what happened?

oh.

I am such a bad blogger...

Really, though, my guilt is just about that short-lived.

It's been a busy summer, and I am totally okay with the fact that I've probably lost the interest of anyone reading this thing. That is, besides my mom, Madonna, and probably Brenda, my mother-in-law. And they all already know what's up. Right, ladies?! :)

So summer is done. Back in school as of yesterday.

I am left with two thoughts:

what happened?

what happened!

The biggest news of all: We have a house!

(Well, we're under contract for a house.)

That's what happened!

Read this next part in your best Grover voice:

SERIOUSLY folks! Do you KNOW what that MEANS?

It means a HOME for all of my WONDERFUL crafts!

My crafts get their VERY OWN ROOM.

And if we are VERY VERY QUIET,

there will be a HOUSE at the end of this MONTH.

:) I am cautiously excited.

Update on projects:

cafe curtains: original seams ripped... and that's about it

bed quilt: eh... the fabrics are pre-washed (that's something... right?)

christmas needlepoint ornament: surprisingly, almost done

imagined decorating projects in house: regularly scheduled daydream

For now, I will leave you with this link to a great blog on upcycling dresses. I've seen this blog before, but it was featured on Yahoo News today and it refreshed my memory.

Can't wait to post pictures once we reach the END of this MONTH.

:)

p.s. please pray that the house works out.

good moms hook their daughters up

acquired:

photo from the fancy tiger blog

this lovely set of fat quarters from fancy tiger. my mom just called and is buying herself a new project at the store. it was a good thing i wasn't there with her because she brings out the shopper in me. i had seen these fabrics on their blog a few days ago and made a mental note to check them out. so i asked her to take a look and she said they are wonderful. she also picked up a copy for me of mary thomas' book. awesome! i'm not sure what i will do with the fabric, but i am hoping to try a little embroidery inspired by richard saja.

fun!

finding a needle in a haystack

This past summer I went with my mom to a local needlepoint chapter meeting (I think of EGA? ANG?) It was in July, and I was hoping to learn how to make ornaments as gifts for a few weddings coming up. While attending that class, they mentioned the piece for the following month: The Lily Pond, by Susan Goodman. Susan prints photos onto her canvases, and I think that is a really neat look. What's more, the kit was at a really great price. I talked with Susan and she assured me that it would be an easy piece for me to do. So I ordered it.

Now, my mother-in-law, Brenda, is just about the sweetest person I know. She always tells us not to give her anything for Christmas- that spending time together is all she wants. But I am my mother's daughter, and that means I just cannot not give a gift. (Double negative necessary.) So, I figure a really good compromise is something handmade that did not cost very much money. I set out to stitch this for Brenda.

Of course, time flies when you are a teacher, and so it was way too close to Christmas as I was trying to finish the piece. And, along the way, I had several bad encounters with needles that seriously pushed my progress back.

First, I was home one day- not sure where Marc was (perhaps a day off of school??) and I was rethreading my needle on the couch. Suddenly, the needle was gone- where could it be?? I was sitting criss-cross with a big opening in my lap. Surely the needle had fallen there. I felt around- no needle. I looked at my clothes, my canvas- no needle. Very carefully I lifted up one leg to see if the needle was under it. When you lift one leg, your weight shifts to the other one. That did it. The needle was lodged under- you guessed it- my rear end, and the weight shift pushed it in- deep. Frantically, I froze (if that is possible.) I lifted myself off the couch with my hands and stood in the living room alone, thinking, 'oh no. What will I do?' Very uncomfortably, very scared, I found the needle and removed it. Luckily- no blood. I had a haircut appointment in minutes, so I rushed out of the house- lightheadedly, and went to the salon. Where I told a nearly complete stranger the story, and watched through the mirror as she gave very uncomfortable side glances and awkward responses to my story. Should have kept it to myself. But funny, right??

Second needle catastrophe: we were on the plane headed to Indiana, and I was madly trying to finish before we got there so I could give it to Brenda. Not two minutes into stitching, I lost my needle again! This time, I saw it go flying into the carpet abyss under our seats. (I was in the window seat.) I tried all the other needles- they both had snaggy eyes and did not fit my thread properly. So now, I was stuck- how would I finish?? I searched... and searched... and searched under the seat for the needle. Not easy, given economy seating. Thank goodness we had a free seat in between us so I had room to move around. It was nowhere- how can you lose a needle in a confined space? While I sat there, head between my legs, we went through some bad turbulence and I got completely nauseous...and waited for a while before searching again. Finally, I had an epiphany: I would use my cell phone light! So I waited until we touched down, then while the rest of the passengers deplaned, I cast the blue-gray cell phone light under the seat. There it was- tucked in the crevasse between the carpet and the metal siding.

We got in past midnight and the next morning I woke up early and finished the piece.

And it all worked out- I hadn't finished it in time to have it framed at home, so Brenda and I decided to go to the framer's together and she could pick it out herself. Turns out we didn't have time while I was there, so she went later. She chose a raspberry/burgundy matting that went really well with the place she would hang it in her house. I don't think I would have thought to use those colors in the matting-there are so many to choose from, and it totally makes sense when I think about Brenda's house. I am so glad that it all worked out this way. It's funny when we give gifts, how much they are a reflection of ourselves. But, it's neat to think that in a way, we got to collaborate on the finished product together.

snowflake felt project

tonight we are hanging out at home, so i thought i would share my latest project.

plus, this way you can see a little bit of the home remodel i've been talking about. (see the blue tape on the floor... our new hardwood flooring!)

i left my knitting at my mom's house, so i was trying to figure out what to do while marc emailed some clients and we watched t.v.

i started out with one of the felt coasters i had left from my friend kelly's baby shower in january.

then i laid it on top of some white felt i had sitting around the house.

check out my new tools from great american quilt factory. (these are felting tools, not quilting tools, f.y.i.)

i had this thread from a really really old needlepoint project- an alphabet sampler- no idea where it went.

here is the project so far. not exactly sure what i'm doing or what it will become, but i think an ornament.

