Better connected...

Well Autumn has whizzed by since my last post and now Christmas is around the corner. Good news is that we finally have DSL. No more depending upon an unreliable phone line to access internet happenings. Perhaps now I will be a more frequent visitor to blogland. We are currently in the midst of some winter weather. Here is a photo of our dog in the snow.

Gingham summer apron

My apron for tie one on. Theme is gingham summer.




I have a stack of thrifted pillowcases waiting to be used in projects. I decided it was time to use one for an apron. I cut open the two long sides of the pillowcase and left the short end stitched together. That became the center of the apron skirt. I found a coordinating blue gingham in my stash to use for the bib. Waistband and sash ties were made from blue chambray. Apron is trimmed with jumbo size white ric rak.

I chose blue gingham for this project because to me summer means blue skies!

Tie-dye T-shirt... drawstring pouch!

For the purse project I made a drawstring pouch from a pink tie-dyed t-shirt I found at the thrift store.




I used a medium weight interfacing to give the bag some body, and lined it with a white t-shirt I found in the back of my closet. It's trimmed with pink bias tape and the drawstring is made from pink grosgrain ribbon.

Havana nights apron

My apron for tie one on:




For this theme I wanted to use bright colors, flowers, and ruffles. The large ruffle is made from aqua colored eyelet fabric. The waistband is aqua polka dots on cobalt blue ground. The center of apron is an iris floral print in aqua, cobalt and lime. I added the little corsage flower to the waistband because the apron said it needed something festive to wear to the night time dance party in Havana. Corsage is made from a silk flower backed with a long gathered piece of lime green lace and attached to a safety pin.




Oh look! It's reversible:

More catching up

Some blue bloomers:




Made from a vintage pattern to go with at little summer top I purchased on sale at Kohl's:




I made these in her current size thinking she could wear them through the first half of summer. But she has had a recent growth spurt and I will be lucky if she gets one wearing out of them. Anyway, I hope to make more of these bloomers (in a bigger size natch) to wear under her summer dresses.

Then we have orange bear:




Made from a wee wonderfuls pattern for a little friend that moved away whose favorite color is orange.

Catching up

Still have not figured out how to fit blogging into my schedule. It's usually the end of the day before I have time to get on the computer and then I'm too tired to write coherently, much less make proper links. Will make more of an effort to work it into my schedule

Here are a few things I've been making for Chatterbelle recently.

Zucchini bear:


She calls this bear, Zucchini, for no other reason I think than she likes to say the word. I made it from fleece she found in the remnant bin at Walmart (I was actually shopping for ric rak). She thought it would make a soft and cuddly bear. Then she declared that it should have red ears and paws. So this is what I came up with. She designed the face, but I added the eyelashes by fringing the yarn mouth where it met up with the eyes. She likes her dolls to have big smiles. Smiles are important to Chatterbelle.

Blue jeans:


I used Butterick 4176. The pants on this pattern have side-seam pockets. For fabric I recycled a pair of my mother's old capri length jeans headed for the donation box. After picking apart the side seams, and ironing the fabric pieces, I laid out the pattern pieces so as to incorporate the hem. The side-seam pockets on the capri's were a tad skimpy, so I cut the pattern piece down to fit. After they were finished, they seemed a little baggy, so I undid the waist, cut it down an inch and restitched the waist. Chatterbelle likes them and wants me to make more.

Birthday bunny:


And finally, A Wee Wonderfuls bunny to give to a little friend who was having a birthday.

Tote from curtains

Here is my tote for the purse project. It's made from two different vintage valances. My goal for this project was to showcase the novelty print because I love it so much.

Kitty gift

Here is a kitty made from a wee wonderfuls pattern

It is a birthday gift for Chatterbelle's little friend. Her favorite color is red and her family has a black cat. Chatterbelle decided the mouth should be purple. I think it was the right color choice.

Fluff bids a fond farewell to kitty.




The first thing the birthday girl did after removing Kitty from the gift box was to remove Kitty's shoes. Gotta love the little shoes...

Pillowcase sling tote / clothespin bag

This is my submission for handmade parade :




I intended it to be a tote bag, but now that I look at it, it looks alot like my mother's old clothespin bag - especially since it is hanging off the apple tree.

My goal for this project was to keep the integrity of the pillowcase as much as possible, yet creating some detail (elastic shirring) for interest. I began by cutting the yellow hem off and setting that piece aside for later.




Then on the other end of the pillowcase I trimmed back about twelve inches from top and three inches from side for wrist opening and access to interior.




Opening up the top like this allowed me room to shirr the top six inches with elastic thread - twelve rows placed 1/2" apart on both front and back. I used two bobbins (hand wound) of elastic thread.




After steaming the elastic shirring to tighten up the puckers, I encased the raw edges of wrist / access opening in bias tape. Then I turned the case inside out and used a 1/2" seam to hem the bottom opening. I encased the raw seam in bias tape to provide a nice finish since I wasn't lining the bag.

The next step was to take the hem piece that had been set aside earlier and cut open the stitched end. I folded it in half lengthwise to make a long ribbon. Stitched wrong sides together leaving about a four inch opening for turning. Turned right side out, pressed, and stitched opening closed.




Then I wrapped the fabric ribbon around the top (middle of shirring) of pillowcase, knotted, and tied in a bow. And this is the final result:

Sweet heart

My apron for tie one on:




The pink chambray is vintage - I've had it for over twenty-five years. The pocket fabric I found last year - pink and red polka dots placed in a circular pattern (reminds me of an atomic era print). I like polka dot prints but must confess that many of them make me dizzy - particularly black and white or navy and white.

Apron is trimmed with baby and jumbo ric rac. Here is close-up of pocket:




I had originally planned a much more elaborate applique apron with various polka dot fabrics from my stash, but time constraints dictated I go with something simple. Even so, I was scrambling to get it done on time.

More beading on sticks

Chatterbelle really likes threading beads on sticks (chenille stems). While she was busy making beaded wreaths, I played around with a doll shape - which brought back memories of making piper cleaner dolls back in the 1960's when I was a wee girl.




When Chatterbelle saw the brown haired doll I had made, she declared that it needed a friend and I helped her make the golden haired doll. The two little dolls then played together (with Chatterbelle's help of course).

Later I made this father Christmas doll.




The three have since been squirreled away into a lost corner of Chatterbelle's room. If memory serves me correctly, they are about three or four inches tall at most.