A HALLOWEEN TAIL

Hello, I, James T. Crow will be your narrator, Halloween is a time of fantasy, witches, ghosts, creepy crawlies, all type of hobgoblin & scary stories abound, spooky tales of yesteryear, from long, long ago... so here, just for you, I have knitted these words together to create a magical scarf of whimsy to wrap around

your neck and keep you warm & toasty on a cool Autumns eve, enjoy my little "Fractured Fairy Tale!"

Once upon a time, far, far away, lived a tiny witch, as a matter of fact, this witch was the witchiest of all the tiny witches, a mostly good witch, hardly ever bad, that is not to say never! No, never say never, ever!

She lived in a crooked old house smack dab in the center of a quaint Lilliputian village, just 2 miles from Bremen as the crow flies. A charming place, but a spooky one too! There were very tall, very old trees in this small township, frightful trees,

wicked trees and maybe even a few downright evil trees! And if you aren't careful, one of those rickety old oaks will snatch you up, right by the scruff of the neck! Chomp, Gulp, Yikes! So take care when you are walking through on a dark night, for you

never know what you might find lurking, you see it is urban legend that the tiniest of witches wanders those woods riding

her magic broom, every year on Halloween, looking for her long lost bff, she had known since childhood,

a pretty young thing, so very petite, with beautiful eyes of blue, but the tangle is she was transformed and became a very good, not to mention smart witch when one of the elves (who works for the village shoemaker) made her a bright red cape out

of some left over scraps given to him by his friend, another elf named Rumpelstiltskin.

And you know, she wore that pretty red cape just about everyday! (I bet you know where this is going!)

Now, that tiny witch goes looking in the last place she remembers seeing her bff,

which would be the great library way up on Old Mother Hubbards Hill.

Come with me, follow along, but shhh, take care to keep quiet, be cautious for there might just be someone watching you! Oooo, I just got a cold chill!

Back in the dank, dark corners of that library, sits a book upon a high shelf, now this is no ordinary book, for you see

once the spine has been cracked & the pages opened this very special book takes one very long, very deep breath,

brushes the dust from it's crevices and comes to life! Believe it or not! And let me tell you this book is full of surprises!

I no sooner got the first page turned when, Flack, Flap, Flutter!

Out shot a shiny black crow with glowing red eyes! No kidding! I rubbed my eyes to make sure I saw what I was seeing! And I did, see it, I mean!

And can you guess what he said to me? Well, can you?! He cleared his throat with a gurgle & said "Go ahead, make my day, pluck a

tail feather & use it as a book mark, I insist!"

then he skipped two steps over to the ledge

and flew right out the window! Holy Moly, color me amazed! Most certainly a what you call, enchanted moment!

Well, anyway, as the story goes, that little witch was roaming those woods on the look out for Red,

thats what she called her, when sure enough she spotted that bright red hood in a clearing through the trees!

"Hello there, she called out, remember me?!"

But little Red didn't hear her,

she was just opening the very large door to enter her Grandmama's cottage. "Yoohoo! Anyone home, I've come to visit, and

brought you a basket of goodies Dear Granny!"

Red entered the bedroom to find Granny fast asleep," Oh Granny, I'm so happy to see you,

how have you been all these many days?"

"Eehem," (clears throat)

"Why, Hello my love!"

"Soooo very happy to see you again!"

"It's been such an impossibly long time and I've missed you!"

"What did you bring me in your little basket?"

"Why Granny, you look different, haven't you been well?"

(Oh boy, we're getting to the good part now!)

"My, my Granny, What big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see you with my Dear!"

"Oh, Hee, Hee Granny,

you're just so silly!"

"And, No Way, Granny,

What big ears you've got!"

"All the better

to hear you, my Dear!"

"Ha, Ha, Ha, Geez Granny, you really crack me up!"

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! (ANNOUNCER) "Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program to bring you a special bulletin from

the Intercontinental Radio News. Professor Pierson of Princeton Observatory reports something moving towards the earth
at a high velocity. At 9:15 pm Eastern standard time, seismograph registered a shock,

it is reported that at 8:50 pm a huge, flaming object, believed to be a meteorite, fell on a farm at Grover's mill, we have
dispatched a mobile unit to the scene!" (SWING BAND PLAYS THEN CUT TO ANNOUNCER)

"We take you now to Grover's Mill, New Jersey." (CROWD NOISES, POLICE SIRENS-ANNOUNCER) "Just a minute!"

"Somethings happening!"

"The top is beginning to rotate like a screw!"

(ANNOUNCER, FRIGHTENED & ALARMED) "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed!"

Whoops!!! Wrong story!!!

"Well Granny, I think I've had just about enough of this nonsense,

I'm not stick'n around for dinner,

"See you later, alligator!"

"Kiss, kiss & Adieu!"

"Well, isn't that just a fine pot of stew, or none should I say?!"

