Rain Predicted, Sun Shining

Rain was predicted, we received sun. This afternoon I took a walk. A delightful time out of doors!  Spring flowers are popping up. Crocus and daffodils. I can see some buds on early blooming trees. The raspberry canes have soft green leaves starting to appear. Soon! Soon! Spring is starting to bloom! To celebrate, I picked some daffodils from the back yard, and brought their sunny smiles inside to enjoy. Mmmm, I love basking in the afternoon spring sunshine.
Hope Spring is making her appearance for you too.
Debbie

Severe Storm Warnings Given

The view from the dinning room window early this morning.

I know.......you guys in the mid west and the east are sick of this white stuff, and the cold.

Other than a very light dusting , this is our snow of the season.

Barely over 2".

As the day dawned, the clouds broke apart. We still had patches of snow gently falling, while the sun glistened.

Today, the kids stay home and play. Many businesses are closed. It's the severe  storm of the season. We must stop and enjoy it before the rain starts tomorrow.  (lol)

Mean while........I think I'll work on a sewing project.

Thanks for visiting.

Blessings,

Debbie

Dedication Gown

Another niece to arrive soon.

The mother and her family are 3000 miles away.

No problem having a baby shower.

We had a SKYPE shower.

Family gathered on the west coast.

Each one bringing a gift.

One by one we sat in front of the camera and showed our gift.

I made a dedication gown.

My great grandmother was a frugal lady.

She also love beautiful things.

She made fabulous laces.

When something wore out, she would save  buttons and trim to reuse.

Some of that lace has been passed on to me.

Now I'm passing it on to the next generation.

Pin tucks on the bodice with vintage buttons.

Lace edge puff sleeves.

Large tucks at the bottom with lace and ruffle.

Underslip hemmed with more vintage lace.

Vintage button closer in back

Wrapped and tied with a hand made silk ribbon.

It's a joy to pass it on.

This is one of my favorite things to make.

Debbie

Mindy's Penny Arrived!

WooHoo! It came today! I've been waiting for this all week. Last week Mindy, at Ranmond Homestead had a give away. She was giving away this very cute and primitive penny mat that she made, when she reached 100 followers.

Surpriseingly, I won! Waiting........I was excited for the mat to come. It looked so perfect in Mindy's pictures. The colors would look great in my home.   I opened the package...... On top was an envelope with this card. A picture of the mat she was giving away. I opened the tissue slowly, enjoying every moment, drawing the suspence out......

It is so lovely! It is perfect for my home! Mindy's work is lovely. The muted colors in the over dyed wool, adds depth and texture to the piece.

I'm just lovin' looking at it as I write letters and work at my desk.
Thank you so much Mindy! It is a lovely piece of folk art. Be sure to visit Mindy at Raymond Homestead to see what else she is up to.
Thank you for visiting,
Debbie

I Pad Cover Solution

My Children gave me a wonderful "little toy" for Christmas. An I Pad. I love it! I use it much more than I thought I would. I'm getting on line all the time now, just looking things up. Before it would have been inconvenient to go upstairs, just to look something up on a whim. Now I just grab the handy I Pad, with a few touches, I have the info, and I'm back doing whatever. My fear it is that I might drop it and kill it. What to do??  I went to the Apple store to look at covers. I was rather uninspired. Nothing looked right. Nothing was really in my budget. So I thought about it.... and....  bought this piece of leather, and made this case.  I like the rough organic look of it. The wavy, natural edge of the flap. I used heavy pearled cotton to whip stitch the sides together.

 I made a removable padded pocket also. I mostly stays in the case, but can side out.

Something so very simple, but so right for me.  

Thank you Dear Children!

Now, I need to figure out how to load my pictures from my camera to the pad so I can use it for blogging too. lol

Thank you for visiting. Blessings,

Debbie

Stop the Draft!

Something I wanted and needed to do for years! Stop the draft! This old house is NOT well insulated. The way it was constructed, we cannot blow in insulation. Then the issues of a old settling house, causing the doors to not fit tightly. I can see light around the doors.

I had some large pieces of upholstery fabric and purchased some more from the 50% off sale table, along with some quilt batting and made "quilts" for the doors. They are rather heavy, but they are stopping the drafts.

I sewed tabs at the top to easily slide along the rod, so the door can be opened without catching on the "quilt". This one is in the living room, and adds some life to a dark area.

This one is in the dining room. I made them long enough to "puddle" on the floor to stop the drafts. They add a cozy feel to the rooms. Hopefully they will cut down on the electric bill too.

Finally! I finally made them now that winter is soon to be gone. That's OK. I'm ready for next year.

Hope you are staying warm.

Debbie

Snowdrops

The first day of February. Snowdrops abound. The crocus will be showing their colors soon, as well as the daffodils.

It's still chilly here, really cold at night. I brought some snowdrops inside to cheer things up. Spring will be here soon.

