turkey feathers

Polka-Dots This Time

Another apron-smock finished!  It's a reverse of this one, same pattern.  From same re-purposed duvet cover.  Only I seamed up the back this time, and left an opening big enough so I can just slip this on over my head.  Didn't put elastic in the sleeves either, just left them loose.  I like how breezy and comfortable this is.  I'm imagining how perfect it will be for summer days spent in the garden or in the kitchen making jam.  It definitely has that casual, carefree summer vibe.  Click on the image for a larger view, and take a gander over here to see the back. 

I can't convey enough, how much I love this type of facing.  Love it.  It's a facing and a bodice all in one.  All so neat and tidy on the inside too.  What's more, trim, lace, or rick-rack can be added as you top-stitch it into place just by sliding it underneath as you go along. 

More rick-rack across the pocket.  And that chick there?  Well, it's the LAST of the wool blanket projects.  Can you believe it?  That magic blanket has finally been reduced to a pile of scraps.  I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen, weren't you?  Now it's time to get started on that pattern booklet, eh? 

L O S T & Found

So tonight we pick up the story threads of our ill-fated crash survivors and manically endure their miserable suffering, strange mind games, sordid pasts, and gross medical procedures (what IS the fascination with that anyway---ewwww!), all in the relative comfort of our living rooms, while anticipating answers to questions that only lead to more.  Will we ever find out what's really going on?  Is the Island monster a supernatural figment of Ben's imagination?  Will Jack ever pull himself together now that he's back in the "real" world?  Or is he stuck in a parallel universe?  Why does Kate have Claire's baby?  And who's side is Sayed on anyway?  My head is spinning.  Oh, how we love a good yarn!  Soap operas, certainly, have never been more dramatic and complex than L O S T.  Though I can still remember rushing home from junior high every afternoon and switching on Dark Shadows, that creepy, campy saga with Barnabas Collins as its central figure who was secretly a vampire, with a shrink no less---that was endlessly wandering in search of lost love!  As a young girl, the irony and satire never seemed to enter my mind, however I was absolutely rivoted by the characters and their apparent daily peril.  Some things never change I guess.  Anyway, picking up another lost thread, (sorry for the bad pun) is this bag that I made last month and never got around to sharing here. Some of you might find it interesting because it's made from eight pre-cut charm squares.  They've been sewn together 2 x 8 to form a rectangle, and fortified with iron-on woven interfacing on the back.  Once you've made this foundation you can just fold it in half and sew up the sides.  I added box corners and lining to mine, and a few embroidered and appliqued elements for fun.  And fancy handles.  Sometimes you need fancy handles.  All in all, makes a nice little gifty-type bag, the finished size being about 7 x 7-inches.  (In this case, it was filled with Easter candy for Ginger.) Full view here.

Freezer Paper Print-Outs

It's our turn to jump on the bandwagon with a few freezer-paper projects.  Ginger made these t-shirts in preparation for her new little niece who is due to arrive in a few more weeks.  I guess we have bunnies on the brain with so many of them romping around the yard right now.  Plus the tags on these say, Rabbit Skins (from Dharma Trading Co.), so I guess that did influence our decision.   (If you haven't seen this technique before, Craftster has tutorials.) I prefer using the C. Jenkins 8.5 x 11 freezer paper sheets rather than the paper rolls from the grocery store though, mainly because you can feed these sheets into your inkjet and print any line design directly onto the paper.  This is great if you want to adjust the size as I did, but it can also save time if you're making many.  (Of course, you can trace designs right onto the paper too.)  Just a few more nifty uses and applications for the freezer sheets here; including printing directly onto cloth as I've done here. 

I'm probably the last one on the block to try this, though I've often admired quilts with old photographs printed onto the fabric and always wondered how difficult that might be.  It made me a bit nervous to tell the truth, but it worked fine.  I did have some ink smudges in places, so make sure your cloth is securely stuck to the paper before you proceed.  I used vintage pictures and photographs printed onto light-weight muslin that was trimmed to fit the sheet.  (After printing, let it dry completely before peeling off the freezer-paper backing.)  I imagine you could make all sorts of labels too.

I used a few as appliques on the newborn onesies I've been working on for baby grand-daughter #2.  She'll have lots of hand-me-downs from Sister, but it's always nice to have a few new things too.  Love how sweet these look with just a touch of blanket-stitching around the neck and a rosebud or bow, or in this case, the printed appliques.  (Used a tight zig-zag machine-stitch all around the raw edges.  Close-up view.)  TIP:: For cotton knits use a peel-away iron-on stabilizer on the inside of the garment in the area you're working on.  It's also a little tricky keeping these onesies flat under the sewing-machine needle, requiring a bit of adjustment as you go along, however, not too difficult.  My daughter-in-law will have to let me know how they hold up in the wash.  Since newborn clothing is outgrown in a flash, I doubt it will be much of a problem; though it's probably wise to use permanent or archival ink cartridges for making things that you don't want to fade.  I'm thinking about what to do with the other images I still have here.  Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Updated 4/29 to add:: I didn't use Bubble Jet Set, but did do a wash test on these printed images and had no fading at all.  I used an Epson printer, and their inks are made from permanent pigments, rather than dye-based types, such as the ones used by InkJet printers, which do fade and wash out more readily.  So in that case, you would need the BJS to preserve the ink longer.

