server issues now seem to be a thing of the past – thank goodness. when i first realized there was a problem last wednesday night, i was frustrated. tried to convince myself that some quiet time would be nice.
it didn’t work.
i missed you.
in cleaning out during my forced electronic exile, i found my old smocking machine, gave her a dab of wd-40, and rolled a piece of batiste through (breaking only 42 needles in the process and inventing more than a few new cuss words). a former jeanne taught smocking and enjoyed smocking clothes for the chiclets.
being a bag lady then and now, i pieced the salvageable ticking fabric from grandmother’s clothespin bag around the smocked panel and created a little tote.
that’s making a silk purse from a sow’s ear, eh?
Glad you are back, it’s nice to be missed.
I find smocking fascinating. I tried to do it once. I got as far as marking all the dots on fabric, running the gathering threads. The pleats never lined up and I gave up before I got to the smocking part. ‘course I didn’t know about machines.
Very interesting roots.
hey debra, yes, i suppose it is . . . which is another reminder of my grandmother who spent her adult life doing that very thing. “making the best of” she called it. thanks for the comment. your reminder/perspective will increase my enjoyment of this bag.
steph, the machines help. they’re frustrating as all get-out when needles start to break, but they definitely help with the gathering. back in the day i did a few pieces that were hand-gathered. they weren’t nearly as much fun cause i spent so much time in the prep stage!
sure is nice to find you back “home” on this blog. Love that your new tote has a history.
yeah, acey, i’ll be toting around a lot of history (actually, HERstory), won’t i? too bad it’s not “old” money . . .
Welcome back and glad you are sorted out. I love that bag-smocking is another of those techniques that looks so good and makes me want to learn how. It looks perfect with the ticking.
well, judith, the internet fiasco is sorted out. me, i’m not so sure about;) you’d enjoy smocking. i begin to drool imagining what you’d create, given what i’ve seen of your exquisite work.