Under a Blue Moon

Thank you for all the suggestions to check the little local hardware stores.  I'd much rather support them anyway. 

I didn't find the kit but the teeny hardware store up the street from us had all the supplies I needed and then some.  I found the big old canning pot, the rack, the tongs, a funnel and of course, all the jars I could possibly need. 

Canning to commence early next week!

It sure doesn't feel like Fall around here though.  It is supposed to get up to a 100F today.  Rick and I have been planning a trip up to Apple Hill to see the leaves change colors and to stock up on apple butters and exotic varieties of apples (and not so exotic apple fritters).  It just doesn't feel right to do it wearing shorts and flip flops though, so we've been putting it off until it cools down.

I also want to do some canning with Sara but I can't find a canning kit.  I'm starting from scratch so I need to buy the big pot, the rack, the tongs, the everything.  Why do they call it canning anyway?  Why don't they call it jarring?

Sara even has a surplus of pears that we were going to have a go at – making our own pear butter.  Other than Wal-Mart I don't know where to go to get the kit.  I've been to three of them and they have all the jars and various lids, rings and whatnot.  But no starter kits.  So the pears have slowly been getting eaten and we are going to have to start over again with a new batch.

Also, I don't want to be an alarmist, but it is only 92 days until Christmas.   

My benefactress Kelly gave me this bit of vintage lace handwork.  I've been hesitant to really put it throught my regular regime of laundering just because it is so delicate and so much of the piece is hand made and hand sewn.  I think the tea-like stains give it a nice patina though.

One thing that really appeals to me about the piece is the appliqued daisies.  They look kind of complex at fist glance but closer inspection reveals the very humble rick rack as the basis of the design.

Since the piece looks quite old it got me to thinking about the history of rick rack.  How long has it been around?  Doing a little Google research I can come up with a reference to it in the late 1800's.  It was used in crochet projects.  Rick rack as we know it really came into play around 1916. 

The rick rack used in this piece is cotton.  Mostly what you can find at JoAnns or other big sewing and craft centers is polyester which is stiffer and not, at least in my opinion, as desireable.

There are plenty of resources for cotton rick rack if you are in the market for it.  Just Google it.   Look at the crochet projects that use it too – gorgeous.  Yet another reason why I wish I could crochet. 

I can't crochet but I certainly can take a stab at making a daisy.  It's really quite simple and here are a couple of pictures that illustrate it.   Note: I'm using polyester rick rack because I had it on hand. 

Use a heavy duty thread that will hold up to being pulled really tight.  I used button thread (black for illustrative purposes).  Figure out how many petals you want your daisy to have.  The ones in the example above have 23 so that is what I went with. 

Make a running stitch across the tips of the rick rack on one side (this will end up being the center of the daisy):

Then pull tight and tie off the end.  You may have to pop out the "petals" so they are all facing in the right direction:

Then arrange in a circle and tack down the outer part of each petal.  Once the outer part is in place stitch down the inner part of the flower to secure it to your project.

Now the inner part of the daisies above look like they have been crocheted.  We already know my woeful lack of crocheting skills so I just clustered a bunch of French knots in the center.  Not as refined but it is a daisy, after all, which lends itself to a more casual approach.

Kind of fun and quicker than you would think.  Now I have to figure out a project to incorporate then in.  I'm thinking a linen tote bag with a row of them all across the top…

I just sat down to read a catalog when I noticed my hanging candle holder just outside the window had some visitors.  I got up super slowly so I wouldn't disturb them and snapped a couple of pictures.

It makes me want to wire a few faux birds to it.  I think that is where a lot of creative ideas come from – pure serendipity.

Let's see what is new?  I cut off all my hair.  My hair hasn't been this short since that ill-advised Carol Brady shag I had in the 8th grade.  I've always had long hair or longish hair since then. 

I decided I was looking frumpy and un-stylish so I went in and very explicitly explained to the stylist that I wanted a shoulder grazing bob that was ever so slightly longer in the front.  He cut it exactly to my specifications.  When he made the first cut at nape of my neck I knew I was going to regret it.  I went to a different salon the next day and asked them to cut some layers and side swept bangs into it. 

Now is it just short.  I have been told by everyone that I have incessantly whined to since then that it isn't actually short but to me it is.  It is above my shoulders by a couple of inches and I can't style it to save my life.  I think I kind of look like Carol Brady again.

Luckily it is just hair and it will grow quickly.  In the meantime I get a little shock whenever I get in front of a mirror.

I have a friend who always addresses her Friday email to me "FriYay!"  Isn't Friday like that though?  Even though you do have to work it isn't so bad because Yay!  It's Friday!

Today I took the afternoon off and Rick and I hopped into the car for a little spontaneous road trip.  We ended up in a Gold Rush town called Coloma and had lunch out on the deck of the Sierra Nevada House.   It's right on the banks of the American River and it was the perfect, relaxed way to begin the weekend.

I have a few ideas for upcoming posts:

1.) Rick-rack flowers
2.) The tower of books I have to read
3.) Jam making with the WineMaker's Wife

Everyone have a fabulous weekend!