St. Patty's Day Is Nearly Here!

Friday the 13th has come & gone, now for St. Patrick's Day! With having 26% Irish in me(according to 23 & Me) I have always enjoyed St. Patty's Day with the excitement that my  Grandma Haynes had instilled in me since childhood. She was proud to be Irish & would tell me stories of yesteryear & London ON St. Patrick's Day parade with her father's Clydesdales horses with their tails braided with green ribbons.
I have Boston terriers that I spread the joy with. lol

 Bridget wearing her green sequin hairband.

 She was so funny when I put it on her, she immediately hit the floor & stayed there. lol

 Baxter is such a handsome dog with his bowtie & when I asked him...

 "Where's your daddy?" The ears come up & I have to be fast with the camera as he gets so excited.

 I was having my morning coffee last week & was looking at all the Prarie point stars that many YouTube popups were doing. Shabby Fabrics, Sew Very Easy, but the best one that caught my interest was Crouton Crafts as he explains how to do your own template!
I made the small one on the chair first, then I made another small one which got me thinking about how to make a bigger one. I made this one & used it for the rabbit's rug!
I had changed her dress & hat from the Easter one that you saw in my last post.

When I was making this Easter rabbit from a VIP print panel, I used the pattern for making a green one too. March 17th is just weeks away from Easter every year. But I need to see spring colours to make my heart sing & eyes focused on what will be.

 This is the 2nd one I made & have it at the front door on the granite pillar.

 They are all reversible & I loved this St. Paddy Boston fabric that I had a scrap of!

 Grandma would be delighted to see these & they had her in mind when I did these.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 We still have a lot of snow & strong March winds on most days.
The sky was such a glorious colour one morning & these are the photos for you too to enjoy!

 Mother Nature really does have the best colour palette!

Snow Days - Sew Days

 This little antique doll was used for an idea I had for the crocheted set that I was working on.
I washed & dried the muslin fabric & went to work on it.
She got new bloomers...

 And a new slip to go under her dress.
I wanted to see how picot crocheting would work on the muslin & was quite pleased with it.

I worked it on the neckline & the hemline with the problem that the crochet hook needed to do this was cutting my hand up with the pushing pressure needed to pierce the fabric.

 With that idea worked on & pleased with the antique doll's new underpinnings, I knew that the crochet set would have to be done differently.

 The crocheted neckline turned out nice...

 As did the crocheted hemline.

 Enhancing the dress that she was wearing when I purchased her years back.

 She was wearing a satin sailor styled dress that now has more volume with the muslin underpinnings.

 Back to the idea of adding volume to the crochet set...

 How pretty is this?!

 I went through my studio stash of vintage lace & found this three-tiered lace that complimented the fabric & style beautifully.

 I also made a diaper cover to complete the set.
The bootie pattern is so hard to do, I've tried it so many times & the instep is my problem, I think leather Robeez it is!

 I gave the slip a 3" hem to weigh the slip down so it shows under the gown.

 I used shell buttons for the closure on the back & I am very pleased with the way the whole ensemble turned out.

With this project now done I started to do an embroidery project by Paula Stoddard & to keep my hands moving & arthritis in my hands at bay, I've begun this project.

 The 24 blocks are 4 1/2" each making it an easy project in the evenings under the ottlight.
I had scraps of fabric left from the Vintage Tin pattern years & I wanted to use black DMC 12wt thread to embroider with.

 This is a verse from the bible that I do enjoy. It gives me pleasure & sadness as I remember it being read at my Aunt Madeline's funeral back in Sept 1987. She attended our wedding in July & we attended her funeral in September, just after showing her my ultrasound for Mitchell, she said 'What a beautiful baby boy!',  ' A boy, how do you know I asked?'  I just do was her reply. Madeline was my father's only sister & she was gone at the age of 49 due to complications during bowel surgery.
She was an extraordinary woman in her time, she was love to me.

 As you can see, I still have three blocks to embroider & then the blocks need to be squared & fabric sashing & borders to be added.

I'll post more as I bring this together as a wallhanging.

 This Laura Burch fabric has been in my stash for quite a while, she was a designer that I admired for her use of animals & colour. She had her own way of styling her designs.
I made a quilt for my granddaughter Madison one Christmas with her fabric collection, it too was all with cats!

 Love her cats & the tapestry bag came to life with them!

 I underlined the tapestry bag with black polka dot flannel fabric, giving more body to the bag.

 I'm glad I took the day to play & make this fun bag! Sewing is my 60 beats a minute, it calms me & makes me think in a suspended time of the creation of my own as thoughts in my mind become reality.

Thank you for stopping in for a visit.
Stay safe this Covid-19 virus. I have Bill at home with me now & I'm enjoying my time with him as he's grounded to Canada. Both of us healthy but with the kids scattered across Canada & working publicly, I worry.
The times are a-changing with this worldwide virus & life as we knew it will never be the same.

Wishing you health & happiness.
Cynthia