Stitching Update....

 

Tiny Progress...

As I am sure you are aware, Dear Readers, Autumn is Upon us, and the chief manifestation of this in my neck of the woods is the disappearing daylight hours! The temperatures have cooled somewhat and we are seriously lacking in rainfall, but it is the shorter daylight that I feel most keenly. It is dark when I get up in the morning and almost dark by dinner time too. But that is not the main subject of this post other than to lament that it is harder to stitch the higher thread-count projects in artificial lighting. At least I have been doing a fair amount of stitching this summer while the daylight seemed to be endless. I wanted to be sure I "plugged away" at the Chinese Dragon Carpet while the lighting was good and I managed to stitch most of the leaves on the original chart that I did not need to alter from the original placing. Because I added the central dragon motif, it caused an avalanche of changes in the original design all across the central section of the carpet! And then I needed to decide just which parts of the original design could be shifted to where... depending on how they fit and the overall balance of the design. I decided that the  simplest thing would be to mimic the arrangement of the leaves at the sides of the central octagon...

 

As you can see here I have begun stitching the left end leafy section. 

The motif is not exactly the same as the one on the side... 

but I am actually using the one that is in the chart for this end of the carpet...

 but shifting it closer to the central octagon,

 positioning it the same as the side panels already are. 

The remaining "spaces" will be filled with other small leafy pieces....

 

Sorry for the dark photo.... 

yes, Autumn light is in short supply...

but you can see the leaves that have been added.

 Most of these were in the chart... 

but the ones closest to the Octagon have been positioned by me....

 it is a nerve wracking process trying to imagine 

what they will look like before they are stitched! 

But I have been making progress!

 

And some of you, Dear Readers, might have wondered

 if you would ever again see anything of those

 Tiny Cushions I was stitching way last spring...!

 Well, I did manage to stitch them all and cut them apart from one another

 and even started the process of stitching the pillow backing

 and turning them right-side out....

 but I neglected to take any photos and even then

 I didn't finish even one of them until this morning!

 After turning them in-side-out I realized

 that the silk mesh showed along the seams more than I had expected.

 

I was going to need to stitch on a "cording"

 (I was planning to do this anyway actually) 

using some perle cotton that I had in my stash... 

but I thought the black sewing thread would not look right over the blue cording...

 and I didn't have any blue thread the right color....!

 So I left the project mid stitch.... 

and this morning I decided to use the black thread anyway

 and see how it looked.....

 

Well, you might think I compromised my standards... 

but I think it looks fine... 

the checkered pattern is what is supposed to stand out...

 not the blue cording. 

 

And since I was zipping along now,

 I started right in on the Leo Cushion....

 

Here you can see it already stitched to the backing

 and turned right side out. 

The bottom is open for filling the cushion 

(I am using seed beads to give some weight to the cushion)

 and then I will add the cording as before.

 

Well, that was quick!

  

And Then the Wyvern Cushion....

 

Here you can see it already stitched to the backing material

 and trimmed prior to turning right side out.

 

And here I am adding the cording

 the same as for the other two cushions.

So, where are these Beauties going to live...?

 

Well, I can't say this will be the permanent spot for these tiny cushions....

 but I have always thought they would be right at home

 in the attic of Hardwick Hall! 

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have not forgotten the many

 stitching projects I have under way...

 And I even have made some tiny progress! 

 

Just Another Day In The Park...

 

Raymond Visits Alone....

Raymond had headed to the Park, Dear Readers, hoping to find Renee and Mademoiselle O'Malley, her Nanny, visiting with the birds as usual even though it was such a cold and gloomy day. He found the Park was empty. Not even the birds were strutting around in search of crumbs. It suited his mood perfectly. He was feeling sorry for himself. He felt abandoned and shut out of Renee's life. Even after what was it... only five days since Mademoiselle O'Malley had been hired to be the new nanny? 

 He was in the habit of visiting Renee every day just to give her nanny a break. Gabrielle had seemed to know that it mattered more to Raymond that he had time with Renee, than that she needed a break. Renee was not a difficult child to care for. And Raymond had been caring for her ever since she was left in his Office when she was an infant, even though Madame had always hired the nannies. He always checked on her and made sure she had what she needed. None of the other nannies had minded. They were happy to let him"give them a break". But Mademoiselle O'Malley was different.

 

He absent-mindedly tossed the bread crumbs he had brought for the birds.

 Perhaps they would show up if there was food, he thought.

 Although, without Renee there... 

it was not so much fun to feed them. 

 

 

The worst of it was that he knew he had no rights to Renee at all. 

