Plaid Apron

Can you see the plaid fabric in my apron for tie on on? Yes, that IS a plaid bow on the pocket. Take a closer look now... the jazzy plaid fabric is peeking out from the pleat below the pocket...




Chatterbelle told me I made the apron backwards. The plaid should have been the main part of the apron since it is the prettier fabric. She loves her bright colors.

art apron

art apron
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

I purchased a shower curtain from the thrift store well over a year ago with the intent to turn it into an art apron for Chatterbelle. The current "NO $$$" Tie one on theme prompted me to finally make it.

Bandana bag

My bandana bag for the purse project





I used two different colored bandanas folded on the diagonal, stiched together on two sides with suede look trim then made drawstring casing along the top. Gotta keep my projects fairly simple or they tend not to be completed.

Tree climber

This is my belated Christmas post...




The tree climbing bear is the most recent doll made from a wee wonderfuls pattern. She turned out more Christmassy than anticipated and looks right at home amidst the ornaments. Here is a better view of her, taken outside, before the snowstorm and subsequent freezing temps.




Christmas decorating was pretty simple this year. Brought up only two boxes of ornaments from the basement to decorate the tree. Discovered the handmade tree skirt at the thrift store a couple of months previous.





The tree went up a week before Christmas and came down the week after. I dismantled it after everyone had gone to bed (I had gone to bed as well, but awoke from a bad dream, and unable to go back to sleep, decided to put Christmas to bed instead). The tree disappeared four days ago and no one has remarked about its absence.

Grandpa was given a plate of cookies that Chatterbelle helped make. We made a coffee cup sleeve for Chatterbelle's uncle. She drew the cat face and I embroidered it onto a piece of gray felted wool sweater. But I embroidered it upside down. So to fix it I cut it out and stitched it (right side up) onto a piece of green felted wool sweater. Fortunately, I have no shortage of felted wool sweaters.




And lastly we have a small forest of Christmas trees made from this Martha Stewart pattern.




Rather than download and print onto cardstock as pattern directed, I used their template (reduced in size a bit to fit our abundance of green scrapbooking paper) as a pattern. I traced the shapes and Chatterbelle cut them out. The trees still look good even if not cut exactly even. I showed her where to fold, and she made the creases. After this photo was taken, she proceeded to decorate them with lots of little sticker ornaments. I don't have a photo of the final result; these little trees, like most little things, were quickly scattered about the house.

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.

White Christmas

We had a white Christmas... at grandpa's house (not quite an hour and a half away). Snow for Christmas is rare here in the Puget Sound region. But in Chatterbelle's four year old mind, snow and Christmas go together...

We've had a busy month. We made little ornaments for everyone in Chatterbelle's playgroup...




This is a self-portrait of Chatterbelle that I scanned and printed onto cardstock then stitched onto scrapbook paper. The one in the center shows the back side. About halfway through these I switched to my teflon foot - it resulted in more even stitching. And I made extra ones for family members. Here is a close-up...




Each ornament was attached to a small bag of no-bake cookies made from good quality chocolate, coconut, pecans, and crispy rice cereal. We also made our gift tags...




It is a Christmas tree that Chatterbelle made from paper, glue, and buttons. I scanned, reduced, and printed it on cardstock.

During craft time at playgroup she discovered that she enjoyed stringing beads on pipecleaners. So we went to the store, picked out a bag of brightly colored pony beads and made these festive pipecleaner wreaths at home...




We had a winter storm earlier in the month. A few days later, Chatterbelle gathered up some fallen branches from the hemlock tree...




She brought them in the house and proceeded to remove all the needles. I gave her a large cup to store them in. It looked like we would have enough for a project. I found some cardboard and drew a design in glue. She sprinkled her needles on them...




I drew the designs on the bottom two, and she drew the two on top. These may get framed at some point.

I also did some sewing this month. Chatterbelle requested a Christmas dress for Esmeralda...




Esmeralda is a Disney doll from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame movie . We found her earlier this month at the thrift store. As is often the case with thrift store dolls, she was without her clothes. Since she is a gypsy girl I made her a peasant blouse and a Christmas print skirt per Chatterbelle's request.

And Christmas wouldn't be complete without Mr. and Mrs. Gnome made from Wee Wonderfuls pattern...

eyeglasses case

Glasses case
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

I recently asked Chatterbelle what she would like to give grandma for her birthday. Her enthusiastic response was, "eyeglasses"! Since eyeglasses are a difficult item to gift, I suggested we make grandma something to store the pair she already owns in. Chatterbelle drew the design and I embroidered it on felted wool. The color didn't photograph well, it is actually wine red, not brown. The case is interfaced and lined with cotton flannel. Embroidery is done with a chain stitch using orange, yellow, and green threads. The orange trim is wool felt.

I will do another post on our collaborative projects at another time.

raining cats and dogs apron

raining cats and dogs apron
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

The current theme for tie one on is Local Pride. It took me awhile to decide which way I wanted to go with this one, but in the end I chose a simple route and let the fabric be the focus. I'm calling my apron "raining cats and dogs in Seattle". We all know how much it rains here in Seattle.

This fabric was purchased at the thrift store last year. Compelled to buy it as it had so many of Chatterbelle's favorite things depicted on it - cats, dogs, and umbrellas! She looks forward to rainy days just so she can walk around outside under her umbrella and jump in puddles. And we have pets she helps take care of - two dogs and several cats. The contrasting yellow and white polka dot fabric was purchased on sale (end of bolt sale) sometime last year. I'm inclined to pick up small yellow prints when they are on sale since it is Chatterbelle's favorite color - always looking to add to my stash.

I used Simplicity pattern #3949. But I changed the pocket. I made a pocket in the shape of an umbrella and appliqued the handle with a satin stitch.




Thanks to Fluff for assisting me in the photo shoot. I prefer to photograph outside, but (no surprise) it's raining today. In fact it's raining cats and dogs...

Angel mini-bag

Angel mini-bag
Originally uploaded by pout on a whim

The current theme for the Purse project is to make an amulet bag.

I'm not really into good luck charms, so I chose to make a small bag that would serve as a reminder of some of the character qualities I hope to instill in my daughter. Using the scripture passage 1 Corinthians 13 as an inspiration, I made a small angel with three large pockets in her skirt. One pocket for faith, one pocket for hope, one pocket for love. Angel is made from wool felt and stitched with embroidery floss. I used a black fabricmate dye pen to draw face, shoes and dress details. Because the pockets are open on top, there should be no hindrance to sharing the faith, hope, and love stored therein.

But pockets being pockets, they needed something placed in them. I chose tokens that symbolized the character quality of each pocket. The faith pocket has some tiny mustard seeds. The hope pocket has a small cross that belonged to my mother when she was a girl. The love pocket has a heart-shaped bead.




Angel measures 3 and 5/8 inches tall and has a gold ribbon to tie around neck. The angel design is from a vintage ornament pattern (which I have since mislaid) that I modified a bit.

But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13