Another BIG finish!!!

Another BIG finish is my lace jacket.  I had started this to take on our cruise last year but had a melt down working white on white.  I had all the lace work done and it just had to be assembled. 





















I had started this also to use up some of my lace stash but it didn't even make a dent.  When my daughter-in-law was here, she drove me all over town looking for something to wear under it.  I had my heart on something   leaf green  with a tapered leg  and we found absolutely nothing.

When visiting Susie in California I found a knit jump suit on the first rack in the first store we shopped in.  It has gathers at the ankles to show off these funky shoes I found on the internet.  Not only are the shoes gorgeous they are cork soled  and are super comfortable.

The final thing to finish is jewelry and I still haven't done anything with all these green components but that is next on the list.











While I recovering   I went to visit Susie Wolfe and mostly dozed on her couch and Susie gathered up the jacket parts and assembled them beautifully

.  We met on the CQI site years ago  and became fast friends.  I have been to visit her 3 times and she had come here 3 times, we went on several retreats together and she went with me and the suffrage quilt to Houston....



Although she doesn't crazy quilt any more she still has all her stash.  I had taken some laces that might work for the front edge but Susie found a better one in her stash...(see you never should get rid of any stash...)   So the next pictures you see of this jacket will be at the wedding March 5 in Mexico and I'll be in it. It has now become my official  attire for weddings of grandchildren.  Maybe I will also wear it for my upcoming 80th birthday...

Back story on butterflies....

The ideas of butterflies was actually a late addition to the vest and they were all done by friends.. I wish I would have thought of it sooner.  These are friends whom I consider special blog friends although I have met 4 of them in person... Their butterflies have become such important parts of the vest that I check them all when I wear the vest and think of each and every stitcher with love.

You have all heard of the expression "involved from day one"... well Susan Elliott has been involved with my blog since  day two..  She commented on the second post I did .... 1485 posts ago and has been with me ever since.  She has encouraged me when I didn't even know I needed encouragement   and has been a treasured source of inspiration.  I met her in CT at the big CQ adventure and not only is she insightful, she's a incredible force of energy.  She constantly sends me things she thinks I should read or do or need... I owe her a so much...

The butterflies came about because of a blog friend whom I have never met in person but  when we do meet it will be as old friends.  Lisa Boni wrote and said she would like to contribute in some way to the vest and I suggested a butterfly and I am so grateful that she thought of it... I have followed Lisa's blog for years.  Not only is her work exceptional but she carries the serenity and thoughtfulness found in her needlework to her home, photography, art work, garden and family.  And we both share a love of birds... Some day we shall sit and stitch together...I just know it.

I met Susie Wolfe through CQI and the blog.  She has to be the most extraordinary seam person I know.  She is so meticulous and precise. Every CQ site on Pinterest has examples of her work..  We have stitched together  many times (most recently Houston) and when we are together the ideas just explode... She is just so much fun, fun, fun.. and we spent a lot of time in Houston planning what we are going to do next...  If I broke a leg, had a stroke or needed help, I know I could call Susie and she would be on the next plane.

Marilyn Nepper and I have never met in person but she comments on almost every blog post. For which I am ever so grateful... It is so helpful to know there is actually a person out there reading what I write.  We correspond often as we have so many things in common.  Besides needlework we are both country girls, share problems of eyes and joints and commiserated over the loss of a beloved dog.  We also both love birds.   Her butterfly is so colorful and fanciful that I was delighted to have the perfect fabric in a patch to compliment it.

I found Janet Popish  through CQI and we were in early round robins together..  We met in person at the very first CQI retreat... She is deceptive and easy to underestimate as she is quiet and gentle..  But still waters run deep as she is very perceptive and wickedly funny besides being a marvelous stitcher.  I am set in my ways when on a project but if Janet made a suggestion she is one of the few people I'd listen too.  A couple times she offered excellent advice on the vest and if she comments on a blog post I know I "done good". This incredible butterfly is teeny tiny French knots...hundreds of them.

Last but certainly not least is the butterfly from Laurie Burgesser.  It did not arrive until the day after I left but I knew it was coming and had a spot saved for it.  So it was with me in spirit and is on the vest now...  Years ago Laurie started calling me her NuMom and I think of her as my "rainbow daughter."  I adore everything she does as not only does she have a marvelous sense of color she touches her work with delightful whimsy..  Her romance novel quilt is one of my all time favorites.  When I was gathering my intense colors for this vest, I thought of her often.

So this post is a great big hug and thank you to my "butterfly friends" and I am so happy to have you as part of this project and forever friends as well!!!

Jacket...oops! vest!

In the final stages the jacket became a vest.  I simply didn't like the lace sleeves and I ran out of time...  but I will probably wear it more  as a vest.  Susie never had any trouble finding me in a crowd.  I could hardly walk more then a few yards and someone would stop me to look at it and it was photographed over and over again... 

