Check out this Blog & Giveaway

No, I'm not ready with my giveaway yet, LOL. But tonight, as I was reading blogs (instead of stitching), I happened upon this blog and giveaway .....

Cathy at MudBay Musings is celebrating her 100th post with a giveaway.

This is only one of four pictures of treasures that she has crafted and collected to give away.

But the best part, truly, is her blog. She is an ARTIST. Besides being a talented collage artist (who works with fabric in addition to paper), she's recently made some gorgeous felted purses. Her work is not crazy quilting, but the feel of it is very artsy and ... well, I'm not good at describing it. You'll just have to go see it. For me, it's the perfect blog to add to my Reader, because I feel it will broaden my perspectives, teach me to appreciate other methods and styles, and even influence my own art (influencing in style is good, copying is bad).

Plus, she's got lots of great vintage images to share, and has even started a new, separate blog just for images.

Back to work for me.... The owls are done and tomorrow (after a minor clean-up) I move on to.... more aprons? Lace and button cuffs? Christmas ornaments? I don't know.....

Owls and Crochet and Giveaway Thoughts....

I've been stitching my brains out (yep, I had some brains once, LOL)... I saw the cutest pattern for stitch-n-stuff owls in Handmade magazine (an Australian publication). The issue I have, which I just bought a couple months ago, is Volume 25, No. 8. Don't know what year, but I found it interesting that on their website the "current Issue on sale now" is Volume 27 No. 6. Now, that's quite a lag, LOL!! It's understandable, of course, with it being Australian, but I sure wish those Aussies put dates on their magazines! (and this is probably exactly why they DON'T!!).

Anway, here are a couple of the owls, with several of their feathered friends in progress.

Since I've taken this picture, they're all stuffed and all I need to do is sew up their little bottoms. I love owls. When I was a teenager, I collected anything OWL. I even had a cat that I named Oliver Wendell Livingston (OWL). We called him Ollie. And of course, Owl (or should I say "WOL") is one of my favorite Winnie the Pooh characters. But I digress..... I'll post another picture of the whole gang when they're done. They're for the Christmas boutique, of course....

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but on one of my recent thrifting forays, I scored a major treasure - loads of crocheted motifs and edgings. Per the tags, they'd just been put out the day before I got there. Let me show you some of these.

There are sixteen of those fans and six of the purple and yellow floral motif strands. I'm pretty sure that they were intended for pillowcase edgings (at least some of the following were). I don't know if they're vintage or modern, but they're pristine. And would've looked better if I'd bothered to iron them first, LOL.

Six of these lovely pink & green pieces..... look at the detail!

Six of these yellow (gold) and white pillowcase edgings...

Two of these gorgeous orange and white pillowcase edgings...

And last but not least, these miscellaneous pieces and edgings. There are actually two of the pink edgings, although I only photographed one.

I think I'm going to sell half of them and keep the other half to use as trims in projects. The fan motifs are especially well-suited to crazy quilting!

Some of you readers who have been around awhile might remember that a few months ago I got an amazing windfall gift from a very generous stranger named Catherine. She has actually moved here to Utah and is my brother-in-law Doug's girlfriend. Last weekend I got to meet her for the first time when she and Doug came over to visit. Catherine also brought me another load of goodies, which includes fabrics (including vintage fabrics from the sixties), trims and laces (mostly vintage), books (including some vintage treasures!) and magazine articles and other supplies. She encouraged me to pass on whatever I don't need or want myself. And that brings me to my next topic.

It's about time for a Giveaway again. When I'm done sorting, I'm going to pull goodies for four prizes - something for everyone. There will be a prize geared for crazy quilters, one geared for sane quilters, one geared for fabriholics, and another for lace and trim lovers. Or something like that. Honestly, I haven't quite worked out the details, LOL, because some of those crocheted trims will be in the giveaway, too. Maybe I'll have to do five prizes! I'm planning that you will look at the prizes and tell me which one you want to be entered for, and I'll do separate drawings. But this is just a heads-up, because it will be after Thanksgiving, OK?? Too much on my plate for the next couple weeks. Besides, I still have sorting to do!

That's it for now. I've got so much more to post, but DH and Boomer (my chatty cat who is meowing at my feet) tell me it's time for bed. Talk to you soon!

Hugs,

Beautiful Rose Giveaway

It's not often that I get excited about a giveaway, or the discovery of a new blog, but it happened just this morning. And I found it mentioned on another blog, so I feel I should mention it to you so you can go check it out.

Sandi at Wayside Treasures is having a giveaway. Look at this lovely vintage ribbon rose pin!!

I love her style, and am off to go visit her Etsy shop!!!

Wheeler Farm

Wheeler Farm (a working historical farm where I work as bookkeeper) has been nominated by Hampton Hotels as a "Save a Landmark" site.

If we are chosen, we stand to receive funding for a refurbishment project. This could mean tens of thousands of dollars towards the refurbishment of the historic farm house.

Please visit this site:

http://www.hamptonlandmarks.com

and click to vote for Wheeler Farm here in Utah.

Thanks so much!!

Bad, Bad Girl!!

Bad Girl..... that would be me. I got lazy this week. More accurately, I just burned out on denim-bibbed aprons, LOL. I DID finish one more (if you're counting, this would have been Wednesday's apron, I think).....

This is a little girl's apron. The colors in the photo look so different, but in reality they match very nicely. I thought I'd include some of the inside detailing. Yes, I did a French Seam where the two fabrics joined at the skirt bottom... And I added some lace - rather vintage-y (from the seventies)...

