Ocean Goddess Pouch

I got in some stitching time yesterday and finished up this little project:



I really love doing seascapes but the funny thing is, I've never seen an ocean. I'm guessing some of my inspiration comes from what I see on television. We really don't watch much network TV. We prefer The Science Channel, The Learning Channel and The Discovery Channels. And of course, the big joke in my family, The Food Network. As you know, I don't cook!

There really is something peaceful about seashells and creating an ocean garden.

I'll get this sewn up on my next sewing day and add it to my Etsy shop.

Also, I don't mean to sound redundant but being that it's Christmas time, I don't want anyone to miss out on this:

The 2008 Valentine Mystery Stitch-Along starts on January 3rd. It's always more fun to start from the beginning. You can order this here.

Weekend Ramblings

First, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who left a comment about my antique sewing machine. I really enjoy reading your comments even though I don't always reply personally. Many times, if someone leaves me a question, I just answer here in case other readers were wondering the same thing. That's what I'll do now with a question. The question is:

What needle do I use for Kreinik #4 Braid? I usually use a tapestry needle when I use the #4 on CQ's. For X stitch, I use (I believe) a #14 X stitch needle. My suggestion is to fold the #4 Braid in 1/2, pinch the thread with your fingers as close to the top of that loop as possible and try pushing that through the needle. That usually works for me. The metallic threads can be a challenge to work with but the results are so totally worth the effort!

Back to my antique sewing machine, I can't tell you how many times since we brought it home, that I've sat on my cedar chest and just about brought myself to tears with gratitude for it. I've wanted one for a year and 1/2 now.

I saw an antique treadle machine at a flea market back in May of 2006. It wasn't a Singer, it was a rare European machine, only in fair condition but I was fascinated with it. I remember thinking that I would like to have one someday but that I would want to have a Singer and that I wanted one in very good condition. I didn't think about it much after that, until Spring of this year when my neighbor mentioned (out of the blue) to me that his girlfriend has one. Then I remembered that I wanted one and started thinking about it more and more. We kept looking at flea markets and antique shops and we really starting seeing them but most were in very rough condition. When this one came along, I knew the moment I saw it on Ebay that it was my machine. It was Pick-Up only but I just knew it was my machine when I saw that it was just over the border in Iowa. Just a 3 hour drive away! And thankfully, my husband was more than willing to drive to Iowa to pick it up.

When he said that he was going to strip it and refinish it for me, I think that blew my mind! I never expected that. It didn't even occur to me to ask him if he would refinish the cabinet. I was just happy to have one but he insisted. So yes, I look at it and quite often, I'm overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. I'm just so thankful to have this beautiful antique machine.

I've sat there, looking at it, wondering about the women who originally owned it and what sort of things she made on it. Clothes? Quilts? I will never know but I hope that where ever she is now, that she knows her beautiful machine is so much loved and appreciated.

Ok, I don't get mushy too often but ya'll know I have a thing for "moldy oldy stuff" as my sister puts it! "You and that moldy oldy stuff" she always says! Yeah, I really do have an appreciation for old things. I just love them!

Anyway, I finished up my Blizzard purse yesterday (on my electric machine) so here is a photo of that:



I had wanted some white foo-foo fringe for the bottom but I couldn't find any anywhere! I thought white would look like icicles. Instead, I had to settle for the aqua blue foo-foo fringe but it works nicely. I'll probably start using this one a few days before New Years.

I also thought you would enjoy this photo:



This gorgeous little creature is our Lucy. She's 7 pounds of hair! Ha, ha, ha! Honestly, she is the sweetest, happiest little kitty you will ever meet. My husband rescued her back in 1999. She was only 8 months old at the time, filthy, matted, covered in weeds. Our vet literally had to shave her. We never would have gotten her brushed out.

Lucy worships the ground that Scott walks on. She looks at him like he's Zeus! She follows him everywhere and she talks to him constantly. And he absolutely adores her.

Anyway, I thought she looked so cute sleeping in the chair so I took a picture.