She was not his child. She was no relation to him at all! 

He was only the Lawyer to her Grandparents, and had known the family all his life.

 It was just that when Renee's mother had decided that 

she would not keep her child after all, she left her at the Lawyer's Office.

 And because the Grandparents had been away overseas at the time,

 he had ended up taking care of her for more than a week

 until they could return home and claim her. 

He had bonded with baby Renee and loved her as if she were his own child.

 The real problem was that the new nanny was Renee's natural mother,

 even though Renee did not know.

 Madame had hired her in order to keep her

 from taking Renee away from them.... 

and to his great embarrassment, they, the Lawyers 

had not had her sign the adoption papers

 before she left the child with them all those years ago. 

She probably could take Renee and it would not be illegal! 

 

He wanted to hate her, Mademoiselle O'Malley, that was, 

but he knew he was being unfair.

 Even after just five days it was very clear that she was good for Renee. 

She did things with Renee, and Renee was happier than he'd ever seen her.

 He hated to think that he was being jealous.

 He had never been jealous of anyone before

 and it was a very uncomfortable feeling. 

 

Just then his phone rang and he answered it right away.

 "Good morning, sister ..." he said... "You are calling early!"

 

"Hey, brother of mine," said Fleur cheerfully, 

"I am out in my garden to gather some flowers for the shop...

 Gabrielle is seeing that Juliet is ready for school! 

I am loving having Gabrielle to help!"

 

And I am just dying to know how how our Daphne

 is working out as Renee's nanny!" she declared.

 "I was so shocked to learn she is Renee's mother!" she added earnestly.

 

"She is a veritable paragon... " he replied snidely, 

and immediately felt chagrined.

 "I want to hate her..." he added despairingly, 

"but she is very good with Renee...

 so I have to admit she is admirable" he added reluctantly.

 

"And is this a bad thing, dear brother...?" 

Fleur asked, surprised at his attitude.

 

"Madame only hired her to keep an eye on her..." he said, 

"but I warned her it was a very bad precedent to set...

 it will be impossible to fire her!

 But Madame was afraid she would take Renee away, 

so there was no reasoning with her" he added.

 

"Do you really think Daphne would take her away..."

 asked Fleur incredulously?

 

"That's the problem..." he said, annoyed. 

"I just don't trust her" he added flatly.

 "But she's very kind to Monsieur too, 

so I doubt she'd take Renee away" he said glumly.

 

"Well, dear brother," said Fleur, "clearly she has upset you..." 

 

 "She's just too perfect" he said, annoyed.

 "They all think she's just wonderful... 

nobody can be so perfect..!" he added.

 "They act like she's an angel.... she's so serene,

 she even looks like one with all that fiery hair...." he added

 dismayed at how much he had said. 

"She doesn't let me have any time with Renee..." he added sadly.

 "I haven't seen her in days."

 

 "Oh, dear!" declared Fleur. 

"Not at all?" she added, surprised.

 

"Well, apparently, I can trot along behind them

 like a good little boy, if I want to..." he said sarcastically.

 "It doesn't feel right. I'm not feeling at all like a good little boy" he added.

 "I told you, I want to hate her. 

I have hated her for years for abandoning her child!

 You know that!" he declared angrily.

 

 "Now we have to welcome her into the family

 and let Renee love her!"

 

 "Oh, dear!" said Fleur heaving a big sigh.

 "I am afraid you've got it bad, dear brother she added" cryptically.

 

"Got What..!?" he demanded, annoyed.

 

"I think you really love her too," said Fleur smiling... 

"But you can't admit it" she added.

 "I'm not surprised. Our Daphne is very sweet and lovable.

 Everyone who knows her loves her" she added.

 

"What..?" declared Raymond appalled. 

"You have got to be nuts, sister mine..." he said.

 "Haven't you been listening to me?" he added.

 

"Of course, I have!" declared Fleur. 

"I think you are head over toes in love with her!

 I think you should just marry her.... 

and then Renee would have a family at last" she added.

 

"You're not helping, Fleur," he said.

 "That's the craziest idea I've ever heard!" he declared.

 

"Yeah, yeah, of course you do.... 

it's as clear as day!" she added.

"Look, I gotta go... I have to get Juliet to school...

 but let me know how it goes!"

she called as she hung up. 

 

"Let her know how it goes...?" he thought, puzzled.

Why did his sister think love solved everything?!

 Besides, he wasn't in love.

 Sure, he loved Renee absolutely. 

But marry her mother? That was madness!

