But I'm here! It's a rainy day today so it's a perfect time to blog and show you what I've been up to!
My brother-in-law had his 60th birthday party this past Sunday. A huge birthday party to celebrate a huge birthday.
Without thinking too much, I knew what our present to Mark would be. Along with a case of his favorite, Heineken beer, I made him this:
Mark's pride and joy has always been his 56 Chevy BelAir. So I created this wool penny rug for him using pictures from his own car and from the internet to create the pattern so that I could get the details just right. I stitched a pocket onto the back and added a dowel rod so that it can be easily hung on the wall.
It took a long time but I absolutely loved doing this...not just because it was for Mark's special day but I loved the whole process of seeing it all come together, stitch by stitch.
The most exciting part of stitching the car was when I stitched the tires on. It was at that point that I knew this project was going to turn out super nice.
My favorite things about the car that just made me giggle with excitement was :
The BelAir logo and ...
The door handle and lock. I used silver metallic threads for the chrome accents.
I wish I had pictures of his expression when he opened the gift. I'm pretty sure he liked it .. a lot. :)
So this birthday party was a surprise birthday party. We all met at his Knights of Columbus hall and waited for my sister, Carol, to walk in with the birthday boy. They were late with their arrival which is understandable but ....
their lateness only added to my anxiety.
I was having a big problem there at that hall without my sister being there.
You see, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were friends and relatives of Mark, but didn't know ME.
Since everyone always remarks how much my sister and I look alike, the people who didn't know me, automatically assumed that I was Carol. I lost count of how many people did this...greeted me as if I should know who they are. I was confused at first until I finally realized that they thought I was Carol.
It got to the point that I sat down in the back of the hall, away from everyone hoping that perhaps people wouldn't notice me. I was really concerned that people would think that Carol was being snobbish for not properly greeting them.
After her and Mark arrrived, things got much better.
It was a good day and I'm sure Mark was feeling pretty happy by the end of it ... He's Irish and everyone knows how much he loves his Irish whiskey ..He is well stocked in whiskey and beer now!
Happy Birthday Mark!
That's all for now. I've been busy with stitching finished things for orders, which I much prefer to do over writing pattern instructions. I have a couple more orders to finished up and then I'll have to take the time to write pattern instructions for two designs that I've finished. After Mother's Day, I'll show some of the finished things that I made for the orders ... I don't want to spoil the surprise for a particular regular reader!
Happy Day everyone!
6 comments:
Your brother should have been really thrilled with his birthday present. You did a awesome job getting all of the details right. Have a wonderful week. Your Missouri Friend.
Guinness...not Heineken.
what a great idea! My first car was a 57 DeSoto - I loved that car. My Dad put a lot of work into it for me (btw, it was 1966 - I'm old, but not that old!). I may do some searching and try this myself. I'm sure your brother loved this.
Mark enjoyed your rug so much, he struggled to hold back the tears! I'm so glad you put in on your blog. This rug is a piece of art and is haning in a prominant place in our living room. But, three lashes with a wet noodle.... he would spit out Hiniken beer. You know better than that...it's the good IRISH Guiness beer that he loves. Jimmy knew the right kind.
casserole carol
What a lovely and personal gift you made for your brother-in-law. My dad was quite the car collector and would have loved this!!! I think that is so funny that you got the beer name wrong. I would have done the same thing. I would have mixed up Coors and Budweiser or whatever. LOL! You know your penny rug stitching so you can be excused for getting the beer name wrong. :-)
That's a great job you did with the car!!! What a great gift!!!
Lois
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