Last but not least, this is my little 2 foot Christmas tree:



I'm not huge on Christmas for the most part. My favorite holiday's are Thanksgiving and St. Patricks Day. Don't ask why for St. Pats Day. I have no idea. I think it's just because it's the beginning of Spring! Anyway, I didn't feel like putting up the big tree so I brought this one out. It's just enough to add a nice Christmas feeling to the Living Room without seeming overwhelming, esp. when it comes to putting it away!

Well, that's my post for the day. I know much of it is a bit off topic. I usually stay with my general needlework theme but I'm waiting for my husband to get home from work so I thought I'd just share a little bit of personal stuff with you today.

1916 Singer Model 66 Treadle Sewing Machine

I didn't do any stitching yesterday. I was so cold all day, from being out in the morning, that I grabbed a quilt and a book and curled up on my sofa and read all afternoon.

Since I don't have any stitching to share today, I thought you would enjoy seeing my antique sewing machine. In case you're visiting my blog for the first time, I've been wanting an antique treadle machine for quite awhile. I finally found one in very good condition about a month ago. My husband decided to refinish the cabinet for me. It still needs the new lock bezels and he wants to go over the gold paint on the stand with another coat but for the most part, it's done:



The original finish on the cabinet was quite dark. My mom told me that it was typical in the "old days". Well, I prefer natural oak so after striping all the old dark finish off of this, Scott just sealed it with clear finish. The wood is Tiger Oak. It has the most beautiful grain!

Here's a close-up of the machine:



It was quite dirty and dingy. Scott used Turtle Wax to clean and polish the outside. That sure brightened it up! This machine has what they call, the "Red Eye" decal. Be sure to click on the photo to go to my Flickr site where you can see a large version. The detail in the decals is so beautiful!

I took the machine to the Singer man and he took care of cleaning it up mechanically and re-aligning something on it. We have the new belt on as well so it's just about ready to go! Since my mom learned how to sew on one of these, she's going to come over and show me how to treadle. I'm really looking forward to playing! I sure hope I enjoy treadling after all the work my husband put into making this so nice for me!

Ocean Goddess Pouch Continued.....

I started stitching on this little pouch yesterday:



It looks a bit goofy at the moment but once I get some seashells and fish on here, I think you'll get the idea of what I'm going for!

If you're wondering how I did the embellishing around the face, I do it in layers. First, I did the SRE, then I added the beads and tiny shells and finally the star sequins.

The fancy yarn went on first, then the art doll face and then the embellishing around the face. The background fabric is one of my painted dryer sheets fused to a piece of muslin with Heat & Bond. Then I added some pulled silk cocoons and some Angelina Fiber.

I'd like to get this completed today but I need my husband to drill some holes in seashells for me.

I'm planning on doing some finishing tomorrow. I at least want to get my Blizzard purse sewn up.

You've probably noticed that I have a bit of routine when it comes to stitching and sewing. I like to have a pile of pre-sewn blocks all ready to stitch on so I'll take a day here and there and just sew up blocks.

When it comes to finishing, I usually wait until I have a few things and then do them all at once. For some reason, I only like to sew during the day. Evenings for me are for stitching or reading. I know that many of my readers wonder how I get so much stitching accomplished. I just always have something ready to stitch on and sitting out. I can't sit still doing nothing for very long. Stitching quiets my head so my project is always sitting on the coffee table ready to be worked on. I see it and I stitch.

Art Doll Faces

I finished this little one up last night:



What a fun project this was! The gold really brought that wild block together.

I've been wanting to do another seascape so I decided I would do a "Goddess Of The Sea" pouch next:



I'll use another one of those Poly Clay faces that I made along with some little fish and shells. Stop by tomorrow for an update on that.

As for my antique sewing machine, it's all done now except for one tiny thing. My husband still has to put the new bezels on that go in the lock holes. There were several missing so we bought new ones. I'm hoping tomorrow to have a photo of it for you. Wait until you see it! It's gorgeous!

And, on a further happy note, the sun is out here! I'll admit, with the sun shining on the ice coated trees, it's very glittery outside at the moment. Although as much as I like glitter, I do prefer it on my stitching rather than my backyard trees! Thankfully, Mother Nature will have that taken care of in a few hours!