I bought this shirt this summer. Well it wasn't like this when I bought it. It was fairly plain, with two small buttons on the bodice. It was a comfy shirt. I made the mistake of cooking in this shirt without an apron. I splattered grease on the front. Then I forgot to put grease or stain remover before I put it in the laundry basket where it sat for a few days. Of course, the spots didn't come out when I got around throwing it into the wash, and became permanent in the dryer. I was annoyed with myself. I hadn't had the shirt that long, then I ruined it. Well, it would be good to wear for painting or something. Several months ago I looked through Alabama Stitch Book, by Natasha Chanin. It was so inspiring! The beauty and simplicity were amazing. I put her ideas on my future "to do" list. Now, I thought, this would be a great shirt to try out Chanin's techniques on. I thought that if I didn't like the outcome, I wouldn't be out anything.

First I painted some leaves and stems onto the shirt. After the paint dried, I slit the center of each leaf. Then I sewed some light weight green knit to the underside of the shirt as a lining. I used pearled cotton to sew around each leaf and stem. Then I cut the center of each leaf out, leaving the paint at the edges. Then I sewed down the center of each leaf to add a little dimension. I really liked how it turned out. I want to try some projects in Natasha Chanin's book and am excited to see her new book coming out in March 2010.

Now I need to get the house into shape for Thanksgiving.

Sophia is not much help. She is a darling all curled up in the stack of old wooden bowls and leaves.

The house is getting that cozy look, when I bring in large dried bouquets of dried flowers in the fall. This is Sea Lavender, filling a corner of the living room, next to an old pew filled with wool pillows. I'll be doing more of this to prepare for Thanksgiving. Along with turkey, stuffing, relish, rolls, pie................