Something Wicked...

I still haven't found the mirrors.  This morning I started looking in other places... Big mistake!!!

I started looking in the jewelry chest that I keep the mini cross stitch in...

I found three drawers that had a LOT of unfinished rugs and other embroidery in them.

What is terrible, the drawers are full of fabric and some of the pieces have two or three rugs and other things started on them.

I didn't count all of the starts.  If I did, I would probably start throwing things.  Namely the fabric with unfinished rugs, etc. on them.

If you start counting, please don't write and tell me how many unfinished items of embroidery there are for me to finish.  I don't want to know.
Some of these go back to my early days of minis... Late seventies or early eighties.

If I ever finish this one, it will be a miracle. It is the start of a crewel bed spread. If I finish it, that means that I will have to carve and build a bed to go with it.

I am not holding my breath until I finish it... That's for sure!!!

This is the bottom drawer.  It has a lot of blank fabric that is just waiting for something to be started on it.

I am NOT going to start anything until I finish some of the other ones first.

I did find one other thing that I am going to finish.

I started this about twenty years ago.  All it needs is a mat and a frame.  It's not a mini.  I am thinking that I should finish the framing.  If I do that, I will hang it somewhere near the embroidery chest.

Maybe it will warn me not to start any more mini rugs and other things until I finish some of the things in these three piles!

I am now going to waste a little more time looking for the mirrors.  Then I am going to go finish something... Anything will do.  I just need to complete something! See you tomorrow.

Witchy Weavers

Tomorrow, I am adding more weavers to the world.

We will only have five witches this week.  I think that I may be able to handle four witches with pointy needles. Maybe...

I went to Walmart this morning.  They had an assortment of 24 skeins of floss for under four dollars.  Not bad! There is black and white and six skeins of solid colors. That leaves 16 skeins of variegated. Two of each color combination. It's a great way to get used to making baskets and not at all expensive.  Of course, they will have to buy more of the covered wire, but they can get that at Michael's or Joanne's

I put two different colors in each of the sacks. A couple of yards of each one.

I decided to see what the color combination would look like.  I kind of like this one.  Really a nice combination.

Maybe I will have this one finished by the time that the witches get here tomorrow. We shall see.

As soon as Tessie saw the pile, she immediately started shuffling through the skeins and didn't toss any of them away... That was a worry. 

That means that all of them are acceptable... I see a lot of basket coiling in my future. 

Don't tell Tessie that I will be using some of them on a blue denim shirt that I bought. That is a ways down the list of things to start.  I have too many things to finish. So what else is new?

See you tomorrow!

OK...It's Not Minis...

I got sidetracked again... I found Tessie sitting with Kota, messing with labels from my DMC thread. 

According to her, I don't have enough thread.  If I did, I wouldn't have all of these leftover labels... Wrong.  I have more than enough.  I just haven't put it all on the little cards.

As I said... Sidetracked... It seems to be a regular happening...

I found the travel case that I took to  the Witchy meeting last Wednesday. 

I started to get the rest of my thread on cards while there....  But... I didn't get it all done.

Tessie insisted that I sit down and do the rest. 

So, as we all know, it doesn't pay to argue with Tessie.

Actually, I am glad that I didn't argue.  Look what I found!  I started this a couple of months ago.

Now that I found it, I am going to have to finish it.  It is a bracelet cuff.  It may take a while, but a little at a time, I will get it done. After I finish it, I will probably wear it a lot.  I like turquoise.  I will finish it and put a backing on it.  Then an edge all around.  If I don't lose it again for a while, it will be done in a couple of weeks in my spare time... Back to the grindstone.

See you tomorrow. 

Accomplishments...?

Well. I thought I pulled one over on Tessie, yesterday... Evidently not.

I found this 24 skein pack of embroidery floss at Walmart yesterday morning. Slipped it in the cart when Tessie wasn't poking her head out...

It is tie dyed embroidery floss!  I have never seen regular floss with more than one color on a skein. It was $3.98 for 24 skeins! 

