Off to the Quilt Retreat

I am leaving today and will soon be quilting away with 10 other women. I hurriedly packed because I am leaving a day earlier than I expected. It means more time with my mom! I am not taking my computer, so I won't post until next Saturday. Hopefully I will have great pictures to share when I return. I pray that everyone has a very blessed Easter, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior! See you when I get back!

Margaret Smith -Gardiner Maine

I posted a while back that I had made a trip with my husband to Hebron KY which is very close to Cincinnati Ohio. I managed to find Casablanca Vintage and they were in the middle of remodeling. It was hard to see everything they had, but I spotted this cute handbag and carried it around with me the whole time. I asked, "How much?"and the sales clerk said $20. I was thinking that seemed a little high to me, but I really like this cute floral handbag. It was in perfect condition and the little twist clasp worked, so I bought it. Recently I noticed it has a tag in it that says Margaret Smith, Gardiner Maine. I googled it and she is evidently a pretty collectible gal. She started making colorful beach totes in the 1940's. Some have labeled her as the "vintage Kate Spade," but I just like the cute little handbag. There are quite a few on ebay and etsy that are selling for $40 or $50. I guess I got myself a pretty good deal!

Lisette 2209-not too bad

My hubby and the 3 kids all went to town today and I stayed home to finish laundry and a few other household things. I managed to get this pattern cut out of the 2 materials and have sewn quite a bit of it this evening. So far this pattern is well written and easy to follow. I have had a few operator errors today though. Twice I have sewn wrong to right sides and had to rip it out and do it over. I must be tired. Everything is going together smoothly, but after trying it on, I think I will need to adjust the length of the bodice. I believe it is going to be too long because it seems to stand up off my shoulders. I don't have the armholes finished with bias tape yet or the zipper in, so that might change the fit some. These are both cheap materials ($1.75 a yard), so if I get a good wearable muslin out of them-great! If I can get the fit right I want to do it out of some better fabric. So far so good! This will probably be the last project I complete before I go on the quilt retreat. I can't wait until next weekend!

These just make you want to scrub the tub!

Tea Rose Home had a great little tutorial on how to make a boring set of rubber gloves into cute lady like cleaning attire. I have seen similar things for sale and they aren't particularly cheap. Mygloves were $1 and my half yard of material was $1.50 and that will make a bunch of these. You do have to use vinyl or oilcloth material because they will get wet. Also, don't forget to angle the cut to accommodate your arm and elbow. If you make a straight cut, they will end of being more like rubber evening gloves-who needs those? You want to be able to move in them. You can also find cute flannel backed vinyl table cloths that are fairly cheap. I found a really cute teal blue with white polka dots for $3.99 and it is 60X84. My machine didn't really like the rubber gloves. The opening is small and even using the free arm was impossible. I think I might sew these by hand or on my serger in the future. Anyway, they look cute and would make a great housewarming or wedding gift.

Nitty Gritty

We went to Louisville yesterday to visit the Volvo dealership so they could do a software download on my car. I purposely went early so we could check out a vintage store I found online. It is called "Nitty Gritty" and it was extremely cool and very neat. They have 2 full floors of vintage clothing in great shape for both men and women. We ended up finding a 70's outfit for my son. We are having a decades party (60's, 70's & 80's) for our final school celebration. I found a couple of other cute things on their "rough rack" and I hope to visit them again. If you are ever in Louisville you need to check it out.

GSP news

I posted back in Nov/Dec about the long application process for GSP (Governor's Scholar Program) and how it would be a really great opportunity for my son to go. Well we received a letter yesterday letting us know that he was ACCEPTED! So sometime between June 19-26 he will leave to stay on one of five KY college campuses for 5 weeks. I already miss him! If your state has a governor's scholar program, it is definitely worth looking into.

The Ups and Downs of Tucks

The Sewing Book by Alison Smith is a great resource to have in your sewing library in my opinion. It is full of lovely color pictures and many neat projects in the back. One that caught my eye was a cute skirt for children. It is a simple elastic waist skirt, but with the cutest row of tucks at the bottom that go up and down. She then embellished the up tucks with embroidery flowers and stems. I have never made tucks on anything and I found it isn't as easy as it looks. I wanted them all even and I don't think I stitched them down in the right place, but the effect is basically the same. I will want to practice this more because I love the look. I also used my blind hem foot. I have never done a blind hem on any machine. I usually do a machine hem that shows or I do it by hand. This is also a technique that will require some practice to get totally perfect. It is just fun learning and trying all these new things!

