vintage treats

As part of Heather’s Vintage Swap, sweet Chris (love her name, by the way) sent this to my doorstep today:

It is filled with delightful treats!

sweet mail call

Rachel has a new hobby and I was the beneficiary. Through a friend, she sent me two bars of luscious vegan soap. Below is Sweet Addiction. Salted Caramel and Chocolate went straight to the shower, so no photo. The soaps are as incredible as they sound, but they are not for sale (yet).

And how about this incredible Vintage Swap package from Mindy? (Thanks again to Heather for her hard work in setting up the swap. Have you seen Heather’s blog? Run, don’t walk – she is terrific.) Mindy sent my favorites:

::Gorgeous old sheet music

:: A sweet zippered pouch she made just for me (with goodies, including homemade lip balm which ended up in the clutches of my teenager)

::Lovely fabrics

::And a vintage linen tablecloth that will soon (hopefully) be pillows.

sharing the past

The most awesome Heather once again hosted a vintage swap. Here’s a peek at what I sent:

Everything in the box, except the yellow cabbage rose appliqué fabric, came from Mrs. M’s stash. If I live to be 100 (and here’s hoping), I will not reach the end of Mrs. M’s stash. I suspect she would be very happy to know that I have used and enjoyed it so much and bits and pieces of it have traveled all over the world to be enjoyed by others. (That’s a reminder that I need to restock my Etsy shop.) I wonder if Mr. M. ever questioned her zeal for beautiful, timeless fabrics. I hope he was as understanding as my husband when she added to the stash.

You did well, Mrs. M. Very well.

what’s that spell…

Apologies for the harsh light in the photo – it was dark out, so this was the best I could do. And do I have one picture without a dog nose in it? Probably not.

If you are the mom of a Boy Scout, you probably know about the historical merit badges offered this year for the BSA centennial. Semaphore is one of the choices –and you will need flags for that. My husband (who taught my son’s troop how to do semaphore) cut dowels for the handles. Do not stress about the flags! Hobby Lobby sells solid color bandannas that are the perfect size and are already hemmed. Cut each on the diagonal and sew right sides together. Press the seam to the red side and trim to square. (I found that the different colors were not exactly the same, less than a quarter inch off.) Attach ties to the red side (see photo). I used white ribbon for two flags and natural-colored cording for the other two (because I ran out of ribbon). I triple-stitched the ties because the flags were designed to be used by boys and thus will endure great tribulation.

In the event of an emergency, we can signal the neighbors for help.

look there – around my neck

• Amy Butler fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew
• Vintage suiting fabric, lightweight wool blend
• Tape measure
• Sewing machine
• 20 minutes

I love that fabric. It’s the little things, people.

wrapping him in love

We love this little one and he isn’t even here yet. (And no, he’s not ours. For goodness’ sake, people, that would be a scary thought. I am the Great Aunt – yikes – with a big “G.” Oh no, I am the crazy Great Aunt who quilts. At least I don’t live in somebody’s attic.) Fabric is Happy Campers by American Jane for Moda. Binding and backing are vintage. I made continuous bias binding. After the initial shock of the spatial reasoning required, it turned out OK. Mistakes are heretofore referred to as “design choices.” It was all done on the machine because that’s how I roll. It’s all cotton, including the batting, so it got a little puckery after washing – but not very puckery because the backing and binding had been washed previously. The colors make me all kinds of happy. The little camping scenes with the Airstream-type camper…lovely.

Along with the quilt, for his almost-first-Christmas, little mister got a vintage book of famous explorers. I know it will be a year or two before he can read it on his own, but it’s good to get started early. He’s handsome, too.

the good, the bad and the…

Very Mary sent me the sweetest note cards because she is awesome.

(This is only bad in the oh-my-arteries sort of way.) Alton Brown’s Free Range Fruitcake. Make it right now. I had it for breakfast.

And this… Well, it defies words, doesn’t it? I ordered a slew of novelty charm squares for an I Spy quilt I am making for a special little one. Because I love her and don’t want her to be traumatized for the rest of her life, I left this square out.

Scariest. Fabric. Ever.

vintage swap 2009

A package from sweet Anie:

Many thanks to Heather at Shivaya Naturals for hosting Vintage Swaps 2009.

And a sneak peek:

 

 

button it up

We’ve got your vintage buttons right here.

after (almost)

Chalkboard paint, I love you.

before

Some aspects of my laundry room were trying my patience. (I’m talking to you, Laura Ashley English Ivy.)

considering the possibilities

I want this dress. And it just so happens that I will need a dress for an afternoon wedding this June.

