Tale of the Lost Lace...

'Twas the day after the Christmas and...  there's a lot to be said for feeling grateful and abundant.  Our Christmas celebration was intimate -- just my husband, two daughters and I -- but we spent most of the day on the phone, thankful to have loved ones to wish a merry Christmas.  The house isn't even in too bad of shape.  We managed to keep the majority of the mess concentrated to the "Christmas Tree Room" (aka the "Grandma Room" the other 11 months of the year), but there is plenty I could and should be doing besides starting a blog right now.

We've finally reclaimed our home from Dear Daughter #1's show choir party, though some strange remnants remain, tucked strategically in corners that everyone but me sees.  We have a guest coming for dinner tonight (Dear Daughter #1's bf), and I should be planning for our New Year's Eve party next week. 

So why am I wasting time worrying about lost lace?

It started with my great idea to refashion sweaters and give them as Christmas gifts.  I have had a couple of successes (or at least a couple that didn't make what my daughter calls my "frequent failure club"), so decided instead of making jewelry, my usual gift go-to, I'd acquired enough experience to create something gift-able to five loved ones.  Three have been delivered, the fourth is in the closet awaiting my friend's December 29th birthday, and the fifth... well, that is a problem.  Fortunately, her birthday is also on December 29th, so I have three days to get this done.  With or without the lace that I'd carefully picked out, left in the piano room, scooped up from my daughter when we were cleaning for the party, and put away where surely I'd never forget it.

Sadly, writing about it has not triggered where I actually put it.  Maybe if I rest on my laurels a bit and show how I refurbished the other four sweaters...

I love to use scarves.  A trip to the Fall Craft Show was very, very fruitful this year:

The best thing about the craft show scarves is that there is a woman who comes twice a year selling the lacey scarves that are actually two different kinds of cloth with extra lace embellishment.  I asked for her card so I could call her for more, but she didn't have one.  Hopefully, I'll see her again in the Spring.  I've folded the gray scarf to try to show you what I mean about the two different kinds of cloth with the lace.  They make beautiful sleeves without itchy lace actually against your wrists.

Of course, Licorice saw that I had the camera, so here he is. 

Plus, I should probably explain the wayward addition of the shirt.  My Dear Mother-in-Law was creating wine bags out of shirt sleeves this summer and save the remaining vesty part for me to use as trimming.  It was one of those broomstick-type shirts from the 90s, so you can imagine how cool the wine bags she made from the sleeves looked.  However... how to use the "vestiges"? 

Or should I say, "Challenge accepted"...

As you can see, I hadn't pressed the front part where I covered slitting the sweater open (I think I recently read that this is a "placket", but I'm not really sure).  The rosettes trim are important because of who I gave the sweater to.  My Dear Mother-in-Law and her sister used to make fabric yo-yo's in the 80's... gazillions of them from what I'm told.  So this is my homage to the vestiges of a blouse and yoyo's.  I didn't like how the centers of the yoyo's looked, and covered them by sewing glass beads from my stash.  I guess I just can't get away from my jewelry go-to.