Granted I had to take eight skeins of regular floss to get the 16 skeins of tie dyed, but I had to try it. It comes out to about 17 cents a skein if you count the plain ones too.  I will use those too.  All nice colors.

Anyway, Tessie was present when I started pulling things out of the bags... She saw it.  She immediately ran for the #14 crochet hook and yelled as she went, "Afghans! I need more afghans!".
 Just what I need!  More projects.  I think that it will also work for rugs.  It could be interesting.

As soon as I got things unpacked, I decided to go through the jewelry chest/sewing chest...

I got the first three drawers cleaned out and found that the third drawer was empty.  I put the new floss in that drawer and Tessie climbed in, still holding the #14 hook. 

I think that I am going to try talking her into a rug first.

OK.  I found a bunch of cards of thread that belonged in my travel case... Got the case out.  Tessie started grousing about me not finishing the rugs in there... I can't win.  Wherever I go, she follows and harasses me!

She told me to take her photo whilst she finished the rug that I started... Please note that she doesn't have a needle in her hand... It is still stuck in the edge of the canvas. She claims that she can't get it out, for the rust on the needle!

I did find three other projects that have been kicking around here for years.  The first one is a kit that I found at a show years ago.  It was supposed to be for a fire screen.  I never made it that far... I guess I should at least frame it and hang it somewhere.

The second is a pattern for a modern rug from a book that I bought in England.  The problem is, I did it on fine canvas and it will really only look good in a half inch setting. Oops.  No half inch settings to put it in.

The third one was a bench cover, copied from a book on antique embroidery.  The problem is, I used half of it to cover a stool to go with a dressing table.  I am thinking now that the room needs a matching throw pillow.  It's a shame to waste perfectly good embroidery.

I am going back to work now and finish the rest of the drawers in the jewelry/sewing chest.  Heaven knows what I will find next!

See you tomorrow.

Another Year Has Passed!

And Tessie is still as cantankerous as ever!  Even though she was not here everyday for all eight years, she thinks she was.

Once in a while she whispers in my ear, "Don't you think this should be titled "Tessie and Casey's Minis?".

It will not be happening any time soon, but she can dream on...

I almost have another flower finished on the bag.

If you want to go back and see how this all started, just push the magic button>>>
http://caseymini.blogspot.com/2008/02/here-i-go-again.html  That should keep you busy for a while.  You have to press newer posts at the end of each page to keep going.

I am going out to work in the garden for a while and then back to the radiation table.  For those of you that missed it, I am now cancer free!  The radiation and Herceptin treatments are merely preventative now.  The radiation is Monday Through Friday until sometime in March... The Herceptin is once every three weeks until sometime in  June.  Then I am free!!!

I have to get back at it.  I have plants to pot and seeds to scatter.

See you tomorrow.

Appreciating the Weekend!

Since I started the radiation, I feel almost like I have a full time job... The part where you have to get in the car and drive 40 minutes each way...

Then we get there, and the treatment is about 15 minutes  Walter is nice enough to come along, so I don't have to talk to myself on the trip.

This cuts a big slice out of the day.

Last night, I decided that I wasn't going anywhere today and I was going to do something that was fun.

I dug through my closet and found the purses that I had saved from the last clean out... I picked these five and went to work.

I grabbed my box of antique lace and started digging. 

I found some crocheted and needle made lace collars... Hmmm.  Maybe I could figure out a way to wear some of those with tee shirts without damaging them?

I made this purse years ago... I think I used it once.  Maybe twice...I never liked the big ugly flowers. I did like the stripes.  They look like an old fashioned pillow.

I started embroidering on one of the handles and it spread to the purse... Covering some of the ugly roses.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I never wear those colors.

I found a piece of hand made bobbin lace(not very old, so my conscience is clear).  I am going to cover the outer edges with that, making some of the roses disappear. 

I'm not so sure about the other side.  Maybe some crazy quilting will cover the crazy roses.  I hope so!

Nowhere to go.  I am staying here! I am off to have some fun now.

See you tomorrow, with minis in hand!

