Squaw Stitches at Christmas

You may be wondering what has been going on over here at Cottage De Haven...Is the art room done?  Are new delicacies being fed to the dogs?  Has Sir given any new tidbits of inspired opinion?  NO.  But I will show you the things I have been working on lately...

 We went to my Grandma's surprise 70th Birthday Party...Apparently Sir only felt Madam Lu worthy of picture documentation from this event...

We went to a Christmas Party at my Great-Uncle's and First Grade Teacher's house.  This is Madam Lu with my grandfather and I love it that they are mirrored...Yes, Madam Lu's outfit does coordinate with the previous party dress.  I love coordinating party attire!

 The minor Sirs had their Christmas Program...which was actually a Patriotic Program.  Sir E is offering his arms in a dramatic pose...

 While Sir M sings his little heart out... (next to the tall dark-haired kid)

 Deer Hides.  I am making jackets for the minor Sir's Native American/French Trader/Whatever Else They Imagine-Suits.

 After selecting the proper hides to make the pieces of the jacket, cut the skins.  Here I have cut strips to make some fringe.

A simple yard stick does the trick to get approximate measurements for sleeves and placement.  I use a washable marker and then use baby wipes to wipe the marker off when done.

 Here are my pieces, all cut and ready to stitch.

 This is a cool poker-tool my grandfather lent me.  It makes it much easier to run the needle through the hides.  I use a scrap piece of dry-wall underneath the hides to ensure I am getting through all of the layers with the poker.

 Here I have used a Lazy Squaw Stitch on the right, which will be exposed and on the left I used an internal running stitch, which will not be exposed.  There is an extra piece of hide sticking out between the seams.  I will cut this into strips and it will be decorative fringe.

 This is Scarlett.  She is my seamstress-in-training.

 And the jacket is done.  I will probably add some beading or embroidery around the neck, assuming I have time (I still have to make another whole jacket for the other Sir).

 The sleeves are gorgeous...natural ends, about 4 inches of fringe on the outer seam at the fore-arm, and then the lovely Squaw Stitch up to the shoulder.  The hole on the shoulder is great too, very authentic!

 The back of this jacket is my favorite!  It has an AWESOME TAIL!  The sides of the jacket are fringed as well.

 Classroom Christmas parties yesterday.  Sir M's class is doing a "build an igloo" relay.

 Sir E's class was calmly snacking and watching a movie...see Madam Lu trying to steal someone's treats?

 Ok, and this is a Caribbean Lime Bar desert I made last night.  I used the rest of the key-limes from the chicken recipe.  The crust is smashed ginger snaps and coconut.  It tastes like a nice tart lemon bar to me...maybe just a bit more tart than a lemon bar...but the crust is amazing.

Well, that is what I have been up to the past couple of days.  My next post will have some pictures of our Cottage at Christmas and why decorating with an opinionated 1.75 yr old and 2 Dobermans is a study in time wasted!

Remember to put on your snow pants and go play in the snow this week...ahhhh snow!!!