turkey feathers

Project Update

Last week was busy and I never got around to sharing a few little things I managed to make or finish the week before.  There was another drawstring bag with a mouse squeek inside, for a friend.  Embroidery added to the linen smock, and sent off to surprise someone special over here.  LK mentioned that she liked birds and butterflies so that made it easy to decide what kind of embroidery to do on it.  The butterfly is at the bottom near the hem.   I'm just so tickled she liked it.   And finally a note to say, thank you again to all who purchased mini treats from Grace's Etsy shop.  She is amazed and humbled and wanted me to convey her heartfelt gratitude for all the nice comments and notes that came in for her. 

We finally got the nice boxes and packaging we ordered and will have everything on its way soon.    Here's a sneak peek.  Grace added a little note to each one.  So cute!

Table for Two

I got around to making a tablecloth for the little playhouse table that I finally discovered here.  The scale is perfect and it adjusts to two different heights.  Plus both pieces come apart so it stores away easily too.  The downside is it's not much to look at:  so tablecloth to the rescue.  These table skirts are easy but I'd forgotten how much fabric they take.  I didn't think I'd ever come to the end of that hem either; tucking and easing the curves all the way to Siberia and back.   But it turned out sweet. And yes, I do fully realize that it's probably way too fancy and not at all practical for an outside playhouse.  I'm certain it will see a little mud-pie action, probably a LOT, but that's OK.  It's washable.  I'm still attempting to make a clean sweep of  things in the sewing room.  I'm already feeling lighter just knowing there's a bit less unused fabric taking up prime real estate in my storage bins.  If you have a bunch of material that you don't know what to do with, make one of these round tablecloths, you'll be flabbergasted with how much fabric gets gobbled up. 

A Tisket A Tasket

We finally made it out to the field to pick strawberries at one of the local farms just a few miles down the road.   It turned out to be a beautiful morning for it and we brought the Mister along with us (for his amusement), kicking off our Father's Day weekend on a "sweet" note.  With four of us picking our baskets were full in no time despite all the tasting. 

There's nothing quite like that first taste of  ripe tart strawberries picked fresh from the field.  Oh, and they do wonders for your complexion too, so absolutely no guilt if you accidentally eat too many. 

Our package from Club Little House had arrived by the time we got home.  (Thank You again Amy for organizing this fun swap!) Grace and I went wild opening all the beautifully wrapped little packages and wasted no time adding our new treasures to the dollhouse.   There will be pictures soon.  We should wait for everyone else to get their packages so as not to spoil any surprises. 

On Friday, I got around to doing something with these raggedy pants that Sarah handed me two weeks ago, requesting that I make patches for them.  Actually, I'd already patched one knee, and these were way beyond patching.  I would've tossed them, but this was not an option since she apparently adores them.  A LOT.  And they still fit.  So I did what I could with them, which was to cut them off above the knees and add a new hem with a little flourish.  Not exactly a new trick or Sunday go-to-meeting, but fine for play and most importantly she's really happy with them.  The "belt" on the khaki pair is serged to the side seam and has a little bit of velcro to hold the ties closed, so there's no fussing with ties.   I just used scrap materials for these, so there was zero cost.  The only downside, is that Sarah now believes her mother can work magic and this morning, I found a broken rubber flip-flop next to my sewing machine.  Hmmm...not sure what to do about that!

Text Embroidery

I just put the finishing touches on this pair of travel pillows that will be part of a raffle to help raise funds for a fellow home schooler and her daughter who will be traveling to England this summer to participate in a Shakespeare theater group. 

This had been a dream of theirs for many years, so I designed the pillows with those sentiments in mind.  For the embroidery, I used a simple font (40 pt. perpetua) reversed it, and printed it out on paper.  Then I traced over it with a transfer pen and ironed it onto the fabric.  Three strands of embroidery floss worked perfectly.

If you use more than that it will be difficult to define the detail of the letters.  Varying the colors gives the appearance of old type and just makes it more interesting, I think.  This was a fun project.  In the past I've added tiny stitched messages like this to quilts, and even clothing. 

Just think of the possibilities!