I still have a few final touches I overlooked.  Like there are lots of spider webs and I forgot the spiders.. 

I wanted it to have the look of an antique quilt and it does... The colors are WAY out of my comfort zone but in the end I love it and it was perfect for my Houston adventure.....




















I am trying to get organized and will return all the threads used for the seams to their color groups... But I thought you might like to see them still on the ring before I disassemble it.  I really went through a lot of thread on this project...  More about the special butterflies later...
  You can see that all the colors I chose to use for the seams are just a shade off from jewel tone but it worked... There were some greens on this ring that I have already removed for the wool RR.

The pattern was Butterick 5789 but you can see  I shortened it a lot and changed the hem line...  and I started it April 26th

Third time's a charm

It has taken me ALL morning just to get the lace basted down... First it was too flat and then next time it was gathered too much.  I finally eased it as I went with my thumb.....about 1/8" every 1/4" stitch...  Now I have to be gone all afternoon and will finished the lace tonight...

Panic time yesterday... There is a black band around the front edge and went to find the crushed stretch velvet yesterday only to find that

 with Halloween next week that it was not that easy to find...  Finding odd bits to fix as I go along such as I forgot the top knot feather on the quail etc.

?/applique and what size am I anyway?

I've started a lamb for Kathy Shaw's wool block and since this is completely backward from how I usually do these off-the-block critters, I will share the process with you...

I am sure there is a name for this procedure but I haven't a clue what to call it... Ordinarily  I embroider the critters and trim extremely close to them and applique it on the patch...  Here are a few BEFORE I trim them close

This time instead of trimming close I will leave the excess and dye it with alcohol ink.  I will put the whole thing on the block and work on top of it....
I can stitch on this now because the jacket is   under construction and I can tote Kathy's block with me.  I really want to get it done before I leave.












In my eagerness to start my jacket I neglected to make a sample of the pattern to make sure it fit...  I did that very thing today and luckily it does fit...  I wasn't even sure what size of pattern to buy.  Patterns used to run large but the the whole sizing for women has changed so much and it has been so many years since I've sewn from a pattern... To compound the problem I'm not even sure what size I am.  Over the last year I have gradually lost 35 pounds but still wear the same fat clothes.

 But since the sample did fit and I started in earnest today.  First I added another layer of the tricot knit interface.  When I did the patchwork I did it much larger that the pattern to allow for any shrinkage with all the stitching.  The backsides have a beauty of their own..

The left side was perfect but the right side was really cutting it close in a couple spots and I may have to add a patch in one spot.

Because I am under-tall, I shortened the garment a LOT...  The front edge is at an angle because it laps across.

I am still working out how I'll do the lace sleeves.  I can always use it as a vest if it doesn't work.. I always try to have a backup plan...  Much of my lift has been the backup plan......



End in sight...sorta!

Nine days left.  After facing reality I accepted I couldn't get the last critters done in time so will spend the next few days adding eyes, beaks, spider webs, butterflies (more about them later) and fine tuning seams, etc.

 

Here are the motif embroideries... most birds still need eyes and beaks...the last touch.

Here's the front section...

 

 

 

Road Trip & Thead MBR tweeks

We are going out of town for about a week or so...and it is a road trip that entails about 14 hours  in the car for the round trip....  Since I want to still work on seams but can't manage templates in the car, I am rapidly putting a base row of stitches on as many seams as possible so I can finish them while enroute.

The CQ look just doesn't emerge until there is a certain density of stitches.  Not there yet but working at it.  I had forgotten how big the back of this jacket is.  Not only because I am large, but the style is "swing or cape-like"

Two more refinements to the thread carousel  --- a cup for pencil and a sign clip to hold my beloved ellipse template... I was really hoping that some of the long-delayed RR blocks would show up before we leave but that doesn't seem likely now.

Happy with jacket front so far and in a pinch it could go even tho there is a lot more I would like to do.

 

Each critter has its own vignette

 

About 3 1/2 months

I checked back in my posts and I started my critters in mid May so I have been working on them for about 3 1/2 months... All the motifs are birds, critters, bugs and flowers in my garden and I wanted them to be in harmony with the size of the patches.   They are all about 2 1/2" and it takes at least day to stitch one.   Motifs too large would overwhelm the piece and motifs too small would get lost...   I'm definitely ready to get back to seams, seams, seams...

Birds and cottages....

These are for the back of the jacket... My goal was to have 6 more done (besides these) by the end of the week.  I'm not going to make it but will be close enough that I can jump right back into doing seams knowing I will have enough birds...  The birds are so much fun to pop into my bag and go,,, I'm working on a chickadee and an owl right now....and a nuthatch and mourning dove will be next.. I still haven't found the house finch.

 

I have been busy painting buttons which is always hard to find time for.  My eyes can't be tired, I have to be calm and relaxed,  and I need an uninterrupted stretch time... Hard to get all three at once...but I did get cottages and haunted houses done and am working on some birds and Santas... Usually if I am calm and relaxed, I'm asleep.  It's not something I can do while jumping up to take care of other chores.