Proceed With Caution

Pure poetry.  More of the ornamental fruit trees burst with bloom over the warm weekend.  The honeybees and hummingbirds were buzzing all around them.  If you're still waiting for Spring where you are, I hope these bring joy.

I went outside to take a picture of the trees and found a mama bunny sunning herself on the mossy road behind our house.  She sat perfectly still while I took her picture, and was probably on the look-out for Peter and Benjamin who are often seen sneaking around on this side of the fence. 

*Thank You* for the slipcover love.  I'm happy if I've inspired anyone to think about recycling and re-purposing old chairs and linens in a fun way.  I've covered up three so far, and what a difference it's made.  The rooms look so much nicer.  More furnished and pulled together.  The next chair I cover will probably be the one I'm sitting on.  Need to finish up my apron-smock first.  Can't wait to tell you all about that.  There's a fun twist to the story.

It does seem like my email box is bulging more than ever these days with requests for patterns and "quick" tutorials after sharing something on the blog that I've made.  (Sorry folks, I don't have one for slip-covers.  Since chairs come in all shapes and sizes,  I can only give general information and point in the direction of the many excellent books already written on the subject.)  Lately though, I can't help but wonder if readers are genuinely this needy, or if it's true that there's covert blog-mining happening for the purpose of commercial enterprise.  I've actually been observing subtle forms of this since I began blogging, but it really shocked and saddend me when I saw this.  Is there no shame?  (Hugs to you, Hillary.)  I'm actually beginning to consider that maybe, my crafty-blogging days are numbered.

Back on Earth

Finished my sewing-chair slip-cover yesterday!  The arm rests are gone, thanks to the Mister coming to my aid with a special tool that was needed to remove them.  I'm pretty happy with this.  It's simple but looks like an upholstered piece.  A little wiggle-room was necessary for this to slip on and off easily, so the extra fabric was pulled together with a drawstring and casing in the back.  A little elastic would've worked too.  Some of you sent me links (thank you!) to the beautiful chair covers you made, and it was helpful to see how you worked out this problem; mostly with sashes that wrapped around the sides and tied in the back.  I thought about doing that.  But this chair is not sleek.  And the thought of a big bow in the back just seemed wrong.  Like a hippo in a tutu.  Seriously, that's the image that came to mind.  I'm off to find more stuff to cover-up now.  Including myself.  Because I have a new/old smock pattern to stitch up!  More about that later...

At The Helm

This crazy-looking thing is next on my list of office-chair make-overs.  It's the one I use at my sewing machine.   I've had it for ages, and it's pretty comfy, but it reminds me of the one Captain Kirk navigated the Starship Enterprise from.  It's even got buttons on the sides.  These don't summon crew or launch rockets, they merely adjust the arm rests.  Still.  Those things really need to go.  No idea why I've left them so long.  As I was measuring the seat, I noticed it was about the same size as the back of the chair, only turned the other direction.  Saved myself a little time here with cutting one pattern instead of two, although I'll have to alter it slightly to cover the back-brace.   The pretty paisley fabric was formerly a king-size duvet cover (IKEA 1999), that I bought last year at a flea market.   I couldn't resist.  It was a lovely 82-inches wide with no middle seams and a bonus polka-dot backing.  The very fact that they were red polka-dots sealed the deal.  Basically, just two large sheets sewn together.  Very simple to turn inside-out and trim away the side seams, which is what I did yesterday.  I'm actually further along on this than the pictures show.  Hope to finish it up today.  Anyone else make one of these chair covers?

Singing in the Rain

The rain has returned after a few sunny days of glorious weather, and with it the robins.  At the moment, there's a flock of them stalking the lawn as worms emerge to escape the sodden soil.  Watching them this morning, reminded me of two pictures I found last spring at one of the local traveling vintage fairs, that I meant to share but never got around to.  At first glance, I thought they'd been stitched recently because they were in such great condition, but when I turned them over I found old crumbling magazine pages from the 1950's that had been used to seal the backs of the frames.   These were likely done from a kit, and every wool stitch is perfectly done.  As someone who used to do quite a bit of needlepoint myself, I can really appreciate the work that went into these.  The birds are done in petite-point, which accounts for the finer detail.  Click on the pictures to see the tiny stitches here, just amazing. 