Catching Up With the Times...

I am happy to report that the operation was a complete success.  And the cupboard is finished.

I pulled it out of the dark workshop so that you could see it properly.

Zar immediately started loading it with essential supplies for his workshop...

Yes.  He made a deal with Cordelia for the Navajo pot.  Then he ripped off one of Tessie's old TVs.

Most importantly, two cases of beer disappeared from my kitchen stash.

He is now ready to go to work.....Seriously....

I went and met April and Amare for coffee this morning.  Seth will be back from Africa Sunday.  Thank goodness, he is not in any of the hot spots!

After coffee, we went over to JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts.  They are doing a complete remodel.  FYI, they are now carrying the DMC that I have been looking for. DMC is finally getting into the swing of things with new threads. They started advertising over dyed threads in some of the magazines last month...They have a nice selection of #5Perle cotton and floss in lots of color combinations.  The price isn't bad either.

Of course, Tessie is already making plans.  I only bought some of the Perle cotton to try. I have a lot of over dyed floss already. Visions of knitting crocheting and other things are floating before her eyes right now.  I didn't tell her that they aren't for her....Why start an argument?

Anyway, if you have been looking for a place that carries these new threads, they are at JoAnn's.

I really need to finish the Tudors.  I am tired of this game.  I want to play something else now...Back to work.

See you tomorrow.

Somewhere to Lay Her Weary Head.....

 This is going to be short.  The stupid allignment button will not let the text go to the left, even though I have it set that way and yes, I did  do the "remove formatting" thing and tried to move the text to the left.  Frustrating!!!  Oops! Never mind.  It finally decided to play nice....For the time being.

OK.  This is as far as I am going today. Nellie now has a place to sleep. 

 I put in some lavender and blue flowers and blanket stitched the top edge of the coverlet over two threads.

By the way, If you decide to do something like that, remember to do it on the wrong side, if you are going to turn the top back.

It's very annoying when you get part of it done and realize that it's the wrong side.  No....I didn't do that this time, but I have done it a few times before.  That's how I know.

Here it is up close.  The color on both of these photos isn't great.  One is too white and the other too yellow.  It's another cloudy day.  I can never get them right when the light is like this.

Anyway.  I quit.  I am going to go play some other game for the rest of the day...Something fun.

See you tomorrow.

Just Getting Started....

First of all, I had to find the thread.  I moved it from it's usual spot and it was hiding.

Most of this, I can't use.  I only use the old mercerized cotton.  No synthetics.  So that cuts down the pallet a bit. 

The small box is where some of my favorites are, but as you can see, I have more in the big one.

In case you were wondering why we were looking for sewing thread, I decided to work on Nellie's bed cover today.

The linen washed up nicely, so no excuse not to start.

Nellie helped me out with the design.  I put basic lines on the coverlet with my Pigma Micron .005 pen. 

I can hear people murmuring, "She must be mad!".

I only drew the basic lines on with a pencil first.  When I liked the design, I made them permanent with the pen.  These pens are as close to permanent as you can get.  People use them to sign and put information on quilts, with the assurance that they are archival and won't wash out, face or bleed. 

They are one of my favorite tools for mini.  It is the finest point in permanent inks that I know of and they last a long time.  I get them at art supply stores, quilt shops or sometimes at Michael's.  They come in several colors and all are valuable mini tools.

I am working under a lighted magnifying light.  Nothing fancy.  It's one that I picked up at Walmart years ago.  I like it because it has the glass on one goose neck and the light on another, so I can position it anywhere I want it.  I have other styles, but this is my weapon of choice when working at home. 

It takes a regular 60 watt light bulb and I am used to the color.  For me, Ott lights are unnatural light.  That's just one of my idiosyncrasies...

As you can see, I have gotten quite a bit done this morning.  I still have a long way to go, but my eyes are getting crossed.  I am going over no more than two threads at a time when doing the stem stitches.  The leaves, done with lazy daisy stitch are also over two threads.  The yellow french knots are done with either single or double wrap of one strand of thread.  The red satin stitch flower is done with a single thread too.  Some of the stitches are gone over twice to make it thicker.

