Weekend Stitching...

My weekend began on Friday, stitching this pendant for a customer. I'll make another soon for my shop to replace this sold one. The new owner already has and is wearing this one.

I added the bee charm to the bottle I created on Saturday, so I took a few photos, including showing it lit up with my fairy lights. The little charm is on the neck of the bottle and has crystal wings for a bit of sparkle. 

I'm not sure why the lights cause a blue cast (in spite of my trying to edit that out), because it doesn't read that way at all "in person". It just has a soft white glow, which is much preferred to this blue cast!

At any rate, now it's completely finished and I can enjoy lighting it up for a while at night to enjoy.

After our Saturday craft session, I came home and contemplated how I wanted to make my Corgi brooch sparkle. This is where I stopped at the end of my session. I moved the nose bead down a bit, added a beautiful opal thread - couched in a brick pattern - and will do the feet next. 

After the feet are done, I'll start adding the chipping for the rest of his body. As always, I keep the first one, which is good. I'm my own worst critic, so I see where I could have done better on the white "ruff". I know I'll perfect the second one, knowing ahead of time how I'll put it together, having already done it here.

Yesterday was spent canning. I'll share photos of that tomorrow. I'm working today, so I'd better get organized so I get there with time to spare. See you tomorrow!

April Craft Day...

Last Saturday was our monthly craft day, and we decoupaged and decorated bottles this month. We were asked to bring empty wine bottles, but as I had none and wasn't willing to buy and empty one on short notice (a week), I reserved an extra empty the ladies had brought from yard sales they'd attended.

Half of the ladies chose to paint their bottles first, and then decorate them, but my bottle was so interesting in its own right that I didn't want to hide that under paint. I love how each of their bottles turned out, and the wonderful thing about our group is that we're all so supportive of each other. No competitions here. Just love and admiration.

This is my bottle. I was so taken with the shape. Isn't it interesting? I wondered whether it was a decanter of some sort in its prior life, or just a pretty bottle. Either way, I went with a floral/bee theme. I have a bee charm I'm going to add to the neck, but I haven't done it yet.

I'm going to add a string of battery-operated fairy lights with a plastic stopper with an on/off switch. I'll use that to light up my bottle at night just for fun.

Marie also showed us how to make ribbon brooches. The finished product is beautiful, but getting it there was murder on my hands. Wrap. Secure. Cut. Trim. Floof. Embellish. If you're interested, I'd be happy to show you how they're made in a future post. Just let me know in the comments.

Here's a little closer look at the details on my bottle. I'll add the bee today (now that I've reminded myself) and take one more photo that I'll share along with my other weekend projects when we visit tomorrow.

It's already Monday again. I hope you have a wonderful week, and that you make time for something creative this week. See you tomorrow!

Sunday Scripture...

Romans 14:11-12  Image creator unknown

 

Happy Birthday, Carly!...

Carly turns FOUR today!!!

Happy Birthday to the prettiest (she's the daughter of WMBBD, after all), silliest, and most talented little Labrador around. 

It's hard to believe she's already four. Time sure flies. As serious and driven in the field as she is, get her in the house and you just can't imagine how goofy she can be. We laugh at her nearly every day. 

Yesterday, her fixation was a rolled up sock she stole from Handsome. He took it away and set it aside more than once, only to find her sitting - alert and singularly focused on her prize. She always ended up with it in her mouth, carting it around like it was a field retrieve.

In the field, it's hard to stump her. You only can accomplish that one time for a new drill, and then she masters it as though she's done it one hundred times...with much flair, I might add.

She yodels for her meals, and talks when she has something on her mind...which is almost all the time! 

I'm sure we'll come up with something fun for her to celebrate her special day. I'm off to Portage for the morning, but the day won't pass without us giving her a special treat and letting her know how much she means to us. You know we do that every day for all our critters, but there's always something different on their birthday. As Handsome is home, it won't involve a "frilly, girly collar" like I got for Bella, but she'll be treated, nonetheless.

Happy Birthday, Carlita Puppita Mamacita!

