A First Attempt at Historic Embroidery

With my growing interest in historic textiles, I figured it was time I started delving in head first. This is my first project. Basically, what I needed was a tough piece of material to put over my leg while I card alpaca (prep for spinning it into yarn, for those who might not know... I'll do another post about it soon!). If not... I have a feeling my jeans would be a bit worn in odd places!

Here's what I did: I cut out two pieces of canvas duck cloth fabric (it's a little heavier than regular canvas, either that or I just ended up with really nice quality stuff) about 14.5" by 11.5". I then marked a 1/2" seam allowance around both pieces so I could fold it in and stitch it together. Nice and easy leg protection! But, knowing me, the plain fabric was boring so I needed a bit of embellishment. For my purposes, it would be more of a border than anything else, but still necessary. Here is the plain fabric, before I chose a pattern:

Then it was the quest for a pattern. I did a bunch of research from different periods and cultures on my Pinterest boards lately (here is the link if anyone is interested) and I settled on a 12th century Sicilian embroidery design. After some playing around I eventually got it traced on my fabric so it looked something like this:

I really liked the contrast of the black pen (yeah, I know, I should use a fabric pencil... I couldn't fine mine). I decided to go ahead and continue with the black/cream contrast and found some black sewing thread. I wasn't sure what kind of stitch I wanted to do with it, but jumped right in with a plain satin stitch and LOVE the result! It's not super fancy, but still gets me some decent (needed) practice on a basic stitch.

Yes, I know... my embroidery skills need a lot of work. That's why I'm getting practice! :)

Just a Quick Update

Lots of exciting things going on lately!

Life is always a bit crazy with two busy little girls... but it's so much fun! Miss Q is getting bigger by the second, and often shows off her smarts (with a pinch of sass). Here she is doing her best to give the tree his stick back-

Miss C is already a bit over 1 year old! I can hardly believe how big she has gotten... she doesn't quite walk yet but managed to stand on her own in the Post Office today looking more than a bit shocked. She's such a ham- I always get a smile for the camera! Here she is, testing out her new shoes (which squeak when she walks!)-

As for myself, I am still working hard with my Etsy shop (check out my store here). I've changed my construction a little bit so the bags are sturdier and also added several new designs! I'm really excited to add my next shape- I am waiting for some word back from my wonderful bag testers. (If you actually *do* check out the link and see something you like... I have free shipping going on for the next week: FREESHIP is the code for that.)

I have also become more and more interested in historical textiles, so there will probably be a lot more posts on those in the nearish future. It depends on how a few things work out, but I am hoping to be able to go back to school this fall as well! 

We also moved recently. New apartment, new ideas, new hobbies... it's been a wonderful and exciting summer so far!

Crescent Originals

Crescent Originals is my newest venture into the world of self-employment. I re-opened my Etsy store back in November, and have been holding off blogging about it until I knew where I was going with it.

My little shop is stocked with all kinds of knitting accessories! I specialize in project bags with a unique twist- no two bags are alike, and each bag has a window in the handle so you can write what project is inside. If you knit like I do... there are usually three or four projects in bags floating around and it's easy to lose track of which one is where, and the handy window eliminates shuffling through bags, unzipping and zipping until you find what you're after. I've also branched out a little bit and have drawstring bags, needle cases, pencil bags, mini notions bags (they snap!) and soon there will also be stitch markers! I've also been working on a shawl pattern, though I am unsure if this one will end up in the shop. Time will tell.

I'm very proud to say the store has been doing FANTASTICALLY! I had set a goal that by the end of the year I would have enough revenue that I could potentially have a booth at the Estes Park Wool Market- the paperwork needs to be in sometime in December... and I figured if I was doing alright I would go ahead and be a vendor! In the first four months of being open, my sales have gone far beyond my wildest dreams- I have almost made my year end goals already, and will be picking up my paperwork for Wool Market 2015 when I head to Estes in June this year.

This will mean a lot of work! I have outlined what I would like to be taking with me and boy howdy do I have my work cut out for me. I'm definitely looking forward to all that needs done- idle hands being my kryptonite... I tend to get depressed when I'm not making or doing something. Pretty much all of my sewing is done after my girls head to bed, leaving a couple hours per day that I can work at the machine. I'm super happy that there has been so much interest already!

Thank you to everyone who has looked through my store and ordered something (or just looked)! Please feel free to message me anytime!

Did you read the post? The whole post? :) Yay!! Like my page on Facebook and stay updated on the newest things headed into the shop, as well as contests and giveaways! There's even the occasional coupon code!

The things my daughter says...

