by dennis999 03 Feb 2014

Easter Project:


My Lady Love (aka: 'Er Indoors) has instructed me to produce a number of items that she requires for her Easter Project. This all came about because some idiot (my sister) sent her on a chocolate decorating course for her Christmas present! Accordingly, she now wants a number of Easter-themed bags and baskets to hold these chocolate delicacies for distribution around the small village where we live. I suggested getting some paper bags from the local shop but 'the look' I received told me that this was a non-starter. And so, I resorted to those trusty people at Embroidery Library where I found their lollipop holders, lace baskets and tie-up gift bags. Here are a few pictures of the lollipop holders and lace baskets that I managed to get finished before my machine gave up the ghost on me (Grrrr). I now await a visit from the service engineer before I continue my duties in the man-cave.

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by debbiegreer 15 Apr 2014

I love these .So pretty. Wish I had seen them sooner. I make and sell 18" doll clothes. These would have been so pretty with the Easter dresses for the AG dolls

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by sdrise 14 Apr 2014

Love the baskets and the colors you chose. I love Emb Library designs too. Nice job! Suzanne

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by castelyn 14 Apr 2014

Stunning, well done. Hugs Yvonne

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by stork 13 Apr 2014

WOW! These are wonderful. Hope by now your machine is up and running.

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by suelyn7 13 Apr 2014

I have just realised this post is a few weeks old. sorry dennis I know now your machine was fixed and is running good now !!!! hope thats still the case. suelyn

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by disney 13 Apr 2014

Do they have any Free one .
Thanks

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by suelyn7 13 Apr 2014

Wow Dennis they are brilliant you have done a great job. Did you get to see much daylight . Sooo sorry to hear your having machine problems again. Hope you upand running soon. Best wishes and you too have a great easter maybe you will get a lovely easter treat too, suelyn

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by shirlener88 13 Apr 2014

Oh my goodness Dennis - I bet they call you the King of Lace. You did a wonderful job - I love lace, myself. Shirlene (also known as the CUTE Queen of Lace - well I used to be, when I was here all the time - they may have given the title to another by now.)

3 comments
asterixsew by asterixsew 13 Apr 2014

No Shirlene I am sure the title is still yours

cfidl by cfidl 14 Apr 2014

Absolutely still yours!

kezza2sew by kezza2sew 14 Apr 2014

we always remember you as Queen of Lace for sure...

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by dragonflyer 11 Apr 2014

Hmmm, which ones did your wife "borrow"....and have you replaced them yet?

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by decojo 11 Apr 2014

Absolutely beautiful!

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by Leaha 09 Apr 2014

I can see why you lovely wife borrowed these, they are perfect for anyone. I hope when I try this I'll have as pretty a finished product as you, Sir. Lovely.

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by graceandham 08 Apr 2014

Glad this came back to the top, Dennis. These are gorgeous! I may have to move closer to your village. (Currently in Alabama, USA)

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by zedna 08 Apr 2014

Well done Dennis !

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by baldacchino 08 Apr 2014

You Are Good Dennis keep up the Good work

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by lidiad 08 Apr 2014

Wow, great job, Dennis! I have missed this post in February.
Lidia

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by kezza2sew 08 Apr 2014

I must have missed these, but Boy aren't they wonderful....my little GD's and I had a trail run today on a chocolate egg hunt in my front garden....was fun and I even got to eat one of their chocolates.....baskets are sweet.

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by disney 05 Feb 2014

I do like the Easter Baskert`s They are very Cool and Beautiful !!!!
Love your Work.
Ann

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by pennifold edited 05 Feb 2014

Wow you're a good egg (pun intended) Dennis to make these beautiful Easter baskets for Ann and your lovely little village. I love anything like this and made the little Easter goodie holders from Golden Needles 2 years ago for our grand-children. I'll put up the post for you to have a look at. Well done on all the things you've made they are wonderful. Great to see your smiling face on here again - of course we can't see it, but I can just picture you grinning from ear to ear when you write/answer your posts on here! Love Chris (aka Mrs P) or as Trevor and Rumpole would say "She who must be obeyed" he he he!

1 comment
dennis999 by dennis999 05 Feb 2014

Thank you for your kind words Chris and for the link to the goldenneedles site. Of course, I shall not show these to Ann otherwise I will have even more jobs to do!! That said, I am still waiting for the engineer to call to repair my machine. Very frustrating!!

