom until this week. I had almost missed the delight!

Pippie Longstocking - My Version

On Monday morning, I was asked to help with Pippi Longstocking for my granddaughter, Lucy. I was very enthusiastic about this change of costume. It was a "dead cheerleader". She is only 6, going on 7 and "Grandmother" approves of Pippi Longstocking! This little apron took yards and yards of bias seam binding, which I was able to make with my Clover seam binding gadget. Really the most inventive little sewing aid!

I had to put this over three days, as I ran back and forth to the shop. And then about 1:00 Wednesday (today for me). I realized that she needed this for school on Friday. I stopped answering phones and just worked. But it is going out today by UPS. I can now breathe easily. All is well in my world!

Here is a cute Utube of Pippi Longstocking!

Happy Halloween

I just looked at the date on this postcard. It is Oct 30, 1994. This is a testament to my stashing things away. It is from my darling niece and she had purchased it during a visit to Mexico.
I am deep into preparations for Halloween. I had finished my grandson's outfit of "Astro Boy" and then yesterday I heard that my granddaughter changed her mind from "dead cheerleader" to Pippi Longstocking. I have to say that this choice is much more to my liking. Now I have to sew a pinafore/apron in the spirit of what Pippi would wear. And still do my work in the shop. Oh well, life can't get any better when one is needed by the people one loves!
Happy Halloween

Astro Boy Halloween

My son has always loved Halloween. We would spend a long time discussing what he would be on Halloween. He was Batman, a cowboy, the nerd from Ghostbusters (that was my favorite) and many others. He passed on his enjoyment of Halloween to his children. All year my son was telling me that Hollis would be Batman and Jordan was going to make it. Hollis always said he was going to be Robin t0 Jordan's Batman. Somebody wasn't listening. Finally Hollis dug in his heels and said he wanted to be Astro Boy. As life would have it, time became very short to make and Jordan needed to be doing his own work. So doing what all super heroes do, Ta Ta, I stepped in to save the day. I spent all weekend figuring, fetching and sewing. I had to look up Astro Boy in Wikipedia because that is the version that had to made. And all the incumbent problems had to be solved. The main was was the "boots". And I thought the main one was that it was night time and Hollis needed some kind of covering. So, I dyed a "hard to find at a moments notice" white Tee shirt.

This is my offering to my darling Hollis. I sure hopes that he likes it and if he doesn't not to tell me. Little hope in that, I'm sure.

The Present Is All We Have

I purchase this remnant about four years ago. It has been left out to make my memory remember (is that an oxymoron?). For some reason, I bought this and I want to know why. It reminds me of something and it won't come to the surface. And it has been four years.
Well, fortunately for me, I have a teacher. Right in this house. He came to show me that what is past is past and what is now is all we have.

The discussion began slowly and with great clarity but it soon became a little frantic.

But in the end, I got the point.

I will now put the fabric away in a drawer.

Light Hearted Tuesday

This magnificent card is a Mother's Day card that I received so many years ago that I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten the card. I used to have it in the shop, so I could look at something beautiful, something that would distrait me, lighten my mood, make me happy.
I received this card from my darling niece and her family (Bill and Annie). I hope that you enjoy this card as much as I do.
This is a magazine illustration from 1924 from "Gasette du Bon Ton". The title is "Le Parfum de la Rose".

Fall Grosgrain

It came together and surprised me with the ease. I think that this one came together easier because of my repeated practice with the first Grosgrain purse. The beads are Amber. The feel and look of Amber is very Human friendly. It feels warm and also it is easy to work with.

The purse measures12 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches high. It is lined with orange taffeta. It is light and opens wide.

My Perfect Pot

Now, if I were to order a pot that would hold all my tools that I need for cutting fabric and would stand up to "Cat Town Races", this would be the perfect pot for me.

And it is mine! It was given to me by one of my favorite people, Annie. She came down this week with her Mother. It was a very fast trip but Annie had to come to see the "Kittens" (we still call them kittens but they are really cats) and she needed to tell Frida that she loved her. Don't you love those reasons for a visit?

Her Mother needed to make a visit to FIDM, one of our favorite stores. She bought some fantastic fabric and has lots of future plans for new clothes. I hope that the next visit that we will have more time to leisurely travel through life.
The pot is perfect. It was "thrown" by Annie. It was also painted by Annie and the weight is perfect, it won't travel off the cutting table when the cats jump up and rattle everything. Don't you just love it?

