After weeks of designing, ordering materials and sewing by hand and machine, two little white dresses are ready for the twin's Christening day. [I, their grandmother, loved every minute of making these!]


This one has a ruched center panel and Swiss embroidered trim....all soft fine white cotton batiste!

The other dress uses French laces. Here you can see the pearl buttons which are on the back of both dresses.

Each dress has it's own sweet "Victorian suitcase" storage box.....

Not being near the babies, I leave it to their parents to decide which dress is for Nina Kate and which one for Sophie Jane!

May they have a safe trip to the island of Jamaica and a blessed baptism day while visiting the other grandparents!

Highly recommended by me......

Sister Macrina Wiederkehr's writing brings fresh insight into the sometimes wrathful and patriarchal words in the Bible. Spending time with the Scripture readings and her reflections (and suggestions for our own reflection) is time well spent!

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I have thought a lot about the word "abide" lately.....mostly it's other meaning, to tolerate or put up with.....as in "I can't abide unmade beds." It seems to have its roots in Old English and to have been popular in days gone by....and in the South still today. It is a word I enjoy using!

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More information when "Googling" the word "abide"-----

"The Dude abides" a famous quote, which I had never heard! (Jeff Bridges played the Dude in the movie "The Big Lebowski").....and that Jeff Bridges has a new book on Zen coming out..."The Dude and the Zen Master"!

What next? The world is truly many faceted......never stop learning....even if it is mostly trivia!

I've been reading lately about modern or improvisational quilts....somewhere in my research, I came across this one....






Of course, I love the aqua and red.....but I had something more masculine in mind....using gray,which has suddenly been hard to find. It seems to be selling out...solid gray cotton.



I found and ordered 2 yards of "organic" gray from Fabric.com when I ordered the cotton batiste for the christening gowns...

I visited this blog for more about the quilt shown above and then made my blocks in darker colors, with some smashing bright accents and used the gray for the lattice!



NOW, to get this quilted!

Making a small footstool---pouf wise.....

Now, stuffed, tufted and ready to use!

I love using this when I am knitting, reading or handsewing....gives my feet just the lift that they need!


The directions are in this tutorial!

More sewing.....




a shopping cart liner for little grandson in Idaho!


A sundress for my oldest grandchild...she too is heading for Jamaica shortly!


And finally, the early morning light on the two almost finished Christening dresses for the twins...





This has been really fun, I brought the sewing up from the basement to the kitchen table....just love working in the heart of my home!


The down side of obsessive sewing ( at my age anyway) is inflamed bursa on a heel....the foot which uses the foot pedal of the sewing machine, as well as carpal tunnel issues from lots of cutting and hand sewing (I cut lots of fabric for cutomers at work too!). I know I should stop sewing and just read for a while.....maybe the rest of Lent?

Sunny day babies......wearing the little sundresses I had just sent to them!

Still more to sew.....the Christening dresses....

First, I was doing heirloom or French hand sewing with organic cotton batiste and imported laces.......it was slow going!

Then my first shipment of entredeaux, thread and lace arrived. I got out the Janome sewing machine and it has been smooth sewing ever since!

It is wonderful to be able to create the beautiful airy look of antique sewing techniques with modern convenience.....though I do still enjoy doing hand work....this machine saves on carpal tunnel and eye strain! [I "Googled" a lot of sewing tutorials to refresh my skills as it has been too long since I had the classes on this type of heriloom sewing! LOVE the Internet!!!]

Now back to making French seams and buttonholes for little pearl buttons....waiting for more entredeaux and edging lace which was back-ordered! [Yikes! must send these dresses soon!]

My daughter's children......


.....sewing for those 7 month old twin girls is keeping me busy! They MUST have the proper wardrobe for an Easter trip to Jamaica....(including 2 "christening" dresses).



Here (above) is a chair full of little sundresses, a hat, and "bloomers" in various stages of being sewn....below a rick-rack trimmed sunsuit is ready for shipping to them!



[I have ordered white batiste for 2 little christening dresses and will post about those when I sew them!]

