Who Invented......................

Who invented prestitching as part of a Teaching Getaway Weekend was a "show off"....of the worst kind. As you all know, I am a lover of the projects of Jackie du Plessis...I truly believe our ancestors will be fighting over them in antique shops as the design and quality they all seek......Having said that....In late June I was at a class in Albany for a new project Jackie was introducing. There was no prestitching....it was a gift from the gods.....Everyone approached this class with a relaxed and really wonderful attitude.....


Jackie's projects for nearly a year are showing an abundance of freedom to create from her heart. I am not showing pictures yet of the new project .....but I want you to know the things we worked on over the weekend put us ahead in the finishing of the overall project and now the stitching will simply add to it's grandeur.......It is my intention to stitch this and have my Mother stitch on it as well and then gift it to my daughter.....3 Generations......

Of course, I had to take gifts to all my friends in the class. The stack of boxes you see at the top is a pile of the gifts. The top is a design I created and then printed on paper that matched the box. It was cut to size and glued to the box top. Then I punctured each side, put through a ribbon and attached to the top with some cardboard punched shapes from one of the craft stores I haunt!

Inside the box was a pin cushion I made.....traditionally, I make each of us a pin cusion of what ever design has struck my fancy that year. The White Paper Bobbins have a stamp of my favorite "zen" leaf. And the pouch....

The pouch contains a picture and all the ingredients to make the little scissor fob below.......the pattern is from the box top!

I hate to admit it but making

this whole thing was more fun than you can imagine.....

On the Thursday of our time together, we made a Bobbin holder. Mary dyed the things we used and provided everything we needed to finish.

Which as you know if you have ever attended one of these is a fabulous thing.....to go home with something finished......Each persons has the same beginnings but a completely individual end!

I am roasting vegetables today for a Quiche for dinner and the smell through the house is marvelous.....one would think I have 10 people to feed instead of my 1.......

BonJour

J'ai décidé d'être français aujourd'hui.

Which says, I have decided to be French today. This is being accomplish by my surrounding myself with sweet things that I love and sharing them with you. First the flowers on the right are perfect shades of purple and green. You can see in the upper right hand corner of the picture that the river is beautiful and calm this morning. This picture is in my sunroom/studio. It is filled on 3 sides with windows and faces the mighty Delaware river. What you can not see because of my clever photography, is the Dupont Chemical plant across the river. I have only lived here when there were leaves on the trees which mask the stacks perfectly. It will be interesting to see the view when the leaves are gone.

I live in the southern part of New Jersey. It is very rural and filled with farms. I am about 20 miles from the heart of Blueberry country.....I went to the farmers market last evening and bought a bit of all the fresh NJ fruit they had. Peaches, two kinds of Cherries (Rainier and Bull Hearts), Blueberries, and, believe it or not, the last fresh local strawberries. This morning I cleaned and sliced all of them, squeezed a lemon and zested it into the bowl, added some splenda and bisquick (because I did not have any flour or cornstarch) tossed gently. Put it into the Pie Place and covered it with a combination of Oatmeal, brown sugar splenda, bisquick, and toasted coconut.....see the pick below.....after about 40 min at 350 degrees...here is my French Fruit Tart

I spent several hours in the car yesterday and when that happens, I often chat with my mother. Yesterday, we were trying to decide what we would make for meals over the weekend......Poached Chicken Breasts popped into my mind to cool and use in a fresh salad. So, in keeping with my being French today, I gathers fresh herbs from my herb pots, sliced some onion, carrots, celery, and two garlic cloves. Put all of this with water and the chicken breasts (bone in) into a pot and simmered away....the smell was magnifique! The herbs you see in the picture are parsley and sage. I think it is a very pretty broth I have from the poaching.....

These breasts are cooling on the counter as I write this and will then be chopped for a salad for dinner.....not sure what else will be included. Any suggestions??????

I am going to spend some time sitting in the sun reading this morning. It is on my list. Then a bubble bath and an afternoon of stitching. My evening is going to be matching finished stitched projects to their perfect fabric matches BECAUSE tomorrow is going to be a finishing Sunday.....that is when I set up the sewing machine very early - attach things together and then spend the day hand finishing them all.