The pattern is from 1956. It will have to be resized. I don’t know how to do that. It might make me look like a bus.

And yet, I am considering the possibilities.

minding my own

I know you are shaking your head and saying, "There she goes again."

Well, there I go again.

A trip to the country on Saturday resulted in five pounds of beeswax from our friendly neighborhood (essentially organic) beekeeper. There is a learning curve to the filtering, straining and all that, but we did manage to figure out a small batch...

...which ultimately became a trial run of lip balm...

I smell like honey.

Next up: homemade lotion.

Go ahead, roll your eyes. I don't mind.

don't read this if your child is getting a gift from me

I'm not kidding.

Laura, this means you.

Look away now.

 

 

OK, she's gone, so I can show you what I made and was tempted to keep for myself, if only I didn't love those nieces of mine so much.

Let me preface this by saying that I never get anything right the first time when I sew. My seam ripper is my friend. However, felt food must be idiot-proof because it mostly looks like what it is supposed to look like.

Eggs, ravioli and orange slices -- not intended to represent a balanced meal...

This stuff is so much fun to make. I am trying to find a reason why I need to make myself a batch of fake food. There must be a legitimate argument to be made.

Carrots, drawn out right on the felt with free-hand cut leaves... Oops, I see I missed a thread.

I got cocky here at the end and decided to make a burger with lettuce, tomato and pickles. Unfortunately, I didn't have any bun-colored felt so it is all served open-faced.

What I learned: Wool felt is about a million times better to work with than acrylic felt, but only the burger is wool. Had I known this in advance, I would have ordered the wool online because if you live in the Upstate of South Carolina, you can only get hamburger-colored wool. I would also like to try this with reclaimed wool and I think a felted blanket would be just about perfect. Ooh, what if I hand-dyed it to colors other than hamburger...

Now, I'm really getting cocky.

The sun is a little distracting on this picture, but this is a doll-sized quilt with matching pillow. It is meant to be Bitty Baby sized, but since we don't own a Bitty Baby at our house, I had to guess. It is linen and a cotton Mary Engelbreit fabric which I could almost eat. Love those colors.

That snazzy little embroidered mushroom is from Pimp Stitch. Bitty Baby needed a mushroom, I think.

This is the first embroidery I have done in probably 25 years and I think I have unleashed a monster. Pimp Stitch is about as awesome as it sounds, too.

paving the road

OK, the intentions were good, but it seems the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, designed to keep made-in-China, lead-infested toys from poisoning our kids, is about to put small scale toymakers out of business. If Congress doesn't do something soon, my sock monkeys and felt food will be contraband akin to sawed-off shotguns and prison shanks made from filed down spoons. (Too much time in criminal law? Um, it would appear so.)

Click that cute little face above to find out more.

free is good

I won these two gorgeous pieces of fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew. They will be part of the master bedroom quilt. The stash is growing and soon, I will have enough unique and wonderful fabrics to get started.

And the winner is...

 

Jen

 

HandbagsbyJen said...

Perfect gift! I love teals, eggplant and red.

 

Congratulations, Jen! I hope you all will come back for a visit soon. Several people asked about ordering twine. It is available in my Etsy shop.

Want to help me with a project? Come back next week to participate! Thanks!

 

 

Here are your random numbers:

39

Timestamp: 2008-12-05 17:01:11 UTC

crafters, unite (bad spellers, untie)

It's give-away day over at Sew, Mama, Sew and many folks are participating. (I hope to win something, too.) Please leave a comment below if you are interested in winning some holiday-ready (Christmas... Valentine's Day...) baker's twine and an assortment of vintage buttons (tell me your favorite colors...). Visit my Etsy shop for more vintage goodness.

Merry Christmas to you!

Edited to add: I am going to draw a comment by random number on Friday, Dec. 5 (which is also Walt Disney's birthday). Thank you all for visiting!

coffee service

Calicodaisy's daughter is raising money for a trip to serve on a Habitat for Humanity team. Head on over and buy one of these snazzy coffee sleeves to help her cause.

Drink coffee and feel good about it -- the perfect combination.

like sending my child out into the world (but not really)

I have enjoyed my foray into jewelry making. There is something extra cool about wearing a one-of-a-kind item and knowing it originated in my brain. (Maybe I am weird that way...)

But yikes, now I have listed a handmade bracelet in my Etsy shop. A little intimidating? Yep.