Anyway, that's it for today.  Back to cleaning cupboards.

See you tomorrow.

Nellie Being Civil?

(Oops!!! Sorry this is late.  I wrote it this morning and somehow it didn't get published!)

Yup.  She was very nice all morning....I was working on getting her embroidery frame set up.

First I cut a piece of linen to fit the width of the frame and long enough to roll around both of the bars between.

I glued the ends of the linen around the bars, wrapping them around and under. 

Next, I took a doubled beige thread and laced the sides of the linen to the end bars, stretching the fabric as I went.

Then came the fun part.  I did some embroidery with silk thread.  I didn't try to finish the design, as this will be a work in progress.

As you can see, Nellie can now sit comfortably with her knees under the frame.

I am going to do some more embroidery.  It is only a few leaves, a couple of stems and some flower petals right now.

I will show you as it progresses further.

I plan to make her a pouncing cushion( for marking designs on the fabric)  and some pricked patterns.

I also need to stock her workroom with other accessories and threads.

There is a diagram in the Saint-Aubin book for a  thread winder that looks pretty easy and interesting. 

I still have to make her a simple rope bed, but she is not so insistent.  She has something to keep her busy during the day, so she will probably gladly sleep anywhere now.

In case you are wondering.  Yes, I am still trying to sort out the workroom too.  It's one of those weeks when I am going in 14 different directions at once. 

All I have to do is make a decision on which direction to go next....That's the hard part.

See you tomorrow.

Fast and Furious....

This morning I finished the embroidery on the under dress for Nellie. 

It was simply two strands of embroidry floss woven through the open work on the skirt, sleeves and stomacher.

In the first photo, I had just started.  I ran the green floss around all of the edges and up the blocks at the sides.

Then with yellow, I filled in the curved design.  In the center of the design, I wove the thread through twice to make the center stalk thicker than the branches.

The last step was to put a center in each of the flowers.  That was done with a single wrapped french knot.

I have glued the stomacher in place and am ready to start the over dress.

But first I have to stop and get ready to go to the Wednesday Witches mini meeting.

Oh!  I did do one other thing.

Shoes.

They aren't very fancy.  I tried leather, but they just looked too thick.

I finally settled on the knit lining material from one of the gloves that I had been using.

I simply cut a U shape from the fabric.  then I put glue on the foot and wrapped the fabric where I wanted it.

I did the same for the sole, trimming it after it was on the foot.

The last step was to add a bow on the toe.

They aren't fancy, but they won't be seen much either.  With these on her feet, she will be able to balance more easily when she stands.

I have to go and get ready now...No more Nellie work for today.

See you tomorrow.

It'll Be OK Soon.....

That was Tessie talking to the new being that is going to come to life over the next couple of days...

But before I go there, I wanted to show you the pattern that I found in one of the books from the Internet Archives site.  It was in a book of embroidery put out by Liberty of London around the turn of the last century.  I think that this is what I am going to be working on for the stretchers in the Crooked Cottage.  I will do it in sewing thread on silk.  Wish me luck...

Now about that person....Tessie has decided to play nurse to my Doctor Frankenstein. 

It started with her talking to three chenille stems.  I took two and twisted them together and folded them in half.  Then I took the third one and folded it in half and twisted it together.  I slid the short one between the halves of the longer one and made a stick figure.  The arms are about three quarters of an inch down from the top.  By twisting the body/head portion, with the arms in between, I forced it to stay together. 

By that time, Tessie had decided that this was her new best friend and that I should be very careful with her....

That's her in that pile of Super Sculpey that you see by their feet.

I don't think that the new friend is aware of what is going on around her yet.  Hopefully not.  she is going to get a lot of rough treatment before she comes to life. I cut about 3/4" off of the ends of her arms and legs to get the right proportions for a lady that is a bit taller than Tessie.

The next step was to wrap her upper torso, forearms and legs below the knee with floral tape.  I would have preferred white, but all I could find was green.  It will all be covered anyway, so it really doesn't make a difference.  It is simply to make the clay not stick to the chenille stems.

