Special Secret Project Revealed!

I have spent the past year and a half working on a special project for a special someone in special kind of secrecy...

Timmy appointed himself as my Godfather before I can remember and has always been a big part of my life. A few years ago, he went back to the seminary to study theology and this January was ordained into the priesthood. Timmy going back to school was perfectly timed with the peak of my cross stitch obsession, and so of course I got thinking about what I could contribute in celebrating this monumental occasion by contributing what I know how to do best - crafting! This is the largest undertaking of cross stitch I've ever embarked on and I would dare say the biggest arts & crafts project that I've ever undertook. I've worked on this project all over the world - France, Germany, England, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, India, America and in various international transit zones as well!

It took me around 270 hours total in a little over one year. While I was making it, I couldn't help but think of Timmy of course, his devotion, my own devotion and how much our relationship means to me. It was a lovely 270 hours indeed! I gave it to him (at last!) in January when I was home and more than just giving him this stole, It felt like I gave him all those hours that I spent giving thanks for our relationship and wishing him and his family those many many blessings (270 hours worth of blessings to be exact!) Busy hands make for a quiet mind and I benefited enormously from working on this myself.

The pattern is an antique French motif traditionally embroidered in 2 colors, but I thought that by using 3 colors the cross and the star stand out better, and as this is a liturgical vestment, it's exactly what I was going for. Although Beau and I are truley blessed that he will be officiating our wedding ceremony this summer, I didn't want this gift to be confused with a wedding gift, so I made it in browny neutral tones and not the traditional white that you see for wedding ceremony vestments. It is my hope that it gets alot of wear and use and love!

I want to thank PeaceBang for posting my queries during the initial phase of this project on her on her blog: www.beautytipsforministers.com. The comments from the clergy who replied to the post were incredibly helpful and it would have not been possible for be to have gotten started without the "inside scoop". I also want to thank my Blog Fan Clun President for these amazing shots!

Wrappings

I had such a hoot wrapping my Christmas presents this season with the idea in mind to BUY NOTHING! Here are some photos of this years presents which I wrapped using all found, recycled or handmade materials. If we all just save a little bit more, reuse a little bit or are just a little bit crafty, our combined efforts could reduce consumption and waste dramatically.

When Beau bought me flowers, I saved the kraft paper they came wrapped in. A little bit of leftover lace and the home made charm is out of control.

I scanned my clock collection and with a little bit of photoshop, reduced it to black & white and then added some color back into the faces. Leftover string does the trick with the paper for that 'recup' look. The gift tags are from old key tags that I've had for a while. You can get them in packs of 100 at office supply stores in the aisle with price tags etc.

The simplicity of leftover satin grosgrain ribbon and alphabet stamps can't be beat. I think Alphabet stamps were the best crafts investment I've ever made.

I stamped the name on the balsa wood trinket box and then wrapped it in tracing paper so it showed through. A little piece of sparkly string makes it look complete.

Momtom!

My Mother and Tom have officially gotten engaged so we have lovingly officially joined them in our minds, hearts and vocabulary by one endearing nickname: Momtom (to be pronounced all together - like Brangelina or Bennifer).

I embroidered this guy in in blue alluding to their wedding day (something blue!) and my Beau and I gave it to them while we were home for Christmas. I proposed to Momtom to have a double wedding this summer - like ours one weekend and theirs the following weekend or the weekend before but they didn't seem wild on the idea for some reason. Maybe Momtom was afraid that they would steal our thunder although I don't know why- if you got just one look at them you would know that there is nothing that could steal all that thunder that they've got going on!

Congratulations to Momtom on their engagement! We love you very much and are looking forward to the wedding and then visiting you wherever you decide to set up camp (I wouldn't mind Florida one bit by way)!

WWJDJPBD?

What would Jim, Dick, Jerry, Peggy & Buford do?!?!

So it's finally time to post of those Christmas gifts that I've been keeping secret. Jim, Dick, Jerry, Ms Peggy and even Buford the dog are dear dear friends of ours and have graciously agreed to let us take over their home for our wedding weekend extravaganza this summer. While we were in the states this holiday season, we went up to visit them for some "Christmas Puddings" as my beau would say. (In British English, "Pudding" just means "Dessert" - strange but true!) Jerry is an amazing chef and treated us to a lovely lunch with multiple pudding courses and more importantly, will be treating us by making our most important pudding of all - the wedding pudding (of the cake variety)!

