SNOW!

Today is the first day of December, and when I woke up, there was SNOW on the ground!!! What a lovely beginning to the new month!

I hope to post soon with more pictures of projects.

Today is Marie's BIRTHDAY!!! She is SIXTEEN!!!

Happy Birthday Marie!!!

My beloved big brother:

I have shown you my cats...and my dogs...so now it is time to introduce you to my beloved big brother. He is such a sweet, innocent, endearing soul.....Observe!

Sigh.....

Caught in the act!!!!!!

Muah Ha ha! For those of you believe that it is me who stealthily weaves spider webs of expensive bbl thread and yarn all through our first floor in the dead of the night, here is proof that it IS NOT I! ;P

Butterfly....

When I was yet further along...

Christmas tree-skirt...Butterfly?

Yet another tree-skirt project. It is for my second cousin Mark and his new bride. They will have two little lace butterflies going in different directions on theirs. I was originally opposed to butterflies on something for Christmas, but the theme for their tree-skirt is nature, and I was running out of time to do the other project I had in mind. (A branch with two pretty birds.) These are quick to get done, and they are really nice. Plus Mom says butterflies represent love. So it works. :)

Lace angel COMPLETE!!!!!!!

It is done!!!! Sorry I did not take more picture of it in the making, I just never got around to it. It is now on its way to be sewn onto my Uncle's tree-skirt. And, yes, it turned out nicely...;)

BBL finally!

I have finally gotten around to setting up a visit with my bobbinlace instructor, Allie. So when I get more done on the angel I'll post pics of it. :) Also, this week my friend Bree and I are going to make anklets. I started already, and made 3 braided ones with embroidery floss. Only, it isn't a normal braid. It is a four-strand braid, which enabled me to use 4 colors! They are really neat. When Bree comes we are planning on making some with that will probably look similar to charm bracelets. So hopefully some more interesting posts are coming soon... ;)

I have not been able to work on the lace angel lately. Too busy to go to BBL class. But hopefully I will go next week... In the mean time, here are some photos of a ceramic figure I painted (glazed...) two years ago when I was visiting good friends of ours. They took me to a place where you pick out an unglazed ceramic, (they had about a MILLION choices!) and then you sit down and paint it there, using their glazes, brushes, etc.! It was awesome. Anyways, here was my choice. :)

HOT!

It has been sweltering the last few days, and our poor kitties and doggies have not been thrilled. Ben had been in a hilarious position, trying to cool off, but unfortunately he moved right before I took the shot. Oh well. ;)

Article on Mike's Eagle Scout Project

May Crowning

The May Crowning was yesterday. I asked my brother to be the camera man for my family. He got a ton of shots. I'll have to go through them sometime and post the best ones. For right now I'll just post one big group shot. It was a great day. Lots of fun with friends. Meanwhile, also a very long day. It was definitely worth it though. :)

Today I worked some more on the lace angel for my Uncle. As you can see it is moving along nicely. :)

Our Homeschool Group is having a May Crowning this Wednesday. We will have a procession into the church, with all the children bringing flowers to lay at Mary's feet. At the end of the procession will be two little girls who are making/have made their First Holy Communion this year. One will carry the crown on a pillow (above) and the other will crown the Blessed Virgin. I will walk up with them just in case, because sometimes the crown is fickle and doesn't want to stay on, and the statue is pretty tall, so we aren't sure if the girl will be able to reach it.

When we were asked if they could use our Mary Statue, the lady in charge also asked if I could make the crown and a pillow for the crown to be carried on. So that is what I did this weekend. They are silk flowers, by the way. I greatly prefer real flowers, but this way I could make it farther in advance, and it will last much much longer, so we can use it in future years. :)

Lace Angel

I am making this angel for my Uncle's wedding gift, a quilted treeskirt. It is a big family project, with many people pitching in. I just started this piece today with my lace teacher. Its pattern is a type of lace called Idrija lace. It is kind the lace traditionally made in Slovenia, which is where my teacher's ancestors were from. It is supposed to be made on a bolster pillow rather than a "cookie" pillow. Anyway, it is my teacher's specialty. It was cool. Alot of weird tensioning, but that was ok. I really enjoyed it, even though it uses kinda thick thread. :)

Prayer Journal

I went to a retreat at the Sisters of the Sacred Heart convent in Munster, PA this weekend. It was wonderful. It is the 3rd retreat I've made there, and all three were fantastic. I made the cover of this prayer journal while I was there. I love it. It was so easy and fun to make.

