Prims Winter 2014~

   Is in stores now!  My lil bunny family & I are just thrilled to be included in the latest issue~

  Its not even January yet, and I am ready for spring! I wouldn't mind the hibernation actually....tho I have way to much to do and my eyes just automatically pop open by 6 am no matter what time of the night or morning I go to bed.  This has been such a great year~ its gone by so quick tho~ in the blink of an eye!  The summer blazed by, literally~ so many fires that I hope do not repeat themselves....and in August we made a wonderful family vacation up to Yellowstone National Park with my Mom & Dad & brother & his girls. I was meaning to share some pictures in a post, and have never got around to it yet. The last time we had been there, was about 35 years ago, and it was just how I had remembered it, and SO MUCH BETTER! I just couldnt have asked for a more perfect trip! I had a very full sched this fall, with all sorts of deadlines to be met, when an unexpected journey presented itself, and not only put a fork in my road...but made me do a few u-turns and ups and downs and just got everything all CRAZY!!!!  In a good way...I think. Im sure if you ask my husband he will have a different point of view.....
  I am taking the Thistle Threads Cabinet of Curiosities class on 17th embroidered caskets....its really a fabulous class and I couldn't recommend it any more highly....anyway, one lesson touched on early beaded caskets and looking glass surrounds (mirror frames). These were wonderful of coarse, but were nothing too extraordinary......until at the very last of the lesson, ahhhhhhhh...beaded baskets!  At that very moment I was just lost. really lost is all I can describe it as. I think there was just maybe 2 paragraphs was all....but they spoke to me. There was no question, no question at all~ I needed to make one. I had no idea how, I have never beaded a single thing in my entire life~ but none of that mattered. There was just something about these things....these wonderful baskets made up of thousands and thousands of seed beads!  I have loved and collected antique beads since I was little....I mean literally~ the smaller I could find them, the better. I can remember my Mother driving me to Spokane when I was little, to go to the dentist....and she would drive me out and about to the bead stores scavenging for the antique beads! OH! They took my breath away! They still do.....Which is why, what happened next in class, was meant to be.  A beaded basket design contest.

                                               B e  S t i l l    M Y     H e a r t e .

   So in August...my crazy journey began, and I cant wait to share it with you!  The deadline for entering is the last of January, so be watching the blog~ I have been taking pictures as I have gone along, and will start probably mid Jan after my last looming deadline passes :)   Ohh...and of coarse, the prize, the grandest of GRANDEST most wonderful things, a flat top casket to embroider. What a dream that would be!

 I hope you all had a chance to make some wonderful memories this year, and if not, I hope you can see that the cup is always half full, and not half empty. My wish for all is a Happy & Joyous New Year~ and that you may have the courage to GO GET  IT~ whatever your 'it' may be!

Merry Christmas

from the dollys & us, 

Merry Christmas!

  One day I will be back in New England with my love driving me in the sleigh...one day! Until then, I wish you all the Happiest of Holidays ever~ the most Joyous Meetings of Occasion~ the Merriest of Christmases... the Most Blessed of Holy Dayes~ may you spend them with family & friends & all you hold Dear.    

In All Things~ I Give Thanks~

   I hope you all have a Blessed & Wonderful Thanksgiving filled with Love, Friendship, Friends & Family

A Christmas Casket for you to make.....

For Fun on a Snowy Daye.....

   If you are a lover of 17th c embroidery, or know of one who is, I have just the perfect project for a snowy winter afternoon for you~ a reproduction of a little 17th c embroidered casket....in paper for you to color and make up!  You can find the directions to it here : Thistle Threads Needlework Nibbles 

 

  It is for free, for you to make and give away~ please be kind and do not sell!  While you are over at Thistle Threads, check out the shop~ Tricia has oodles and oodles of wonderful threads and kits~ all sorts of wonderful Christmas gift ideas.  The original project is meant to just be a little box to sit on your sewing table, but I thought it prefect for the tree.  Its so very simple~ just print out the sheet on heavy card stock, color, cut, fold, paste and voi~la~ SO CUTE!

  This is the back view, I added my little wire loop for hanging here, and because it is a working box, I strung a little string thru the front lock hole to tie the top shut~ put little candies in here, or a special little gift~ theyre so much fun to make, I hope you enjoy!

Christmas Shoppe Open tonight!

 Is is really November already?  I cant believe how fast time time is flying by, and so much always left to do!  I have decided to make the Diamond K Folk Art blog (link to the right sidebar) into my little Christmas Shoppe this season~ the first update will be this evening at 6 pm . I have half my 2013 annual limited edition Christmas ornaments finished, so you will see them there~ I will have my second design off the table soon and will let you know when they make their way to the shoppe.
                                                             Tis the season to be Merry!
                                       I hope you hearts over flow with love & happiness this season~

Happy Hallowe'en!

little gown revisited.....

  I have had a special request to look at this little gown a little bit more, and show a bit of the shadow applique & what it is~

  When we got this mid 19th c Christening gown, it was literally in shreds.  The back opening had several large vertical tears from both the waist and bottom of the center back opening, down and into the shadow applique at the hem

   To help stabilize the tears I use silk crepeline nearly exclusively. It is gossamer fine, and comes in white and black~ laid onto another fabric it simply cannot be seen, but is super strong and woven densely enough to give a great base for stitching and anchoring to

 I turned the gown inside out and laid a strip of the crepeline  over the entire length about 1/2" wide. I did not want to just put a seam in these tears, as the seam allowance needed makes a distortion in the lay of the garment. I then did a zig sag darn stitch back and forth the entire length~ this same stitch was commonly used in the period~ and as you can see above, once finished the horrible shreads are no longer.

  The bodice looked horrible, that is certainly true~ not only was the center panel a shamble, the sides were worn thin and shredding as well. ( I will note here that this is a fine muslin gown, all natural fibers.)   Upon closer examination the bodice really wasn't in that bad of condition, all its pieces were there, and it hadn't been 'damaged' per say~ just the stitching had come undone.  Now if it has been chewed by a mouse, that would have been a different story, but since it hadn't, it was mainly just another puzzle that had to be reassembled

  I did the side panels of the bodice first~ several zig zag vertical darns were necessary~ I only closed the most severe ones and left what was not distracting form the overall appearance

  This is one of the shadow applique sections, just a smaller version of that seen on the hem. Shadow applique is just what it sounds like, the reverse of the fabric has pieces of other fabric appliqued in place to make a shadow, and in turn a design on the front~ very subtle and beautiful. Like shadow embroidery, it must be done on a sheer fabric, or the effect looses purpose.  On this dress, hundreds of squares of the same muslin that the gown was made from, were folded and appliqued to the back to make this lovely sawtooth pattern. I simply whipped them back down with weensie stitches to make them complete again.

  Here I have all three sections complete, and am backing the two lace insertions with crepeline. Once I had the lace windows backed in the crepeline, I tacked the lace down to it. Note that this picture is a view of the back of the bodice~in shadow applique the seam allowance is turned under so  there are no raw edges!

  There were two small sections of lace missing, but again, in my book, less is more, so I left them and felt no need to try and match laces with something unoriginal to fill them in

 I was honored to breathe new life into this precious little gem, and hope you will try your hand at shadow applique~ its quite simple, and can make a plain gown into a masterpiece.  I have seen colored fabrics used to beautiful effect, so give it a try~ just remember your applique design with be a mirror image of  your design on paper!