A Little Strolling Before it Gets Too Crazy ...(523-525)

 
Before I start my stitchy news, I just want to say that I had the opportunity to see Hamilton last night as part of the Richmond Broadway series and was totally captivated for 2 hours and 45 minutes. I can only imagine what it was like to see on Broadway in NYC because this cast was spectacular!!! This has been on my wish list for awhile and I was totally blown away...now I want to find out more about Alexander, Eliza and Angelica. If you ever get the opportunity...go for it!!!

I've been feverishly working to get my pilgrims done for Thanksgiving and  made it in the nick of time. I've been struggling with to "bow" to or not to "bow" and a friend has convinced me not to, as she felt they distracted from the stitching. I am usually a "less is more" person, so I'm not sure why I thought adding bows was a good thing except they were shown on the pattern with ones made from straw and ribbon. What is your opinion? Here is A Pair of Pilgrims by Lizzie Kate...stitched on 28 count Lambswool Jobelan wth a combo of GAST, WDW and Anchor flosses. The buttons are from JABCO. 

  

Fabric on back of Miles and Priscilla

I've been working on my annual ornaments for the Grands and decided on needlepoint ones for this year. I was at a 'new to me' store here in Richmond called RVA Scraps and they had some very reasonable needlepoint canvases...reasonable being 50 cents a piece...that I couldn't resist, especially since one had a soccer theme for James. I have his stitched and am working on the one for Cora, an ice skate.

Here are the other two for Asher and Esther...yet to be started.

The Santa canvas came with the stitch guide and had a price tag of $58 on it

 I need to get moving on these, but my fingers are hurting from pulling the needle through the canvas. I've tried a larger eye needle...still hurts after awhile. Suck it up buttercup!!!

I finished my Pumpkns for Sale on the top of the tin box provided us at Jamboree. Sally was kind enough to already have the tape and charm attached to the box. I added the pop-pom trim and cording.

I finally got my Inspirations book of Betsy Morgan designs. It is so beautifully done, but I haven't had time to really peruse it yet.....may have to wait until after the holidays when things calm down. It has eight of Betsy's previous designs/class pieces in it and one brand new one. Love, love , love it...maybe a Christmas gift idea???

 Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving with friends and/or loved ones. I know I have a lot to be thankful for and will be celebrating in NC with my daughters and their families. Luckily for me my SIL is a chef and he has volunteered to make our dinner. I'm sure the rest of us will be helping out....I need to pull some recipes...okay...just added to my ever growing list to pack. 

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Colonial Williamsburg Costume Design Center Visit

I had the wonderful opportunity, this past Friday, to tour the Colonial Williamsburg Costume Design Center and thought you'd like to visit along with me. We were able to see finished garments, garments in progress and speak to the talented crafts people that create these costumes. They provided us with a little fact sheet and I'll be quoting from that for some fats. First, there are only 10-13 people staffing the operations unit of the design center at this time, due to cutbacks, and they are responsible for dressing over "600 staff members for 1122 different positions"....mind blowing!!! There are additionaI employees in the laundry, issuance, accessories, research and development and inventory departments. I was very impressed with the obvious enthusiasm these sewers/tailors have for their art...and I was happy to see some younger costumers working there.

Upon entry,we immediately noticed a laundry counter and rotating racks like you'd see in a commercial laundry. The Laundry Counter provides dry cleaning and laundry services for the costumes and inspects/repairs articles daily.

 Then there is an Issuance Dpeartment that  "keeps track both physically and electronically of an inventory of 59,746 costume items". Wow!!!

As we wound our way through the building, we were able to get 'up close and personal' with some costumes and were allowed to touch and ask questions about their process and construction.  This first photo is of George Washington's outfit..one complete and one on the cutting table. 

The wools are from England and luscious!!!

Close up of cuffs

The buttonholes are hand sewn with metallic thread, the pile of brown buttons were all hand wrapped with thread and there were some dorset buttons in upper right corner

 

 

A dress in progress for Martha Washington.  Most of the underskirt is done on machine (they can't keep up otherwise) but the outside layers were hand stitched.

I'm pretty sure I remember them saying the dress was based on an original of Martha's

This delicate silver dress (above) had unique ruffling around the neck and sleeves. It is accomplished with a pinking iron. They would take the metal semi circular metal tools (shown above) and hammer with a mallet...up to five times each punch..to create the lovely scalloped edge. The lady who worked with these said it was 'migraine inducing' when these punches were in use!!!

These "flies" were hand tied on some pre-made trim

An elegant pair

For the common man/woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, some undergarments....not sure I'd want to be wearing these, but they are lovely.

