selvage cuff

I could have sworn I posted this project over the summer when I made it. When I put up the Waste Not, Want Not quilt I was going to reference this as my "starter project". A quick look at my archives and then my picassa account proved it didn't exist in blogland.

So here you are, the project I used to get my feet wet before starting the selvage quilt.

Like a lot of you who have accumulated a decent amount of selvages, but are afraid to just begin, I decided I should do something with less of a commitment.

A simple rectangle of muslin is the base (just as with the quilt blocks). This is where I played with how closely I could edgestitch my strips and how I wanted to balance plain and printed pieces. You can see on this project I chose to elimate any of the actual fabric print.

After the selvage piece was put together, it was sewn right sides together with another piece of muslin with an opening on one long side for turning. Do the usual thing - clip corners, turn the cuff right sides to, and press that baby flat. I closed the opening with two rows of edgestitching, added some vintage mother of pearl buttons and snaps for the closure.

My cuff measures 3" by 7 1/2" when laying flat. I'd suggest a narrower width for anyone wanting to make their own - 3" is too large not to take the widening of the forearm into account, so my cuff is tight on one edge. I also have a small wrist, so you'll probably want to add some length the other way.

A dear friend arrives tomorrow from Dallas. I'll be taking a little break to have some girl time with her.

the kids

This year's visit to the pumpkin patch:

Trixie wound up chosing a more reasonably sized one. Ellie's outweighs her. Next year there'll be a new rule - you must be able to lift your choice.

We did manage to grow three pumpkins in the backyard this season. Two were attacked by critters early on. One medium sized, but still green, pumpkin is safely housed in the basement waiting for it's big debut next week.

a bunch of barrettes

I made these a few weeks ago and never got around to posting them:

They're a great way to use up ribbon scraps - each barrette only uses about 3" at most. The barette bases were bought at Hobby Lobby. The first picture has the kind with the spring hinge, the ones below are are the clip kind (you can see them better in the third picture). A little bit of adhesive like E6000 or Amazing Craft Goop on each end holds the ribbon in place. The ribbon is folded around to the back of the barrette about 1/4" on each end. To keep the glue from sealing the barrette shut, I clipped them onto wax paper while they dried.

Instructions for these can be found in Button It Up:

I think some of those liberty scraps on a covered button would be great for my hair.

thrifty thursday

I don't think I can count these as true thrifty finds. How about "awesome finds that were reasonable priced at a cute local boutique thursday"?

A shoe rack that's perfect for my closet.

And a vintage shopper that holds bolts of fabric in the studio.

Love those red wheels.

resurfacing

Well that break was not supposed to go on for so long...

A lot happened around here in that time. A few days before my last post, I woke up with a sore throat. That disappeared and was replaced by complete exhaustion - just in time for the workers we had scheduled to come finish up some house projects.

While I slogged through the days, crown molding was added to most of the first floor.

Four closet doors were replaced by nicer, louvered ones. All of them needed to be painted. Do you know how long it takes to paint a louvered door? Far too long. I was feeling better by last weekend. Well enough to paint the doors, install the doorknobs and have a lovely time at Poppy's Halloween party.

(These lead to my closet, I won't bore you with pictures of all of them)

On Monday I woke up feeling great. I shouldn't have been so excited though. By lunchtime, I felt like an anvil was on my chest. Breathing was a chore and I got scared. Going to the ER frightened me even more because I was sure I'd catch something else just sitting there. A visit to the doctor the following day resulting in this:

It looks like I have virally induced asthma. The good news is that the rescue inhaler made a huge difference and I didn't have the flu (either kind), bronchitis or pneumonia.

I've got a few pictures in the draft file of things that were completed before I got hit with all this and hope to have a few more posts in the coming week. I have to excuse myself now, there's a lot of crown molding to be painted. (I'm not going to push it. I just want to get the foyer, which is not heated, done before this 60 degree weather disappears until spring.)

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the new details in the house and the ability to take a deep breath and yawn.

opposites for Amy

I've posted these blocks over at common threads today.

They're for Amy, one of our new members. She's working on a quilt top that's inspired by Kaffe Fassett and will need MANY to complete it.

We had a choice of several sizes ranging from 2" square to 12.5" square. I opted for the largest and smallest. The directions were straightforward and easy to execute once I decided on the order of colors for the squares. My favorite is that little dot on the 2" block.

My Waste Not, Want Not quilt is also posted over here, on Karen Griska's blog. Thanks Karen! And hello to new visitors!

thrifty thursday - part six

This is it, the last of the finds - a bit of a hodge podge.

The holiday area had one flashback after another for me. I remember making those little angels in Girl Scouts. These are attached to that piece of chicken wire to make them into a mobile. However, I've cut myself on it about 3 times, so they'll be set free very soon and turned into individual ornaments. The little basket is filled with sewing notions - you can just barely see the tiny shears poking out over the edge. I made clothespin ornaments when I was little too, but none as elaborate as the town crier. I think tin soldiers were as fancy as I got. The red, upside down heart, is a cookie cutter covered in ribbon with a little wooden angel glued on it. Super cute, super easy project for gifts. That little horse and cart caught my eye too. Chris' family is of Polish descent. I'll have to show it to Basia and ask her if she knows anything about this sort of decoration.

I had these when I was little too. Now the girls have them. They came along at a perfect time. I just pitched tons of play cardboard food boxes that they insist on ripping into or leaving on the floor where they get crushed. These have survived for the past 4o years. Hopefully, they can survive my girls.

