Valentine's Day is a coming

I love this little Valentine. I was just putting some Valentine's on my Etsy to sell and ran onto this photo. Alas, I don't own it anymore, but I still think it is cute as it can be. That little boy kissed her and she got so jarred that she dropped her daisies.

So Happy Valentine's Day to all who read here.

6 Picture Meme - I Was Tagged

I've been tagged. I wonder what the word Meme means and I wonder who starts these things. I know one thing, it is easy to know what you are going to write on your blog next time around. Makes it easy in so many ways.

I have been tagged by my talented friend Shari who lives in Colorado, as do I. It seems that she has secretly been enjoying my button making. Well, I enjoy it too.

The rules of the tag are that I have to go to the 6th file in my computer photos and print the 6th picture in that file on my blog. Then, I must tell you about it.

That was not easy because my 6th file had 3 albums in it, and there was no sixth to be had. So, I counted the main directory entitled my pictures and counted down six albums and luckily ended up with "art by Orinda". I had named it Art by Orinda so that I wouldn't have to run to the bottom of the stack in the O's to find my stuff all the time. Then I counted over 6 albums, which turned out to be eyeglass cases. Counted over 6 pictures and this is what I got.
It is the back of an eyeglass case that I made a couple of years ago.



Here is a detail of the upper front.

Here is the entire front.
A detail of the embroidery on the lower front.

Now to go tag 6 more blogs.

Valentine's Day

Once again, I'm making Valentines and here are some of them.
When I was ten, I had chicken pox which at that time was considered merely a childhood disease that everyone got sooner or later. It was two weeks home from school is what it was. And it was close to Valentine's Day so my mother brought in paper doilies and red construction paper. That is all I remember. I must have made some Valentines because I don't think I could have resisted. It would be fun to have one or two of those 10 year-old made Valentines. Here are some grown-up ones.

The lace on this heart was given to me by a friend. Actually, she gave me her vintage wedding dress to cut up. It was a gorgeous dress with a long train with pleating around the edge. It had about 100 tiny satin buttons and it was a job to cut up. At the same time very interesting to see the construction of such a lovely dress. Some of the lace pieces were glued to other lace pieces. It was not all taking out stitching but pulling and tugging to get the lace apart.

These are kind of simple ones, short and sweet as they say.

The next one is a print on silk of an old Valentine. The reds are kind of muted but it was fun to embellish.

Pillow Ticking purse

Many years ago, Inspirations by Country Bumpkin in Australia, had an article on using pillow ticking as a base for embroidery. That sounded like a good idea to me because I had some of this fabric. I found that it needled very well and was a good pick-up and go project.

Isn't amazing how things finally "turn out"? I did this embroidery and made a glasses (spectacles) case. Well, it was a little too big for glasses even the large glasses that I was wearing back then before these narrow ones arrived on the shelves. So, I kept looking at the glasses case and decided that I would make the front of lovely and interesting purse and this is the product. This is the large view of the handbag. It is lined with some dupioni which I had just received in the mail. Funny how those things happen isn't. What we order for one thing we use on something else.

This is the full view of the handbag. I put a beaded handle on it, which was a vintage necklace that I got someplace. That necklace was too long so doubled it and then the bag was finished.

The bag measures: At the tallest point 8 inches and it is 6 inches along the bottom.






The flowers motif is made of wire-edged ribbon. I had to make them specially for the handbag because the glasses case was quite bare of anything but the line stitching.

The pillow ticking embroidery technique is very easy and I hope just as easily explained.

• Simply embroider the lines of the pillow ticking with crazy quilt stitches, then embellish the stitches with other little accent stitches just as we do in crazy quilting.

• Some of the lines of the pillow ticking can be covered with narrow braid, or silk ribbon stitches. Don't forget the beads. There is no limit as to what you can do to cover those pillow ticking lines. I used all kinds of stitches and embellishments, some of which were "invented" just for this piece.

This handbag is available for sale.

Photo Transfer sans Computer

For some family gifts this year, I found these "vintage" photo transfers that I had copied many years ago. Since they were appropriate for our daughter and my sister-in-law, I embellished them, we found frames for them and they became Christmas gifts. Haven't heard how well they were received yet. Actually, I had to wait until after Christmas so that the we assured they would be a surprise.

These photo transfers were done by burnishing commercial photocopies onto 100% silk using gum turpentine as the solvent. I don't even know if we can still buy gum turpentine, but we could about 15 years ago. The solvent allows the copy ink to transfer off the photocopy and onto the silk. It is an old fashioned process and it looks well with these 1950 and 1960's photos.

Here are some details and closeups of the pieces.

And another detail.

Since these were special gifts, I allowed the use of really old buttons, silk threads some old keepsake lace that I had, and some cultured pearls.

Another Pink Card Case

This Card Case measures 4.5 by 3 inches which is just right for credit cards and some money. This little case was an order from a client and is designed to be taken out in the evening without having to carry a large purse.

I pieced on a rather stiff interfacing so that the little card case doesn't flop around. It worked well and will certainly use that method again.

These photos are all of the finished piece.

