Thursday, May 30, 2013

Finishes ...

I had a fairly quiet Memorial Day weekend. John was working so I stayed home and spent time in the sewing room. I got busy on using up some more of my fabric stash making reusuable gift bags and aprons. What I'm showing here is just a sampling and I will be posting them and the rest to my etsy shop later today. I need to get some alterations work done first.
Also shown here is another little Rylee finish and the inkling of another idea....more on that another day!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

~*Pure and Pleasant*~

Hello world...I hope you all are having a great week!
I just want to share this little finish with you today. A pure and pleasant pillow tuck.
I stitched this on linen, two threads over two using dmc floss rather than the suggested Gentle Art floss. It has been backed with the same sweet blue calico as the small bird is made and her little wing is of wool. Little bird is stitched to a piece of brown satin ribbon and has an old skeleton key tied to the other end then the ribbon is pinned to the pillow corner. The pillow measures 6 1/4" x 4 1/2". Tuck it in a basket or wreath or on a shelf. Would make a sweet gift.
It looks like it may be a quiet weekend here in my little corner of the world and my plans are to spend it in the sewing room working on using up more of my fabric stash so I can get my Etsy shop reopened.
Enjoy your day and if I'm not back before, I hope you have a great Memorial weekend....and don't forget to take a moment to remember those who have served and are serving our country and the sacrifices made for all of us.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

My latest finish...

This past Saturday I got to spend the day in my sewing room for some needed sewing therapy. I had cut this out a week before and had left it lay out in the sewing room so it wouldn't be forgotten.
This is Butterick B5624...baby fashion essentials and yes, it's for our little Miss Rylee. I still need to put in buttonholes and sew on buttons and will get that done today. Love this little calico....I think it might even be old enough to be considered vintage! It reminds me of the little dresses my Mom and Grandma used to sew for me and my sisters so long ago.
We are on our final week of school here and that means just a few more days with Rylee B. Oh! What to do? She sure keeps me busy and I will miss seeing her everyday....but I won't lack for things to do by any means! I have a list of things I want to get done over the summer....probably more than what I will be able to get done.
There's also the idea of opening my Etsy shop again.
"Sew" much to do and "sew" little time.....so I will have to make the most out of every minute that I possibly can.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Aprons...

I love aprons. My grandma always wore one....from making biscuits in the kitchen to the chicken house to gather eggs. I wear them but not as often as I should.
I like to make aprons. I sometimes use a pattern, sometimes not. I kinda splurged the other day....using a 40% off coupon at Joanns, I picked up their last copy of the latest issue of *apron-ology*. New fabrics. Old fabrics. Old shirts or skirts. Vintage linens. Half aprons. Full aprons. I'm finding lots of inspiration! I found it interesting and disappointing though that when I went to check out the Etsy shops of the featured designers, several, not all, their shops were empty. I hope they fill up soon so we can see more of their fabulous aprons.
Vintage linens used to be a weakness of mine while browsing the antique shops. I've sold some. I've upcycled some. I actually use some of the tablecloths.  I think I've still got a few of them tucked away in a closet waiting to be transformed into something new.


Friday, May 10, 2013

Mema's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Of all the made from scratch chocolate cake recipes I've made over the years, I think this one is the best. Why shouldn't it be? It's from my mother in law.

Chocolate Sheet Cake
Sift:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt:
2 sticks margarine (or butter)
4 Tablespoons (slightly rounded)
1 cup water
Bring water mixture to boil. Pour over dry ingredients. Beat.

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Bake in a greased and floured sheet cake pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Icing:
Melt 3/4 stick oleo (or butter) and 6 tablespoons buttermilk. Add 3-4 tablespoons cocoa. Bring to boil. Add 1 box powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread while hot over cooled cake. Add 1 cup nuts if desired.


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Monday, May 6, 2013

Ramblin'.....

It was a quiet weekend here in my little corner of the world. John was out, kids were busy. As much as I needed to run errands on Saturday I decided they could wait one more day and I spent nearly my entire day in my sewing room. I turned the tv off and popped a Michael Connelly book into the cd player and got busy. All alterations had been done and delivered so I got to work on what I call the fun work. I managed to get two aprons and two little needlebooks done, all using supplies from my stash. It is dwindling down. After cleaning and reorganizing my stash cupboard a week or two ago, I found that I've used up more of it than I thought but I do have a little ways to go.
So what's next? I received this *pure and pleasant* (primitive bettys) chart in a swap some time ago, along with the linen. It's charted for threads by The Gentle Art but since I don't have them, I found a conversion chart here and with all the dmc that I have, of course I still lack one of the four colors.
I've also got *Brown Egg Farm* (Notforgotten Farm) set aside for when I go out with John in the truck this summer.
So besides the cross stitch projects, in taking inventory of my fabrics  and supplies and the thoughts of getting my etsy shop going once again, I can see more aprons, mini-quilts, make-do's and pinkeeps being made.
What's going on in your world?