And another office-chair slip-cover to share.  The ruffle-foot did not work on this medium-weight upholstery/drapery fabric, so there was some fiddling with it, but I'm really happy with how it turned out so no complaints.  More pictures here.  I'm going to try using an old bedspread next.  Looks like I've got my work cut out for me this weekend!

Sitting Pretty

I was amused after reading Toni's post about kid-inspired fashion and had to share this brilliant combination that just entered the room, worn by another little gal named Ginger.  Credits::  Hand-knitted leg-warmers compliments of big sister (Grace), gypsy skirt and mod socks from Mini-Boden, tops from Old Navy.  All purchased at different times, for different seasons, but perfectly beautiful, and thoughtfully chosen for this chilly spring morning. 

More pretty things . . .

For ages, I've been thinking about covering up some of our office chairs and finally got motivated.  Finished this one for the sewing room yesterday and was so tickled with it.  This is essentially, a two-piece slip-cover made from a vintage percale sheet.  I'm on the prowl for more of these now;  have lots of chairs to cover, and as I've just discovered, they're perfect for this.  The skirt-bottom is actually the top part of the sheet, so no hemming required.  Used my ruffle-foot attachment (Bernina #16) to gather it all up (love LOVE that thing--saves so much time; remember it only works on light-weight fabrics though).  If you decide to do this, you'll have to do your own measuring, because office-chairs are different shapes and sizes, but I can tell you that a full-size sheet will provide the width needed to go all the way around the seat edge if you plan to sew this as I've done, with the hemmed edge at the bottom.  Leave a 4" space for the back brace; turn under the raw edge, then top-stitch.  I made paper patterns of the seat and back shapes as guides before cutting them out and used a little pink-piping on the back piece to provide color detail.  (Piping also helps reinforce the seams and gave this a nice upholstered look.) I think it turned out pretty sweet despite the fact that there was a large adjustment screw-thing right in the middle of the backside, which accounts for a little pull at the sides, but it's still a major improvement over its former life. 

Tot's Tote

There's just no end to the creativity out there, and here's proof of that.  This darling tote and teddy bear set was made by Mercedes, a turkey feathers reader in New Zealand, who sent me this photo and gave me her blessing to share it on my blog since she doesn't have one (yet).  All this was for her daughter's little friend, who was having a party to celebrate her fourth birthday.  Mercedes used my Hugs & Kisses tote bag tutorial and personalized it with the child's name, then made a matching doll quilt with the left-over scraps.  In fact, she told me that all this was created using what she had.  She purchased the bear though, and used this free pattern tutorial for the dress, compliments of Raggedy Old Annies, along with another old doll pattern for the accessories.  Last I heard, she'd taken the stuffing out of a cushion she wasn't using to make little lambkin.  I just cracked up when I heard that.  Apparently her young daughter found it with the seam open and stuffing hanging out and quickly declared, "I didn't do it!"  Nothing will be safe now...

Dancing with Myself

The sky was all ablaze this morning as the sun came up.  It was so pretty.  I thought I'd brave the elements and go out and take a few pictures, however the birds swarmed me, all chirpy and expectant.  It seems I'd neglected the feeders this week with all that's been going on, so I put my camera down and went to fill them, skidding perilously on the half-frozen deck nearly killing myself.  Needless to say, by the time I'd finished pouring bird seed the sunrise had lost it's fire and I was freezing.  So, unfortunately only this one rather pitiful snapshot was taken.  But, I do have other pretties hot off the ironing board to share.  Like another bonnet!  Can you tell I'm having fun with these?  This one's made from pre-cut jelly-roll strips sewn to a (cotton-batting) foundation piece, just like the XOX tote bag.  I lined this one with the same double-sided flannel I'm always raving about, and added store-bought crochet lace to trim it.  It's such a cozy little topper, like a tiny quilt for the noggin.  Using Miss T to model for me again.  She's quite toasty under the pink-bunny doll quilt too.  I've still got a few of these mini-quilts left and might get around to putting them back in the shop sometime, but I'm feeling generous today so this one's up for grabs.  Just leave a comment and/or share your favorite dance song and I'll toss your name in the bonnet and pick one on Monday.  Everyone around here knows I'm a dancing fool, it's also my favorite way to exercise.  One of the *coolest mom's* I know shared this song in a recent post mentioning how she embarrassed her daughter by dancing.  In contrast, my tween and teen girls jump up and join me when I start acting up!  I've been rocking them since they were babes in arms so it just seems natural to them I guess.  And thanks Toni, I'm totally adding Blue to my playlist!  The next time we all get together we need to trade some of our tricky dance moves!