Poof, it's an appliqué...

I need one of those little accent thingies...to apply to my "e' in the word applique ... I wonder if there is a way to do it? ..or are they only on keyboards purchased in French speaking areas?. ... For now, I'll just use the apostrophe...to let folks know that I actually do know it needs something, but, I don't actually have that little 'something'....  either that or they'll just think I'm silly.... in which case... who cares.... maybe there is a way to move it backward so it's above the "e"? ...if you know, please let me know too okay?

Heyyy!!!  never mind, I figured it out.  Well, not me actually...but, I went to Wiki to find out if there is a way to make an acute accent...and...there is.  So, I just held down the option key + e and then pressed the e...and voila...it appeared where it is supposed to be!  Slick.  Yay me...

Now, where was I?  ..oh, yes... remember the little bit of material with the filled in cross stitched hearts?  The one I cut out almost too small to make it useful for anything?

 Turns out it was a perfect size for an appliqué... barely... hahah...there it is again...love it.  Now I know how to do it...oh, off topic again... smug with my new found trick for the accent.  Sorry.

Here it is ... surrounded by French knots ... beside another bumpy bit I put on way back when..

It is still not just appliqué either.  I didn't like the look of it totally flat..so added a teensy amount of some stuffing ...just to plump it a tiny bit.. make it stand out better.  Maybe I'll leave some just flat somewhere else on the cloth.  But so far .. no, don't really like the look of them.

Here you can see the original bumpy one and some prairie points and some other stitches.  French knots, buttonhole lace stitch, some chain stitch and oh, some thread wrapping on the strings holding the "balloon.  That's what they remind me of... balloons floating away over the mountains...

Wherein Goosie gets some legs...

My crafting buddy Maggi made me do it.  Yup...she got here yesterday, took one look at my poor legless girl and said...haven't you got those legs on yet?  That better be the first thing you do today.

And, ....I did.  I felt bad the other day when Lin busted me ...and then yesterday ...well, I just got busy, poked some holes in there for insertion and laid on a bit of glue... stuck them in and voila.... done! They have been painted and sitting around for weeks now.  Ridiculous.

Man, it makes me crazy that I procrastinate like that. And, then ... it takes 10 minutes to do the job. Sheeesh .... just like when I was in school.  Remember waiting 'til the night before a big project was due? ... did you end up bleary eyed at about 1:00 a.m... still gluing and writing and doing? ...I did.

Ms. Goosie loved them.   It was 'happy feet, happy feet', all over the place after that...showing off her feet and legs... the DTBs (dining table birds)  approved.....

Then, just to be cheeky...she danced all over my wrapping cloth....I hope she wiped those big ol' brown feet.... it's all whites for heaven sakes...!

Wheeeeee !!!

Scooter has his way....

I thought Karen liked pockets... but this guy... honestly... he found every bit of loose frill and anything that looked like a pocket was fair game for a dive into and play around inside....

"Good thing I'm your skinny bear "...

"ooooh, a frilly corner"...

"Hey!  This one's upside down" ..

"Guess it's okay this way.... I can sit under it like a big parasol"...

"Wheeeee....  knees up Mother Brown, knees up Moth.... huh?... I'm off key? ... oh.... alright then...I'ma hums quietly ".....  ....

"Kind of short mountains...only me feet fit inside these little guys"...

"I thought I'd be able to climb right inside this silk pouch...but, no.... only feet again.... it's stitched down on the bottom...."

"yoohoo... here I am ..hiding under this little flap with it's pretty flower trim..."...

I've got big nuts..

What? ...


They're knots? ....okay then...I've got big knots.

Chinese Knots too.  It took me the better part of the day yesterday to make two of them.  About midnight...I cheered myself right out loud....woohooo ... got it!

Today I will try to make a third with the remaining cord and see if I can even go one better and hide the seam as one is supposed to do.  The instructions say "keep seam facing down at all times when you work"...yeh...right.......I'll just do that .. along with standing on my head and facing south, while I try to get the loops in the right place at the right time and remembering to put the trailing piece of cord over or under or beside the leading piece of cord etc.....  and then tightening it all to get a round knot...

I'm sure it will all be much simpler when I have made about a dozen...or so....

Of course, the first part where I had to stitch some silk fabric onto a cord..turn it and make it look right wasn't easy either.... for somebody who is not on intimate terms with a sewing machine.... oh, and.... I had to cut some nice bias strips before that .....  which I did from a print out on folding fabric to get the most out of it for bias strips.

... tacking silk onto cord.

Pretty happy with my first two nuts...er ....  knots.....

Late bloomer

This cactus bloomed before Christmas .... it is Canadian...but, it usually blooms around American Thanksgiving ... I forget now when that is ...but, about a month before Christmas.

Posie was pretty impressed.

... but, I think she was more interested in this bit of gold fabric... is it 'silk tissue'?  Taffeta? ..

Poor cactus is in such poor soil and hardly any at that.  I'm a terrible person to my plants .... sigh .. no wonder they don't do major blooming like my sister's plants do.  She even re-pots hers and replenishes soil from time to time... practically unheard of around here I have to say.  This year.... I must do it.














Anyway... over a week ago I noticed a tiny pink bud and began to watch it ... gave it a big drink of water and lo and behold...one solitary beautiful flower appeared over the past few days ...















Gwendolyn really is quite thrilled with it ... honestly, .... she is ........ it's just a bit difficult to tell sometimes..........