Friday, June 21, 2013

Snuggled Under Angel Wings.

As all of you know, I LOVE to crochet. 

It's portable. And if you choose the project carefully, it is mindless. 

And if your alter ego is MaggieGrace. And if the muse is ready to play. And you are stash busting. And you have baby gifts to make. Well you kinda go with the flow and respond to all of the above things. 

See.........

I had this idea.......partially triggered by a pin. 


I had this really pretty white yarn...... thrifted of course so there was not enough to really make something out of just yarn. 

So I sketched my idea and thought about it. I decided to use individual "feathers" for my wings. And a feather is shaped like a leaf. 

See...........


I made 20 feathers. 10 for each side.

I also made the center medallion (its an Irish rose)

I planned on this being a fleece blanket. I also didn't want the stitches to be "ugly" on the back side of the blanket.

Thinking again - I decided to make it into a one piece applique. So I grabbed a scrap of lace from Molly's wedding decor.

And pinned everything down in the shape of wings. This is not rocket science, I just "winged" it.



See the completely pinned unit below.


Then on a delightful early summer afternoon, I perched in the porch swing. And hand-sewed all afternoon.

(the medallion was in the way, so i took it off while I worked on the wings.)


After it was all stitched down, I trimmed it close to the edges. 


Then I attacked the blanket itself.  Let's just pretend this was a quick part of the project here (not even). I poked tiny holes in the edge of the pretty pink polar fleece. (note to self --- this cannot be done all at once. nope.)

Poke a hole - single crochet in the hole - chain one. Repeat - repeat - repeat.


After a full round of that, I then did two double crochet in each chain stitch. By doing two in each stitch, I created a slightly larger row around and that gave me a very gentle ruffle effect. (I'm loving this a lot.)


Just because I like this yarn I want to show you the close up. It's sparkly, but not scratchy.


I then  hand sewed the applique piece to the corner of the blanket.


Yes there will be a lot more of these. I really like the wing effect.

Now - I did not invent the component directions, so here are a couple of links for the components.

THE IRISH ROSE
another note - she has a ton of great information on crochet - great resource for us hookers.

LEAVES (FEATHERS)

I really hope you like this -- I'm quite happy about it.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

the design team is announced....

DTCollage

I am so excited to learn from these three wonderful ladies. 

Please head over, follow the links, and congratulate them. 


I will be making new things. And working on my photography skills. There is so much beauty and inspiration coming through this Mother/Daughter team, I hope another opportunity to work with them comes along. 

I congratulate the team ----- and send my best wishes for everyone. 



Tuesday, June 18, 2013

craziness


I've been collecting fabric for years. I've had in the back of my mind that I would make a crazy quilt "someday".

I own a fabulous book on crazy quilting. I have looked at the pretty pictures thousands of times. and drooled over what MY QUILT will look like draped over the end of the bed. 

Yes - that quilt - the one I haven't even started. 

Then on my blogroll I saw a link to this online free stitch along class. The picture below is Sandy's picture from that class. 


I may not be inspired (right now) to start a quilt, but a cuff, well that is quite do-able.

So I gathered my fabrics. And following the really well written instructions, I pieced my foundation for the cuff.



Then I started following the step by step (clearly written instructions - Sandy is a great tutorial writer). Because it is the type of personalized project that allows it, I picked the parts best suited to what I wanted mine to look like.

There was coarse linen - some velvet - eyelet - even some loose woven damask type fabric. (Note - loose woven was HARD to work with in this manner.)

I then added pearls and teeny rick rack.


 Laces and trims and medallions. Some ribbon.


 Always some buttons and beads.


Metallic floss for a bit of sparkle. I cut four tiny hearts from a bit of lace and made a little flower..


Then I ran across this bottle ---- Now who would give me an empty whiskey bottle. Well - someone who knows that the etching on this from being buried would make me happy. (Discovered under an old house) The front of this is frosty looking from that etching while the back is clear.

I decided then - that this cuff would not be a bracelet for me - but would be a removable cuff wrap for my bottle. (another note - I can slip this off and wear it if I choose. I chose to adhere it to the bottle with double stick tape)


I finished the final assembly of this last night before bed.  Sandy's tutorial uses some glue, but I actually hand stitched every single bit of this.

The detail below is the center medallion of the cuff. Layers of lace - tulle - and silk flowers.



But I think my favorite detail is the tiny beading along this ribbon. So dainty and sweet in reality.


This is a wonderfully well written tutorial --- I'll be going back and making more of these.

Enough about that --- Here is my "cuffed" bottle. I have a big ugly pickle jar with some beads in it. I'm thinking this will be MUCH MUCH better looking on the shelf.


Please go see Sandy if you are interested in making your own.

CRAZY QUILT CUFF CLASS

i'm really happy with mine.


Monday, June 17, 2013

TIME FOR CHANGES HERE.


No, MaggieGraceCreates is not going away.

For many years now, I have used this as a crafty place and as an ongoing journal.

I am now attempting to grow the MaggieGraceCreates side of my life to another level so there are going to be a few changes.

First I want to say --- I am fine. Thank you ALL for listening to me through the ups and downs of my daily life.Thank you for your unfailing support as well.

And the journal postings will not be going away, they will just be located at another blog address. If you want to continue to follow those, just comment here and I will email you the new blog address.

Now for the fun parts of this. I am applying to be part of some design teams. Please send good vibes and best wishes for that.

I've been invited to some juried shows that I didn't even apply for (ego stroke there).

