Connecticut Lace Day - At Barbara's!

This past weekend was our group's Christmas gathering.  Held at the home of Barbara, it was decorated for the season.  In the dining area, the big old wooden beams were hung with a hundred crochet snowflakes - each one different.  The table was set in Christmas Spode, enough for our very large gathering.  Off to the other room, was Fine Threads from Vermont with lots of wares for you to choose from.  I did make myself available for another book of patterns and some fancy thread.  Lunch was just lovely, great breads from this bakery near Winann's and a condon blue cassarole, salad, carrots and beets from Boo's garden.

Of course there was dessert - and dessert is more serious than the meal.  Besides lovely chocolates that were passed around, Boo made two hedgehog cakes.  Yum Yum and a white cake with raspberry and white chocolate frosting. 

What an amazing day.  Barbara is quite the creative one.  Throughout her home was many samples of her lace making and other fiber projects to admire.  There was a plastic beach bag she crocheted, that got my interest and I'm going to give it a try.   I took a fancy to the snowflakes and became reinspired once again in my thread work.

Before and after lunch we enjoyed each others company, worked on our projects that we brought along and visited the "shop" for those extra goodies a lace maker could not be without. 

On this occassion, there is a gift swap.  Your gift goes in the pile and you can then take a number.  So a basket with numbered slips of paper was passed around the table.  As it went by me, I put my hand in and whispered on the louder side...".... ah Christina...." and pulled out my slip.  Wouldn't you know, I got the slip with the #1 on it.  Oh no! and lots of laughter was heard.  I asked if we could reverse the order so I would go last.  No problem.  Phew!  See I won the lace lessons, the Christina pillow, and a couple of other items( gave them back) at the 25th Anniversary.  That was my first meeting and this was my first attendance at the Christmas luncheon.  I ended up with a piece of lace and a frame to put it into.  One thing that surprised me is that the gift swap was no where near the " oh $10 - $20 range" for the gift.  IMO my gift didn't measure up - note for future - find a better gift!

Before we left, Barbara had one more surprise for each of us.  She handmade two dozen ornaments, each different, all with some kind of lace on them.  Each one was even better than the last.  We all gasped and awed at her creativity and originality to each ornament.  It was a lovely day - so many creative people to be with. 

PS - another 25 Round 4 mofits are complete!

Round 4

Yes, round 4 has begun!  One batch of 25 is completed and it is off to the next batch. 

My home has been a flurry of activity, with mechanics installing all new mechanicals, enjoying my new gas fireplace logs, and getting lots of paperwork in order for the "season".

I'm off to retire in a few minutes as my furry assistant has made it clear that I should retire NOW MEOW.

Pictures to come!

Pretty Fabrics bring back the days of Sewing

This time of year I get inspired.  The craft stores are filled with lots of pretty christmassy type fabrics and yarns.  I begin to think about the time I used to sew.  Today I needed to get another couple of skeins of yarn for a project so I was chasing them down in Michaels and JoAnns.  There was the fabric, all glittery and the colors and textures are just spectacular. 

When I went off to sixth grade, my mom made me a acqu blue dress for the first day of school.  I remember the dress well.  It was pretty special with ruffles on the sleeves.  Sometime after having that dress, my mom began to let me assist her in picking out the fabrics, patterns, pinning and cutting, and eventually the use of the machine. 

From that point on, I was sewing.  As time went along, my talents improved.  Mrs. Burnas, she lived behind us, and worked in a sewing room at Warners would come over and give me a few hints.  My NatNat (grandmother) and Mrs. Palasky (across the street) worked at American Fabrics triming lace off the big machines.  I guess you could say that fiber has been at my fingertips for most of my life.

As with much of my life, I need to improve it so I took to designing patterns myself.  I'd mix and match different pieces to really come up with an original.  I can say that I never went to a school dance and found myself looking at a classmate with my dress on.   

A few funnies:

I'd forget a few pins in the living room carpet - i.e. the cutting room.  Dad would invariably find them at 6am in bare feet with a very loud (&#(*&#(# ouch.

The hem was never finished until the last hour before I was running out the door.

I would ask "Hey Mom - does this look okay as I held up a half finished portion?"  Mom would say " of course it does",  Dad would say "  I guess so" .

Iron the seams - but remember to turn off the iron - oh my goodness such details!

Anyway, it was nice to walk the aisles of many fabrics and notions.  Now I need to invent some real time to be able to continue my crocheting, lace making, and sewing.