 

But he stood there for quite a while, staring off into space.

 Clearly he was going to have to do something. 

He wasn't going to just let Renee disappear from his life. 

But what could he do?

 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you haven't minded spending

 such a gloomy day in the Park after all,

 At least the birds joined Raymond in his solitary vigil,

 although he didn't seem to notice them at all! 

 

To Those Dear Readers who have only recently joined this blog, I apologize for the very disorganized progress of this story. It began in August of 2013 and has already had somewhere around thirty episodes scattered through the years. I have found it impossible to keep it organized... and finishing it is always another story... If you are really interested you can find most of it under "Daphne's Story" in the labels section.... 

 

 

 

Tree House Improvements....

 

Wall Paper Deja vu.....

I Could not find a can of the right colored wood stain, Dear Readers, at my local hardware stores. The big box store had changed brands, no longer offering the kind of stain I had used all those years ago. I bought the new brand in the "same type of color" and it was not the same at all! It was much too "orange-reddish" for my tastes and would not match the already completed paneling. The smaller old Hardware store chain did still carry the old brand, but did not have it in the old color ("Early American" it was called) but they did have one of those "pens" for fixing small scratches in the proper color of the old brand! I bought it and applied it to the matchstick paneling and the steps to the Bednook on the Nursery Door. And it looks much better than the "wrong" brand. The matchsticks absorb the stain a little irregularly and I will give it another coat, but I think it saved the day! So I applied it to all the other newly "paneled" areas.... chiefly the Balcony interior on the Bedroom Door.

 

As you can see here, it tones down the "new wood" look

 of the matchsticks but is not as dark as the walnut stain of the doors.

 

And I applied it to the bunkbeds too.... 

over the too orange-ish color of the "wrong" stain.

 It did not erase the orange completely, but it toned it way down 

and I think it will end up looking just fine in the Nursery

 when all the rest of the parts are assembled.

 The "stain pen" turned out to be much easier to use

 on these already assembled pieces too!

 No drips, no spills, hardly any vapor. It was a great relief!

 

And while I was working on all those walls in the Nursery,

 I decided to test an Idea I had first had way back in 2014

 for the wallpaper of these rooms.

 

Well, really, there was no question in my mind and never had been!

 That old rose patterned wallpaper was perfect for the Nanny's Bedroom!

 All I had to do was find enough scraps to

 match the pattern across the adjoining wall sections.

 And some of you Dear Readers,

 if you have been hanging around here long enough

 will recognize this wall paper!

 It was also used a few years ago on The Dollmaker's Studio project,

 and way back in the beginning on the 

Dining Room walls of The Cupboard House.

I got right on it...

 

I made my patterns and cut out the pieces and glued them in place!

 

And because the Nursery Wall is on the other side

 of one of The Nanny's Room walls, 

I needed to get that one papered now too.

 

Doesn't it look Familiar too?

 Yes! It is the same wallpaper that I used

 on the other room in The Dollmaker's Studio project! 

And while you might think I am just copying

 the Dollmaker's Studio decor, 

it is really the other way around.

 I have always intended to use this paper

 in The Tree House Nursery!

 It just seems to feel like "Leafy Nature" on the Walls.... 

with its birds and butterflies that the Little Ratlings would love to see!

 And in a funny way, it is a good thing that

 I used the paper on the Dollmaker's Studio first 

because if I had used it in the Tree House first, 

there would not have been enough

 left over for The Dollmaker's Studio

 which needed the larger sections. 

As it is I had to piece together scraps

 to complete the Bednook wallpaper....

 

Here you can see the four little scraps that are needed

 to complete the opening Door Wall....

 

Which looks like this!

 I wanted to make  one of the birds.... 

and while it is not actually "correct"

 it is convincing enough!

 Those Rats had to make do with whatever

 scraps they could scavenge, after all!

 

The back wall has the only "complete" bird in the pattern...

 

And here you can see the Bunkbeds wall in place...

 and I even had to piece together the papers for this wall too.

 

And here you can see I have put the ceiling in place... 

it makes the space look so much cozier!

 

 And The Nanny's Room too....

 I am going to have to get working on the lighting for this!

 

And in the morning with just the natural lighting of daytime,

 I think it looks wonderful!

 

And the Bunkbeds wall too.... 

I think it is looking just as I hoped it would!

 

And The Nanny's Room..... 

a much darker, cozier space...

 But just as I had imagined it would look!

 

So you can see, Dear Readers, 

I have been making some Real Improvements 

And I don't mind at all that it is 

a Little bit of Deja vu!