Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Concord Grapes!

I finally finished the Grape pinkeep. It was a struggle and the grapes put up a battle but I concord! :)
(Oh, I can't wait to hear the groan that comes from the upstairs spawn's bedroom when she reads this)

It really was difficult to make this one. I made each individual grape just like I made the blueberries except they're about twice the size. That part wasn't difficult, just time consuming.
The problem came when I attached them. They were too wobbly and wouldn't stay in a bunch. So I went back and stitched each grape to the grapes that surround it and that worked eventually. Thankfully no one will ever see the back of this ... it's like a bird's nest of threads.
Otherwise, it turn out GRAPE! .... I mean GREAT!

This one will go for sale on Ebay tonight.

Next up ... CHERRIES! Well, cherry pinkeeps will be delayed for a bit because of these curtains ....
This is a picture that I took yesterday of my neighbor and good friend Linda's kitchen curtains. There are two other windows on the other corner of the kitchen with these curtains too.
I made these curtains for her about ... hmmm ... 25 years ago?
Yes, she still has them hanging because 1. she loves them. and 2. because her windows are an odd size and she can't buy storebought ones that will fit.
They really are still in excellent condition though, considering how old they are. The red is just a bit faded but the white is really soft and lovely.

So the story goes ... way back, 25 some years ago, she asked me to make curtains for her to replace the ones that were hanging when they bought the house about 7 years before. Who knows how old those curtains were, but they were obviously handmade too.
Now, for me, I like to change things up a bit with my curtains and I would think that she would want something new that looked different.
Surprisingly, because she loved them so much, she wanted the new ones to look exactly like the old ones.
It was easy enough to do. I just used the old ones as a pattern to make the new ones. It was really time consuming though because of all the ruffles. Eight panels of ruffles that go all the way around each panel took a LOT of time to make.
So about 5 years ago, she asked me to make new ones again and yes, you guessed it ... she wanted them to look exactly the same.
At the time, I was so busy with penny rug orders that I just couldn't fit that huge sewing job into my schedule so I wasn't able to do it.
I felt bad telling her no, but intended on eventually making them when I had the time.
So now, about 5 years later, my good friend Linda, is in the hospital, recovering from the quadruple bypass surgery that she had done yesterday. I love my neighbor Linda and her husband Ben. They've been just the best friends and neighbors that anyone could want. They've done so much for us over the years, so I'm trying to find things to do for the both of them that will make this difficult time a little easier for them.
I thought that now would be the perfect time to make those curtains.
She's expecting to come home on Saturday, so I'm hoping that if I put my old sewing machine on "super fast" mode, I'll get those ruffles made and attached to the panels and hung on her windows so that she'll be surprised when she walks in the door.

The only thing that would be a problem is that they might not be noticed right away ... because they'll look exactly the same!
Happy day to all ... I'm going to dust off my sewing machine!

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Oh Cathy, Not that it is a surprise to me, you are such a good friend!! How cool to come home and have a facelift to your kitchen!!
The grapes are cool, how smart to figure out how to bunch them!!(but I knew that too)
Hugs, Lisa

Lisa said...

just go ahead and make cherries for me I know I will not be able to resist!!!
Hugs, Lisa
ps you can make Mom's pansy any time now, I'll put it in the budget! THANKS!!
L

Anonymous said...

Well, what can I say, you are an angel. That is a sweet and poignant story - for her to have kept those curtains for so long, that you've been friends for so long 'sob (long-term friend deprived here, we just moved too much to establish any). It was just lovely to read.

It's been challenging this last little while. My focus has wavered, but my heart is good in spite of blue-screened Fatal Errors, crashes, 'puter woes. I've had dr. appts AND our air went out (I'm in south Florida... 95 yesterday) so I've not been on my blog nor have I come 'round to visit. Interesting week; )

Great list today on MaidenShade Matters, "How Long Can I Keep It? Shelf Lives for Common Foods".

xJ
MaidenShade.wordpress.com
DeStash.me