"I'm off to find Hansel and Gretel, those two are not nearly as clever, and as I recall, a might bit chubbier too!"

So there you have a tiny tall tale, a bit of Trick and a smigde of Treat,

take good care of yourself & your little ones too,

you never know who might be prowling about, just waiting especially for you!

Happy All Hallows Eve & Halloween too! A cute little tale from me to you!
~CAST OF CHARACTERS~
Red Riding Hood...................................Juliette Evertson
Littlest Witch.........................................Juliette Evertson
Granny/Wolf..........................................Juliette Evertson
Alien.....................................................Juliette Evertson
Narrator................................................James T. Crow
Red eyed crow......................................Heckle Crow
Costume & set design...........................Sandra Evertson
Director................................................Romeo Evertson
Producer...............................................David Evertson

A Stitch in Time...

She watched and taught the girls that sang at their embroidery frames while the great silk flowers grew from their needles. -Louise Jordan Miln

I cannot count my day complete til needle, thread and fabric meet. -Anonymous

This was a particularly interesting project for me to work on. I was completely surprised and delighted to find that while working with needle and thread this way it stirred up great feelings of nostalgia.

Something that was very unexpected when I first began thinking, planning and sketching out the details of this piece.

As I sat ever so slowly and carefully stitching, I thought of the generations of women that came before me doing the exact same thing,

making the same type of crewel stitches albeit most probably not the same design.

It felt very fulfilling and oddly connecting, save for a few minor details, like light for one.

I realized that my brightly lit workspace would have been simply an impossible dream to an 18th century woman, who would have done all her work and craft by a few flickering candles!

Small things we take for granted now were once a very precious commodity, like needles and pins for instance.

Before industrialization each needle was made by hand, very time consuming and expensive to produce!

Can you just imagine that?!

If you have ever run across an elaborately decorated needle case at an antique store or museum you get some idea of how highly prized and carefully kept these items were.

Reminds me to appreciate them all the more, and see them for the miraculous, tiny works of art they truly are!

I have had this antique cotton corset for some time now, I knew I wanted to create something wonderful with it but wasn't quite sure exactly where to begin, but one day while doing some rough sketches it just jumped out at me, and off to work I

went, it's funny how some things just fall together isn't it? As though they were suspended out there, somewhere in the air, waiting to drop into some unsuspecting passerby's head! Thunk!

One of the best things about being an artist is that art need not be based in reality or even function for that matter!

The only rule is: There are NO Rules!

What could be better, really who could ask for more than to have the freedom to create with utter abandon!

Fantasy in every shape and form can be created and utilized freely without explanation or excuse!

So combining a vintage corset with a much loved old lace blouse seemed perfectly fitting to me.

I did learn that when working with fragile antique fabrics it may be necessary to add a backing to strengthen and stabilize it,

so I added a piece of unbleached muslin to the back of the corset before I did any embroidery work on it.

I've always loved the traditional Tree of Life floral design popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, and thought it a perfectly

fitting motif considering that the actual garment was something created to literally squeeze the life outta ya!

A beautiful yet unusual pattern with a decidedly Indian influence of colorful exotic fantasy flowers and vines growing out

in all directions. While working on this project I found that the art of embroidery has a very direct way of getting you in touch

with the past, and was truly a fast track to a softer more romantic time when it seemed as though time stood

still, yet slowly, quietly marched on.

I used reconfigured 18th century fashion plates from my private collection to create the two gentle ladies seen here in the

design, and cut up a Jessica McClintock lace blouse, can you believe I actually wore that top back in the 80's!

Yep, with a long denim skirt, a tanned leather belt with a big silver buckle and cowboy boots!

What was I thinking?!

But as I seem to recall the " Prairie " look was a big trend back then.

Remember, just moments before the" Grunge" look swept the nation!

Hey....I heard those snickers and giggles out there!

Any way back to my story, I used Victorian laces gathered at estate sales and flea markets.

And just a few months ago I ran across an antique dealer who was parting with all of her embroidery goods, needles and hoops

and boxes of fine embroidery thread in every imaginable color!

And best of all the thread was all wrapped up on pretty paper tabs and even sorted by tones!

I really hit the jackpot with this one, a chance meeting with that lady set the wheels in motion, and being that I love to have a try at a wide variety of mediums I was excited to give it a go! Only one thing this modern girl could complain about, my hands got a little stiff and I couldn't get it done fast enough!

For all of the nitty specifics and gritty details on how to recreate a Baby Doll Corset garment of your very own, as well as viewing some of the most beautiful creations I've ever seen anywhere, ( I've got my eye on a gorgeous tiered ruffle skirt that would look just smashing with my corset!) Really you will be stunned, one of the most beautiful issues of ~Belle Armoire~ ever! But I must warn you, run, don't walk to secure your very own copy of Stampington & Companies, Sept/Oct issue of Belle Armoire. Trust me you'll be glad you did!