Plans change

I was home yesterday, nursing a cold. (My granddaughter C shared hers with me!) I decided to take the day off, and just take it easy, hopefully getting over the cold quicker, and have a day at home, to work for hours and hours on a couple of my projects.

Well, I guess I was sicker than I felt, because after working for a while on my crewel chatelaine (nowhere near hours and hours) I spent the rest of the day on the computer, or sleeping, or in bed. So much for plans!

I feel somewhat better today. So I'm back at work.

Presents!

Last week, when my parents came to visit, they brought me a box full of goodies. My mom has been down-sizing for some years already, and she brought me some things she thought I would like.

The biggest and heaviest item is this case holding knitting needles and crochet hooks.



I won't list everything, but there's everything from a set of crochet hooks from size 0 to size 10, plus 2 huge ones; a hairpin lace loom, 25 sets of regular knitting needles, 10 sets of double sided needles, various bobbins, stitch counters and holders, and this lovely needle holder that I made for a mother's day present when I was in grade school.



I didn't even count the needles in this holder! It still looks very nice, considering its age! LOL

Next in the box were two crocheted doilies.





The top one is made with sparkly green thread, similar to the thread I used to make my temari ornaments. It needs to be starched and blocked. I'm not quite sure what shape the bottom one will be, it also needs to be blocked. It looks a little spidery this way.

There are two large curtain panels with a crocheted edging all the way along the side. My mom had asked my grandmother to make them for her guest-room once, it was one of the last things my grandmother made.



The edging is quite a chunky flower, really pretty. The panels form a valance and hang down on either side of the window; I wonder if I can find a place to display them.

Then there is a hand-towel with a nice lace edge, and a round tablecloth that my mom's landlady gave her when my folks were first married. My mom mended it, cut a slit in it, and used it for a christmas tree skirt for years and years.



I'm thinking of using the material and the embroidery to make an heirloom dress either for Isabella, or for my doll, Ruthie. My friend (Moonsilk Stitches) gave me a book with patterns for 18" dolls, and one of the prettiest dresses is made from an old petticoat.

Thank you mom, for all the goodies. But I really down't have to wonder any more why my sewing room is so full I can hardly turn around in it. (Mom did help me do some sorting when she was here, and we discovered that the carpet is beige!)

Queen Anne's Lace and Chicory

My new temari is coming along great. I love the colors, and the stitching is going much faster than I expected. Mi temari nueva viene de maravilla. Me encantan los colores, y la costura se va mucho más rápido de lo que esperaba.

It is a study of two flowers that grow wild in this region; a lot of people call them weeds. Queen Anne’s Lace is a white flower that is made up of many, many tiny flowers in a cap or mushroom shape. It is very lacy, as the name describes. It usually grows along-side chicory plants which have a beautiful blue flower. Se trata de un estudio de dos flores silvestres que crecen en esta región; mucha gente las llama malas hierbas. Queen Anne's Lace (El Encaje de la Reina Anne) es una flor blanca que se compone de muchas florecillas en la forma de una gorra o de hongo. Es muy de encaje, como su nombre lo describe. Por lo general, crece a lo largo del lado de las plantas de achicoria que tienen una flor azul.



When I was researching these today, I found this quote from the Examiner.com website:
Cuando estaba investigando estos de hoy, encontré esta cita de la página web Examiner.com:

Many people consider Queen Anne’s Lace a noxious weed, but with its lacy leaves and delicate flowers it is one of the most beautiful wildflowers around. Standing tall, the white flowers appear to float above all the other plants, and when growing with chicory it is breathtaking.
Mucha gente considera que “encaje de la reina Ana” es una maleza nociva, pero con sus hojas y flores de encaje delicado es una de las más bellas flores silvestres alrededor. Paradas altos, las flores blancas parecen flotar por encima de todas las otras plantas, y al crecer con la achicoria es impresionante.

Both Chicory and Queen Anne’s Lace are useful plants. QAL is actually the carrot plant. The roots are edible and taste like carrots. Chicory roots, ground and brewed, have been used for a long time as a substitute for coffee, and the plant is very nutritious for animals to graze on. Ambos achicoria y encaje de la reina Ana son plantas útiles. QAL es en realidad la planta de zanahoria. Las raíces son comestibles y tienen el gusto de zanahorias. Las raíces de achicoria, molido y preparado, se han utilizado durante mucho tiempo como un sustituto del café, y la planta es muy nutritivo para pastar animales.

This is a picture of the over-all flower. It is not finished in this picture so this one looks lopsided. Esta es una foto de las flores. No se acaba en esta imagen por lo que este se mira torcida.



This is a close-up of the individual flowers, I an using 4 strands of embroidery floss to give each floweret some dimension. When the flowers are stitched, it totally covers the netting effect that you see after putting on the marking stitches. (The red pin on the mari marks a place where my marking needs a little work yet. I have found that coming back to it makes it easier to deal with.) Este es una de las flores individuales, estoy usando 4 hebras de hilo de bordado para darle a cada florecilla alguna dimensión. Cuando las flores se cosen, se cubre totalmente el efecto de ser un red que se veía después marcar el mari. (El alfiler rojo en el mari marca un lugar donde las marcas necesitan un poco de trabajo todavía. He visto que volver sobre ello hace que sea más fácil de manejar.)



I am planning to stitch the chicory flowers with silk ribbon, but I had to order the right color. Hopefully it will come soon. Estoy planeando coser las flores de achicoria con cinta de seda, pero tuve que pedir el color correcto. Esperemos que llegue pronto.