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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Trimming and crafting days!

Hey that title reminds me of my self proclaimed "Country Woman Days" I tried to do one vacation week, and it about wore me out! Ha. It was fun trying it though. I made breads, washed, cleaned, trimmed, crafted, did old time crafts, like my Chicken Scratch embroidery. (That I did enjoy)!!!

OK...One of you asked me to video tape myself playing my psaltry...but whoa there...I can't even REALLY play the thing. I only played chords with the group of musicians at the church!!! You can see "psaltry playing" on Youtube if you really want to. I don't think it sounds all that good when played alone, but with others it can be a nice accompaniment.

Yesterday I trimmed my all of my hibiscus (x6), huge lantana bush, my Mexican Sunflower huge bushes (x4). They are all ready or some good spring growth now. I fertilized as well. I managed to water all of my screenroom succulents after about 3 months (maybe not actually that long...). My three banana and cubanelle pepper plants are still flowering and putting out! I have three peppers on the bushes as we speak! I had a whole day free, so I got quiite a bit of that type work done. It was so good for my soul to be out in this most perfect weather. It must have gotten up to the low 70's yesterday and rarely a cloud in the sky...slightly breezy...just devine, really!

I have embroidered a Baboushka doll onto a peice of white felt, and then attached it with blanket stitch to a peice of tiny flowered cloth. I had full intention to wrap it around a large river rock tightly and give (as a sort of paperweight) to my friend, who is of Hungarian decent.

My only problem is that it is frying my liver trying to figure out how to attach it around the rock to hold tight an securely. I think I would most surely need to glue it on, and then wrap in around to completely secure to the rock (cutting away a lot of excess material)...but now I have scrapped this idea completely, and am folding my whole project up for another day or time to think about what the "you know what" to do with it.

My friends birthday is in May, so I have time to come up with another idea, if I can. I will attach a picture of this thing so far as I have completed it today. The universe needs to speak to me!

13 comments:

Desert Swamp Dweller said...

You've been very productive lately.

Lynn Cohen said...

I would sew it so it could be stuffed looking like the second to last photo and slip the rock in with the stuffing. Good luck. It's pretty.

Bobbie Lynn said...

That babushka embroidery is adorable and came out great. How about stuffing it and sewing it closed with a whip stitch. Maybe cut it to fit into a small frame. The rock idea is a cute one but I'm not sure how to close it up either. Sorry, : ( Gluing the fabric to the rock may ruin the embroidery. Hope someone else can figure something out because it is really cute .

Blessings,
Bobbie Lynn

Claude said...

using decupauge stuff... (Mod Podge comes to mind...)you glue the top down on the rock, leaving the excess fabric free. After that dries, you cut the rest into strips. It'll look kind of like a sun... glue the strips down one at a time, to just past the center of the rock, and they will overlap. you can then coat the whole thing down with Mod Podge, or just the blue fabric.

hope that made sense.

Julie said...

Claude...I like that idea, but wonder what it will do to the fabric look...probably darken it and make it a tad shiny, but that may add to the charm of the rock idea! Thanks!!!

Lynn- I like the idea of the stuffing in there to make it not so hard, too!!! Thanks!

Julie said...

Bobby Lynn- thanks...I am having to re-think the whole thing and see what happens over time, that's for sure! Thanks for your ideas!!! :)

Mary said...

Awww, she's so cute! Such a fun character! I made her in polyclay one year as a Christmas gift for my Mom-in-law. She still has it. Crafting is bliss.

Teri said...

Hey Country Woman, looks like you are having fun. It's very cute.

walk2write said...

Julie, since you're too shy to appear by yourself in the video, why not ask some other musicians to join you and post it on YouTube and then here, of course? Are you sure you worked outside? Your fingernails look too clean. That doll is so cute! How about nesting the rock inside of the cloth by sewing a piece of elastic around the edges and either enclosing the rock entirely or leaving a slight opening so the rock can be slipped out and a new covering added as you think of one and create it?

Julie said...

Walk 2 Write- that idea was one my mom had had! Use of elastic. It would work, but wouldn't really hold the doll in hte center of the rock...I think it would always be slipping around...but then again...if you put it on, what would cause it to slip? It would have to be picked up to do that, and it probably wouldn't be picked up that often if just on display. This may be what I need to do!!! Thanks for your help.

The psaltry video is just silly on my part, since I can't really play it...maybe in time I will get better...but I don't practice enough...not enough time. You are so sweet to request this though!!! LOL! Thanks!!!

Deepa Gopal said...

Hey Julie

I have something for you in my blog. Pls do chk it out:)

luv
Deepa

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You have also been creative on your blog. It looks very Irish now.
I love the embroidered piece. A friend of mine gave me a rock with "at least you aren't as old as this rock" painted on it. I still have it. Love it.

stapeliad said...

you are so clever and creative.