Recent apron creations

Lately I've been working on some aprons to consign at The Peacock Cafe in Leavenworth.  I enjoy making the aprons since it feels like a little work of art with each one. 

This one was so soft because it was made from a repurposed sheet.  I love the daisy print and the doily is so delicate and PINK!

I liked combining the black and pink on this one.  What is it about pink that makes the black pop so much?

This one has light green linen on the front and little embroidered leaves around the yo-yo flowers.  I love ruffles on an apron!

This one is similar to the one above but is made completely from the rose fabric.

This apron was made from what I think was an old table cloth.  I LOVED the print since it looks as if its been cross stitched.  The yellow square on front is a huge pocket made from linen and the little hankie opposite is also a small pocket.  I thought it would be just the right size for a cell phone.  Seems kind of funny to pair modern technology accommodations with an old timey apron, but hey, times they are a changin'!

I just love the way this apron turned out.  I had some trouble getting it to show up as well on the picture as it does in person.  You can barely see it but the word "Nourish" is embroidered on the bottom right (your right) corner of the white pocket.  The crochet piece on the pocket is one of my favorite crochet finds and the handkerchief at the top is a pocket as well.  I have to credit my sister (Cotton Pickin Fun) with the wooden spoon idea on the tag.  I just love the look of a worn wooden spoon/utensil next to these aprons.  It makes them look like they are ready to go to work!  I also have to credit my sister with teaching me how to put a watermark on my pictures as well, thanks Holly!!!  We are technologically challenged in these parts!!!  Well happy Tuesday to all!

Vintage character sheets and curtains

This winter during my thrifting and antiquing expeditions I collected several sheets and curtains with cartoon characters.  They are so vibrant and full of whimsy, plus some of them take me back to my childhood. 
I guess they make me feel nostalgic plus I have the excuse of a cute little girl who might enjoy them too!



This Raggedy Ann and Andy sheet set was in pretty good condition.  I love the calico orange hearts.  I really favor calicos...I guess it goes back to my childhood fascination with Laura Ingalls Wilder books!

Recently we were without a TV for a month or more so we watched alot of old cartoons on youtube.  Smurfs are now a new favorite.  Were you as intrigued by those mushroom houses as I was? 

These Sesame Street curtains are my favorite.  They are before Elmo and before Abby Cadaby!  Such adorable pictures and characters!  Having a tiny girl sure makes looking for character sheets and curtains more fun!  Speaking of tiny girls, this past week we made a game of threading spools of thread onto a piece of cord.  She was REALLY good at it and strung a ton of them.  I just love this girl so much!


She's always on the go as you can see from the blur of this picture!

For the Grandmothers...

DSC02684 a photo by ashleypritchetts on Flickr.

Two weeks ago our little miss had her hair cut for the first time. We took her to Sheer Madness, a salon for young children. It was worth the 15.00 just for all the entertainment they provide. AJ did wonderfully and her haircut ended up being right around shoulder length. We saved several pieces of her hair for the Grandmoms and baby book. Such sweet precious hair!









I've also been thinking about the upcoming visits of the Grandmoms this spring. I've been busy sewing market bags for them, using fabrics that made me think of them. I wonder if they can tell which bag is for which one of them? The bags will be great for our shopping excursions.  We always look forward to the Grandmother's visits and I know of a little girl who especially loves their visits!

Destashing the stash

If I've learned anything about sewing it is that most sewists/seamstresses like to hoard fabric into what they call their "stash."  I will be brave, I will admit it, I am not above this obsession to hoard fabric.  And it is a little embarrassing to admit that instead of clothes in the top two shelves of my closet I have fabric piles, but mind you there are so many good intentions in those piles.  And whenever my husband catches a glance at it I remind him that about half of it was given to me and the other half was thrifted, (not that he's worried he knows it is a small price to pay for a big piece of sanity.) 

Lately my planning for spring/summer clothes for AJ and I has shrunk my stash a little (its called "destashing").  Its always so fun for me to pull fabrics out of my stash and pull out my patterns and try to coordinate what I will make.  I've made two tops and a dress for myself recently.  The pictures won't do them justice (they really look better on than they do hanging on a hanger.) 

This is a peasant top from Butterick 4685.  I sewed it in a size 10 and as I suspected, its a little big.   This always seems to happen to me.  I have a little trouble matching up my actual measurements with the pattern measurements.  The fabric was a thrift store find and is a really light cotton blend.  It will be cool in the summer.

This shirt looks like a sack I know but it also looks better on me than on the hanger.  Its from Butterick 5463 and I would also make it a size smaller if I had it to do over.  The fabric is a gauzy, crinkly fabric and I've never sewn with this before and probably won't again.  I just don't like fabric that won't smooth out when you want to cut it and seems to change shape as you sew it. 

This is by far my favorite destashing project for myself so far.  Its a dress from Burda 7517.  It turned out so great.  I had to let it out in the waist a little to fit me just right and it was pretty simple to sew.  A few things about the Burda patterns, the sizes I think are a little more true to what sizing should be (they don't run big), they don't have a lot of detail about the technical side of sewing.  For example they don't show you how to put your zipper in they just show you where and tell you to put it in (so if you're a beginner at sewing I wouldn't start out with Burda).  I was really pleased with the construction of the dress.  It seemed easier to construct that some of my usual patterns.  I spent about five dollars on the pattern and think it was well worth it.  I will be using it over and over to keep destashing.  The fabric for this dress is from Joann's red tag discount which is half off and then I wait for the half off of that sale.  With two half offs it seems easier to justify the three yards I needed for this pattern.   

Well let the destashing continue, my next project is summer P.J.'s for AJ.   And after that???  Who knows but its always fun to plan!

Sources of inspiration.

I've been thinking lately about my sources of inspiration for all the creative things I do in life.  It occurred to me recently that when asked where I learned how to sew or craft I usually always answer my Mother.  And this is true, my Mom taught me so much about being creative mostly because she was so very creative.  She did wonderful things like make us ceramic heart jewelry boxes for Valentine's Day.  Sew Easter dresses and Halloween costumes. 

(My Mom is in the stripes on the right and on the left is my Aunt Karen.)

But lately I've been thinking that I also had another important source of inspiration when growing up.  He was my Dad.

(Me and Daddy at the beach.)

Even though my Dad did not sew he did do something else that was unique.  He made turkey callers.  At this point some of you may think "I never knew there was such a thing."  But I assure you, there is!  And my Dad made great ones.  In fact, because I grew up hearing him "tune" his "callers" all the time I feel pretty confident in my ability to get a "caller" to sound like a turkey.  During my childhood my Mom and Dad marketed my Dads callers for a time.  I even went with my parents to turkey caller conventions.  There are such things I tell you!  I also remember sitting in my Dad's shed area where he crafted his callers.  My job was to help sweep up the cedar chips on the floor.  (This also makes me think that I have learned so many things from my parents about how to be a good parent but that's another story for another blog entry.)

My Dad's creativity and willingness to sell his callers is where I draw some encouragement to try and sell some of the things I sew and create.  So I had not only one great parent who inspired me to create, but two!  I am so grateful for my parents and all the gifts they have given me over the years, including the gift of creativity and ingenuity.  Momma, Daddy, Thank you and I love you!