(p.s. don't know how long i'll continue to post so very often, but i'm in the honeymoon phase of this blog, so we'll just let it be how it is for now.)

:)

Memoirs of a Geisha

I am so excited to tell today's story.

It is a perfect example of the reason I started this blog in the first place.

I have enjoyed my mom's piece for several years now, but never before did I know how much history it really has. Sit back, and enjoy- this one is gooood.

This piece, which my mom calls, The Geisha, sits in our little dining room.

It hung in my mom's dining room/hallway for my entire childhood, I think.

Then, when she repainted her walls, she gave it to me.

I visited my mom last Sunday for dinner and asked her to tell me the story about it.

My mom designed this piece in the mid-late 70's from a design she saw in a McCall's Needlework magazine. The entire piece is stitched using silk threads. It was originally intended to be hung in a master bedroom of a custom house up in the mountains. It would have been spectacular... adjacent to a beautiful mountain view. But, it turns out, my mom didn't live there.

This piece was an excellent vehicle for a class on techniques with silk, and so my mom offered it at the Needleworker boutique in Cherry Creek North. It would be a six week class, meeting once each week in the evenings.

One of the shop regulars at the Needleworker was a man named Walt. Walt was a really nice guy, known for being a great customer and an excellent stitcher. Walt really wanted to enroll in the class, but his partner, Mr. James, was distraught: they didn't often spend evenings apart. Now, Mr. James had no experience whatsoever, and should not have enrolled in the class. But, Walt assured the Needleworker staff that he would be completely responsible for helping Mr. James with whatever he needed during the class.

The first night of the class, Walt and his partner, Mr. James arrived. Mr. James owned a beauty salon in Denver, and perhaps that is why he showed up... in drag. Maybe you've never seen my mom handle a change of plans, but she is always as cool as a cucumber. Even though I wasn't there, I bet she handled it really well. (I mean, let's face it. There are a lot of places you could expect to see a man in drag, but a needlepoint boutique in Cherry Creek North in the late 70s/early 80s is not necessarily that place.) My mom went on with the class as usual, but neither she...nor the Geisha... were the center of attention anymore.

Mr. James was very frustrated by the class, as any beginner would be, and he did not handle his frustration well. He would start sweating when things became difficult, and it was all my mom could do to keep the class from dissolving. One evening, as things became particularly challenging, Mr. James leaned over, and sighed, "Waltie darling, I just can't do this!"

It was the fourth evening of class, and Walt and Mr. James never returned.

Later on that year (I think), my mom wrote an article for the National Embroiderer's Teachers Association. She titled it, "Needlework Can Be a Drag." It was an article all about dealing with problematic situations as a workshop teacher. Over the years since, I have heard a lot of my mom's stories about students who are in over their heads. I think what frustrates her the most is having to make the decision to assist one student over the others or leave that person hanging.

Meanwhile, my mom entered The Geisha in an ANG national exhibit in 1980. She took First Place and her first ever Judge's Choice award. (She scanned and sent me a picture of her ribbon when I told her I'd be writing about this piece... so cute!)

Because of these accolades, she attended the first Invitational Exhibit offered by Princess Grace of Monaco in 1982. The American Needlepoint Guild, which began in 1970, held its first convention in 1972 and its first trip to Monaco in 1973. ANG hosted trips to Monaco nearly every year after that. To my understanding, the exhibit took place in the spring of that year.

That following September, Grace Kelly died in a car accident.

This picture is absolutely one of my favorite pictures in my mom's house. It turns out it was taken by the palace photographer and sent to my mom later on. How perfect is that- this moment needed to be frozen in time. Now that I know the story, I think I'm going to see if I can get a professional-quality copy of this picture and frame it next to the Geisha.

bucket brigade: toile embroidery

so, we are remodeling our place, and i don't have much time to blog but wanted to pass along what i found interesting and inspiring today.

image source

i was reading design*sponge during my lunch break and read all about embroidering on toile, in a way that modernizes such a traditional fabric pattern. i thought it was a really fun, refreshing idea. here is the original blog post, by Richard Saja.

image source

on a sidenote, i'm new to writing online, and i'm not sure if i am following blog etiquette. i've referred back to places i've visited, but i hope that richard saja is okay with me also using his photo to link to his site.

update: "Hi Maura, Thanks for the mention...I expect people to take images from my blog - - it's just nice to know where to look when it happens so thank you for pointing me in the direction of your blog. Best, Richard"

there, i feel better. :)

falling from the tree

this is my mom.

she is my inspiration in so many ways. this is on my wedding day. look how happy she is! i love her.

she. made. her. dress.

it is way more amazing than this photo, but it'll have to do for now. she is well known for her needlepoint, embellishment, and pure genius. the older i get, the more fascinated i am by her. one of my very big reasons for creating this place is to chart all of her projects and stories behind her designs. she thinks of things, and they come into being. she sets her mind in motion and it's done. she is a little size 2 and puts forth more energy towards more direct tasks than i can believe. her name is caela conn tyler. she is the most talented person that i know.

for now, i'd like to give a brief introduction to some of her works...

piazza san marco

my stocking

tundra tuffet

sleeping forest