Lamentations 3:22-23
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
i find sunrises endlessly fascinating. each one is a unique and constantly changing light show. the light in the house windows perfectly matched the sunrise as i first looked out, so of course i grabbed my camera and tried to capture it. a few minutes later those lights were gone, faded to oblivion.
no progress pictures tonight. i finished embroidering the next piece of challenge fabric, but too late to take pics. i’m going to wash it then go to bed, hopefully it will be dry and ready to cut tomorrow. in the meantime let me share with you one of the riches that feeds my soul….
“ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. in your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” oscar wilde
i played around with my embroidery patterns and the layers and decided on a line drawn paisley. the stitches will be close enough together to hold all the threads from the hankie in place, but open enough to let the colors come through. i chose pink point d’esprit for the top layer to brighten up the hankie which was a little to pale for what i wanted. it also mutes the greens and makes them more subtle.
my first attempt was done in white thread to add another dimension to the fabric. it was nice but not quite what i wanted. a good thing since i accidentally grabbed a cutaway stabilizer instead of the tearaway i had planned on. the fabric was much too stiff, and the stabilizer showed through far to much. upon reflection i realized the tearaway would end up with similar problems since the stitching was so close together.
for my second attempt i used a heataway stabilizer instead and my palest pink embroidery thread.. success! i loved the colors. the green was still there but very subtle and the pink had lots of dimension and definition. only one problem… i failed to read all the fine print that said this stabilizer should not be used on silk since the heat needed to remove it could scorch the silk :doh!
undaunted i used a press cloth and with great care was able to get rid of most of it, without scorching the chiffon bottom layer or melting the point d’esprit 🙂 (happy dance). the fabric is still a little stiff but that should work out well for the bodice. i’ll just use a lighter weight lining than i had planned.)
here is the finished fabric
in real life the quilting forms a definite pattern rather than the random stitches you can see here. i’ll have to figure out how to photograph it properly.
tomorrow i’m going to try to make some more fabric using a water soluble stabilizer, since i need to skirt ruffle that will be made out of it to drape better. i didn’t try it before because the silk can stiffen when it gets wet, so i’ll just have to cross my fingers. if it does stiffen i can probably soften it by crunching and wiggling it.
today’s pick me up. i wouldn’t mind feeling blue if i could look like this 😆
so my “craft add” hit today and instead of working on more of the pattern, i started designing the fabric. (how can i make the pattern until i know what the fabric is like? :lol:) i haven’t figured out how to put pictures from my screen up on flickr, so nothing to show here for all my work today. i’ve got a couple of embroidery patterns made to test out and hopefully one of them will fit the picture in my mind. i’m planning to embroider thin silk hankies over the silk and then cut out the bodice pieces from the resulting sandwich, we’ll see how it goes.
the challenge is now officially started, so today we started sewing. ember is going to be the model for this challenge, since she will be representing meldilorn manor at a charity ball at the end of the month. chloe usually dresses in a casual style, but for this event she needs a very formal dress.
the first fitting shows lots of changes are needed to the original draft.
the second fit looks much better but still needs some adjustment. also the top is not working out as we had hoped in this stiff fabric so a reworking of the design is called for. the black shows where the pattern will be split.
a miscalculation in cutting off the side back will be an easy fix. the fit is good. those little wrinkles should disappear when the seams are clipped.
we had to make a small adjustment at the top to snug it up but overall it looks good. chloe now wants a shorter dress from the pattern as well, but she’ll have to wait till the formal one is finished 🙂
i much prefer my whites in flowers, rather than the stuff on the ground right now
he looks so cute and cuddly. red pandas are one of my favorite animals.
“my husband says that i can bring home as much fabric as i can hide.”
twenty five reasons for buying fabric
1. it insulates the closet where it is kept.
2. it helps keep the economy going. It is our patriotic duty to support
cotton farmers, textile mills and quilt shops.
3. it is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.
4. it was on sale.
5. Okay, it wasn’t on sale, but by the time it was, all the good stuff would be gone.
6. a sudden increase in the boll weevil population might wipe out the
cotton crop……..for the next ten years.
7. it keeps without refrigeration. you don’t have to cook it to enjoy
it. you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose or walk it.
8. you need some extra weight in the trunk of your car for traction on
snowy, icy roads. this is important even in warm climates. you
never know when the weather will change.
9. like dust, it’s good protecting previously empty spaces in the
house, like the ironing board, laundry hamper and the dining room table.
10. when the big earthquake comes, all the fabric shops might be
swallowed into the ground and never seen again.
11. it’s not immoral, illegal or fattening. it calms nerves, gratifies
the soul and makes me feel good.
12. you’re working on building a complete collection.
13. because it’s there
14. it won’t break.
15. it’s much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting, and you can change the look more often.
16. you have new shelves for fabric storage, and if you don’t fill them up, they won’t look right.
17. they get angry when you steal it.
18. it will go with some you bought last year.
19. it’s so pretty, and you’ll use it some day.
20. a large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.
21.to keep the bed from falling down
22. i’m setting a good example for my children.
23. it’s raining (sleeting, snowing, hailing, thundering, sun’s too hot?).
24. it’s important to invest in cotton futures.
25. buy it now before your husband retires and goes with you on all of
your shopping expeditions.
