I love getting mail!

Don't you just love to get a package in the mail? When I opened the mailbox this afternoon, there was a package from Vickie Adams Brown of Ribbonsmyth. Yeah!! I had ordered a book and some ribbons. The book is another in the A-Z series - The A-Z of Bead Embroidery. I love this series - it is so well done. I love the way they photograph every single step - be it an embroidery stitch, beading or whatever. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the publisher is Country Bumpkin Publishing of South Australia. Vickie's hand-dyed silk ribbon is lovely, and I also got two colors of her Rococo ribbon which is truly beautiful!! Can't wait to find a special project to use it on...

Yesterday I promised to tell you a bit about laces today. To be quite honest, I'm not a lacey kind of gal, but I do like a little lace on a CQ project. I try to support local businesses whenever possible. It's amazing what you will find if you look hard enough. Even WalMart sometimes will have some pretty decent laces, braids and trims if you keep an eye out. However, sometimes the gorgeous lace you will find online is just too tempting to pass up, and thats the case today- above are some of the laces I have ordered from Evening Star Designs (See my sidebar). Some of these are a little wider than I would normally be drawn to, but they are just so lovely- I'm sure I'll find a use for them. No doubt some will get a dunking in some tea to soften that bright white. I have even been known to use coffee or a mix of tea and coffee - it's always interesting to see what color you will get. Herbal teas give some interesting tints too... In the second photo to the right, you will see some laces that I have given a "bath" in some tea. I much prefer the softer look of these.... at the bottom of this second photo, you can see a collar that I cut off an old blouse. It had such a lovely beaded design, done in small pearls - I just could not bear to throw it out. So the point of that collar will find it's way into a seam on a CQ project at some point; I have already used the other half of the collar...

Another option is to dye the lace - if you follow Sharon Boggon's blog, you will see that she dyes a lot of her lace with Procion dyes - I think I'm going to have to investigate that ... Sounds like fun and I love the rich colors she gets. At the bottom of this photo, you will see two short pieces that I have"hand-painted" with Rainbow Dyes from Ribbonsmyth. When you dampen the lace first, the dye colors will "bleed" slightly into each other , which gives a nice soft effect.... At the top of this photo, you can see a lovely piece of tatting, done by my Mother. Keep your eye out for tatting and fine crochet at antique shops, yard sales and the like. Below is an old hankie with a lovely fine crocheted edging, done in a variegated crochet thread. I'm not sure if my Mom did this one, but the hankie was in her collection, so that makes it special enough for me! Using tatting and fine edgings such as this make a CQ piece that much more interesting, in my mind. When you look at the fineness of the thread and think about the hours someone spent doing this work...well, it's just very special..... You'll have to watch and see which of these laces I add to my CQ stocking...Piece,

Linda

May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door!