From a Feed Sack to a Caddy

My dear dad is 82 years old.  These days he needs the assistance of a walker to get around safely.  I noticed during our last visit he had no caddy to hang off the front of his walker to transport his belongs when he went from place to place.  I made one for him out of a feed sack. It has two pockets in the front and one large pocket behind the two.  The button keeps the front from sagging when things are stowed inside.  A dowel in enclosed between the Velcro tabs on the ends to keep the caddy stable.  I think it’s going to work out just dandy.

Until next time…

I am living on hope and faith… a pretty good diet when the mind will receive them.

~ Edwin Arlington Robinson ~

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Polka Dots and Peppermint

Polka dots and aprons go together like peanut butter and jam.  The pink stripe reminds me of peppermint candy.  The combination makes this half apron really sweet.  The recipient loves quilting so I added a patchwork pocket using the two fabrics to make it more personal.  It is Pay It Forward gift for another lady who lives in Texas, and if all goes according to plan it will reach its new home next week.  Pink is the new owner’s favorite color so hopefully she’ll be pleased.

Because I constructed this apron using only fabric from my stash it is eligible for Angry Chicken’s current Tie One On theme…No Money.

Until next time…

There is no negotiation with truth. . . . ~  Ferdinand Lassalle ~

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Tie One On – 3 09

Angry Chicken hosts a “Tie One On” apron-crafting challenge.  This month the theme is “make an apron using materials from your stash ONLY”.  Several days ago I selected an old (not vintage), embroidered muslin pillow sham from my reusable linen stash.  I picked it up at a close-out store years ago with making something out of it, because the sham was not made for practical use.  It was designed like an envelope so I cut a bib, skirt and two pockets from the embroidered portions of the sham.  I used a lavender blender the back of the bib, the neck tie and the ties.  Here’s what I came up with.

If you are a sewer…why not join in the fun and tie one on?

Until next time…

I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. ~ unknown ~

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A Great Blog Find & A Giveaway

This morning while I was visiting Maryjack’s blog I read about a blog I’ve never visited before.  It was an immediate favorite, because we share a common bond…the love of fabric and patterns.  The Fabric Shopper is a sewers delight.  Check it out and see for yourself.

While you are there why not make a comment on the current giveaway.  Clicking on the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag will take you directly to the giveaway for the full scoop.  Do take time to browse this wonderful blog, because the sewer in you will love it, too.

Until next time…

Real commitment has no boundaries. ~ unknown ~

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Prairie Bonnet

I remember a while back a bloggy friend said she wants an old-timey prairie bonnet.  A month or so ago I found a pattern for one in a 50% off basket at my favorite little sewing shop and bought it thinking I might surprise her with one.  Today I got around to putting one together.  It turned out sweet, but I think I’ll tweek the pattern if I make more. There wasn’t a model handy around here this morning so a side shot is the best I can do.

After posting the first picture I decided to do the design tweeking I thought the bonnet needed.  I’m pleased with the outcome.  I tightened the elastic in the back of the bonnet which made the fit far more comfortable to me, and I added a “ruffle” on the bottom of the back to guard the neck from sun exposure.  There are already enough rednecks in this world. HA!  Just kidding.  🙂

If you are looking for ONE bonnet pattern in a full range of sizes from infant to adult and is easy to follow,  check out the Prairie Bonnet by SewBaby.

Until next time…

The Lord often digs wells of joy with the spade of sorrow.  ~unknown~

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PJ’S For Preston Pt. 2

Yesterday I had two projects on my “to do list”.  I completed Kirsten’s skirt adjustment and made a pair of pj bottoms for Preston.  The pants flew together they were so simple, but they looked lonely.   There wasn’t much fabric left, so I strategically placed the top pattern pieces on what was left and made a top to match.  The top has a pocket.  No boy should have to put his Matchbox car and frog in the same pocket so I cut an extra pocket and added it to the back of the pants.  “Grandma Loves Me” tags don both pieces.

 

My dogs are tired of me spending the day in my sewing room.  Maggie told me about it.  If she was a real girl she’d be in constant trouble for talking back. 

  

Emma stayed under foot.  She doesn’t talk back, but she definitely lets you know when she wants some attention.  Now that I’ve come out of the sewing room and moved on to other things, she’s asleep.  Go figure.

  

Bubba is snubbing me.  He’s tired of being ignored, and he’s not going to take it anymore.  🙂  Bubba’s not big on talking back either.  He grunts like a man.  🙂  He looks so bored.   I really should abandon the machines that captivate my time and spoil my DH and dogs.

 

 

Until later,

As one goes through life one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe,  you don’t move.      ~ Katharine Hepburn ~

 

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Home again, Home again, Jig-giddy Jig :)

A not so strange thing happened to me on the way to the fabric store.  I started to pass our local thrift store, and it sucked me in.  I confess I didn’t try to resist very hard.  As a result, I’m going to have Saturday Show and Tell.  Here are my thrifting finds of the day.   

 

 

The blue basket and two metal shelves (one is sitting on the other) will be used in my never ending effort to organize my sewing room.   (I don’t know how people manage neatness with only a sewing corner.  My hat goes off to them.)   I’ve yet to learn to knit, but the set of needles was too amazing a deal to leave there.  I have great hopes of one of my knitting friends visiting for a few days and passing along what they know to me.  I’ll be all set when that happens.  There are three skeins (one already in a ball…bless the winder’s little heart) of Lion Brand Homespun and a piece of really pretty fabric.  The detail is not very clear, but it’s a very delicate, cross stitch pattern (not really cross stitch).  It may become pillow cases.  It’s got a nice, smooth feel to it. 