I've saved my big splurge (as far as rummage sales go) for last:

A vintage machine. The color is somewhere between blue and green, though online I see it described as robin's egg blue. Whatever the name, it's lovely. Even more so, now that I've cleaned it up. I still need to make a new handle for the case - the leather is long gone.

She's also waiting for a tune up, but one of the women manning the sewing area tested all the machines and I know it runs. The fabric had a stitching sample she'd run on it. The box contains a few accessories - mostly bobbins and another thread pin. Do I need another machine? No. However, I'm going to consider myself well-behaved in that I didn't throw myself at the featherweight they also had for sale (at $400). I'm justifying this with the fact that we have three people in the house who know how to use a sewing machine. Surely, there will be times when more than one will be running.

The irony that Oprah has run a show on hoarders the morning I decide to post all this is not lost on me. ; )

thrifty thursday - part five

Back to the sewing/craft area:

Some borders that never found their way into a quilt. I thought Ellie might want to turn them into something. At a quarter, I'm not out much if she doesn't care for the colors.

Poppy and I went through a whole pile of these handpainted pieces - also a quarter each. I picked out these two and, of course, we found a poppy to go home with her.

I need an embroidery pattern that uses a lot of greys -

Covered button kits, hooks and eyes, snaps, but mostly awesome old packaging -

(Snap lady is giving me the creeps though - she has those eyes that can follow you.)

thrifty thursday - part four

Bridge napkins. So sweet. Probably tucked away in a drawer for years. I love to pick these up for lunch napkins at home. They're the perfect size for kids. I think every single one in this picture has already been used. (No, I don't iron them after each washing, they go right into the drawer a little wrinkly, but folded and soft.)

A few little hankies for a future quilt project. The more of these I collect and feel how very fragile those sheer fabrics are, the more I'm convinced this quilt is going to have to be a wall hanging (even if I use a stabilizer on them) rather than a utitily bed quilt that will get frequent washing. Has anyone else tried this?

A few scarves for the wardrobe:

I love vintage Vera scarves. The script in the ivory silk one caught my eye.

thrifty thursday - part three

You knew I wasn't leaving there without a little fabric, right?

A few repros(mostly fat quarters):

Some wool for felting, a yard of cordorouy and a floral lawn to make summer tops for the girls:

A mix of vintage and new that just appealed to me:

Some are scraps, some are fq's.

And the find that set my heart aflutter -

Liberty of London scraps. Each print has about a half yard of fabric in it, cut into 6" strips along the grain.

What to make? Headbands, covered buttons, little pouches...

thrifty thursday - part two

I cannot pass up wooden spools of thread. Some gets used, some just looks pretty in a large jar in the studio.

Another item I can't resist. Cheap, plastic thimbles. Did anyone ever use these giveaways? They're incredibly uncomfortable to wear, but I like to look at them.

Buttons, buttons. The red ones at the top and bottom are my favorites. I'd like to start working them into some quilts. There were so many more I'd have loved to buy, but this was one notion that wasn't priced dirt cheap. I chose carefully and imagine that since we weren't there right at opening, many of the truly special ones were scooped up early on.

A few odds and ends - some needles in an old package and cotton lace that might find its way into a quilt one of these days. I just loved the packaging on that fabric mender. The notion at the bottom was purchased solely because it had the directions in it. I have another just like it, but had no idea what it was for. Now I know - it's for making bound buttonholes. Haven't tried them yet, but since I have two, I'm happy to photocopy the direction page and mail the second one off to the person who claims it first in the comments.

Plenty more to go today.

thrifty thursday - part one

As promised - a post about the rummage sale to beat all rummage sales. In fact, there's so much to show you that I have to do a series today. Actually, I have to do a series because I still can't get more than 4 photos to show up per post. (If you have any idea why this might be - please email me and let me know. I've given up and simply use it as an editing device.)

Before I start, let me just say that I wish I'd taken pictures during the day. This rummage sale had tents and buildings and maps of where items were located. Volunteers had on aprons to identify them. They were cheerful and ready to direct you to the proper building or room. There was even a free bag check so you wouldn't be burdened with early purchases all day. Police were there directing traffic. It was truly an organizational marvel. I enjoyed that as much as the shopping. I know, I'm weird. Let's just say that my hat is off to the men and women that put this show on each year.

On to the purchases:

Poppy and I hit the sewing craft area first. She is a very patient companion. Not only did she not complain once while I rummaged through table after table of notions and fabric, she even spotted these for me -

I'm thinking that last one would not be the least bit flattering on anybody other than a stick thin child. I can't imagine how many women were drawn in by its promise of 2 easy pieces.

If you're catching this post early in the day, I'll be adding more throughout the day as I have time.

I thought I'd get other projects up this week, but we have workers here this week and my days have been taken up getting things ready for them - painting doors that need to be hung, emptying areas of the house that they'll be working in...

the kids

It's all about Trixie today.
To start with, I forgot to post her first day of school picture.



And this has been a developing story around here. See what's missing on the bike? (And the look of terror on her face?)

She did it!
The training wheels are back on most days because the ride to preschool is a mile long and I can't run close to her for that distance. (Ha! I can't run that close to her for more than a block.) She also needs some serious work with the concepts of braking and yeilding to pedestrians.

Having a little fun at quilting with Miss Karen.