Estate sale SCORE!

Oh yes.... it was one of those days. I had three sales on my list, all scattered around San Jose. But it was the middle sale that rang my chimes! Doncha love, leaving the crowds milling through the kitchen gadgets, the dining room tables filled with delicate china... to wander out to the almost empty garage, and to behold, there, in a dusty corner a BOX OF VINTAGE TRIMS!!!! Yep. Score! I also picked up an armload of pretty doilies and a few bits of this and that.....
 (Remember too, you can still leave comments on this posting to be entered in the giveaway on Feb. 1st.)
I couldn't resist this 6" heart covered with tiny flowers, and a lovely green lace and sage fringe. It was pinned to a bridal pillow. It's just adorable and will decorate my studio for a while.

 Here are some lovely Hawaiian fabrics, and the arm load of doilies.

 Just look at all these trims!

 And I found a set of adorable nesting boxes, so pretty to look at. I haven't decided what I'm going to store in them.

How much was all of this, you might wonder? Drum roll please............. a mere $20!

A busy week....

I love a busy week, don't you? Busy doing my passion, that is! I was commissioned to make two Rosary Keepers and one Sacred Bag.... so here they are. (Remember too, you can still leave comments on this posting to be entered in the giveaway on Feb. 1st.)

The first one is on a linen base, covered with Wedding dress lace....
The front shows the lovely Dior roses I learned from Lila!

 A piece of a Christening dress, holy medal, and some of the beautiful vintage silk organza.

 The second one is on a base of velvet...

 You can't quite see the pocket on the solid velvet. It felt like the tiny Mother Mary medal stood out on its own, without ribbons, or trims.

And, here is the front of the Sacred Bag. The Angel picture is one I painted, then printed on silk.

 A peek at the little pocket tucked inside, made from a 4" wide vintage ribbon.

 I'm ALWAYS happy to do commissioned work! (hint, hint, wink, wink)

SCORE!!

If you're participating in the Blog Hop Giveaway, you can leave a comment here too. And remember, there's a little bonus if your name is drawn and you are a Follower as well!

Sew, to the point.... (sew, get it?) I struck gold yesterday! totally ran out of thread, and my favorite fabric shop -HARTS- was getting rid of these four sample books!  WhooHoo! What would you do with them?

WELCOME! Do you love EYE CANDY?

Well, grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy! Welcome. If you are a lover of lace, you're in for a treat.... miles and miles of lacy books, bags, and prayer keepers!

Thank you Vicki for hosting this fun Blog Party! I think we're all set for a fun journey.

And who doesn't love a little Give-Away Gift? Especially if it's a LACY BUNDLE!  All you need to do is leave a comment and your name will be in the drawing for my second LACY BUNDLE give-away this year! A lucky winner will be chosen on February 1st. AND... if you also become a 'Follower'... there will be an extra little treat added to your gift!

Enjoy!
Sweet Blessings,
Chris

This is the life....

Yesterday was our Irish cousins lunch in San Francisco. Of course I chose to drive the scenic coast route. What an amazingly beautiful, clear, crisp, sunny day!

Stacks of lacy Prayer Keepers.....

I couldn't resist stacking my lacy Prayer Keepers. They look so luscious! I'm creating an inventory so I can join our local Art Collective. I don't know if I'll be able to let them go! Oh... I'm also so excited to have three commissions to work on this week!

Eye candy....

We downsized and moved to our little cottage in the Redwoods three years ago. I still have maybe 15 tubs of fabrics I haven't seen in three years. Well.. I started systematically opening the tubs and plan on selling my vintage fabrics and quilts on Ebay. BUT!!! There are goodies I am not going to part with! I remember finding these treasures at a San Jose estate sale over six years ago. I bought a whole bag of vintage,100% silk organza, some remnants, some still on a roll. Beautiful stuff!

 And here are a few of my latest Prayer Keepers....

 These two Rosary Prayer Keepers I made for my Cousins, Catherine and Janet. These are a little different, in that they are a triptych style. You see the Rosary pocket when you open the front page...

 Rosary pocket.... made with a vintage Wedding Hankie (YES! it was VERY difficult to cut into!lol)

 Botticelli's Madonna and Child on silk is the center page. Saint Catherine is on the left and Saint Joan (patron saint name for Janet) is on the right. It was fun specializing Prayer Pockets for people I love.

 Sweet blessings, Chris

And the winner is....

SHARI! of Lady J Spice's Cache!  

Shari was the 22nd person comment since December 21, picked by the random number counter. Thanks for commenting to everyone who took the time. This was lots of fun! Shari, you'll have to post what you create from this fun, lacy bundle!
Sweet Blessings, Chris

Giveaway reminder!

Don't forget, today is the last day to make a comment to be entered in my Birthday Bundle Giveaway! Leave as many comments as you want, (dated from December 21st). I'll count up the comments, then draw the number of the lucky lacy winner!
xoxo Chris

Winter's Lace Wonders....

I've been snuggled away in my little sewing studio and loving it. It's an escape to a relaxing, fun, inspiring, and lovely retreat, right on my own property!

I thank Lila for her wonderful video on making Dior Roses! Mine aren't near as beautiful as hers, but I do like the way they turned out. In the center of mine I'm using some of the tiny, little flowers from my 1919-dressmaker stash. I must have at least 50 of these tiny flowers. I can't imagine how long it took the dressmaker to form all these tiny rosettes! I think they look great in the middle of the Dior roses.  Check our Lila's YouTube videos! She is a very generous woman!

I used one of the roses on the cover of my latest Prayer Keeper..... You can see the hem of a Christening dress. I love using fabrics that had a reverent purpose at one time.

 In this book, I used colorful silk images of Mother Mary against the creams and ecru colors. I'm not sure which style I like best.

Thanks for looking, Sweet Blessings, Chris

You'll find beautiful whites, creams, and sepia tones accented with peach in this lace book dedicated to our precious Mother Mary. Several pockets are perfect to tuck in prayers or Rosary Beads. The foundation for this prayer book is vintage linen, covered with a vintage lace Mantilla (like the one I wore to church in the 1960's), fabric from a Christening Dress, as well as other vintage laces, trims, and dress fabrics.  Measures about 5x8", with 7 decorated pages.

(Etsy)

 You can see the hem of the Antique Christening dress here.

 Here you can see parts of the 1960's lace mantilla that we used to cover our heads for Mass.

 A little scrap from a wedding dress....