Mayday Madness !!

Not "May" day as in it being spring or anything ... as a matter of fact it is just the opposite. But, these are the last few days when the robins are going crazy in the Mayday tree. The berries are fully ripe now and they absolutely MUST get every single one off there before they head south. I think it is some kind of robin karmic law. They just know they must .... and quickly. They are so silly that I have to close blinds and curtains to protect them from themselves. Either they can't see properly or are just plain goofy from berry nectar. They are totally giddy .... I think they are actually drunk! There is one lurching around on the shed roof right now ...... then he just sits there for a while... trying to decide if he can make it to the tree from the shed .... makes an attempt.. swoops down too low and does about a 4 point landing on the lawn..under the tree. Then, ... tries to make it look like he did it on purpose and staggers around on the ground checking for dropped berries. There are robins swooping and diving in all directions ... barely avoiding mid air collisions ... last second pull-ups before they hit the windows or the house... it is deadly out there today. The van and the sides of the house are showing definite signs of some over indulgence on fruit!! They are making a right royal mess.

wow..... where did my week go? Got plenty done, as was my plan ... but come on .... it is over already? I did a lot of baking which I really wanted to do. Stole this pic from my recipe blog; Chocolate Date Loaf. Oh, YUM! made a second one yesterday. This is a great recipe that you should definitely give a try.


Here are some of the pics of little things I "challenged" myself with while making my Lotus lady.

After cutting some polyester "silk" off my chunk ... I noticed the frayed edge ... and thought ... why not?.... so I rolled it up with the frayed edge out and stitched it together and voila ... a beautiful little fluffy pom for her neck area. Adds a bit more interest to the neckline along with the gauzy rolled ribbon into which I laced some gold threads ... and the organza covered silk of her undergarment.



This stuff frays too.... so I was playing with my new machine ... which I know nothing about yet ... ( I am still waiting for the shop to set up my 18 hours of free lessons that came with it ) and did managed to get a ziggy zag working .... hahahha ..... after stitching my little tube of gold ... I even zigged it to keep it together nicely. Then just like the colour tube of brocade for the collar and front detail ..... I turned it with a safety pin. Mom showed me how to do that when I was about 12 and she was hand stitching our skating costumes ... with spaghetti straps. Thanks Mom.





I wanted to line the bottom of the hem with some "silk" that matched the collar area so it would draw the colours together ... but it was wrinkling and creasing .. so I made a tube and then lightly stuffed it so it is a bit puffy and kinda cute .... then attached it by hand.






Then .... the selvedge of the turquoise had a band of solid colour.... I definitely wanted to use that for the edge of the cuff of the sleeve. I couldn't quite figure out how to make a cuff, and the inside of the sleeve was too messy and fraying of course, at the seam allowance ... couldn't leave it visible .... so... I just added my own version later. Stitched on a strip with edges turned under; stitched it down along the edge of the selvedge and managed to capture a strip of the golden silk in there too, then made a tube for a sleeve. Pretty pleased with myself on that one .... lol ....




I think it looks just like I almost knew what I was
doing .... hahahah, but I may be slightly prejudiced.






Here is my little Lotus slipper. I used some black fabric that quite honestly looks very smooth in real life but the camera sees a heavy grain. Wish my eyes were that great! I have not done much embroidery for years...but loved making my own little flowers and design .... again I owe it to my Mom ... she used to sit for hours and embroider with us kids.

As a matter of fact .... here is a little gift I made for her when I was about 12 to 14 ...



P.S... I am a bit disappointed that my Lotus Lady did not manage to place in the challenge ...... but, c'est la vie. You may see the entries on the Doll Street site .. but to this date, they have not posted the list of winners or their placement in the scheme of the whole thing.