Christmas Eve

.....and I am exhausted. Thank goodness the shops are closed and I can just decide to manage with what we have, what we have not is unobtainable. The cheesecake is cooling off, steaks marinading, bbq clean, salad vegetables all clean and ready to be prepared into salads tomorrow morning. Merry Christmas to one and all and thank you for your help and support during my first few months of blogging.

Christmas card 

Just to wish all my friends and readers a Very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year. It seems odd to send a snow picture from Australia, so I thought one of a local beauty spot would be appropriate. 

In my Finery for a Wedding 

Here is a picture of me at the wedding I was talking about. Dyed silk suit, hand made bobbin lace attached and beaded, shawl over arms and vintage silk bag too. Oh, I did buy my shoes  

No poinsettias

The dyed bridal veiling turned out the wrong colour for the shawl, so it is back to the think tank. I have some blue chiffony type stuff with metallic dragonflies stamped on it, may go for a few dragonflies fluttering over and definitely have gone back to my idea of ribbon knots. Just needing a bit of time for working out how to do this. Plus Christmas is fast approaching and I need to get myself organised a bit more, perhaps a bit more of the domestic goddess style duties to clear up my encroaching craft work, and a cheesecake to bake. And packing to do for going away on Boxing Day.........life wasn't meant to be boring.

Work on the shawl ceased yesterday as was at a wedding. Just a close up of one of the wrapped cords I added on Saturday. I was very pleased with the shawl I made my daughter for the wedding, the photographer thought it was real cool and wanted to know where she had got it from. Thought it had come from an exclusive boutique. Just one of those shawls where you machine scraps of fabric together between layers of dissolving film. 

Improvisation

Sometimes it is quite useful not being able to get what you want in local shops. I spent this afternoon turning thin strips of silk into wrapped cords and then applying them to the shawl. I wanted some rayon knitted cord that I could dye to colour, this made an acceptable substitute, probably better. I think I am almost ready to apply knotted ribbon here and there, but have one or two blank spots along the length of the stole I must fix up first.

Ribbon shawl, definitely a WIP as you can see the dissolving vilene still there. Have more ribbon to apply, more stitching. It is all glittery with laser blobs on the transparent purple ribbon and silver ribbon and stitching. Alas this is not showing. Nor is the colour very good. 

Ribbons

The pendant finished I was itching to dye something, but it was hot outside so I suddenly thought of my stash of ribbons and making a ribbon scarf/stole. So I dug out all my ribbons, found I had more blue than any other colour, but also heaps of white ribbons, so setacoloured the white ribbons to a gorgeous blue/purple mix. These are now all firmly attached to dissolving vilene and I am busy free motion embroidering between lines to hold it all together. I have some purple very flimsy ribbon with spots of metallic whatever and some silver sequins that will be added later. Having used up a very large portion of my ribbon stash I had to restrain myself when walking past a shop that sells delicious ribbons today. I do not need more ribbon, but maybe......

Here is the pendant I made for my daughter. Metallic threads on felt, wrapped cord, beaded.  

Belts

I have this book from the library called 'Belt Bazaar' by Shirley Adams. There are some very inspiring pictures in this book and one of my 'gunners' (gunna do this, gunna do that) is to make an obi, not I hasten to add for me as my belt would be bigger than my bra these days and would not look very elegant. But I have some kimono silks and I think they would look very attractive arranged in a pattern on an obi for the next machine embroidery group exhibition. There are lots of bags, wall hangings, scarves, etc., but no one has yet got into belts as far as I know.

Dressmaking

I have been neglecting my blog lately, but have been busy dressmaking ready for the summer which advances and then retreats. Yesterday was quite warm, but this morning is grey and rain is forecast. It is quite cool out too. I have two problems with clothes, one is that I can't wear man made fibres, cause me to get rashes and all sorts of problems, the other is that I refuse to wear the polyester sacks that manufacturers think are suitable for middle aged ladies. I really don't think we have to give up all sense of style once we reach the middle age spread age. So I have made myself some cream linen trousers and a cotton skirt and have some blouse lengths to make up.