It's a shame this was hidden underneath....

Some embroidery techniques.....

Silk ribbon embroidery

 

Some machine tambour work

Hand tambour work

The Accessory Department.....lots of shoes and tricorn hats but I forgot to take a photo of them

Necklaces

Men's wallet

Upstairs was their Inventory Department....lots of fabric, thread, buttons, etc.. Sorry, my phone ran out of juice after this photo! :(

 There was also a Yard Sale going on where the public could purchase retired costumes, shoes, etc. That was extremely popular and had very long lines!!! I hope you enjoyed coming along with me on this adventure; it is an annual event and I'm planning on returning next year.

On to some stitching...I did have a finish this week....Pumpkins for Sale by Sally Rutka. This was the second kit Sally designed for Salty Yarn's Jamboree. It will be a quick FFO since it gets finished on top of a small, provided tin. Stitched over one on 32 ct. Pampas linen with called for threads. I did substitute red for the wagon.

 
Thanks for stopping by and your"twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

 

Happy Halloween and a Couple Stroll Additions.....521-522

 
I'm back from my last weekend in OCMD for a bit and while we had a smaller group than usual, it was very relaxing and enjoyable. Here is the group of stitchers hanging in the Lankford Hotel lobby. Sara and Kathy would sneak over when they could but  were working net door in Salty Yarns. Thanks to all for a wonderful weekend!

I  stitched on  Miles and Priscilla exclusively and got a lot accomplished on them.

Sorry about the wrinkles--too lazy to pull out the ironing board! :)

 I also drilled another pumpkin which I will stitch at some point...might not be this year..but hopefully by next year.

 My roomie, Debbie, always decorates our apartment for Halloween and here is a photo of our room aglow!

And, speaking of Debbie, we celebrate her birthday this weekend. This is the gift I made her ... a set of Halloween themed project bags. The outer fabric of the large one is flannel and very soft. I used the lining of that one to make a coordinating tool bag. The zipper pull on the large bag was a small kit from Prairie Moon called Halloween Key Chain. It's on black perforated paper...kind of a big zipper pull, but cute!!! The design on the smaller bag is the pumpkin from  Time for Halloween by With Thy Needle and Thread.

And, speaking of project bags... I see another one in my future. I stumbled across this fun fabric with a national parks theme..isn't it great??? The smaller motifs are symbols on signs you'd see in the parks like picnic area, hiking trail, food, camping, etc..

Well, that's it for now. I hope you all have a fun Halloween...I'm going to dress as Tonks from Harry Potter but am debating if I want to color my hair...her hair changes color all the time depending on her mood. I'm not sure how easy it will be to wash out and I have to leave for a day trip very early the next morning. Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi

Popping in with a Few FFP's and Stroll Additions (517-520)

Greetings on this damp, dreary Autumn day...and no, I am not complaining...I love this kind of day---it lends itself to warm drinks, a little organizing and, regretfully, laundry. But I did want to swing by and share a few recent FFO's.... or as I like to call them FFP's (finally finished projects). Here we go.....

First up, is Halloween Chalk, my recent class piece with Cathy from Hands on Design. I had finished one in class, but now have the other two completed. Aren't they the cutest???

You can see them better here:

They were stitched on WDW 32 count Gun Metal linen over two with two strands of called for colors. This was a kit, so everything was included.

Next up are two necklaces I made for Halloween. On the left is another HOD piece that Cathy gave us in class. It is called White Pumpkin and I stitched this up and popped it in a tin frame as a necklace. I stitched it on a 32 count mystery green linen. Cathy left it up to us to choose the fibers so I used GAST Burnt Orange, Oatmeal and Sarsparilla...two strands over two. On the right is the witch from Time for Halloween by With Thy Needle and Thread. That was stitched over 2 on a 40 count mystery linen with a combo of GAST and WDW. I popped it in a Tim Holtz pocket watch and voila...it's ready to go!!!

Last, but not least, is the adorable piece we received at our Jamboree weekend, designed by Sally at Salty Yarns, Halloween 2019. This was also a kit complete with the box, linen, fibers, ribbon and charm. I added some rust mini ric-rac along the edge, but otherwise, stitched as recommended.....one over one.

I did have a couple more finishes, but they are gifts so I will share after they have been presented.

Do you stitch for Halloween? There are so many cute designs out there but space is limited here at my house...at least two of these finishes I can wear!!!

I'm off to OCMD again on Thursday for a mini retreat with friends...see you on the flip side. Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi