Apples & Oranges

Oh Yes I Did.

I painted her!!!

in order for me to even be able to use her, I HAD to find a way to hide all of that PINK that was all over this sewing basket ~ {see previous post please}

ok, for all of you PINK-lovers out there,

no throwing tomatoes at me please ~

you see,

PINK is a beautiful color….

~ it looks good on little girls and elephants.

oh, and ballerinas.

Pink is just not a color that I'm used to

unless it is more a coral, flesh-y salmon color.

{would it still be considered PINK then?}

anyhoo ~

 getting on with what I did:

I used acrylic folk art paint {yeah, those little bottles}

the name on the bottle says the color is 'georgia clay' ~ 

but it looks more like Nelson County, VA Clay to me!

then I mixed some up with a bit of water to thin it down,

then added a smidge of instant coffee…cause that's what I do.

and

VIOLA! 

this:

painted lady

since the paint was so thin, it covered well ~ 

and I surely didn't want to saturate the sponge-rubber underneath the fabric…

I used a plain old throw-away sponge brush to apply the paint.

MUCH better now….

the red paint made all of the PINK virtually disappear, leaving only the black graphics of

thread spools, dress forms, antique notions advertising, old scissors and shoes{?}

….so I can live with that.

BUT

never one to leave anything alone,

…. I will be stitching this to the lid:

I like it ~ it personalizes the basket even more!
I will be adding more 'stuff' as I feel the need too ~ think: wool appliqué!

Here is what she looks like inside ~

her measurements are 8" tall x 10" deep x 15" wide…

pretty sexy, huh? 

;)

as I had mentioned in my previous post,

I have everything I need in there ~ 

...but now it actually fits and I can close the lid!!!!

too much stuff? ~ say that when you need a flashlight or lip balm or a glue stick in the wee hours of the morning when you wake from a hot-flash induced sweat and can't fall back asleep so you might as well get up & stitch cause what else is there to do - moment!
{been there?}

here's what's under her tray ~

I love that my plastic thread boxes FIT! 

...and I have room to fit just one more if NEED be ~

safely tucked ~ linen, fabrics, my wooden needle box {which holds punch needles and rug hooks ~ and um, yes, another pair of scissors} oh yeah and punch  needle threaders in case I'm on the road and I break/lose one ~
OH the horrors!!!!

here's another snap of my 'essentials'….

;)

ok, enough of this nonsense…I'll share more posts about this sewing box as I get time to work on her a little bit more.

 almost forgot ~

why did I name this post 'Apples & Oranges"???

well, my hubby & friends say that I call orange 'red', 

and red, 'orange'…

{I call the color I used to paint this a tomato 'red' ~ Peter says it's 'orange'}

I believe it falls into the category of DMC floss colors of:

918, 919 & 920.

which are, in fact ~ RED Copper.

…..I rest my case.

what color do you see it as?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, on to the progress of my crewel stitching.

you see, I am not a master of this form of needlework, but I aim to be.

{it's good to have positive goals, right?}

I am just doodling on some white linen using a pencil,

then just stitching…

so far I have this:

I've used DMC Pearl cotton for the dark brown leaves,

Waverly wool yarn for the rest.

so far, so good.

stitches used so far ~ stem stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch, french knot and lazy daisy stitch.

this is just a practice piece ~

….honing my 'skills' you know ;)

I have a loooong way to go, but I will keep working ~

this type of needlework is so relaxing to me.

no counting, not much thought applied ~ just thread that needle & go!

it's wonky, but it makes me smile.

Happy New Year to you & yours!

what are your plans for this fine cold day?

I will bundle up and go for a walk in our Winter Woods with my beloved….

...then come home to stitch by the fire a bit more.

It's a new year ~ the slate is wiped clean….

begin it in a positive frame of mind.

here are some things I'll remember to do for 2015:

don't set unrealistic goals for yourself or others.

drink more water.

talk less & listen more.

take better care of yourself.

make time for family.

laugh. a lot.

help a stranger.

feed the birds.

recycle everything.

plant a garden.

rescue a shelter-friend.

xoxoxox

* Blessed be * 

Lori