I need to quickly finish projects inside, the garden will be demanding all my time soon.

My prayers are with you in the east. May you stay safe and warm during this storm.

Blessings

Debbie

Sweet Addition

My cousin and her husband have been waiting for this for years. Finally, they are crowding 9 months of expecting into about 3 weeks. Their little boy was born, soon they will hold him in their arms and take him home. What a blessing after years of waiting, and hearts crying to be mother and father.

To celebrate, I've made this sweet little baby tux for him. Made from scraps of a wedding dress, vintage lace and vintage mother of pearl buttons.

I'm so excited to meet my new little cousin!

In another part of my life, my son and his company made it safely into the nether regions of Afghanistan. A few posts ago, I talked about sewing these patches into his clothing. He left a few in his room. My husband came down and said they would make a great bracelet.

I got out the findings, and here it is.

My husband wears it, a reminder to pray throughout the day. (does he really need reminding???)

I am at peace with him there. Thank you for your prayers for all out servicemen.

Now, what is the next project? The list is long. Which one do I chose? LOL

Thank you for visiting!

Debbie

Organizing and Sewing

I can't take the credit. After the new year, my studio was......well.....it looked like a tornado touched down. Everything was a mess. Piles everywhere. One daughter was over, I went in the studio, sighed, "I need to clean this up" I said. She walked right in and started picking things up, moving things around.

After two days, things are reorganized and usable. It was wonderful. I played with the baby, she cleaned and organized. Now it's just a little messy, cause I've been playing in it again. lol

I have LOTS of stuff. The sewing stuff. The painting stuff. The book making stuff. The different kinds of fabric for clothing, quilting, formal wear, and upholstery, and other home decorating. The vintage lace and fabric scraps. Books about all of that, along with gardening, and medicinal herbs. I'm not bragging about the amount of stuff. Just justifying to myself the reason why I have so much, so I shouldn't get rid of it (and have more room to work), cause I use stuff from the stash all the time. It does make things crowded and easy to be overwhelmed when I get several projects going a once.

I like the way she hung some finished pieces on a old six pained window frame that are not out on display right now, next to hanging baskets, and bags.

I finally got to sew something for myself. It's an upgraded hoodie. I used a Burda pattern. The fabric is a blend of cotton and silk, French Terry knit. I love the feel of this fabric.

I think I be wearing this a lot.

I made this jacket from a gently worn wool suit several years ago. Another folk art clothing item, all pieced together. When I first made it the styles were rather boxy. I haven't worn it for a couple of years, because it looked so .......frumpy. It's light, but warm, and very comfortable to wear. Today I spent a little time taking it in. You can't see it well, but it does have some curves now.

My favorite part of the jacket is the scalloped hem.

How is your weekend? There are still two days to do fun things. Enjoy!

Thanks for taking time to visit.

Debbie

Priviledged Sewing

This morning My husband and I said good bye to our son. I didn't think I would be in this position a few years ago. I knew I would say good bye, as in leaving the "nest". I just never dreamed in his growing up years that he would join the Marines. I wasn't anti-military, it had never been discussed, although my husband is a former Marine. Our son joined two years ago. I've had to rethink my views and how I would support our son. Today in the early morning hours I took this picture, our last for awhile, son and father. We said good bye, knowing he is on a long journey, serving with the Marines, for the next 16 months in Afghanistan.

While my son was home, I had the privilege of sewing on patches. You know all the "stuff" you see on uniforms. I had an education. So many pieces to wear under what you see. Garments for warm weather, garments for cold. Flame retardant clothing, covers for your head, and gloves. A variety of patches for each item, and inside each item, his name. It was a privilege to sew them on. Being able to do this small thing for him was important to me, and in a way, this is a small piece of me going along with him.

While my son was home, one of my daughters had a birthday. Last week we had seen a skirt made from a sweater. It was sooo cute. I went home looking through some old sweaters.......This is what I did:

I cut the sweater off, straight across, under the arm. The ribbing at the bottom of the sweater became the bottom of the skirt. (The skirt I saw turned the sweater up-side-down and had the ribbing hug the hip) I accented a pocket with embroidery. I cut a thin strip of wool and attached it to the bottom of the skirt for a vine with whip stitching.

Then I cut out leaves from another washed and shrunk sweater. I attached them with pearled cotton, using stitches for veins on the leaves. Next I cut out small pieces of dark red washed sweater wool. Pinching them together, as I sewed them on to create flowers.

I made a waist band using wool from the sleeves. I cut the band a little smaller than the skirt, so there would be some stretch to hold the skirt to the hip. I sewed it on with a Herringbone stitch, described for stretch construction in Alabama Studio Style.

It was a fun, creative project. I'm pleased with the outcome. I need to find some more sweaters..........so many ideas! Privileged sew for may family.

Thanks for visiting,

Debbie