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by mariagiannina 04 Feb 2014

Oh, I love those baskets!

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by marjialexa Moderator 04 Feb 2014

Great job, Dennis!! Glad to see you back at the machine. You must be glad at this point that you do live in a small village, since it seems as though everyone there will be getting an Easter treat. Can I move there? Is it like Port Wen on Doc Martin? England seems such a lovely place as portrayed by the BBC. Actually, I'd do anything to get out of these snowstorms we're having in Pennsylvania, USA, hee hee hee. Looking to see the rest when your machine gets fixed, hugs, Marji

2 comments
dennis999 by dennis999 04 Feb 2014

Well Marji, thank you for your kindness. Sadly, not everything you may see from the BBC is entirely accurate. For example, most of the Doc Martin series have been filmed at the height of our summers. You would not get them down that way filming at this time of the year. Much of Cornwall and the south-west generally is being battered by 80-90 mph winds and driving rain tonight with considerable damage being done. The Somerset Levels (usually a most beautiful part of the south-west countryside) has been under about ten feet of water since Christmas and all the signs are it will get worse before it gets better. Poor souls flooded out of their homes and businesses over Christmas have once again had to abandon their properties. It's a sorry state of affairs!

marjialexa by marjialexa 04 Feb 2014

Ah, well, it seems the weather over the whole world is getting really goofy. Look at the poor Philippines, who expected that? Maybe I ought to be happy with my snowdrifts, at least we don't get floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, droughts, earthquakes, sinkholes, etc. Just snow. Tons of snow, sigh. But the summers are beautiful.....in summer this could be Eden. What a trouble floods are--had my basement in one house flood twice, because the city sewers backed up. And I thought that was bad--can't imagine losing just everything, grabbing what you can & leaving--I'm so sorry for them, I do hope you have some help from the government to get them back on their feet, or help from somewhere. Ah, well, enjoy your Easter creations, and hope for better things to come. Can't wait to see Ann's chocolate creations! Hugs, Marji

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by buffy1 04 Feb 2014

awesome!

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by lenamae edited 04 Feb 2014

very nice work Dennis .. My husband some times does things for me. Girls some husbands are pretty great guys.
lenamae

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by evie 04 Feb 2014

The are so adorable, lucky little kiddies...

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by airyfairy 03 Feb 2014

You have done some really exceptional work Dennis. Hope your machine is up and running soon and I am sure Anne does too!! Wish I could go on a chocolate course. I could not even buy a chocolate thermometer here - had to get one from UK!!

2 comments
airyfairy by airyfairy 04 Feb 2014

My apologies to Ann for spelling her name incorrectly

dennis999 by dennis999 04 Feb 2014

No apologies necessary.............what's an 'e' between good friends? If you need anything from the UK for your chocolate making, then just let me know. We would be delighted to get items from Ann's supplier.

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by noah 03 Feb 2014

one word only EXCELLENT))Hugs

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by sewilso 03 Feb 2014

Everything is so nice, lots of color, I love it!

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by capoodle 03 Feb 2014

Her beautiful creations will be highlighted by your lovely lace baskets and tags.

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by cherylgauteng 03 Feb 2014

These are really nice - love the bright colours. Good to see that you are back at the wheel.

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by nonna57 03 Feb 2014

Dennis.... Wow you are such a good boy to make these for Ann. Simply Stunning, You have put me to shame . Mrs P :)

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by mops Moderator 03 Feb 2014

Hi Dennis, I think 'er indoors must be quite happy with the bright and colourful collection you made her so far. I made those baskets a couple of years ago and found it quite hard to get the sides flat and parallel and the handle straight instead of bent and floppy. My best one was your brownish one (purple in my case) and even that one showed signs of protest when I filled it with chocolate eggs. One would expect an Easter basket to show some backbone and stand proudly straight when being filled with goodies, but mine did not seem to have any sense of pride.
I hope your machine will be back into service soon! Take care.

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by hagridsmom 03 Feb 2014

these are too cute - no wonder your machine decided to take a short vacation! That is a lot of FSL. It's kind of addicting tho isn't it? I've done lots of Christmas ornaments and lately some tiny butterflies for hair clips. Never made a basket yet. Hopefully the machine is feeling better now - or will be soon. Be sure and post gorgeous pictures of the chocolate we won't be eating! Those baskets are so lovely - you'll have to get a lot of Easter grass to help fill them or a ton of chocolate!