By the way, this is simply how I do dolls.  I don't think that there is any right or wrong way.  I have been doing it for 30 years and this is what works best for me.

OK...Back to the action.  The container that Tessie is holding is eyeballs.  They are perfectly round white glass beads. 

I took a piece of clay about the size of the end of my middle finger and formed it into an egg shape.  I stuck the neck bone into it closer to the back than the front.  Then I flattened a piece of clay and wrapped it around the neck and smoothed it into the head.

I them put a flattened piece of clay on each shoulder and wrapped around to the under arm.  This was also smoothed into the neck area.

I put a pad of clay on the upper back and a thicker one on the chest area and gave the lady a bit of shape.  That's just in case she wants to wear a low cut dress. 

And yes, I added a bit of cleavage with a toothpick.

You will notice that Zar is not allowed to come into the area.  This is a women only activity.

About half way down the face, I poked a couple of holes for the eyeballs.  There should be an eye width between the eyes.  That's just how people are built.

I have to quit for today.  Other things to do.  I will get to the rest of the face tomorrow. 

If you want to see someone do a really great demo of sculpting a doll's face, I recommend that you go watch Jodi Creager on U Tube.  She has a series that is outstanding and tells you a lot more than I could here in the blog.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo4COOhPk3k&feature=relmfu She has a lot of other dolls  there also.  Take a look.  You will have a wonderful time.

The doll in the tutorial is a larger doll, but she does a lot of outstanding 1:12 scale dolls too.

I will be back with Tessie and friend to show you more.

See you tomorrow.

Pushme-Pullyou

No....Not the funny looking animal from Dr. Doolittle.  It's Tessie and Zar.

Yesterday, when they stopped stitching, they had a terrible argument about Zar having to stand behind the screen and push the needle back through.  It went on for 23 minutes and 11 seconds.

I finally got tired of hearing it, so I settled it myself.

I told them that the first one to the embroidery frame today got the front.

Sometimes, when he stops to reason things out, Zar can be pretty crafty...

He spent the night in a sleeping bag in front of the screen with three alarm clocks and a cat to wake him up.

It worked.  He was there and ready to go, when Tessie arrived...She was still a bit sleep confused and he simply pushed her behind the fabric and told her to get to work...She did.  Amazing what a little cunning can do...

We are down to five motifs left to do.  We can do that standing on our heads....Don't quote me or hold me to it!

Meanwhile, I went to Walmart this morning and discovered that they had the little round plastic boxes for a dollar each.  I never thought to look for the individual boxes when I was getting the little storage unit.

I have an idea...Keep in mind that the photo is a simulation.  A glass, flower frog and a big crochet hook will not be in the finished item.

I couldn't find any dowels, so I had to fake it.  I do think that it will work though.  I am going to mount the dowel on a base and stack the doughnuts on the dowel.  Then when I need something, I just slip off the ones above the one that I need.

I am happy to have the extras.  That means that I can change out the ones in the case for different ones, depending on the project.

Last, but not least.  April went to Ace Hardware the last time she was here.  I forgot to show you what she found.

I have found dogs there before, but not cats.  They are by the front register in fishbowls and you have to dig for the ones that you want.  Some are too big, but some are just right for mini use.

I don't know if you can get a good look at this cat, without enlarging it.  It has been decided that this one is to be Zar's....

Tessie says that it scares her....It takes a lot to scare her.  I think it's the eyes.  They could be fixed with a bit of paint, but I kind of like the fact that we have something in the house that Tessie is afraid of....Every time she tries to pet him, she gets batted at with extended claws.  Go cat! Go!

I think it is about time for Zar to have new clothes.  His old ones are getting kind of ratty looking.  I wonder if he would be willing to do the rest of the coverlet in his long johns? I doubt it, but I'm going to go ask...This should be fun.

See you tomorrow.

Someone's Been Sleeping In My Bed.....