My Work in Progress

After I finished the purse last weekend, I felt empty and bereft of a friend. It always seems like when I finish something that took a lot of work, thinking, and effort, I just feel depleted. And the other thing I have found out is that just resting makes me very nervous.
So I went to my fabric vault (a chest of drawers that I put some of my fabric in) and just took fabric out. I looked at the fabric, ran my hands over the fabric. I was like I was gaining energy from my source!
Well, I did gain energy. I took what I learned in one bag and now I am proceeding to the next one. The completed vision is now plaguing me for its existence in this world.
Here is a close up of my "quickie frame" and what the colors look like:

Light Hearted Tuesday

Since childhood my sister and I made our own Christmas cards. It just seemed like the thing to do. It meant that we really cared about our warm wishes for a wonderful Christmas. I still remember our discussion about it. I would imagine had an adult listened to us that would have thought those young people were a little to full of themselves but we did make them and send them.
The other thing we did was to never show or discuss what we were going to do so that when we showed our completed card to each other, we were able to enjoy the effort.
In later years I stopped doing it because I had no time left in the day but Annie kept up this lovely tradition.
The date I wrote on the back of this card is 1999. It is a special card by the date alone. But it also shows my sister's sense of humor and her involvement with stamping. Also, it shows her lovely hand writing. That is something of which I was always envious.
4 hours later: The mind is a funny thing. It meanders a path and finally comes up with a coherent thought. When I awoke today, I knew it was my sister's Birthday but it was not a conscious choice to put one of her cards up today. But I am awfully glad I did!

Nemesis or Mentor

I happened to find a cache of Grosgrain Ribbon. There were a variety of colors and for a long time I looked and studied the beauty of pure color. I finally had an insight. I made a frame and wove the many varied hues. Just doing that gave a great pleasure. But once that happened, the next idea came to me and I thought that what a splendid idea, not knowing that this simple idea was what all simple ideas require: an expert hand to implement this simple idea. For without good hands, it comes to nothing. Well, this is why I call this my Nemesis. What I was to attempt, challenged all my abilities. At all times the ribbons threatened to fall apart and the fact that I had never sewed on leather with such dedication to exactness made me frustrated and exasperated.

This is the third one. I ripped repeatedly and threw leather away. But each time I started over, I learned. So, I really can't complain because knowledge hard earned is knowledge valued.

The inside of the purse is an amazing sky blue Raw Silk. How I have saved this beautiful silk. I squirreled it away for the perfect project and this is what I chose. It is the purse for its intended use:

Where the Attraction Began.......

When I was around ten, I became aware of a beaded bag (very much like the one in the lower left corner) that my Mother had in a drawer. My Mother did not value "old" objects very much, so it was not treasured. Then I got my hands on it and I could not get enough of touching, holding, opening and generally trying to figure out why it was so beautiful. It was a beaded bag with the background black and the flowers were pansies. It had all the magic that something lovely could posess. I used it as a prop for my Halloween costume, I was a dancer and I would swing the bag. We moved shortly after that and I have no idea what became of it. I have thought of that bag and I now realize that that is why I enjoy purses so much. They represent to me something lovely that you can carry around all day and enjoy - Portable Treasures.
These bags are from the 1920's and are machine made. Arn't they lovely?

First Birthday

Well, the kittens are now junior adults, although I may call them "The Kittens" for the of the time. They were both born in the beginning of October, so I figured that "we" will celebrate their birthdays on the same day. They thought that was a terrific idea. "We love each other and want our birthdays together", they said. I asked what they wanted for a cake and Penelope said "Remember that good stuff you gave us a long, long, long time ago". I said "Yes, Penelope, I remember and it wasn't that long ago". "Okay, I will get it". "And, we want a candle!". I responded, "No, no candle. It is dangerous". So, we settle on the Mickey Mouse One. And here it is.
And now they are one.

Treasures in the Hand

These are new doodads that I got off ebay. I think I need to go on a 12 step program to learn to resist ebay. But these pieces are still wonderful and I will use them as fobs on purses. The white pieces are carved Jadeite and the dark one is Nephrite Jade. They are all carved but the best piece is the middle one. And with my photographic skills in its infancy, I don't know the tricks to show how beautiful it is but please trust me.
The white pieces came with their own string necklaces. Really very beautifully done. When I get a package from the Orient, it is so exciting because the wrapping is different and my stomach always says " Oh goody something special". It feels a little like Christmas and then the feeling is complete when I look at my treasures.