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by sonjapotgieter 03 Feb 2014

Too cute

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by asterixsew Moderator 03 Feb 2014

These filled with chocolate, well there will be a queue at your front door.
Lovely work and a joint family effort

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by michemb 03 Feb 2014

these will be a big hit, they are all lovely. Your choice of colors are great,
good job, she will be happy and now you will have to make more lol

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by vickiannette 03 Feb 2014

ahh! the look...think I'll have to take some lessons from your lovely wife. Beautiful bags, haven't done much lace myself so I'm a bit envious.

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by oaro 03 Feb 2014

nice projects

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by dennis999 03 Feb 2014

Thank you all so much for your kind words. This was my first attempt with lace...................well, to be honest the first one I tried simply disintegrated in the hoop. I then discovered (after taking notice of the EmbLibrary project sheet) that there are several 'weights' of soluable backing and I should have been using a heavier product such as Solvy Heavy. I found this to be the answer. The four individual pieces were then immersed in a bowl of hot (tap/faucet) water for ten minutes and allowed to thoroughly dry with the aid of some paper tissue. Although the product instructions suggest spraying the completed basket with a spray starch, I didn't find this necessary.
I will post a thread on the embroidered tie-up bags once these are completed, followed by the finished article filled with the chocolate treats (that's assuming that Ann gets her act together before Easter!!!).

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by gramsbear 03 Feb 2014

You did great!!! These are soooooo very CUTE!!! Hope your machine is not going the way of mine just before Christmas! Hahaha! BUT, life happens when we plan differently! Love those lil' baskets!!! Hugs, Judy

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by bevintex 03 Feb 2014

You did a fine job and in the meantime while the emb machine is being fixed maybe she could school you in the fine art of stirring the chocolate pot.
Bev

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by gerryb 03 Feb 2014

Wish I lived in your village! Lovely. Hope your machine is up & running quickly!

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by cfidl 03 Feb 2014

Absolutely lovely! FSL is so much fun! So glad you are creating even if it is homework!

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by carolpountney 03 Feb 2014

Lovely baskets and the colours are sooo good

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by spendlove Moderator 03 Feb 2014

They are wonderful - well done for responding correctly to "the look".

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by elemausi 03 Feb 2014

You will get a lot of compliments for this lovely work.

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by jrob Moderator 03 Feb 2014

I love the baskets! I hope when the candies are done, you will show how you and wifey combined as a team for some beautiful (and yummy)decorations.
Sorry to hear about your machine. At least you have a good head start on Easter designs.
I tried FSL one time. I didn't know how vigorously to wash out the vilene so I used the sprayer on my kitchen faucet and it looked like a forensic team needed to be called it. My poor FSL was murdered!!!!

2 comments
cfidl by cfidl 03 Feb 2014

No excuse - Do it again!

cfidl by cfidl 03 Feb 2014

put it in an old ice cream bucket and soak it.

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by debswebster 03 Feb 2014

My goodness Dennis, FSL to boot, that is brave. You are really somewhat too clever. Spreading the joy!

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by gerryvb 03 Feb 2014

wow, very impressive. They are great, lady love will be very pleased :)

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by basketkase 03 Feb 2014

How awesome, Dennis....Your significant other is so kind to do this and you are kind to make them for her.....you could have embroidered on the bags, but it wouldn't be so delicate...LOL!

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by highlandermom 03 Feb 2014

Very cute confectionery holders and baskets. Did she take a cake decorating class too? At least candies work great in the small baskets,bags etc. Then there would be more involved making loads of ahum cake carriers.

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by laffma1 03 Feb 2014

Such a lovely collection for your Lady Love's sweet creations!! I'm sure YOU will be well rewarded for your efforts. The two of you make a great (and creative) team!

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by yvonnevanwerkhoven 03 Feb 2014

I really like this...well done

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by maggiecal 03 Feb 2014

So pretty, now i have to pop over to Embroidery Library and look at their baskets.

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by sewinhuggs 03 Feb 2014

Those are to sew adorable. They will be a super bigg hit.
Smiles
Sewinhuggs

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by rescuer Moderator 03 Feb 2014

You have done lovely work! I do hope she is pleased. I imagine your machine will be up and running soon. If not -- pop over and borrow mine for an afternoon.

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by pldc 03 Feb 2014

Really pretty & remember Dennis she is always right LOL (aren't we all) Hugs Loralye

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