There should be more goodness here to show. More good news - more fun thoughts - more celebrations of beauty. Like those pretty roses above.

Basically, I want MaggieGraceCreates to be wonderful celebration and inspiration space. A place of recognizing the blessings of life. Because there are thousands of blessing to be celebrated.

I hope you guys will celebrate and grow with me.

**********************************************************************
Now about those roses.

I saw a fun little rose on the Faith Grace and Crafts blog. I have made the Irish Rose open ones for years now, but her little roses curled up. So cute. I made a comment and Sweet Doni and I emailed back and forth a few times. I asked her for a tutorial and she jumped in and created one. Plus, in what I have discovered as very common in the craft blog world, she generously sent me a couple of her little roses, so I could have a visual to work with too.

Then, there is another beautiful lady that I have discovered who makes beautiful nests .  I have linked via pinterest because these are a total surprise for her. But please go through the link and look at her stunning work. So when I mastered the little roses, I decided to make a big pile of them for her and simply send them to her. I made crocheted 50 of them in all kinds of rosy colors. Gathered up vintage lace into "leaves". Dug through the beads, buttons, and blings stash and added pretty centers. Confessions of a craft supply hoarder - this seemingly massive project has had NO IMPACT on the danged stash. 

But with all that said, every single moment of this project was relaxing and every single stitch contains a prayer.

You can find the link for the pretty little rose tutorial by clicking HERE.  Be sure and say hello while you are there.

************************************************************************

So there you have it --- changes coming --- it's all good.


I have a beautiful life and I really want to live fully;

Teresa

Sunday, June 16, 2013

daddy

i sure miss you.
every single day.
i sure wish we could talk.
still things i wanna say.

mama says i am a lot like you.
actually lots of people say that.

all i know for sure.
i wish you were here.
to see the fighter i became.
to see the girls i raised.
to see the things i learned.
to see who i am.

oh and to change the oil.
and paint on the house.
and hunt.
and play.
and be in my corner too.

i wish my girls could have known you.
i wish you could be a part of them.

oh how miss you.

just to hear your voice again.

i love you daddy.

happy fathers day.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

a sweet sweet visitor



She saw me sitting in my porch swing.

I had Keith Urban playing on a big ol' boom box. (Sorry girls - no mp3 player for this mama.) I was singing and just relaxing and stitching on angel wings.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon. Not too much humidity. Late - with the sun shaded by the fully leafed out canopy of the oak tree. NICE.

As she walked across my yard, I turned down the music and greeted her. She asked if it would be an imposition if she joined me for a bit. I welcomed her with open arms - offered her a glass of something to drink - she said no thanks - I'll only be a minute.

Two women --- with 40 years of age difference. 'Cross the street neighbors. Good neighbors --- really. We bought this house from them some 20+ years ago. The house - no THE HOME - he grew up in.  A young couple - small child -- another soon added. They were older -- she his second wife -- kids grown and gone. He would cut our grass on occasion because "he remembered how busy life was with the kids." She cooked. They shared their garden bounty. Good neighbors.

We were away on a softball trip when he passed away. His health declined rapidly over what seemed like a short period of time.

As she sat down on my glider, she smiled. A sweet, beautiful smile of remembering. She started with the phrase "I get so lonesome"  - and continued with "I'll only stay a few minutes"

Two women --- 40 years of age difference.  40 years that did not matter.

I listened while she talked ---

About meeting him after his wife died.

About falling for him.

About driving her mama nuts with her indecision on accepting his proposal.

About an old boyfriend's suicide attempt.

About marrying him.

About an instant family and loving his girls as her own.

About creating home.

About his momma - Miss Myrt - the home I now live in is still called Miss Myrt's house.

About her daughter finding Miss Mrty when she died.

About his health declining.

About being alone after all this time.

She was there almost two hours. It was wonderful. It was special.

Two women -- sharing - loving - accepting - listening.

As she got ready to go - I didn't want her to leave.

She said something in the conversation that warmed me through. "this felt like all those years we visited on this porch."

YES -- I LIVE IN THE COUNTRY. I HAVE A BIG FRONT PORCH. I HAVE GREAT NEIGHBORS. I HAVE A SWING AND CHAIRS AND I WANT A TABLE. I WANT FRIENDS TO SIT THERE AND SHARE. LAUGH. LOVE. MAYBE CRY. I WANT MY HOME TO BE WELCOMING. NOT BECAUSE IT IS PERFECT. NOT BECAUSE IT IS FANCY. NOT BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS CLEAN. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE WELCOME AND THAT ALL THAT OTHER IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE TIME SPENT WITH THEM IS.

I WANT MY HOME TO BE FILLED WITH FRIENDS WHO WILL JUST DROP BY AND "SIT A SPELL"

 Not just us, but as a culture people don't take the time to just visit. Or they combine visiting with "filler" activity. Eating out, shopping, a party, a movie, let's go somewhere. Goodness we need to slow down some.

As a part of my HAPPY DO YEAR - I'm gonna try and see if I spot my neighbor out in the yard, just so I can stop for a quick visit. Or yell across the road to join me and sit a spell on my porch again.

I so enjoyed that time ---

So if any of my readers happen by that there front porch --- come on up the steps. If I'm inside, come on in. Have no idea what conditions you may find, there may be dishes in the sink or I may have to relocate some laundry so you will have a seat. But hey, those dishes and that laundry can wait a little longer. You are far more important than that.