After leaving the thrift store I went directly to the fabric store without stopping at GO…I did not go to jail either.  🙂  I always take my time when I get among all those bolts of fabric.  Narrowing down what I will take home is so hard, and I rarely feel like I narrowed my selections down quite enough.  Checkout is the only part I don’t love…except that my finds are truly mine when I walk away.   Every piece I bought today was at least 30% off. 

From the top:

Father’s Day is coming…rapidly.  My dad is very difficult to buy for.  His sight is very compromised by Macular Degeneration, and his poor body is worn out from hard work and longevity.  Many moons ago he graduated from Mississippi State.  I bought State fabric and will make him two pillow cases.  The fabric has a wonderful smooth feel and will be perfect to lay his head on while he’s in bed.  Maybe they will give him sweet dreams of college days when he was young and didn’t hurt so bad.

The purple batik is for my Fat Quarter Swap.   Before the end of the month I have to cut it and get it in the mail.

The blue cornflower-type floral really struck my fancy while I was looking for my next Barcelona skirt.  Sadly there was not nearly enough yardage…but I bought what they had anyway.  It will make a gorgeous apron.

The next two are my next Barcelona skirt…the blue tie dye should sew up nicely, and the 100% cotton broadcloth will make a really comfy lining.

The two greens are for the same purpose…a skirt for me.  This is my “going green” effort of the week.  HA!  

 

 

Kellie used the word thang” in a comment she made to another post and made me think of THAT PURPLE THANG.  If you sew and have not discovered this wacky little tool, I recommend you ask a local shopkeeper to look into getting some.  They are handy little boogers.  The are better than any awl I’ve ever used for making points perfectly pointy.  The curved tip can be used to push or pull a point to it’s pointiest.  The curved end is also great for pushing curved seams out while you press them flat.  The flat end is wonderful for turning small ties and tubes right-side out.  The slit in the flat end is great for pulling ribbon or small elastic through casings, etc.  This little tool costs under $3.00 at the current rate of inflation, and it’s usefulness exceeds it’s price by far.  I would imagine it does things I have not discovered.  I misplaced mine one afternoon, and that gave cause for a search party until I found it.  I bought a standby just in case I lose it again, so if you decide to buy one…save yourself a trip and buy two or more.  They make great little “happys” for your sewing buddies.

 

 

 

Until next time…

Be happy.

May you have the two greatest gifts of all… someone to love and someone who loves you.  

                                                      ~  John Sinor ~

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Saturday, All Day Long

Good Saturday morning.  I was up late last night sewing so getting started this morning has been slow.  I made a simple top in solid white cotton that turned out very nice, but it’s a little bit tight in the bust.  If I make the pattern again I’ll change the design of the sleeve.  I found it to awkward to finish the seams by serging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My projects for today are for grandkids.  The first one is a skirt that has gotten too short to pass Mom and Dad’s inspection.  The floral fabric is pretty much impossible to match so we decided to follow the rules of the day and go with an entirely different b&w pattern for a lengthening band around the bottom.  The longer I look at it the more it grows on me.   The fabric for the added band is “Diamond” by Loralie Harris.

 

 

The second project will be a pair of PJ pants for our 5 year old grandson.  The other day I was trying something on his little sister, and he asked me if I would make something for him, too.  That’s a no brainer…of course, I will.  He approved of a John Deere fabric the last time he was here.  Now that I have my serger back it’s time to get on it.  The only drawback…is after I prewashed this fabric it wrinkled pretty badly…the ironing job is going to be large.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve got one more thing to share then I’m giving in to the urge to go to the fabric store.  I need some batik fabric for a fat quarter swap and some more lining fabric for another Barcelona skirt.  O, yeah, I was going to share something other than my plan to go in search of fabric.  My mom loves aprons.  Since I started making them she periodically “orders” aprons for herself.  She usually supplies the fabric and sometimes throws in an extra piece as a bonus.  She long ago quit sewing but still has a decent stash she can’t let go of.  (Some things about a seamstress never changes.)  🙂  Not long ago Mom ran across an apron pattern she cut out in the 70’s but never stitched.  She gifted the pattern and a piece of fabric to me.  I am to stitch her apron…precut and make another one from the striped denim.  I guess that’s a decent deal…afterall Mom is my mother and that IS a retro apron pattern.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time,

Have a nice Saturday.

I found these words of wisdom that seem so very appropriate for these times.

Long ago… I resolved that I would permit no man, no matter what his color might be, to narrow and degrade  my soul by making me hate him.   ~ Booker T. Washington ~

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Ta Da…B&W Polka Dots

The b&w apron is complete…and cute, cute, cute.

Front view:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back View:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and my reluctant model…he said, “You better not put my face on there.”  LOL.  I wouldn’t dare.  That’s Emma with my DH.  She didn’t mind her face being pictured at all.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time,

try this…

Smile.  Everyone else will wonder what you are up to.

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Half Apron From A Dish Towel

It’s been a couple days since I managed to get any sewing done.  Rest has been utmost on my agenda.  This morning I decided I would sew whether I felt like it or not.  I needed to choose something that did not require a great deal of concentration, because I’m having a pretty rough fibromyalgia day.  Here’s what I came up with.

Sometime back I heard a lady say she’d like to have an apron made of terry cloth, because it would be more absorbent than woven cotton.  On my last trip to town a terry cloth dish towel with a rooster on it caught my eye, and I thought of that conversation.  Roosters are among my favorite things, so the towel seemed like a perfect piece to stitch into an apron.

Here’s what I came up with…The first shot is the unstitched apron pieces laid out to see how it would look.  The second is the completed project.  The stripes turned out to be difficult to match up on all sides which was disappointing.  (My DH says he really likes it.  That worries me just a touch 🙂 , because a sense of style and color is not one of his many strong points.)   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time…

think about this…

Time is a companion who reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again.   ~anonymous quote~

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