I've been having such a hoot making these little cross stitch things recently and I think that they look especially good grouped together. So I took the upcoming trip to J,D,J,P&B's to make a whole set of them. These are really mini (around 4 inches in diameter) for the intention of displaying them all together, either for a seasonal decoration or in some sort of casual kind of way. They would make really cute ornaments for a tree or window or chimney in my opinion... here are some photos

Happy Birthday Laurent!

My Beau gets along really well with his boss and unfortunately we will be out of town and missing his birthday bash. So when I was asked to make an extra-special-hand-made birthday gift for having to decline our invitation to joint the festivities, of course I joyfully accepted! Give me a reason to cross stitch and I will!

Laurent is the founder and owner of a Paris based agency called Labrador, which has something to do with transparency of regulated information. After years of hearing about it from my Beau, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able tell you anything more than that. I've been accused a few times (in the not so distant past) of shutting off my ears when what I'm hearing has nothing to do with beauty, vintage or people being nice to each other. Who, Moi?

This playful Labrador pup is embroidered in the red of the company logo and I've added a little red ribbon to tie it all together... who wouldn't want this their office door? We are wishing you a very very happy birthday Laurent, and hope that your party was a blast!

FAQ

I've just come home from a Christmas Party where I had the gift of spending time with bunches of good friends, old friends, new friends, FRIENDS! I am so grateful to all of you for the special place you have in my life. Over the course of the evening (and the last few months actually) I've noticed that something that these very different friends all have in common is that they ask the same 2 questions:

1) When are you getting married?

2) Are you making your dress?

So here are my replies these Frequently Asked Questions:

1) Yes we've had a very long engagement. The friends I see punctually think that I've gotten married each time that we run into each other! Not yet. The wedding will be next summer 2010. The truth is that we are having so much fun being engaged that we decided to drag it out for as long as possible! We're in our in our 15th month of engagement and loving every minute of it! We have a anniversary for everything: Our first date, Our first kiss, Our move-in date, The date we met each others parents, the date he popped the questions, the date I got my ring, the date we got a joint bank account, the date my mother threw a "High Tea" engagement party in honor of Iain's Britishness... we are always celebrating! It's great! I'm actually afraid that once we are married, I'll go into celebration withdrawl with that one and only date that matters above all the rest!

2)Yes I'm making my dress, I wouldn't do it any other way! Actually I couldn't do it any other way. I'm such a perfectionist and so in love with vintage treasures and the sentimental value of recuperated materials that I wouldn't be able to buy any dress brand new and to pay someone else make a dress for me would seem like such a shame since that's my life's passion! Also, in the line of work that I'm in (frilly dress designer), I've gotten so used to only wearing my clothes. The thought of wearing someone else's dress on a typical Wednsday seems strange, not to mention for a special occasion... if you get what I mean.

3) And now for the answer to third question of why this post is making it into my arts and crafts blog... Because I'm going to tease you all with photos of the W-Frock making process! Yes I know that you are all very excited, but you'll have to understand that I work a full time job and have a thousand other side projects going all at the same time, so the W-frock hasn't really progressed as much as it could have, and there is that tradition about keeping it a secret of course, but here's a little glimpse none the less! You'll have to imagine what it looks like from the patterns though because that's as good as it's going to get on the world wide web.

Laying the corrected pattern drafts onto clean pattern paper

Final patterns traced and marked...next step cutting the fabric!

Shoulder Garden Flashback

Ok all of you old school people - here's one that you will certainly remember - SHOULDER GARDEN! This was the very first sweater that I ever knitted! During my study abroad at Parsons Paris, I took a class called Hand Knitting and Knotting which was basically all kinds of knitting, crochet, macramé, etc... and thus this ...ahem...sweater was born. I have SUCH fond memories of going to th attic of Le Bon Marché to pick out the yarn colors, of sitting in Parisian cafés with my buddies Ashley, Gregory, Grace & Heather and crocheting my brains out. I hand crocheted each one of these flowers and vines with love. I pre-stung a bobbin of thread in the same color with seed beads and crocheted the string along with the yarn. Every so often, I placed a bead in the flower and the result was pretty good.

If any of you out there have photos from back in the day featuring the Shoulder Garden, now is your chance to LET THEM BE KNOWN! And as I have been trying to find a new home for Shoulder Garden for a good several years now, unless I get an offer for adoption before the end of 2009 I will be taking her to that place where most of my past life clothes go to... the vintage shop downstairs.

And now the photos... brace yourself...

(front)

(close-up of the "garden")

(back)