Lavish with Laces - Part 2

I want to get going again on CQJP as this March block was the last one I did.

I desperately need something to work on for this upcoming trip and I can baste down laces without my magnifying lamp. Since I am woefully behind in the CQJP2016 challenge   I've decided to lace up 6 blocks and take them along to baste in Alaska.

For years I have had a special drawer for my most precious laces... not necessarily precious monetarily but precious in that I loved to fondle them... They will be pretty much depleted by this project.  First I lay out the six blocks and begin sorting a pile of lace on each block.

I am looking for a balance with each block having a good variety of laces.  Hopefully each block will have some fine handmade laces, antique gossamer laces, inexpensive machine laces and both tatted and crocheted laces...each different.

After I get them pretty much sorted and pinned, I lay them all out side by side to see how well they harmonize and then do some fine tuning...  The three finished blocks are across the top as the new blocks have to blend with them also... You might also notice that I have left a unadorned area near the center of each block.  That is for the placement of the gold work feature added later.

I am mainly looking for variety in texture as the texture of the laces is the very essence of these blocks.. Below I used a very special delicate hand made lace from Italy along with machine made lace and hand crocheted lace.  I try to include several on each block that lend themselves to beading.  The narrow laces can be worked into seam treatments.

Here is another shot of with an juxtaposition of a variety of laces.  The lovely lace lower left was from a vintage collar I bought on Portobello Road in London last fall..  The fine lace at the bottom center was from a tattered section of an old wedding dress.  I only had one sleeve.  Lower right is very inexpensive machine lace but it beads beautifully. The narrow lace I put on the ribbon will be incorporated into a seam treatment...... layer and stack.....layer and stack.

You may have noticed that I only used plain ribbon to bury edges and for the seam lines and there is a reason for that.  I used grosgrain, velvet, silk and both sides of satin ribbon (  the shiny side and the dull side.)  With all the texture of the laces any fancy seam treatments would be invisible.

The ribbons act as a canvas for fancy stitching.  Here you can see how nicely a seam treatment shows up on the grosgrain ribbon... the ribbon is edged on the upper edge with two  different narrow laces...layer and stack...layer and stack!

Here is a seam on a ribbon that had a nice texture but was about 2" wide but I just cut it to size and buried the raw edge under the daisy trim.  Lower left the satin ribbon on the seam that is edged on both sides...one is a scalloped eyelet and the other is a lace especially nice for bead embellishment.

Here is a better shot of that area... Don't you just love the tiny vintage MOP buttons?

Again here is that entire block...  It was the March CQJP2016.  I did a "Lavish with Lace - Part 1" some time ago and it is in Block Talk...  Lots of tips and techniques!

I'll do a block talk on color when I return.

This and that on the farm and leaving town!!!

We had a huge storm a week or so ago and after it was over we were missing a hen so I got four 10 week old pullets on craigslist. Mixing chickens is a pain and so am going through all the drama of introducing new chickens.  Even though the old hen is outnumbered 4 to 1, she can't help herself and has to terrorize the poor new girls.  I have to keep her penned separately so they can eat without being harassed.  Then after she lays her egg I put her out in the garden and keep the young ones penned. It's like a carefully orchestrated ballet.  Not sure how I will explain all this to the house sitter.  They won't be laying for another month and hopefully by then will work things out with the old hen... 

 

Our Molly dog is having age-related mobility problems and now we have a ramp to make it easier for her to get in and out of the house...She wouldn't walk on the hard surface so now she has a red carpet.  She's needing a lot of extra attention now.

 

Remember my favorite neighbor?  The one with all the garbage who sits on his deck and shoots at owls and hawks... Well now his pigs are always getting out and coming over to eat our apples on the ground and chase each other around the garden.  He does not think it's a problem as they eventually  do go home but they come and go whenever they please.  Morris stays on the porch to bark at them...pretty wise move on his part.