Love, Mom and Dad (and your real Momma, Bella, too)

Spring Sunset...

This was the sky outside the restaurant as I left on Tuesday evening. The place where we gathered is at the south end of Lake Winnebago. If you aren't familiar with Wisconsin, just look at the map and you'll see that large lake in the east central portion of the state. That's Lake Winnebago, and the place I call my hometown is Fond du Lac (French for "foot of the lake"), located right at that end of the lake.

This photograph is unretouched, and I can tell you it really doesn't do justice to what I actually saw. It was raining to the east (behind me), and there was a rainbow there, while this magnificent spring sunset was laid out in front of me. The wind was blowing waves onto the shoreline and it was a fitting end to a night with friends.

My hands are still sore, so no new embroidery updates. These darn arthritic thumbs! Don't they know I have things to do? I hope some of you are managing to get a little needle dancing into your day. As for me, I'll try again today.

My Latest Project...

I haven't worked on it since last week, but this is my latest work in progress. My idea is to recreate the corgi on my "For The Love Of A Corgi" logo. I would have loved to work on it yesterday, but weather changes are wreaking havoc with my hands, so I just did other things.

I'm hoping to sit down to this again today. As it's "in progress" and a new concept, I may change things as I go (like the nose placement perhaps a teeny bit lower, and wait until the face is done to add the mouth), so we'll just see where this ends up.

I'm missing Tag a lot these days, so maybe working on this project will help me feel better. Couldn't hurt, right? 

Dinner With Friends...

I worked from 10-4 yesterday and then motivated over to a local restaurant for dinner with friends. This is the same group that worked tirelessly to host a fabulous 50th class reunion last summer. 

We rekindled our friendships - made new ones - and we all came to the conclusion that we need to see each other more often than we have in the past. We had a great time chatting about how we kept busy this winter, shared (more than) a few laughs, and have already picked a date next month to reconvene. 

I have to giggle when I look at this photo. Our friend, Mary hates having her photo taken, so she fairly hides when the camera comes out. If I'd notice this during the process, I would have probably said something, but I didn't this time, so I'll share my thoughts with you.

It doesn't matter if you're large or small, old or young, healthy or not. Photographs are the way that future generations will know we existed. A picture is a true snapshot of our lives at that instant the shutter closes. It's a recording of who we were right then.

My friends, please don't shy away from the camera. Embrace your place in history. Let your loved ones look back on your life through the images that live on after we're gone.

"Here endeth the lesson". I can hardly wait until next month, when we do this again, and next time, I'm going to stand next to Mary and prop her up if I have to. She's beautiful - inside and out - and I'm going to try to convince her she needs to radiate that out into the world.

Friday Evening Concert...

I attended the most delightful concert on Friday evening last. This was the Spring Concert for the Fond du Lac Symphonic Band. Handsome is sitting at the drum set for this particular piece, so he's not as visible in the back as he'd be were he standing. 

Handsome asked me to photograph the percussion section for this concert. L-R: John Neville, Dr. Don Steward, Victoria Essan, Emily Leclerc, Amanda Courtemanche and my heartbeat, Stephen. They worked hard the entire concert and had memorable performances throughout the evening.

The soloist for the evening was Petronel Malan, an amazing pianist - originally from South Africa - performing Gershwin's Concerto #4. I photographed her here with the band's music director, Dr. Evan Chancellor. Her performance was truly breathtaking.

Of course, we did the scrapbook photograph of the Liljegrens with Petronel, and she joined the band for their end of season gathering at a local restaurant afterward.

After Handsome and I returned home, we talked about the concert - as we always do. He asked me what my favorite pieces were, and I told him that honestly, they were all wonderful! Here's the program, in case you're interested...

 

Handsome has off now until rehearsals begin again in June for the summer concerts in the park. I always look forward to seeing all our talented friends and listening to them (and Handsome) make beautiful music. There's nothing quite like those warm summer evenings, sitting on lawn chairs with friends, and watching everyone perform. Soon!

The Newlyweds...

