I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Monday, October 12, 2015

Little Cutie



Hi! No, not Mo, tho he's certainly a cutie,lol.



Remember the sterling silver button hook handle I found a few weeks ago at the flea? I used it as a the stem for one of my velvet ''make do pincushions.



I've had the idea in mind for ages.


I have a stash of antique / vintage velvet and velveteen from my quilt dealer friend. His mother bought the fabrics from an old, abandoned millinery studio, in a small town in Illinois. The shop and the fabrics dated from about 1910, 1915.



It took me a week to get the pumpkin color I wanted, hand dying again and again. Velvet is hard to dye because the wet color is so different from the dry color.


I used a silk napped cotton velveteen.
The pumpkin is six leaf- or football-shaped segments. I always cut the patterns by eye, but I do make a paper pattern. I wanted a curvy Cinderella pumpkin shape.



The seams are embroidered [Mel helped me figure that out!] and beaded with tiny coppery purple glass seed beads.


Bottom half is filled with sand, then the rest is stuffed with shredded cotton batting which helps secure the stem.
Antique button on the bottom.


Frilly taffeta leaves, and silver curlicue.


I LOVE it. It looks just like I imagined.


I listed it both on eBay and etsy, I hope it sells, because I need new Mo-walking shoes.


Just to compare, look at these decorative, [admittedly much bigger] pumpkins, from, of all places, Neiman-Marcus. 125.oo each!  here  Adorable, I love the colors.
[These aren't even pieced, they're just a long rectangle of velvet gathered top and bottom.]

NMF16_H7WYX


I have a couple other items planned. I'm working on them in between redoing the house for Fall. It's looking good, pix later in the week.


And I'm making fall throw pillows for my friends who babysit Mo for me sometimes. He'll be spending the weekend with them while I recuperate from my ongoing treatment on Friday. This is the cool fabric remnant I found for their pillows.


Isn't it fun! I love that it is classic Halloween orange but instead of pumpkins or witches---it's creepy squiggly octopi.


Have a great week, is this weather amazing or what? Enjoy.

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach....









Don' like it, mom. It's scary!

7 comments:

  1. Great pumpkin! The handle looks great.

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  2. Very, very pretty! The Neiman Marcus ones are way overpriced -- for what? Yours is much nicer with all the detail. And great use of the button hook handle. I've got that same little Singer tin box. :)

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  3. That Octopus fabric is so fun and unusual!
    I LOVE your velvet pumpkin. You are so creative!

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  4. I think your pumpkin came out SMASHING! LOL okay, bad pun there.... But it really did come out just gorgeous. I can't believe anyone in their right mind would pay $125 for the others!

    The orange octopi fabric is so cool!

    I love that picture of Mo where he's on the fabric looking up at you. Great shot. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. NAILED IT!!! If you were going for a Cinderella pumpkin thing, you did great. I love it!

    The pillows are going to be fun. I like that the fabric isn't traditional.

    Stupid hot again here. I'm sitting on the couch eating chocolate Twizzlers, and even that's making me break out in a sweat. The evenings are nice though. Even in summer the evenings get a little cool here, so this warm stuff is kind of fun.

    Good luck on Friday :)

    Kelley

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for Friday wishes. It always goes better than I expect.

      Glad you like my little pumpkin!

      Your weather sounds nice! I m a bit sad to have summer go so fast. And we never did have any really hot summer nights for walking on the beach at midnight, warm air on one's face.

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  6. The punkin is boo-tee-full! love it and you
    strawberry

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