How cool are these?

As I mentioned earlier I was going to make black organza flowers to use with my collection of beaded, sequined, and lace leaves on the suffrage quilt.

Well after about the third organza flower I was bored with that and wanted more variety and gathered up a lot of various trims, braids and gimp.

I just gathered them and arranged in a circle and added a vintage glass button for a center.

How cool are these!!!

From black and blue to yellow and green

The bruising and swelling have subsided and I'm changing colors like a kaleidoscope.  What looks like penciled-in eyebrows are actually two of the four incision scars..  My son suggested I have eyebrows tattooed over these scars when all the swelling is gone and the rest of the stitches have dissolved. My surgeon made the teeny tiniest stitches....would make any quilter proud.

If  I were a really brave person I'd have some some fancy CQ seams tattooed instead... alas not quite that brave.

Now that October is looming and I lost most of last week, I am taking all the extra time that my wonderful helper can give me... Yesterday we redid the shade cloth on the greenhouse as extra security against losing the plastic to fierce winter winds.  If you have ever had to try to put a new cover on a big greenhouse in the dead of winter, you know how this extra step is worth the effort.  The greenhouse is 100 feet long but I only keep 50' of it covered.  I actually don't use it much anymore but try to keep it up as who knows when we will have to sell.

Today it will be moving plants, more squirrel barriers, and starting to gather things in for the winter....tools, hoses, wheelbarrows, plus winterizing the tractor...

Benchmark block finished....

This week while convalescing, I worked on this block until I felt it was enough.  It will be the benchmark for the rest of the blocks.  I pretty much followed the decisions I wrote about recently... It is pretty heavily embellished but I have some strong perimeters.  First of course there are lots of fancy seams but I'm strictly sticking to the colors in the block.

Next there will be lots of flowers (velvet and organza) and beaded leaves....all in black.  All inspired by lovely Victorian hats.

I made beaded fans such as these for a challenge project and will use them here.  They are done on felt and then appliqued on.

And of course vintage buttons... both glass and metal. I have a lot and most were gifts.  I want to use them all.

And of course I have many pieces of vintage or vintage-inspired jewelry to include.

I had my eye surgery last Wednesday and it went well.  Of course I still look like I was hit by a truck but when the swelling and bruising goes away, I believe (with some concealer) the scars on my face will be barely noticeable.

And for those of you who are keeping score the squirrels are winning and we will start with the THIRD bag of cement this week. ...persistent little devils... But the last time they wintered under the house they tore the insulation off the heating ducts to line their nests.

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Finished with last chatelaine

This gift chatelaine will go out in tomorrow's mail.. Then I can focus completely on the suffrage blocks.  I did make a couple little refinements on this chatelaine.  Instead of sewing the two sections together at the back of the neck, I connected them with a button.  Not only does this allow the recipient to adjust the length of the chatelaine, but the button acts as a pivot or hinge... I'm thinking this might be a very good thing.

I always make the pin cushions with a yoyo stuffed with poly and use a large button to flatten it.  Instead of a button this time I used a bezel --- one I use for my button.  I drilled a few holes in it so I could sew it on and then glued one of my buttons on it...  Another good thing!!!




On helper day last week we were mixing cement and filling every hole and crevice in the back of the house.  The oldest part of the house has a loose stone foundation and critters find a way under or through to spend the winter soakin up the warmth of the house and having a litter of young in the spring.  These critters often include squirrels, feral cats, rabbits and skunks.  Of course skunks being the very worst senario. In past years I've buried wire and cement blocks and still they dug under.  This time my helper dug very deep and we buried heavy wire and filled in with cement and then I'll stack cement blocks in front of that.

   

It's now or never!

Discovered earlier this month when I hauled out the UFO suffrage blocks that it was with extreme difficulty I could see to work on the dark colors.  Unless I forge ahead and finish I won't be able to finish.....period. I had been more or less paralysed with this project because I was cautioned by someone I respect not to OVER embellish it because the theme is so serious.. Every time I started I agonized over what would constitute TOO much... But now that seems the least of my worries and I'm just thinking "harmony" with anything I add.

It is now my #1 priority and all else can wait.