needle and thREAD #33

I'm doing a little happy dance because needle and thREAD is back!  I've missed it while Elizabeth's been otherwise occupied this summer. But for me, it hasn't just been the summer.  I just looked back to see when my last needle and thREAD post was and I'm shocked!  It was waaaaay back in January.  Really??? Where, oh where has 2014 gone???  Well, I know where it's gone ... new baby Levi, Make Welcome, wedding, travel, and many other good things that in the looking-back-upon at this moment seem to be a joy-filled, busy blur.

Anyway ...with all the comings and goings in the last couple of months, my studio has been fairly quiet. A quilt got finished back in May and a bit of pre and post-wedding stitching.  But, with all the travels, the machine has mostly sat quiet.  Now that I'm home, though (well, except for one more little jaunt to the beach next week), I've got lots of "to be finished" projects in piles, and plans for new projects lined up.  I'm itching to sew.

But let's back up, first.  Here's the pre-wedding stitching ...

-Kailie's wedding hairpiece

I felt honored when she asked me to make something and I wanted it to be extra-special.  I read a bunch of tutorials on organza flowers, tried several different type of organza, burned my finger on melted organza once or twice, and finally ended up with a flower I really liked.

The large flower on the left is layers of organza with candle curled edges.  The center of the flower is burlap from one of our rice bags, stamens (found in the Wilton section of the craft store.  Who knew?), and three antique buttons from my grandmother's button collection.

The flower on the top right is made from lace and seam trimmings from Kailie's mother's wedding dress.  There is a small beaded heart that was attached to the lace bag her mom carried and Karen gave us permission to cut it off and use it in Kailie's hairpiece.

The bottom right flower is made from scraps of lace and muslin that my mom used to make my wedding dress.  There is a bit of burlap ribbon and a scrap of lace edging (bottom right) from the corner of an antique hankie.

I so enjoyed making this for sweet Kailie and was delighted to see how lovely it looked on her that day.

-Clara's hairpiece and sash

Clara got an organza bow, too, with a bit of orange/coral ribbon and an antique button in the center to match her sash (which was the closest we could come in color to matching the lovely coral bridesmaid's dresses)

I also stitched that bit of lace to her sash, picking up a little lace design element in the bridesmaid's dresses.

Then it was home and a bit of "thank-you" sewing.  Three of Kailie's bridesmaids had been major helps to me in preparing the rehearsal dinner and I used some of the scraps from M and K's quilt to make wristlet zipper pouches for them.  

Since making the pouches, the machine's been idle.  But not for long ...

While traveling is not conducive to much machine sewing, it's great for reading.  Long, international flight, airport layovers, etc.  My kindle has been put to good use this summer.

I'm continuing to make my way through all of Dorothy Sayers' mysteries.  I'm currently in Strong Poison which is #6 in the Lord Peter Wimsey series.  I don't think I will ever tire of these books.

A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships by Paul Miller was recommended by a friend, so it's another book that made its way onto my kindle.  Miller uses the story of Ruth to delve into what it means to live a life of love and he does a good job of capturing the essence of what it means to persevere in authentic, covenant love.  Here are a couple of passages to give you a flavor of the book:

"Hesed [steadfast love] is one-way love.  Love without an exit strategy.  When you bind yourself with hesed love, you bind yourself to the object of your love, no matter what the response is."

"Love doesn't go though the day with a measuring stick, testy over the unevenness of life.  Our undying, never-stopping love, reflects the Father's undying love for us in Christ Jesus." 

"Instinctively, we like neat categories of saint or sinner.  But like many of us Naomi is ambiguous. Accepting ambiguity is immensely helpful in the work of love, because when we encounter the strange mixture of good and bad in another person, we tend to lock onto the evil and miss the good.  We don't like ambiguity.  We prefer the clarity of judging."

"A lament put us in the openly dependent position, where our brokenness reflects the brokenness of the world ... holding it in, not giving voice to the lament, can be a way of putting a good face on it.  But to not lament puts God at arm's length and has the potential of splitting us.  We appear okay, but we are really brokenhearted." 

Notes from a Blue Bike and The Hundred Foot Journey were quick airplane reads.

Finally, I finished Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit.  I must say that I found this book quite interesting in the beginning, but the last few chapters were a plod. Like a walk that's left you feeling fatigued, I was just ready to get to the end and be done.  Glad I read it, but glad to be done.

Lots of books in the queue as I work my way toward this year's goodreads goal of 50 books.  I'm almost at halfway.  Next week at the beach will put me over, I'm sure!