Another finished petit point cushion for the bed.

 I have finished another cushion for the bed. They look very happy all together don't you think? ;-)

 

I have also started a small runner carpet on 40 count silk gauze. Anyone who stitches will understand that despite the fact there are hundreds of colors sometimes you can't find just the right one. Some of the colors I bought were dipped in a dirty water mix I made with transparent inks, in an attempt to tone them down. Then the skeins were rinsed in clear water. Since this dye method it worked so well when I ran out of the thread I was using for fringe on my Aunt Olga carpet, I decided to try it again. I don't think I was aggressive enough though. Which may mean I am going to spray a diluted ink on it when it is finished.  GULP!  What is that expression... No guts no glory.

 

 

They also look nice on a gold silk sofa I made.

 

 

I am just getting started with the carpet runner. Sadly, I don't like it much so far. Maybe when I start stitching the borders I will change my mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moon Flowers

This year I grew moon flower vines all over my brick wall in the east courtyard 

 

I looked out about a half hour ago and there was one open. I unloaded the dishwasher and looked out and three more had opened. Every time I looked away there were two or three more open. I would take another photo but moon flowers only open in the dark. They have the best scent you can imagine. I can smell them as soon as I open the back door. It is nice to look out at night and see a wall of huge white blooms. They are annuals which means I am going to have a huge mess to clean up this fall. It was worth it though. Not much grows successfully in my hot/humid climate .

 

Ribbons & Roses # 56 count Petit Point Cushion

With encouragement from all of you and especially Natalia. I finally finished this piece of petit point.

This design was supposed to be for a fire screen but I knew the moment I saw it, it was just what I needed for the bed I made. I wanted it compliment the wallpaper also. The back of the pillow is finished with a soft gold (antique) silk fabric. I made a black twisted cord to finish the edge with.

Real Glass 1: 12 Scale Marbles

I couldn't resist when I saw these handmade glass marbles. I was thrilled to see all the different vibrant colors. Some have swirls inside clear glass. Some have two colors swirled together.  I have no idea what I will do with them. Maybe I can talk Linda Master into making me a chip carved box to keep them in. ;-) Boxes should always have a bit of treasure inside them

Nothing but trouble!!!

This piece is being stitched on # 56 silk gauze. I am wondering if I will ever finish it. I have had more problems with undoing mistakes then ever before. Once I start ripping out something it always causes me a problem in another area that may not even have a mistake.AAARRRGGGHHH!

This piece was designed to go on a fire screen.  I wanted to make it into a big pillow for the black iron bed I have with "brass". The bed has a pink silk duvet cover on it. You have seen it in my posts several times. The wallpaper is the tea stained rose. It looked great against all of that. 

Today..... I am ready to pitch it out the window!

Little Visitors

All day I kept hearing the oddest squeaky noises coming from my tall trees. There was at times a great rustling up there too.

 

I was in the west court yard working in the garden pruning branches and pinching off dead flower heads. I went in to get something to drink and when I came back there were three baby raccoons playing all around the table. They were being watched by Merlin (one of my cats) who was over seeing it all from the table top.

 

After a few minutes of watching I remembered my camera. Sadly, just in time to see all three of them going up the ladder into another tree. The smallest one was having a bit of trouble going up the rungs. 

 

They will be back I have to keep cat food out there.

 

 

Who is/was Alex Rothwell Miniature Artisan?

The first thing I do when I want to investigate any subject is go to Google. Sadly, this time it didn't help very much.

I bought this solid brass lamp on eBay by Alex Rothwell. While I could find a few of his other pieces, I couldn't find anything out about him. I assumed that was because he had stopped making miniatures before the internet got going.  If you know anything about him I would love to hear it. Like when he was active, where he is from and if he is still around.

His lamp is really gorgeous. I was lucky to win the bid on eBay.

For Linda... She asked to see my finish mirror in a miniature setting. 

I managed to get the mirror out of my compact and cut it to fit the frame. It is nice to have a real glass mirror in it. It does makes it very hard to photograph though.