The open card case

I cover large snaps with a matching or coordinating fabric before I sew them on. My goal is to make the snap look like a flower. Sometimes it works and sometimes it is not so successful, but the snap always looks better covered.

Instructions for covering the snap.

• Cut a small round about 3/8 to 1/2 inch larger than the snap. Gather around the edge and slip the snap face down into the hollow. Pull up the gathering thread, cinch it off. You will probably need to trim the little wad of gathered fabric that is left on the back.
• You'll then need to puncture a little hole so the snap can actually snap onto its mate.
• Sew the side of the snap with the hole in it onto the base of your worked piece. In this case the dibble of the snap was on the flap and the side of the snap with the hole is on the card case itself.
• Cover the other side of the snap in the same manner. And snap it into its mate so that you know where to sew them on.
• Decorate the snaps as you desire with beads or embroidery. The two snaps do not have to be covered with the same color or decorated the same, just be sure that whatever you do, the snaps can get together and snap securely.

This is a detail of the back.

The little pink "round" is a Dorset button. I love making them and they always add a lot of texture and interest. Instructions can be found in the book, 50 Heirloom Buttons by Nancy Nehring. That book is out of print, but you can find it at some Internet booksellers. There are some good instructions here. Also, with some of that wonderful thread, I made some bullion knot roses and buds.

Full view of the back

Here is a full view of the back of the card case. I used silk ribbon flowers and some wonderful hand painted silk embroidery thread which I buy from Evening Star Designs.

The finished front. The edge is lined with alternating seed beads and 3 mm glass pearls.

Snowflakes to put on your cards

Below is a link for viewing and printing snowflakes onto your Christmas cards or anywhere you would like them printed. There are choices of the format and there are thousands of snowflakes to choose from. It is kind of click on the snowflakes to see all the different designs, they are identified and dated as well.

Simple Gifts

- A Shaker Hymn

Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,

'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,

And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,

Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,

(refrain)

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,

'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",

And when we hear what others really think and really feel,

Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

To hear the music sung and played on guitar click here

For more information about the Shakers click here

May you have a joyous holiday season in every way. -- Orinda and Liter

Photo taken, autumn near Rico, Colorado USA

Dolls and epb

Tiny 'Tude dolls, my husband, Liter, (It's pronounced Lighter.) took this photo. I walked in and he was telling these little 8" dolls to keep their legs crossed and behave themselves.

To purchase a Tiny 'Tude pattern
Email Orinda

Today, Liter drove me about 75 miles to Farmington, New Mexico, just to go to Hobby Lobby. It seems that is the closest place of any consequence to buy anything other than what Wally World has. Well, we did need to buy a mat and frame for Christmas presents for daughter and his sister's gift, that I made for them. After Christmas I'll post photos. The Hobby Lobby visit got my juices and my memories going.

In another life I was an avid cloth dollmaker. In 1994, a friend and I drove about 150 miles to take a class from elinor peace bailey. Like so many women, our lives were changed forever by one of her classes. My friend, Sue, and I stayed another day for a class and we hadn't even taken our toothbrush with us on the trip. We loved sitting in the same room and making dolls with the women she had gathered together. Since then and for many years, I made many dolls, big ones, little ones, crazy ones and pretty ones. I quit only because we became full time RVrs and there just was no room to make dolls.

On the second day of that famous first class, there was a small piece of trim at my place when we got back from lunch. elinor had left it and it was for the Monique bed doll I was making. Then, of all things she told me to put silk ribbon embroidery on that doll. So, with silk ribbon flowers twining up that doll's very long legs and spiderweb roses on her cheeks, Monique was finished. I don't know if anyone had ever done silk ribbon embroidery on a doll before.

At some other time, I took more classes and developed the little doll "Tiny 'Tude". The 'Tude stands for attitude. The latest 'Tude that I have made is here. It's on Etsy. I have made about 60 of those little dolls to various specifications. Now, I want to skip the clothing and make beaded dolls. I still have a blue 'Tude just above me on the computer cabinet.

The trip today got me to thinking of elinor, who become my mentor. What a wonderful thing a mentor is. She stayed in our house when she taught in Helena, Montana, where we lived and then I saw her at various doll conferences. She produced the pattern for "Tiny 'Tude" and we both sell it after all these years. Mine is on Etsy. She also produced a pattern of Lorelei, which is a mermaid. She's on my Etsy page too. She is two-faced, with one side smiling and the not so much smiling.

I saw elinor in Denver a year or two back and helped her unpack her dolls. There in the midst of all those dolls in those great big suitcases was the 'Tude that I had made for her some ten years earlier. This is her.
This is kind of lengthy.

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Pink Card Case

A Funny Shaped Card Case

As usual things don't always turn out the way we think they are going to and instead we have something a little more whimsical and sometimes nicer. At some point in the past I was making a clutch handbag. Then, it got stalled, probably because is wasn't a very good one and I cut parts off the main piece of crazyquilting that I had done for the clutch. It became this strange shaped little card case.

The front of the card case is in the photo above.

The back of the card case is in the photo above. Admittedly it is kind of a "goofie" shape.
Below is a detail from the front.

Here is the card case open waiting to receive your credit cards, money and for me my Burt's and Bees lip gloss. I guess a short comb would fit in there.