How to capture a moment.....(or "giving equal time to "pears", after my post on "indigo"...)



Step one, buy a handmade pottery pitcher from a local artisan.
Step two, roam the yard/garden searching for somethin lovely to fill the new container.
Step three, arrange everything on the new table runner.....and add a pear!




Step four, grab your camera to record this from a couple of different angles. Trying to hold the camera steady, but it is not too important as these photos are just for general reference when I (hopefully) start doing a watercolor based on this moment.

Step five, wait a day or two....the pear is getting ripe! Still no time to paint. Grab sketchbook and make a loose pencil drawing directly from the still life, not the photos....(go over this sketch with India ink pens when the pencil drawing will not scan properly for this post!)

Step six, eat the pear for breakfast.....perhaps pausing to sketch it after slicing,.... or NOT.

Hope for time to get out the watercolors while the arrangement is still on the table....

Attention! this is my post # 1,000!

This textile artist with permanently blue hands knows the

Power of INDIGO !

Aboubakar Fofana has worked for years in Africa, France, Japan and Great Britain to preserve the ancient dying techniques for these beautiful textiles.

I had first read about him in "Indigo in search of the Color which Seduced the World", a wonderful travel and adventure by Catherine McKinley.

Last week my friend Paula brought me a back issue of "Traditional Homes" magazine, April 2009, which featured an article about him.
This piqued my interest and I found a lot on the Internet.

Blogger Holli Zollinger writes about these textiles here .

You can read more about Catherine McKinley HERE .
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All this thinking about indigo seems appropriate for this my 1,000th post!
When I impulsively started blogging, I named my blog by "pulling" two words "out of the air", hence "indigo" (a color I loved!) and "pears" so ordinary but still fascinating to an artist!

I am considering taking an on-line indigo dying class with Shibori Girl . I have enjoyed using her textiles in my art work recently!

Two great Valentines for those of us who stitch!

These are a surprise from my friend Diane, of "Lavender Dreams" blog! Love them! [thank-you Diane!!!!]

Getting my home ready for Valentines (time to put away my pine tree "Christmas" table runner), I wanted something different and contemporary but still crafty and unique....so I was inspired by the blogger at "i heart linen" , Rashida Coleman-Hale, to create something in the "Zakka" style.....a new tablerunner with neutral linen and fun strips of color!

"Rashida Coleman-Hale has gathered talented designers from around the world to bring you 24 delightful Zakka projects. Zakka, a Japanese term meaning “many things,” is all about all the little things that improve your home and appearance."




Now, I'm set for a month or two!

Today, February 8th, is the Hari-Kuyo festival (see yesterday's post).

this was my sewing basket last night. I was determined to do some stitches to be ready for the festival.....then I found this old crochet piece (from my grandmother) which was just perfect for the back.

Now it is almost finished....a small Valentine stitchery. To hang or not, to keep or to give away...

it just needs my signature in red pigma pen, down in the corner!

What is this woman doing with her old pins and needles?

Look here for a blog post explaining a festival celebrated annually on February 8th.

Known as the Festival of Broken Needles, it is a ritual of thanks and respect for tools of the sewing, tailoring and embroidery trades. It dates back 1500 years; women (and men) dress in fine kimono and gather together all of the needles they've used, broken and/or and worn out during the previous year. They proceed to the local temple or shrine, where a three-tiered altar is prepared. The lower level displays sewing accessories, such as scissors, thimbles, thread and so forth. The top tier offers seasonal fruit, and white mochi (ceremonial rice cake offerings). In the center section is a large slab of tofu, into which everyone plunges the pieces of their broken needles.

It is time to slow down and appreciate the small things we take for granted in our lives.

I remember being told that needles were very precious to the early pilgrims, they were treasured and shared as they were few in number!

Because my sister had given me some Ozark black walnuts, I HAD to bake this
"Blackberry Jam Cake" from P. Allen Smith's grandmother! [We watched him make this on his TV show yesterday.]...this one is baked in my grandmother's very antique graniteware tube pan!