 

Progress, my plan and Morris

I can see the end of  critters in sight and hope to have the majority of them  done next week and I do have a plan...  All the critters are done with single thread DMC floss.  I always have two critters going at once.. I just love the woodpecker.    All get their feet and beaks when appliqued.  When I started using single threads it seemed like it would take forever but now I love it...  In fact when I use two threads for seams it feels so bulky...

Plan:  I will start in earnest on the seams on the beck panel..  and it has a LOT of seams and will probably take most of September to finish...  Then I will have most of October to do the beading, extra stitching, and assembly...  I will probably be stitching right up until I leave.

 

No matter where I'm working Morris is beside me...  He barely raises his head when I go to get coffee or food, but if I pick up my little jambox speaker (for Pandora) he hops right up because he knows we are changing work sites.  I adore my dog...

 

 

 

Jacket and Aftermath Update

The two latest additions ready for this side of jacket are DH in disguise as a my prince charming and a delightful butterfly stitched by Lisa Boni from Colorado..

The butterfly is not only perfect in size and color but came when I needed a gift of caring most.  It will always be a remembrance of a longtime CQ friend.

DH is not too sure if he likes being represented as a toad...but glad to be that if it means he is on my jacket with all else I love.  I assure him that he is indeed my prince charming..

I still haven't found the missing house finch but hopefully it will turn up soon...it will go near the bottom where the turquoise stripes are..   I'm just about finished with a magpie....but I will start appliqueing what I have and finishing the seam treatments.

I have about 20 birds, etc drawn and ready to stitch for the back section..  Then I can start filling in the floral motifs which I will stitch directly on the jacket...

I am truly grateful for   the comments and concern from all of you who responded recently...  Although the house is back in order, we are both still reeling from the violence...  We have given it all much thought and have had lots of advice and are working on how we can better respond in such a situation which is more important that other precautions.  We can and will add extra alarms, lights, gate locks, etc. that would slow intruders down, but the bottom line is if someone is intent on invading your property or doing you harm, you are very vulnerable no matter what precautions you take....   Left is a photo of the knife he was also carrying..

RR and Critter Production

Lest you think I have just been sitting and twiddling my thumbs, I have been busy producing critters for the jacket.  Unfortunately I have misplaced the house finch I finished and hope it turns up before I finished the jacket.

But here is a robin, swallows, Morris, hen and chicks, bluebird like the one I did for Cathy and another hummer in progress. I need only 3 more to finish the left side..  The thing I REALLY like the most about doing these appliques "off-block" is the freedom they give me in moving them about before I stitch them down..

Now I'm going to have all the critters I love on the jacket and the critter I love the most really needs to be there...  So here is how DH will be on the jacket...

I did finish the Cathy's wool block and there is a first for me on it... The bluebird is done with bamboo thread.  I really like the texture of it...

Sleeves and new sources

My luck at buying textiles on line hasn't been good... It is just so hard to know quality and feel from a photograph and I've been disappointed so many times... But a great happy surprise yesterday.  I just love the HEAVY  black cotton  floral lace I want to use on the bottom of my jacket.   It was leftover from a large amount I had to order to use on the suffrage piece. But I needed to find an allover black cotton lace yardage that would be compatible to use for the sleeves. 

After a long search I found this and you can see that they go really well together...

So the sleeves will look something like this! I didn't want it to be a vest and my previous CQ jacket (an others I've seen) look too bulky with CQed sleeves.  It was also too warm to comfortably wear with CQed sleeves and I looked like  a CQed teddy bear



And in the search I found 2 interesting interest sites for lace yardage... I got the heavy black "allover" cotton lace at Lace Mart.  They have an endless amount of lace but their site was difficult to navigate.

http://lace-mart.com/menuq.php?val=5

At the same time I was looking for a "lightweight" vintage knitted lace which is REALLY difficult to find.  But I did find it at Laurel Farm and they had lots of vintage sewing stuff ....some a bargain and some not.... definitely unusual stuff.  I did find a reasonable lot of very old laces, mostly knitted. 

http://www.laurelleaffarm.com/pages/linens/sewingnotions/sewingnotions.htm#.U8Z6d3Xn-ic

#1 critter and lace revisited

I'm still auditioning laces for the jacket and will probably (as is my way) make and remake my decision at the last moment.  I've always been leaning toward white or ecru lace.  The reason being I feel it gives the piece the feel of a folk costume which I like... If I do, I want to use knitted lace as I love the soft draping quality of it.

Using heavier cotton black lace changes the piece altogether and it look like it belongs to a fancy lounging outfit with velvet pants.  I have enough of both laces   so that is not a problem. So to sum it up I like the richness of the black AND the happy quality of the white/ecru

But no matter which lace, the piece wouldn't be complete without my #1 critter, Morris, which is ready to applique on the right side.