Terra Cotta Coasters

Mod Podge is just pretty awesome in my book. I primed and painted (outside or in a well ventilated area if you try this at home) 3 more sets of terra cotta coasters this past weekend. I am trying different things for the centers. I have some really great wallpaper books that I got for free last year that have some beautiful prints. I am cutting circles out of those and decopauging them down. I also had some Amy Butler cards that I cut circles out of and then used adhesive letters. This is cute, but I think I like a more sophisticated stamp letter. These are for my patterns sunroom. Haven't decided yet whether I will leave them like they are or Mod Podge something over the letter. Thankfully these are super simple and very forgiving when it comes to changes. I have a few more ideas I want to try, but I need more coasters. Total price for 4 coasters= $3.00 + paint supplies. Not a bad little gift for under five bucks!

Lisette 2209

Last night I managed to get all of the paper pieces to this pattern cut out. I read through the instructions and they seem very thorough, including little Lisette tips. I love this dress. It has front darts that are sewn in toward the middle, so they overlap at the waist. There are darts in the back bodice as well (they don't cross). I am going to use these 2 cotton shirting/broadcloth materials to make it. I was reading about a duo tone dress over at Curves, Patterns and Pins and it turned out really cute. Thought I would try my own! Anybody else used a Lisette pattern?

Can you have a manly pig?

I put together my lastest felted pig yesterday. I used one of the sweaters I thrifted while I was in Hebron with hubby a few weeks ago. I brought home 6 or 7 new sweaters for felting. This is a brown argyle-100% wool. Isn't he just a manly little pig. I haven't put eyes on him yet and I haven't decided if I want to use Fisherman's Wool yarn to outline him like I did my red one. I will figure it out soon. This one went together much quicker than the first because the learning curve is gone. I really like these little pigs. If you decide to make one, don't forget to sew the legs back so that they will stand up straight once stuffed.

Cutting In

No I am not talking about lines. That is a whole different story! I am talking about a baking term. When you "cut in," you are mixing a solid, typically shortening or butter, into flour or some other dry mixture. You "cut in"" until the solid looks like tiny peas. When you incorporate this fat into the flour correctly, the result is flaky perfection! You can use 2 knives or try a fork, but a pastry blender is best. Mine is from Pampered Chef. I have had it for years. I think it is was inexpensive at the time, maybe $5-$6. Want deleciously flaky biscuits or scones? Use the right tool and learn how to cut in properly.

Busy!Busy!Busy!

I just feel like this past week and weekend were a blur! I really love weeks that I get to stay home and not be on the run, but this was not one of them. Part of it was trying to finish my daughter's 4H project. Her friends were also trying to finish theirs, so we had many trips to the extension office to sew as a group. You can see in the picture that she is making great progress. All she has left now are buttonholes and sleeve hems. Friday, she and our 2 neighbors were going to sew, but the Homemaker's Bazaar was this weekend and they needed the room at the extension office. My house became the new sewing spot. Three girls sewing, cutting, serging-Yahoo! One was already done with her 4H project and she wanted to make a bubble skirt. We cut out a B5613 for her with the pleats. It is all pinned and ready to sew the pleats down. I love the dot material. I also found a cape pattern on Friday and have made a test one for the little girls at church. It has a yellow lining. I think I want to do pink ones for them with some sort of embroidery on the front.

Last but not least, I worked on my stones with the pieces I printed off on my laser printer. I really like these. They will look so much better when I print them off evenly. These were just scraps of paper. I have several other ideas in mind for this and I will probably try them this week.

Sunday was worship service and a short sitting in the shade under our big maple tree before heading out to small group. I fixed 2 chicken pot pies-yummy! We talked about "How to know that God loves me personally." I can look at my children, be in wonder at how our bodies work and we stay healthy, be thankful for friends who pray for me, read and understand how God sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins and know that His Spirit is within me and be humbled by His grace and mercy toward His children. That is all pretty personal to me. Have a great Monday!

And the Winners Are!

Thanks to all who participated in the Spring Cleaning/April Fools Day giveaway. The winners are as follows and I will contact you by email if you left one: Trudy-first pair of earrings Becca-Pink earrings Alexis-Strawberry earrings Andrea-Last pair of pearl earrings WlydeHills-pattern 5215 Rachael-pattern 9519 Jeannine-pattern 8314 sdarends-pattern 2697 Aurora-pattern 5688 KeriLynn-pattern 6042 Amy-pattern 4681 Creations-pattern 9361 Feisty Redhead-patterns 8051 & 5854 sz 12 sodapop-pattern 5854 sz16 Stella pattern 5214 Congrats and I will get these to you as soon as I get addresses.