Spring Fever

Crabapple trees in bloom! Evidence that spring is around the corner despite the snow. Weather-wise March is always a mixed bag. For instance, today started icy, turned blustery, then rainy, followed by breaks of sunshine and sudden bursts of hail followed by more rain and sun most of which all happened in the time it took me to do the grocery shopping. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been dying to show these darling towels made by Carol, a stitching friend on the east coast where spring is still a ways off and spring fever is in the air. She used some of the bonus patterns (we sent along with her PatternBee order), to make them.  I love the soft colors and the towels she used for these. So pretty. Nothing like baby animals to usher in the season.

And some more new additions, the Squeeks are done, and my goodness I'm still trying to figure out how something so small can take so much time to make. So many little details. At times it seemed endless. But I'm pleased with them now and happy to send them out into the world to work their magic and make people smile. The pictures I took of them turned out pretty sweet, and I swear they were actually posing! One of these little dears is already on her way across the sea, flying over hill and dale to a new home and her remaining fourteen sisters are hopeful that each of them will soon be adopted too. They want me to tell everyone that they smell good because they are stuffed with lavender. 

Also, one more thing ---they are not for kiddles under 3 years old or anyone who will want to chew them, hang them by their tails, or pull their whiskers.  Thank you.

Update: All sold--thank you!

Yo-Yo Pillow

How about this for some eye-jolting color.

Behold the Yo-Yo!

If some of you are not familiar with yo-yo's pull up a chair and take a closer look. These are easy and fun and can be made in any size. One of my quilt teachers introduced me to them years ago and occasionally I go on an all-out yo-yo binge.

Yo-Yo quilts were popular during the depression too when materials were scarce. All you needed was a jelly jar and a pencil to trace circles onto fabric from your scrap basket. After the circles have been cut out, fold over 1/4" along the edge (finger pressing as you go) and take a running-stitch all the way around. Draw it up; flatten and pull your thread through the center hole and tie it off on the back.

Congratulations you have just made a yo-yo.

Make a few for practice, they get easier as you go. Did you know that there are all kinds of things that can be made using yo-yo's? Things like, dolls, animals, quilts, and pillows. Yo-Yo's are a kid friendly project for those who can handle a needle and thread.

 
Anyway, my yo-yo pillow began innocently enough early this morning when I decided to clean out a drawer full of odds and ends, mostly remnants from quilts and other projects. Not enough of anything to do much with, except for this rainbow assortment of yo-yo's I made eons ago. Too long ago actually to even remember what my original intention was for them. (I'm having too many of these moments lately and it is not amusing.)

In fact, there are many similar ufo's (Un-Finished Objects) hiding in nooks and crannies all over the place around here, like boobie-traps ready to spring. I never know when one will confront me and demand a place on the craft table like these did this morning. "Either do something with us, or throw us out once and for all", they cried.

(It is probably wise and good to have a wee bit of "crafting accountability" happening now and then, if only for one's sanity.)

Plus, now I have an empty drawer to fill.  Woot!

Rosemary Sachet

The herb garden is drifting off to sleep now. Here's how it looked this morning when I went out to cut a few springs of sage and thyme to dry for turkey day. Earlier, from the kitchen window I watched a flock of wild finches peck the remaining seeds from stems. I never cut anything down after summer, but leave it all to the birds. We really do enjoy watching them and the other animals that wander by searching for a small tidbit or crumb.   I think Rosemary is my favorite herb. It's an evergreen and therefore always available. Mine has grown into a big woody shrub. The leaves are heavily aromatic and I use them in cooking, but it can also be used to make interesting sachet pillows.  This one is stuffed with several handfuls of dried rosemary leaves (which deter moths and other insects), and will be going into my sweater drawer.

Little Red Cape

Fun sewing!  My new favorite little red cape, made from cotton fleece. The hood is lined with yummy red flannel.  Trimmed with small yellow rick-rack and flower buttons for extra cuteness. 

Click on image to enlarge. 

Made from Butterick #3041 (1993).

Dish Towel Baby Slippers

More fun!

I couldn't resist making another pair of these cloth baby shoes; this time with a red plaid cotton dish towel.  I love the way they turned out.  

Pom Pom Baby Slippers

Just for fun!  

These look simple, and they are, but also quite time intensive with lots of hand stitching.   I did enjoy making them though and love how they turned out.  The pom-poms are ball-fringe cut from a vintage chenille bedspread; soles are coarse-weave cloth, padded with fleece and lined with red-plaid flannel. Pattern from Handmade ZAKKA by le duvet doux (a Japanese import = no English directions).