Saturday was so wonderful. Handsome and I were invited to witness my great-nephew, Ethan marry his sweetheart, Brianna. They've been together long enough to have three beautiful children together and recently purchased their first home. I know. I'm old-fashioned, but I've been pulling for these kids for a long time! Ethan is my sister, Diana's grandson. His mom is my niece, Stephanie.

I'm so proud of the young man he's become, and I told him so shortly before I took this photograph of them in their receiving line after the ceremony. These smiles were just for me, and I'm honored to share them with you. I have a few more to share, too...

The officiant moved out of position as he pronounced them man and wife, so the photographers could capture their first kiss as newlyweds. By the way, isn't her gown beautiful, and doesn't he look handsome?

 

 

Their first kiss. 

 

I want you to notice the next two photos in particular. If you look at Brianna's waist, you'll see that's where she pinned her "Something Blue" brooch I created for her. She made a point of showing me she had it on when we spoke in the receiving line.

 

Ethan smiled for my picture here. They had two professional photographers, so I know there will be many more much better pictures than these, but these smiles of Ethan's were for me, and they'll forever be special.

 

I've written about time spent with him in the past on my blog. If you want to see pictures of him growing up, just go to the "Search this blog" area over there in my sidebar -----> and type in "Ethan" to see how he's grown into this handsome husband and dad. You may get an understanding of how much he means to me.

 

I wasn't at their gift opening Sunday afternoon (they didn't have a big get-together. Just his and her immediate family), but I'm sure I'll hear from them when they open their gift from us.

Their family and friends were so happy to witness these two as they begin a long, happy life together. I can't wait to see where the future takes them. All I'm sure of is that they'll be together.

Sunday Scripture…

 

Matthew 19:6

 

Congratulations to our nephew, Ethan and his bride, Brianna.

May you always find comfort, shelter, and delight in each other’s arms.

Wishing you a lifetime of joy and love.

Ta Daaa!...

I want to begin this post by sharing the photograph I received of the bride's bouquet. My niece told me that the bouquet will look exactly like this one. It's silks, so I trusted her assessment. Isn't it gorgeous? My task was to try to create a finished embroidery equal to this bouquet. As you know, that bit hanging from the bottom was a bit vexing, but I think MA and I came up with the solution.

 

I took this photograph in daylight once it was complete and framed.  I stretched into a new hoop and then secured the back, covering it with a beautiful blue felt and the frame backer. This is a closeup of all my stitches.

 

 

This is the photograph I'll be using as one of the images for a listing in my etsy shop for future embroideries. It also shows you just how perfect the frame is for the monogram. 

I sure hope my nephew and his bride love the finished piece. I'll get photos of the newlyweds later today to share next week. Time to go. I'm off to a wedding!

 

Making Templates...

 

Something else I've been doing.  I shared the source for my floral alphabet letters before, but I can tell you again. The book/leaflet is is printed in Italian and English, called "In A Wheat Field" by Elisabetta Sforza.

I've been tracing the letters onto vellum to use later. I don't copy the designs as traced, but they serve as a starting point, as you'll see tomorrow when I share my recently completed wedding piece. These letters are approximately 5" tall, but they're wonderfully lush when complete.

I can't wait to share the finished wedding monogram with you tomorrow. It's going to be a fun weekend for our family. See you tomorrow. Happy Friday!

And Now It Begins...

I'm beginning to stitch on my Corgi brooch. First, I'll secured the felt base parts and next I'll proceed to add the actual goldwork components. 

I also framed the wedding monogram this morning. I use beautiful round frames that hold the hoops I use to do the needlework. I have one that's always a working frame, but once the pieces are done, I rehoop my work into a new one for my recipients.

I trimmed the excess fabric around the hoop and then take a running stitch around the edge of the fabric to gather around the back of the hoop and secure all the edges. Then, I cut a piece of felt into a circle and stitch that to the back of the piece. There is no glue involved at all. 

After I remounted the hoop into the frame, I added the backing plate. The final touch was to add a "Brynwood Bridal" label, and then I was finished! As promised before, I'll share photos on Saturday with you.

