Before and after the sepia editing.

These are  some of the images I was working from... I didn't have much leeway as I have been collecting them for several years and I only had these and 3 more.  Three of them were either too grainy or too small to use or not the right pose...  As you can see they were either black and white or various shades of sepia...

  I cropped them so the girls were about the same size, discarded the two lower right because they didn't fit....  Than I entered them individually into Picasa.  After I made them all sepia and   I used the color temperature bar to get them as close as possible to the same shade of sepia.  Here is what I ended up with.

When you see the before and after below you can see it was well worth the time it took to do the editing.  Not hard but time consuming with this many photos...  If I can find a replacement I will discard the lower right photo...not my favorite as it has a kinda   greenish tinge I could not get rid of entirely...  I just love the photos tho....aren't just sweet as well as saucy!!!!

 

More Ribbon Magic!

Marilyn Nepper in Canada really got busy on her computer and found some great sites with even greater instructions...

  She even found another book which I have on order...  Another reader gave me the names of two Dover books which were reprints of ribbon work from Victorian times. When they come I will give you a review.   Right now I'm on overload and as I get it all sorted I will share with you.
 
Here are a few sites Marilyn found and you can see they are from Threads magazine. http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/33810/the-box-pleat-experiments-part-2-cross-drape-trim/page/all
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/33809/the-box-pleat-experiments-part-one-single-and-double-garland-trim/page/all
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/25602/how-to-make-a-lovely-pleated-ribbon-trim/page/all
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/26183/how-to-make-a-striped-origami-belt/page/all
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/22717/how-to-make-ribbon-trim/page/all
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/27231/another-way-to-make-pleated-ribbon-trim/page/all

But I did want to share how fabulous the folding becomes when you use striped, plaid or variegated ribbon

 

One of the sites Marilyn found showed this pleated ribbon trim on the cuff of a Victorian dress and gave directions how to reproduce it and I love the lace under it.

And another book I  ordered (or maybe it was the same one) had a chapter on braiding and weaving ribbon.  I have bags and bags of 1/4" ribbon from thrift stores and except for weaving it into lace, there not much more I do with it.

What I really need of course is more ribbon...  Remember this ribbon and trim store in LA in 2012?  At that time I was just shopping for velvet ribbon...

Hail my Romertopf collection...thanks to Allie

On my visit  to Allie last spring another life altering thing happened.....  Her husband Robert was baking bread using a Romertopf (clay baking pot) and getting the most wonderful crust of rustic artisanal breads which DH adores...

I learned to bake bread in the 50s and it has been a lifelong passion... I love the smell of yeast, the feel of kneading the dough and the smell of it baking.... but alas some time  in the late 90s DH started buying the  artisanal breads at Costco...  I bought special artisanal bread cookbooks, used a baking stone and experimented with ways to inject moisture into the baking process but never could get it "right." Finally just gave up but I surely missed baking bread...

Now Romertopfs are a pretty pricy new ($50+) so they were at the top of my thrift store list.  It took a while but I found the deep round one  (back left) and it makes a large round loaf.  It was a 50% discount  day so I got it for $3.. I kept looking for a loaf shaped one  and found it for $5 and then I had seen the shallow round several times and passed it over...  Finally the light came on and I realized that it would be perfect for Tuscan flat breads so it now part of my collection ($5). I even found one for a friend.

You preheat the Romertopf in a 425 degree oven.  Mix dough of your choice and do the final rising in a bread pan lined with baking parchment.  When it is risen you use the baking parchment as a carrier and drop the dough (paper and all) into the hot Romertopf and cover. 

But do they make the best crust EVER...  I'm now looking for someone with a well seasoned sour dough starter...  I have one going but one aged years  is better.... I'll keep looking...   I am now baking bread  a couple times a week... Husband is over-the-moon happy and me too!!! 

Skills for the CQJP 2015

 

Addendum:  Here are a couple websites with tutorials... 
http://historicalsewing.com/pleated-trim-jazz-your-victorian-neckline
https://www.mayarts.com/make-a-victorian-style-ribbon-pleat/

I picked 2 skills to improve as a personal challenge  during the CQJP2015.... One   I had for 2012 but going further with it... ribbon trim folding..  I fell in love the first time I saw ribbon manipulated for trim and it was a display by Candace King and unfortunately it wasn't the class she was offering...

 She does have a schedule of where she teaches. I would love to take her ribbon folding class and Candace does get to Seattle several times a year but the class and my schedule have never worked.   I love these trims because they are so unique and can be done with inexpensive ribbon..  When you do them for CQ there is the bonus that you can do them with a small amount of ribbon...

I  determined that they are my #1 skill for my  CQJP2015 blocks.

 I did buy a book, "Ribbon Trims" by Nancy Nehring to try my hand at it in 2012 and I did do three folded ribbon trims in the Morris book...


I could handle the easy ones in the book but I have to admit I had trouble following her directions for the trims she had marked as "challenging"..  I'm taking the book with me when I see Susie again and see if between the two of us, we can get some more figured out...

The second skill is going to be paisleys of all types.  Paisleys (Persian Pickles) arrived in the US via Scotland in 1888 and were immediately embraced by crazy quilters.    I have done a few over the years but this year is going to be studying them in depth... I can see this developing into a major tutorial.

This is Betty Pillsbury's award winning quilt entitled "Paisley" and you can see two prominent ones on it...

The "Good Stuff" and all is not lost.

I know I'm not the only one who saves the "good stuff"  Stuff so good that you will most likely die saving it... I have a drawer for special laces that are very fine and very old....all exceptionally delicate    Well now they are seeing the light of day.  These CQJP blocks are going to be finished in 4s and are for my 3 oldest granddaughters...  So NOW it's time for the good stuff..

 

And this lace is precious because it is handmade from Italy and belonged to a relative of an Italian friend.  There are 8 of them and they were made for use on the corners of linen napkins.

All this lace is made from very fine thread and I'm so glad to be finally using it.  Every so often I would get it out and fondle it...  I will probably antique it all but not dye it any colors.

On another note.... I had saved paisley ties to use on this project and the one on this block is way too strong... But all is not lost.  I can cover it with a piece of fine lace and forge ahead.