Opera Bag - Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #7 - Accessorize

For those of you unfamiliar with the Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge, let me fill you in.  Leimomi Oakes, of The Dreamstress blog, has come up with a marvelous idea to challenge the seamstress in all of us by issuing a different challenge each fortnight for one year! 

For myself, it's challenge enough to finish anything in two weeks because I am usually working on so many different projects at one time.  However, this challenge has really engaged my interest and I am happy to report that I've finished my first project, challenge #7 - Accessorize.  
I started into the challenges a bit late in the year because of other obligations and one very amazing overseas travel adventure in February and March.  The Accessorize challenge came at a perfect time for me as I'd been wanting to make myself a Late Victorian inspired opera purse. It had to be a structured purse with a separate compartment for my opera glasses.  Challenge #7 ends on April 8 and the opera will be performing on April 12th in our small city.  So, without further ado, I present my opera purse for your perusal and enjoyment.

Beginning

Wrapping and shaping wire

adding cardboard inside of wire bottom

stitching buckram onto bottom

Adding buckram and boning sides

Wrapped wire around the top 

forming the dome lid & covering with buckram

Velvet has been stitched in place over buckram exterior and satin lining, with partition is in place.

Stitching on some trimmings

Lid is in place with satin "hinge"

Back of opera bag

Front of opera bag

Opera glasses in place!

Vintage Gams © 2013

My Windowsill Garden

Every February, I long for the Winter to be over so that I can, once again, plant my garden and flowers.    Alas, the ground is still frozen, and the temps too cold to even begin my seed starting ritual.  It will be many weeks before our last projected frost date. (April 11-20)  So what am I to do?
Fortunately, I brought in several plants last Fall and have been nurturing them on my dining room windowsill.  I even planted some nasturtiums and guess what! They've begun to bloom.  A little spindly... yes. But, still a bright spot that tells me Spring is soon to be here!
I hope they bring a little bit of joy into your own soul today.

If you look closely, you'll see that the Jade plant is blooming!

Vintage Gams © 2013

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

A sweater turned legwarmer story

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home."  
-  Edith Sitwell  

It's also the time for a warm woolen sweater!  

I once had such a sweater. A lovely cashmere and angora blend that I'd picked up at a thrift store for next to nothing.  It felt luxurious and soft... Sigh!
Perhaps, "had" is not the right word.  I still have it. Although, now, it isn't quite what one thinks of when hearing the word sweater.  
You see, my husband was trying to help me with the laundry one day and...  well, you can probably guess the rest. 
Wool sweater + hot dryer = one really shrunken  sweater.

 Now, I've been told that if you purposely toss a wet woolen sweater into a hot dryer, and wait for it to become child sized, it's call "felting".  
(However, if you accidentally do the same thing, it's called a lot of other things... most of which I couldn't possibly put into print here!)
"Felting" shrinks the wool in a way that makes it so tightly woven together that it will no longer unravel when cut.  

After learning about felting , and being the "one-part-thrifty-packrat" and "one-part-recycler" that I am, I just couldn't bear to throw the sweater away. 
There had to be something I could make from it.  
And, last week, after listening to my husband complain about his cold ankles, and being pretty chilly myself, I figured out what that "something" was.  
Legwarmers!

Here's how I did it.

First, I carefully cut the stitching between the sleeves and the body of the sweater. Then, I stay stitched 1/2" away from the top of the sleeve all the way around.
I ended up with two pieces that looked like this.

Next, I fixed my embroidery hoop into the top of the sleeve and began to stitch. I already had an idea for a design in my head and this is how it looked part way through the first sleeve/legwarmer.

After I'd gotten the first sleeve embroidered, I needed to transfer some markings to the second sleeve so that the two designs would match in size.  I laid the finished embroidered sleeve directly on top of the second unfinished sleeve and took a threaded needle and made tailors tacks through both layers, marking the ends and top of the embroidered design.   Then I just pulled the top layer off from the threads and left the thread markings on the second sleeve.

After embroidering the second sleeve, I had two that looked like this. 
Not exact, but close enough.

Since wool of any kind can make skin irritated, I lined my legwarmers with a stretch cotton T-shirt fabric for comfort. After lining them, I stitched around the top to make a casing and with a very large blunt needle, threaded pink ribbon through the casing. The ribbon will allow me to tighten the legwarmers so that they don't slip down below my knee when wearing them.
Turning under the excess lining fabric, pinning and then slip stitching in place around the lower cuff gives a nice finished edge.