Ladies Night Out

Last night the women of our church met for our monthly get together. We had so much fun! I took all my supplies (Stazon inks, clear stamps and tiles, ModPodge, etc) and we made coasters for gifts. It is an inexpensive gift (under $5 for 4) if you already have the supplies. I didn't make any last night though-I got to hold a new baby all night so his mom could make coasters with her friend. I loved every little squeak, slobber and coo that baby made last night! I am working on a new project of my own for the tiles. This is a little preview. I need more paper and then I plan on putting it together. I will post the finished results soon. It will also make an under $5 gift. I did use Momento olive for distressing ink around the edges of the paper. You can see a little difference in the pics, but it does look better in person. The distressing just adds a lot to the project. (Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of yourself distressing the edges of something??-HaHa) I have been working on sewing with my daughter and a few other girls in 4H this week. I will post some pictures of her jacket soon. Leaving soon to hopefully finish today.

The eyelet skirt

My daughter ripped this page out of an April 2011 magazine because it had a cute pleated skirt on it. That is why I just made the Butterick pleated skirt pattern for her. I noticed that it also had an eyelet skirt that was $158-(you got to be kidding me right)? My mom gave me a bunch of her stash fabric last year when we went on the quilt retreat and I remembered there was some eyelet in it. I simply left the fabric doubled so that it would have its own slip and then put in a double elastic waist like the one in the picture. I used 3/4 inch elastic. The border meant no hemming-Yahoo! It turned out really cute and the cost was less than $1. That is much better than $158! It needs to be washed to soften it up and then I will decide if it needs to be pressed.

napkin ring pin cushion

I found a little bag full of old napkin rings in Cincinnati last week and I thought the perfect way to recycle them would be cute little embroidered pin cushions. I used several stitches from my Doodle Stitching book and some of the hot pink and white linen from my daughter's dress to make my first one. Pretty cute for a napking ring huh?

Soap covers and spring cards

We have had pretty severe weather here today, so I have tried to stay off my computer. It is a bit calmer now, so I thought I would post a few mini-projects. I made a few "'sacks" for the soaps in my bathroom today. I really don't like the ugly pump containers sitting on our sink, but we use them all the time and it would be inconvenient to put them anywhere else. I decided to make little drawstring covers for them today. I think I like looking at them a little more now. I also made a few spring cards and this is one of them. I used orchid Brilliance ink and some Momento inks, a few inkadoo clear stamps and then made a flower out of organza to add. Other than that we have been doing school, downloading Tapesty Year 1 for next year-Yahoo!, grading a physics test, hemming pants and pinning skirts to hem tonight. All around a pretty good day. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Little Boy Bowties-Too cute!

Here is a link to a fairly straightforward tutorial for little boy bowties. These would make every little boy look like a little man on Easter Sunday! http://papernstitchblog.com/2011/03/29/diy-craft-project-how-to-make-the-cutest-boys-bowtie-in-time-for-easter/

Pincushion Giveaway Month at Sew Weekly

Need a new pin cushion for yourself or want to win one for a friend or family member? The link below will take you to where you need to be to sign up to win. The contest is going on for a whole month. Even if you don't win...they are super cute to look at and you just might be inspired to make your own. The lilac pincushion is todays giveaway.http://www.sewweekly.com/2011/03/announcing-the-30-days-of-pincushions-giveaway.html

No Foolin' Vintage Pattern & Jewelry Giveaway!

Even though it is April Fools Day, I am not foolin' when I say that I am trying to clean out my patterns. I have twelve patterns and 4 sets of vintage(clipon) earrings to giveaway. All patterns have all pieces. The envelopes are questionable, but the back area that gives fabric and notion requirements is fine on all of them. So you have a chance to win one of these! Here's the scoop on how to enter.

For one chance: leave a comment including an email where I can let you know if you've won

For another chance: You can follow my blog (make sure you post that you are following as an additional comment-if you already follow you can post that you follow as well)

The giveaway is open to US readers due to shipping costs. It will stay open until April 8th and then I will use a random number generator to pick 16 winners!

So here's the loot:

Butterick 6042 size 12 Bust 34(70's?)

Simplicity 5854 size 12 Bust 34 (1973)

McCalls 5214 Girls 12 bust 30 (1976)

Simplicity 5854 size 16 Bust 38 (1973)

Simplicity 9361 size 16 Bust 38 (1971)

Butterick 4681 size 12 Bust 34 (60's-70's?)

Simplicity 8314 size 18 & 20 (1977)

Simplicity 9519 size 12 Bust 34 (1971)

Butterick 5215 size 12 Bust 34 (late 60's?)

Simplicity 8051 girls size 12 Bust 27 (1977)

McCalls 2697 girls size 12 Bust 30 (1970)

Simplicity 5688 girls size 8 Bust 27(1982)

The four pairs of earrings are shown in the pictures above. They are in pretty good shape. May need a little TLC. All clasps work.