Black walnuts, raisins, buttermilk, flour and eggs are assembled to begin making the cake.

Following his instructions, the eggs are separated and the whites beaten until frothy but not meringue!

Adding the buttermilk and blackberry jam gives the batter a wonderful deep color!

As it cooled on the plate, I made a syrup of the blackberry jam and some red wine, simmering until it thickened a bit....then used it to glaze the cake.

Here is the recipe from P. Allen Smith's website. [my pan was smaller so I made half of the recipe!]

Ingredients
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 cup raisins
2 tsp. nutmeg, ground
6 eggs, room temperature
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup black walnuts, chopped
1 cup butter, salted, softened
2 cups blackberry jam, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Equipment
1 tube pan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flower a large tube pan, or use a flour-based baking spray such as Baker's Joy. Set the pan aside.
Separate the eggs, putting the yolks and whites in different mixing bowls. I another large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of the flour mixture with the black walnuts and raisins.
Add the brown sugar, butter, and blackberry jam to the egg yolks, and stir together thoroughly. Stir in the buttermilk. Add the flour mixture.
Beat the egg whites until they turn white but are loose and runny, not too "airy." Fold the egg whites into the batter. Then mix the nuts and raisins, blending only enough so that they are equally distributed in the batter.
Pour the batter into the tube pan and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, it's done.
Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then loosen the cake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edge. Invert a cake plate over the pan, and invert the tow together. Lift off the tube pan.
Slice and serve.

What I am reading this month.....

love the cover on this one! Great colors! You too can read along and join Cornflower's book group [see Cornflower in my blog links!]!

My favorite series..... about Maise Dobbs.....the latest, "A Lesson in Secrets". BTW, another in the series, "Elegy For Eddie" will be out soon.

YOu can read Jacqueline Winspear's blog (Google that) and learn SO much! [sorry for not putting the links in for you...I've just been called to go in to work!]

If you like to know more here is a review of "A Lesson in Secrets"!

Forget those "Superbowl" ads which are coming up this Sunday!

This ad for the Jason Wu line at Target is the one I love!

Take a look here for a look at the short, creative, sewing-studio-with-a-cat, video! [You'll maybe need to scroll down just a little to find the video!]

The sunny weather finally drew me outdoors......

where I found early signs of spring (too early?)...Japonica or flowering quince (lovely to take the budding branches in the house for a vase--I didn't yet)....

.....daffodils emerging.....and below, crocus in their golden moment!

and yes, the Japonica buds are opening.....(out of focus, my camera was thinking that the little branch was the important thing here!)

It has been a beautiful sunshine filled weekend here in Northwest Arkansas!



Our window sill has a glass with a paperwhite narcissus (which broke off the main plant) and below, the sun shines through the large leaves of a "beefsteak" begonia.

Inspite of the sunshine, it was still chilly outside so I headed to my sewing/ art studio.

Mr. P came along with his camera and snapped this picture of me with the antique sewing machine. I am piecing a version of the "Fonthill Quilt" from Kaffe Fassett's "Passionate Patchwork" book. This quilt has several hundred small half-square triangles and so can be very scrappy, which I love. The floral print surrounding the patchwork sort of ties it all together and gives an overall effect of being softer and greener!


I still have lots more to add to the quilt, sawtooth and pinwheel stripped borders will make it grow!
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Meanwhile, using that same antique sewing machine and some hand quilting (on the gold circles) I have finished my pink and red "Sakiori" quilt.


...here (below) is the indigo again! This time from the cover of a Japanese sewing magazine.....

that wrap dress looks so comfortable!

I just finished my "boro bag" inspired by the cover of a book on Japanese tote bags....(Google that and you can find the original book, in Japanese). I love using this bag....as my current purse!

One more work in progress...the American flag pillow requested by Mr.P. My version uses white and indigo ikat weave for the backkground.....and dk red grosgrain ribbons for the stripes. I will use a glue stick before stitching them down! [pillow is about 13x18, as was my British flag pillow].

It's going to be warmer today, (where is our winter?) and I really will try to get out for a walk....