 

 

 

 

Have you ever mislaid something and it drives you crazy looking for it.  One of braces on the stand for my magnifying lamp wouldn't stay attached and I put it somewhere SAFE until I could drill a hole and put a bolt in it.  That was weeks ago and I have even crawled around on the floor with a flashlight looking under everything to no avail.. This is not small...about 12" long with a caster the size of an orange and heavy..  I keep thinking it will turn up but I really need it as without it my beloved lamp is not only not mobile it is not stable.  So with the frustration of my eye problems, the heat, the unstable lamp, the chickens and the rampant pigs I'm glad to be leaving town...although feeling a bit guilty leaving our lovely house sitter to deal with all this.

We are going to Ninilchik Alaska Wednesday to visit my son.  He has a fishing lodge and hopefully DH will get a fish or two.  I love hanging out in the kitchen with the chef and have delicious meals cooked for me and they even have a masseuse (although I have never used her).  And even better than that, they have an espresso machine so I can have a white chocolate mochas whenever I want... decadent.   It has been seven years since I had been there...and this will probably be my last time as I'm not traveling well and getting there requires three different planes and the last hour by car.   It has been in the 90s here and it looks like it will be rainy and in the 60s in Ninilchik.  It will feel so good to be cool and pampered.... 

Block Talk - Hot and steamy CQ

 

Our very first retreat was only attended by about 10 of us from CQI and we slept in every nook and cranny of Leslie Ehrlich's house and had a grand time.  It was there I first met Lauri Bergesser and from that time on this is how I see her... Lauri, Lauri in all her glory...


And she stitched a block that  is my all time favorite for over-the-top theme... a cover  of romance novel....

The focal point is hot and steamy indeed.  Of course his shirt is open...flesh against flesh...hot stuff.....well not too hot by today's standards.
I can remember as a teenager reading one of these and was so disappointed that the story didn't live up to the cover...but I did have fantasies about the cover.

Lauri uses color (all colors) in wild abandonment and her pieces are heavily embellished and this piece is no exception...

And as many times I have pointed out the paths for the eye to move around the block, can you find them here?

But I especially want to you to notice is that even heavily embellished, there are plenty of quiet areas in this block... Without these quiet areas it wouldn't be possible to see all the details.  There is a fine line between heavily embellished and junky and its having the quiet areas that is the difference.

And there are details aplenty.  Besides the passionate couple embracing, there is a knight in shining armor, a dragon, a castle wall with a swan in the moat, a crown, a castle, several cupids, a new day dawning, somewhere over the rainbow and most importantly a pair of rose-colored glasses.... you MUST not miss those. 

I hope you enjoy this theme as much as I have over the years.  It's always a reminder not to take everything too seriously...

Lauri has masses of red curly hair that suits her perfectly, a wicked sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye...and she also has a fabulous coat of many colors.. I am delighted that I will be seeing her in September.

Here are  other pieces of her work....

I hope to get another block talk done before I go to Alaska to visit my son, but they take a fair amount of time to write.  

Photos of your pets for me to paint!

I have an offer in Etsy to a paint a personal portrait of your pet on a mother-of pearl button but it is easier and the results are better if I have   good photos to work from. 

If the pet to be painted is deceased then send multiple photos as I can create a composite using the best of each photo.  One shot might show the coloring better and another may catch the personality in eyes.

But if your pet is alive and well here are some tips to gather the best image.

Get down to their level…this is the most important tip.  
 Most people create images looking down at their pets as that is actually the way we see our pets most of the time. 

 Get down to the pet’s level to capture an image.  If you can't get down on the floor, raise the pet to your level by putting them on a bed and you sit on a chair by the bed.  This is much more eye-catching angle and really draws you into the character of the pet.

Get your pet’s attention….. Call his or her name, make sounds they respond to, and talk to them to get them to look at the camera.   Sometimes when you make a sound or talk to them they will cock their head or perk up their ears. You can also use treats! Pets will almost always look right at the treat or toy.

But sometimes staring straight at you is not the best. It is actually a nicer shot if they are just looking over your shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

If you have an assistant, even better! Have them hold the treat or draw their attention where you’d like the pet to look.  

 Also an easy way to photograph a happy pet is to have a quick play session and then they are relaxed and happy when you get out the camera.  If you are ordering a portrait on a button, sending the photos to me via an email attachment is the easiest.