My new legwarmers!

Hmm....   There's still plenty of fabric left in the body of the sweater.  

Perhaps, I'll make my husband a nice pair of ankle warmers too!

Vintage Gams © 2013

Are You Doing Your Art?

A Tribute to my Friend, Claire

The very first time that I met my dear friend, Claire, she said two things to me.
"You are an artist" and "I love you".
She scared the hell out of me!

Every time thereafter, she would greet me by saying, "Are you doing your art?"
Even after all of these years, she still says it.

You see, Claire has this amazing gift to look through all the facades that people paint on and look at the soul of a person.  She saw immediately that I was an artist.  A non-productive, doubting and terrified artist, but an artist just the same.  Claire gave me permission to be exactly who I was inside.  Something that I'd never allowed myself.  I needed to learn to give myself permission to do the things that I loved. To understand that it was no sin to develop the God granted skills and talents that I'd been given.  Rather, it was exactly these things that God wanted me to develop in myself or He wouldn't have blessed me with the talent, desire and drive to do it in the first place!
Sounds simple, but its been a lesson that I've needed to relearn over and over again.

Now that I'm an old(er) gal, I'm once again happily creating... for the rest of my life.
I've learned that creating, just because I want to, is OK.
It doesn't matter if anyone else understands or approves of my work.
It doesn't even matter whether or not it produces an income for me.
I create because I must. Just like I must breathe... or eat... or sleep.
And as I stitch, draw, paint or sculpt, my soul is finally at peace.

Thank you, Claire, for all of your love and support these past 25 years.  Thank you for feeding me, both physically and spiritually. I thank God that He sent you to me to be my friend, to encourage me, build me up and continue to keep me on track by asking,
"Are You Doing Your Art?"

Yes, Claire, I am... everyday!

Claire...    Road trip...   circa 1990

Helpful Links:

Are You Living Out Your Calling?

Discover the Work You Were Born To Do








Vintage Gams © 2013

'Tis The Season... to look back

A quick look back on 2012 and the events that happened here at Oak Crest Manor.
Beginning with December, and working backward, these are the highlights from the last five months of 2012.

December
            A Quiet and Peaceful Christmas

Christmas eve

Christmas morning... Hey, I think I've been replaced!

Plum pudding

My amaryllis bloomed right on schedule

The table is set for Christmas dinner

November

        Renovation and Dust

Entry renovation

New transom opening and beginning drywall

You can see how much we widened the doorway by the patch in the floor.

Pumpkin delivery!

Dining room side of opening

Day after Thanksgiving... No trim yet, but it's coming along.

October  - The BIG event!

Our youngest daughter was married in October and as anyone who has planned a wedding knows, it takes months and months of work.  This was the main event here in 2012 and the main reason that my blogging suffered so!  Every detail was handcrafted and/or designed & executed by myself or family members. From the glued up glassware for centerpieces & paper printables to the silk flower arrangements, the live organ music &  vocal numbers, the setting up, tearing down, hair styling, decorating, trailer rental, unloading and reloading of equipment... I couldn't have done it without the help of my dear sisters, daughters and extended family members.  Thank you!

These photos, in no particular order, are for your enjoyment & in celebration of a beautiful day!

The Timber frame barn - Reception venue

After rehearsal dinner

Wine bottle labels

Time with Daddy before walking down the aisle

A broken foot didn't stop her from dancing!

Master of Ceremonies...  Daddy!

Jordan... WOW! Can he ever dance!

The dance competition is getting serious!

My beautiful girls

Courtesy of Sere Rothert

September

Now, there's something you don't see everyday in the parking lot!

Fluff... helping to organize the closets and drawers...

 A very interesting little creature

Attending spiritual warfare class at church.

The American Queen comes through Lock 19 in Keokuk

The stacks lay down going through the lock!

August

    Transformation of front guest bedroom into formal parlor. We opened a wall, (as was original to the house), added French doors and completely redecorated this room.

Hand sanded hardwood floor

Danish oil finish being applied

Formal Parlor - East wall

West wall

Ceiling medallion

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of our events from August through December 2012.  

Stayed tuned! 

2013 looks to be even more exciting!

Here is a little hint as to what we'll be up to during the new year...

Vintage Gams © 2013