I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls (now that I've discovered just how simple they are to make). I put lots of cream cheese frosting on them, and add a container of frosting to go with the rolls I shared. They. Are. So. Good! I know I'll be sharing more with friends in the future.

I'll do more needlework today, so I'll make sure I take photos to show you how much I manage to accomplish. See you tomorrow!

Choosing Colors...

When I got home from work yesterday, I pulled a selection of colors that I think may work for my goldwork Corgi brooch. As with the wedding monogram, things are flexible until I declare it finished, so I'm sure I'll preview colors and ideas as I go. There will also be black for the eye, and red for the heart, of course!

I'm planning to prepare the calico and transfer my design today. Then, I'll begin with the padding before any stitching. We'll see how much needlework I actually accomplish though. The weather has been changing the past couple days, and it's cold again, which wreaks havoc on my hands. They're pretty sore right now. I'll take a couple Tylenol and see if that improves. If so, I'll do a lot more needle dancing than I feel like at this moment. I'll do my best, as I'm very anxious to begin this piece.

What are you working on right now? Are you doing something crafty? Reading a good book? (I must get some audio books for my stitching time!) I'd love to know what you're working on (and book recommendations would be fun, too!)

Time for a cuppa and then off to the studio! I hope you have a truly blessed day. See you tomorrow.

My Concept...

This is the template for my latest idea. I'm going to take the Corgi from my For The Love of a Corgi logo and label to create a coordinating goldwork brooch to offer for sale. As with all FTLOAC items, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to CorgiAid.

As I was contemplating the design for the brooch, I first went with the idea of a corgi profile. Then it hit me. Why not at least attempt to recreate the logo dog for my goldwork piece? So, this will be my next project. (Fingers crossed it works) I'm at work all day today, but will definitely be putting needle to fabric on Wednesday!

My day of baking was fun. In addition to bread and hamburger buns, I also made my first batch of cinnamon rolls, which was shared with Andy and Shelly. Feedback from Shelly and Handsome was that they were success. I'll be making those again, too!

Well, I'd better pull myself together. I'll be at work by 9:45 and put in a full (for me) day. I'll be back tomorrow to visit. I hope you have a great day!

Monogram Embroidery Complete...

I worked on this all day Sunday and finally completed it. There are no fewer than 24 hours of embroidery time into this monogram, and I did make adjustments along the way. (That means there was some frogging involved in the process.)

MA - I had the same issues with that green, as it did seem out of place for the rest of the colors, so I took your advice. Even though it has a larger roll in the actual bouquet, I only used the yellow/green for French knots (seen here in the curve on the lower right side) for the upper right and lower left curves.

I'm going to frame it today, and then I'll be in the kitchen baking bread. I'll share the photograph of the actual bouquet and the framed wedding monogram on Saturday (their wedding day), so I don't spill the entire surprise before their big day.

I'll be adding listings for "Something Blue" brooches to my Etsy shop this week, and I'm hoping to begin embroidery on a new goldwork piece. I've designed two different Corgi brooches, and am anxious to see if my needlework measures up to my vision.

As I said, it's baking day today, but I'll begin work on something new while Handsome is at rehearsal. Yes, it's Monday, so I know I've got that right this week. lol

Sunday Scripture...

Proverbs 27:9

 

Monogram Embroidery Day Three...

Day Three began by removing the vines from the top of the "N". Straight away I knew I'd made the right decision. I reworked it into the lower right side of the monogram below the roses, using a single thread. Much better.

This is how far I progressed before I had to get ready to leave for work. There's more to do, but I won't get back to it until Sunday as I work again today. I'm looking forward to getting back to it on our day of rest. 

I hope you're having a nice weekend. The weather is supposed to be beautiful around here. In fact, customers came in last night who said they were heading to the campground to open up their camper for the first weekend getaway of the season. Made me miss having our Airstream...a lot!

I'll be back with more progress on Monday. Who knows how far I'll get by then? What do you think of the change I made? Better?