Wiggles is 15 months old now, and has really started to find her voice. She's moved beyond just the mind-erasing ear-shattering screams to actually start to express what she wants with words. Granted, most of her words can't be found in a dictionary but she is able to at least usually get us to understand her. :)

Here are a few things that she says (with translations!):

"I dot dis!" - I got this! (typically in reference to a toy, usually a stuffed animal)
"Peas zhoos?" - Please, juice?
"Oooh dat!" - Oh, I like that!
"Whassis?" - What's this?
"Oooooh yesh!" - Oh yes! (Happy, and in response to questions she doesn't know how to answer.)
"Feesh!" - Fish!! (the doctor's office has a fishtank, and the fish are highly entertaining for her.)

And my personal favorite: "Nekkid peegies?" - "Naked piggies?" This one stems from me putting socks on her and once telling her she needed socks because her piggies were all naked! For some reason this is the one phrase she has really picked up on. I'm thankful she only says it to me, in the morning, while putting on socks. Hopefully she doesn't start pointing at people's feet in sandals and telling them their piggies are naked this summer.

She still uses her words like "dis" and "dat" to point to various things for identification. She also makes up words and babbles for specific objects. It's such good fun listening to her talk, even if ninety percent of it is mere babbling.

Dearest little ones,

I love you both so very much. I will always love you both! I might get angry with you, put you in time out, make you cry, disappoint and embarrass you - but this is all part of my job to help you both grow into beautiful and strong young ladies.

Every mom has an idea of who their little ones might grow into. I do too! But I promise I will put my dreams and wishes for you aside to help you achieve YOUR dreams. Please don't let me forget that each of you are your own person.

I have huge expectations from you both. Even though you can't talk yet, and one of you isn't born... I expect you both to grow into wonderful young ladies - the kind of person others can look up to.

I hope that I can be everything you two might want in a mother. I hope I can remember that sometimes the important things in life are not the laundry and the dishes, but that sometimes it's okay to let that go in favor of a tent in the living room, counting marshmallows into hot chocolate, or sitting on the front porch with you waiting (with snowballs!) for your father to come home from work. I hope I can learn from you as much as you can learn from me.

Most of all, I want you both to remember that I'm always always here for you. I am a great shoulder to cry on and I will always let you. I am a great listener and I will always listen to your problems, questions, hopes, and dreams. I want to be your best friend, your partner in crime, your favorite cook.... I want to be so much for both of you.

Being your mom is a huge learning process for me too. I know I'll mess up. I know I'll make mistakes. In the end though, I want you to know that I will try my very best.

So very much love,

Your Mom

Vacation!

We got back from our vacation almost a week ago, so it's about time I get back to this. :) 

I took Wiggles out to Pennsylvania to meet my Grandmother. We had a wonderful time out there and I really wish we could have stayed a little bit longer... Wiggles adores her Great-Grandma and was constantly wanting to snuggle her and play! We had dinner with lots of family and got to catch up a little with lots of cousins. :)

We did so much better on the flight out there than I expected. I had never taken her on a plane before so I braced for the worst (not to mention packed the diaper bag for an apocalypse of some sort). Security didn't take as long as I thought with a baby, and she actually fell asleep on takeoff! While she was awake I tried my best to keep her occupied with a new toy and snacks, but she found out that waving to random airline passengers was a lot more interesting. 

Overall, it was a lovely trip! I hope to head back out to see my family again sometime soon.

New Years Resolutions

#1. I've probably made this resolution before, but I need to blog more. I'm putting a reminder in my phone to post something every week, so hopefully I can stick to it. :) I would love to be able to have everything in one place - random reminders of what my babies are up to and how much they are growing, a record of my knitting projects and pictures of what I finish, and just basically keep a journal and keep all my weirdness contained to a corner in the internet.

#2. Don't buy yarn until my stash is gone. I've decided to include fiber in this one as well... it must be spun. And used. The raw fleeces I have are the tricky part- I can't wash them at home because Hubby is allergic to lanolin and I hate watching him be so itchy for weeks on end, so yet to determine what will happen with those. Hubby has agreed that I am allowed one day of yarny shopping though.... the Estes Park wool festival in June. I will go with a set budget in cash, and no checkbook this time! This resolution does have one small loophole (I mean not a loophole...) where I am allowed purchase of yarn for specific gifts where I do not have the right kind/color in my stash.

#3. Finish one knitting project (or crochet, or spinning, or weaving) per month. This can include WIPs that have been neglected. Basically, get everything off needles.

~In random news, baby #2 (otherwise known as Peanut) will be joining our family in April!~