Update on bead embroidery project

Hello, everyone.

Last spring I started a little embroidery project.  It was a practice piece, mostly, and to try out the stabilizer I had gotten in the mail. (Lacey's Stiff Stuff? I think so.)

It was also a way to use up some bead stash.

Yesterday the beading on the face was finished.

Posing on a different chair this time, a scallop shell.

It's time to choose a finish for the piece. Options include adding it to something else by stitching it down and adding a row of beads at the edge. Or adding a felt backing and putting it onto a headband. Or adding a vinyl back and making a pin or necklace or a simple fidget.

I think it's a little small for a plain fidget piece. Too easy to drop and lose!

There may be headbands around but they're still buried in a box somewhere.

The other options remain open for now. Feel free to chime in with a suggestion for the finish in the comments!

Wise Men (Michelob bottle version)

Hello, everyone.

A number of years back, MIL used to like making Christmas decorations. She made round beaded scenic ornaments. She made oblong beaded ornaments. She made beaded bells. And, one year, she made Michelob bottle Wise Men. (This required the assistance of someone who would drink the three Michelob beers.)

The version she made for her home is lost now. She then made a set for our home. When DD2 got old enough to take interest in craft projects, she wanted to have a set of her own. (Pictured above.)

The project requires some foam coffee cups, some pretty braid and fabric scraps, and a few acrylic jewels and sequins of various shapes.

The particular set has right angle weave pearl collars instead of braid--we ran short of the braid and it was really very easy to weave the collars for their necks.

Christmas greetings

Hello, all!

A blessed and joyous Christmas to all of my readers!

Another baby quilt

Hello, everyone.

This is one of the projects that has been working in the background. It is now with DGS3. (Thanks to DH for holding it up for the picture just before boxing-up and mailing!)

The picture was somewhat underexposed and yellowed by the lighting in the room, so I put a little work into trying to correct the color tones. The blues are a little bit light in this image, but probably that's as good as it's going to get.

Top left, a four-patch with log cabin blocks surrounding Route 66 images. Top center, the Texas state flag surrounded by bluebonnet strips. Top right, um, I think those were bear paws in that four patch.

Center, ships at sea on top of four patches with blue accents to even out the sizing. Center, a Greek cross with the US flag and a bald eagle in the center.

Bottom left, more log cabins, then in the center some flying geese, and on the right four patch squares.

The orange things below the Texas flag and the blue things below the flying geese are fish looking at each other.

The star in the Texas flag is applique. I used my Starmaker 5 (I think that's the cutting guide name, it's still packed in boxes right now!) to make it. The cutting guide is great, as long as you don't forget how to use it between uses.

Camino flowers: Castro Urdiales

Hello, everyone.

One of the nice things about setting the huge pile of Camino pictures to be a rotating desk background is the way it reminds me of various things we saw.

Today, a photo of the flowers growing out of the seaside cliff at Castro Urdiales.

For those who are keeping track, this is not far from the seagull nest that was also photographed. I thought at the time that these flowers were some kind of aloe, but am not nearly so certain about the identification now. The agave behind the orange flowers I am still confident about--south Texas has many agaves in yards to look at--but the others may be some other thing altogether.

It's amazing how the tons of rain the north coast of Spain gets produces loads of pretty flowers in some of the most impossible looking spots.

Happy dogs

Hello, everyone. As was said a few weeks ago, it's been really busy at the home place and making new posts has slipped a bit.

Just for the fun of it, a picture from our recent Thanksgiving trip to visit family:

Happy puppies on their first family road trip.

While visiting we saw something that never appears at home in deep south Texas:

The ground under the tree was completely covered in the beautiful yellow leaves. (Leaves almost never color where we live.) As pretty as they were, though, we mostly noticed that going a few hundred miles northeast at this time of year meant going into a much colder area. Brrr!

Surprise from nature

Hello, everyone.

A couple of days ago I went outside to see the morning and discovered that one of the (relict) rose bushes had an unusually fat green stem. Of course, this demanded closer inspection.

Does anyone know what this little guy is? The green "twigs" sting. I tossed him over the fence into the bougainvilleas along the road, where he can set up his chrysalis or whatever to his heart's content. But we have no idea what manner of butterfly or moth it is!