It was bound to happen.  Lettice found Tessie trying out the bed in the Crooked Cottage this morning.

You see, Tessie kindly let Lettie stay at Cordilia's house....(Yes.  She still refers to it as Cordie's house.) until she could find suitable quarters.

You will notice that, not only did she steal Lettice's bed, she still hasn't given back the blackwork from the front of my box. 

She is in double trouble!

I did get her to help with the coverlet stitchery, after Lettie chased her out.

In order for her to stitch, someone has to be behind the canvas to push the needle back through....I won't show you the back side...She has Zar chained to the magnifying light back there. 

Every once in a while she shoves a cookie at him and says, "Keep up the good work, if you want another one!"

Is that any way to treat the help???  I don't think so.

Anyway, it's about time to get lunch ready, so I will have to see what I can do to help Zar get out of there.  I might need him to peel potatoes.

Tessie will just have to run around to the back and push the needle through to the front herself.  We have 16 of the motifs completed.  Nine more to go.

See you tomorrow.

I Love It When Supplies Come Together...

I have been working on this rug for a while now.  To keep the threads from disappearing, I keep them on an earring...Yes, I know that you can buy rings that are especially for this purpose....They are two to the package and at least $3.00, when you can find them.

I think that I wrote about this once before, but it needs repeating.  I got these cards of earrings at Walmart for under $5.00 for twelve rings per card.  Quite a savings. 

I bought two cards, thinking that I would try out the two different styles.  I knew that I would use them all.  Sooner or later. I like the ones with the catch best for the embroidery thread.  The other ones look best for what I am about to show you.

I have used some, but not all.

I use a lot of different over dyed embroidery threads for tatting and basket making...What is the connection?

Lately, I have been seeing a lot of hoop earrings and dangling ones that are wrapped with multicolored thread.  They go for $3.88(Walmart) and up(other stores)

The light bulb went on above my head this morning, after I examined a pair at Walmart.  Sure enough, they were the same kind of hoops, just wrapped with thread.

You do the math.  Four or five dollars for one pair or six pair for five dollars if you do it yourself.  Plus one six strand piece of over dyed floss that I happened to have in my stash.  I used three strands on each earring.

It took me about an hour to make the three pair that you see in the last photo...Pretty cool.  I can have a pair of matching earrings for everything.

All I did was use white glue on the front side of the earring hoop and back cover about a quarter of an inch with the wrap.  Then I continued on wrapping tightly until I reached the back side of the loop.  There, I simply put on some white glue and wrapped the thread to the end.  I let it dry and then clipped it.

I am now thinking of bangle bracelets done the same way.  I noticed that they had 18 metal bangles in either gold or silver.  They were very inexpensive also.  I am thinking that, if I thread some beads on the floss before I start wrapping, I could simply slide one down where I want it and then continue wrapping.... 

I am thinking that these could very well be like potato chips....Bet you can't make just one...

Back to minis tomorrow. See you then.

Future Blackwork...

OK.  Here comes the blackwork.  If you are interested in trying it, this is an excellent site.
 http://www.prettyimpressivestuff.com/blackwork.htm I have used this site quite a bit because, at the bottom of the page, there are many links to other sites that have patterns and information.  Some of the links are now broken, but there are still a lot from which to choose.

The first photo shows the site, plus my notebook with patterns gleaned from the net.  I regularly surf and add patterns.  As you can see, I have already used that pattern for the patch on the cover of my Blackwork Box.

I made this work box a few years ago, when I was doing a lot of blackwork.  It's fun to be able to find the things you need for a certain needlework without searching.

The small framed piece is also a pattern that I got from the net.  If you look at the links, I am sure it is there somewhere.

This is a close up of one of the repeats of the pattern above.  I am going to use it for the coverlet.  It is a bit complicated, but I think that it will look good.  It's the same one that is on the box.

If I like something, it tends to be repeated.

I now have all of the timbers up on the top floor.  I did work on that until I ran out of timbers.  I still have some of the bottom floor and some of the outside yet to finish. 

I guess that I should go back to work.

See you tomorrow.