Solid as a rock, and just as heavy...

The best sort of sunday afternoons always feel warm to me, regardless of the weather.  The warmth comes from the egg-yolk yellowness of the late afternoon light coming through the curtains, the warm tea or coffee I slowly sip as I go about my tasks, and from the calm tempo of family life on this holy day of rest.

I'm sewing bassinet sheets for my sister. The machine I normally sew on is in the shop for the first time in its life.  After 34 years of family service, the tension knob finally decided it had enough and died, smack in the middle of a baby hat I was making. I miss it's stretch stitches, but not much else about it.

You see, I dug out my grandfather's sewing machine, and am sewing with that instead.

It's a lovely machine, and somehow very masculine.  Perhaps the masculinity comes from its solid steel construction (not even an ounce of plastic), and the spare elegance of its lines.  It reminds me of a well maintained vintage 50s car.  It runs like one too, with a quiet, efficient hum.
It reminds me so much of everything my grandfather was.  He must've bought this machine early in his marriage, somewhere in between 1940 and 1947.  My parents got it from him when my grandparents moved into an assisted living community, and eventually gave it to me.  I imagine he was attracted to the simplicity of its design and it's ruggedness.

The son of a brilliant carpenter, my grandfather was a consumate craftsman.  He loved clean lines, warm woods, the intricacies of machinery, taking care of things, and my grandmother, all with a quiet, practical passion.  He was constantly making or fixing things in his immaculately ordered workshop in the basement.  He's the first person I've ever seen plane wood, and the only one outside of a historical reenactment.
Thinking of him always makes me think of the word "husbandry."

Both my grandmother and grandfather used this sewing machine, but Grandpa maintained it, as he maintained the rest of the house, furniture and grounds. When I opened the carrying case for the first time since we got it, he had tidily included the manual, a spare belt, and the necessary screwdrivers for changing the needle and other maintenance.

The motion of the machine is smooth and easy, the tension perfect.
It ceaselessly makes stitch after precise stitch.

Chipper as h*ll pillows, and weather to match

The sky is a chipper blue, and my mood matches it.

Incidentally, so do my new pillows.

I finally finished my "bubble wrap" pillow.  I got all of the bubbles done, and the intricate quilted panel I decided to do on the back.  And then I forgot about it, more or less, for about 7 months.  All that remained to do was some quick machine stitching and uncomplicated hand finishing for the seams  on the front (the front panel has a vintage hanky behind all the "bubbles").  Still, it took me all that time to get from "I should work on this" to "I'm going to work on this tonight."
The bubble wrap pillow makes me smile every time I see it.  It's just so absurd. And pretty.  And I didn't make it for anyone else but me, which is rare.

The second pillow I made out of a men's shirt, when the first pillow looked lonely.  So now they get to hang out together until I get the room assembled that they're going to go into, and refurbish the chair they will be on.

Here's a few more photos, so you can see the details, and the other sides of course:

The quilt I photographed them on is a vintage one that mom got somehow, but she doesn't remember it.  I'll show it to her and see if it jogs her memory.
I suspect she inherited it from her side of the family at some point, put it away in her closet (because kids destroy things if you leave them out. Who knew?) and then forgot about it.  With all the upheaval and room moving, it's surfaced again.

It's completely hand pieced and hand quilted.  I think the fabric is 1930s feedsack prints.  It's in excellent condition except for a tear in the middle from being folded so long.  I think I can mend it, but before I do that, I've got to finish another set of baby shower invitations, mend my brother's star wars pajama pants, and make oodles of baby bibs.
I love the fabric that went into making the fan blocks.  I'll alternate details of the quilt with pictures of other things that have been improving my mood lately.

Oh, this kid!  I found his cut mug on kirtsy, and envy the photographer who captured it.

Yes, V-Day is just around the corner, but I like Valentine graffiti better than the typical stuffed animals and cheesiness.

I'm working on designing a logo and business card for my photography.  This business card is just too delicious!

 A happy strawberry from Elsa Mora.

Teach me to love.

I'm preparing a christmas package for my brother, who currently lives in China with his Korean wife and daughter.  It should, if all goes reasonably well, be mailed out today.

There's so much love being shoved into that box, along with the various gifts. There's love layered in the pages of the children's books, and nestled in the folds of the wrapping paper, laid to rest beneath the bows.

Some of that lovingness is made up of handmade gifts. Handmade caramels.  Cards hand drawn by my other neice, handmade earrings, and the most beautiful tiny hand-knit sweater and socks for the new baby they're expecting.  My sister B made the sweater, and pictures of it are probably up on her blog, or will be shortly.  I also decided to give my brother a folio I made, to store precious images and/or documents.

It was a cozy, warm process, making what I did, and then packing up my carefully wrought gifts with those of my family.

Inside the folio, I nestled the program from my sister's November wedding, and a print this:

I miss my brother, and his family quite a bit.  It's too much love to keep to myself, so I must export it, and hope they receive it in good condition, all intentions properly interpreted, unmarred by the distance it must travel.

People Look East... verse two

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way!

Glorious, aren't they?


the roses are scans I took from Edwardian era postcards, so they're copyright free.  Feel free to download and use them for whatever suites your fancy.  
I think I'm going to turn the red and yellow roses in to the background on my computer.

A finished project: wedding invitations

 So, peoples, I've been working my tail off on a number of different projects (pics coming soon), but the #1 project that I've been working on this month is finally finished:
my sister's wedding invitations.

I printed them for the better part of three days.
Then we had a "party" were we got suckers, er, friends and family, to come over and assemble them.

We cut, folded, stuffed, and assembled until we could assemble no more, then sent the rest home with Rachel. (Insert evil laugh here.)

It was exhausting, but I'm very, very happy with the results.

Here's some pictures of them, for your viewing pleasure:

All images are copyrighted by, well, me.

The following rondel of St. Joseph can be used as a printable.  I thought it would be a fun coloring project for Sunday school, or just for kicks.

Enjoy!

Plant hangers, bottle hangers, candle hangers...

I feels like it's been too long since I last posted.
Here's some variations on the net hangers I've been meaning to show you.

These net hangers can be adapted to hang most anything, of any size, provided it doesn't have a prominent lip or bulge at the bottom.

A couple rules/tips that will help you adapt the instructions:

•  always have an even number of strands with no less than six strands per hanger.
• if you want to make the knots closer together, to make the hanger look more like a net, add more pairs of cord strands or it won't fit your pot.  The closer the knots are together, the smaller the circumference of pot they will fit.
• add a final row of knots about 8" above your pot rim and 10" above your last row of knots to add stability.  This wil keep your pot from falling out of the hanger even if it's swung violently, like, say, if your cat tries to get at it.
• use heavier gauges of cord to hang heavier objects.  This type of hanger can be made with everything from embroidery floss to rope, depending on what your hanging but, please, be reasonable.

Here's some of the projects I've been making:

Enjoy and happy making!