HOME!!

Well, I'm Home! How I missed my wonderful home, family, friends!!! I decided that Arizona is GORGEOUS! But it is DEFINITELY not for me! The desert was really lovely in its own way, and I am sure there are people who would hate to live here, in Pennsylvania, where I live, because it is not their home. It is not what they are used to, or know and love. But for myself, I need tall, dark green, long mountain ranges closing me in. I need tall, RICH green trees around me, lining every road, filling every homey forest. I need green grass filling every lawn. I need tall, stately pine trees pointing up everywhere I look.

And I need to have all the seasons to be what they are meant to be. Winter: cold, snowy, lovely, white. The time to snuggle under covers, and drink hot chocolate, and stay indoors with friends (or sledding with the crazier friends down sleep mountain sides, hehe! ;-D) Spring: rainy, flowery, with buds on trees, and chilly, yet mild, temperatures. Summer: sweltering heat and humidity, rich green everywhere I look. Perfect weather to go to amusement and water parks, and spend as much time in a pool as possible. Time to hang out with friends, camp, and eat as much corn on the cob and watermelon as one can hold. Fall, my favorite (I think...): chilly sweater weather, beautiful rust, green, brown, and gold leaves everywhere. Pumpkins and mums peeking out where ever I look, and Jack Frost on his way. Thanksgiving just around the corner, big leaf piles to dive into, and the perfect camp fire temperature. Ahhh, I am so glad to be back!

Divine Mercy Images

St. Catherine's Wheel

For All Hallow's Eve (better known as Halloween) last year, I was St. Catherine of Alexandria. Her symbol is the spiked wheel. My brother helped me cut and glue together 4 layers of cardboard to make this wheel, then Mom and I spray painted it gold. My lace teacher Allie told me that St. Catherine is also the patron saint of lace makers. So I made this piece, and pinned it to the center. I broke it near the end, it was a BIG pain to fix, but I finished it, in time for the All Hallow's Eve party at our friends the Egers' house. Here it is.

The earrings are DONE!!

The final result. Do they look anything like picture number four? If they do, I hope only in a good way...

Finished!!

It took all day, and an overdose of patience, but here it is.

Made the decision:

Well, I chose earring number 4. I liked the first and second pictures best, but when I went to Michaels yesterday, they really didn't have many beads that worked for those styles. So I went with number 4. I could find the most bead choices for it. I won't have anything like the letter charms shown in the picture, though, just normal crystal beads.
This afternoon I will work on making the earrings and necklace, so will hopefully be able to post some pictures before I depart for my uncle's house in Phoenix, AZ, for Easter. I am SO excited!!!!
I will also try to post pictures of some bobbinlace patterns I have to choose between to make for my second cousin's wedding Tree Skirt. I chose an Angel pattern for my Uncle's wedding Tree Skirt. Plus I am going to start a pattern with some new techniques soon. So I am finally getting back to the bobbinlace grind! :)

Easter Dress

Ok, here is the dress I need to pick earrings for. I am thinking I am going to make a float necklace. A float necklace is a necklace with a certain amount of beads, say an inch, and then a certain amount of wire in between bead segments, thereby giving the beads a "floating" appearance. I am going to try to make a double stranded necklace this time.
It will be my first try at this, so I'll have to let you know how it turns out. This will be much harder, because first of all, I am crunched for time, as I will need both necklace and earrings finished by Friday morning, when I am leaving for Phoenix, AZ, to visit my uncle and his family. Secondly, the necklace will be hard because it will be my first time making a double strand, as I formerly mentioned. And lastly, because I have not had the best experience making float necklaces. I hope it turns out well!