Remember that project I said I was doing for my mom? Yeah. It's big. Big and geeky.
Years ago, my mom told me how much she loved the banners hanging in the hall of Meduseld in the Lord of the Rings movie. So I made her one. It was about three feet long, and looking back at it, I shudder at the amateurish sewing, the icky materials, and the giant iron print on the polyester velvet I left trying to press the seams.
A few years later, my dad wanted one, too. So I made him one and that one looked better due to the lessons I learned doing the first one.
After seeing my first banner at my mom's last summer, I thought it would be cool to make her another one out of better material. I was thinking about calling her to talk to her about it, when she called me up to ask me to make one similar to this one from the movie:
She wanted it to be a surprise gift for my stepdad, but she spilled the beans so it's no longer a surprise--oh well. Anyway, it's huge--about six feet long. There's probably a thousand yards of embroidery thread on it so far.
It's mostly upholstery weight cotton velvet and bridal satin. Mine is wider than the original but I wanted it that way since it's going to hang alone on a huge wall.
I have to admit, I hate using the satin stitch on my sewing machine with heavy fabric. I'm actually sore after a few hours working on it because I have to practically wrestle the fabric through my machine. But I like the end result. Thankfully I'm done with the appliqué and now I just need to add a few details, bind it, and then make the sleeve for the top. That's going to be leather, and I'm waiting on my leather stamping tools to come in the mail so I can get started on that. I'm excited to try leather stamping--it's always fun to try something new.
In other news, this weekend I'm running my first 5k in Safety Harbor. I'm so nervous it's not funny, but I'm excited, too. I think I'm more nervous about the photographers at the finish line than I am about the race--I'm so NOT photogenic, and I can only imagine the disaster that will be me at the end of the race: sweaty, lumpy, and tomato-faced. Oh well. As long as I finish, right?? Right.
3 comments:
Trust me, you won't even notice the photographers! I've done three races and I was just happy to be finished, red-faced and all.
Whoah!! That i some banner! Worthy of a greaat hall, indeed. Clever girl.
And, dude, even attemping a 5K makes you a winner, never mind the finishing! You go!!!
Geeky and gorgeous, you mean. LOTR and velvet and and and and... I love it.
My favorite part of this post, though, is your "tomato-faced" remark. As someone who turns bright red in the face any time she exercises, I feel for you, friend. But red in the face or not, how awesome that you are running a 5k! Go Jenn!
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