I spent more time than I had planned hangin' out with sick DH this week, but it's all good. He's going back to work tomorrow. :-) We did go to a couple thrift stores this week; one was a disappointment, the other netted me some Good Stuff, like fabric, crepe paper (for paper doll dresses), a small stand that I can use to elevate some stuff on my boutique table, and some books.

And I've never shown you this GREAT purse I got in October.

I can't believe this was just sitting there in one of the bins..... it had been there two weeks when I found it. I snatched it up real quick, let me tell you. It's in pristine condition. Look at that frame!!! I doubt it's more than 25-30 years old (does anyone know how to tell?). Guess what I paid for it????

Yeppers.... $2.99. I should've shown something for size reference, but I can tell you that the frame measures 14" across, and the length from top of frame (not clasp) to the bottom of the purse is 12". That's a big purse. Don't know what I'll do with it yet.

This is a rather hodgepodge post, if you haven't noticed.

At Crazy Quilting International, I'm the one who handles the monthly Challenge. This month, we're doing Silk Burning as a sort of afterthought, but the main topic is Organizing Your Stash. We've set up a database and a picture album so that members can have a place to both Show and Tell their storage solutions for fabrics, beads, laces, trims, silk ribbon, buttons, art suppplies, etc. etc. I plan to devote a separate post to my pictures. Tonight I uploaded 20 pictures to the CQI photo album, and I realized I haven't even taken pictures of my storage for silk ribbons, dyeing supplies, silkie prints & supplies and a couple other things. Hmmmm... maybe I'll have to do that in two blog postings.....

I've also been trying to update the graphics on my business card, labels, tags & signage for the boutique. Spending way too much time playing around with my Print Shop program....

And finally, I've actually been stitching yesterday and today on a CQ block for our Flower Fairies Round Robin. I should have progress - well, the whole 6" block, that is - to show in a couple days. Stay tuned.

Hugs,

Two More Aprons

I've gotten two more aprons done, so I'm nearly keeping up with my goal of one per day this week (Monday thru Saturday) and then 3 on Sunday for a total of 9 by Sunday night. This morning at work we had a few issues with one of our software programs, so I was on the phone with the techs (who did a patch and uploaded it to us) and ended up staying longer at work than I intended. When I got home, DH was there, home sick from work. And then my dentist appointment. Checkup & cleaning went well; no cavities or issues. Yessss.....

So, here is the Monday apron.

The print is a country/primitive print of snowmen with hearts and buttons and stars in the spaces between the "pictures" on the print. I imitated the shabby stitched-on look by adding a little blue heart and some buttons on the bodice pocket, and a button on each of the skirt pockets.

Tuesday's apron uses a black bib and a Mary Englebreit print of teapots. The dress I put on the dressform for under these aprons is an oriental-style silk dress from the sixties. Needs ironing, but for now looks better than nothing. I will get this right before I begin attempting to sell aprons on Etsy.....
Again, the 18" waist on this dressform makes the bodice and everything look rather funky. I may have to "pad" Miss Victoria before letting her model 21-century styles....

And here I am, blogging, when I could be watching Game 6 of the World Series. All I can say is that the Phillies better win so that there's a Game 7 and maybe I'll be caught up on my aprons. For now, I'm off to stitch for an hour (maybe finish Wednesday's apron and be caught up?) before cracking open my copy of Judith Baker Montano's new book "Fiberart Montages".

Talk to you in a day or two!

Frenzy of Sewing .... and things

It's been awhile since I've posted. This fall season, into the Christmas season, is a busy time of year for us crafters/sewists/needleworkers. And then there's work (at least for me it's thankfully only part-time), being a mom, grandma, and wife. During the month of October at Wheeler Farm where I work (a county-owned working historical farm) as a bookkeeper (/tour guide/camp counselor/editor, etc.), we had a Halloween event going on daily (except Sunday) that included a trip through the corn and hay maze (geared for kids 12 & under, but anyone welcome), a pumpkin from the patch, and a tractor-pulled wagon ride.

Here are some of the workers setting up the hay part of the maze...

We stayed open most evenings until 8, but Friday & Saturday until 9. OMG - we were slammed (except for 2 days in the month when it rained). We not only made our revenue goal, but exceeded it by over 700%. Needless to say, this little bookkeeper has been busy counting, depositing, preparing reports, solving problems, etc.

This is the hay maze before it was decorated. You can see the cornfield behind it, and the historic farmhouse in the background. Oh, I can't tell you how much I love working here...

But all work and no play makes Cathy a grumpy girl, so I began putting together things for the December Christmas Boutique I'll be participating in on December 5. I spent a couple days just washing (and in some cases, ironing) fabrics for potential use. (Note to self: start washing them when you first bring them home to save yourself some time!!!)

One of the things I wanted to try was a denim-bibbed apron like the one that my friend Gerry gave me at our September crazy quilting retreat. She posted about her aprons here. So, I've been sewing away, and this is what I came up with in the last 7-10 days or so.....

After having to trudge off to thrift stores (don't you feel sorry for me? LOL) to go hunting for bib overalls or bib shorts, I was able to glean a collection of about 18 or so. My requirements were that they be in very good condition, no embroidered motifs (there are a lot of Disney ones out there) or labels that couldn't be removed or covered with a yo-yo flower, and that I pay no more than $2 for a child size and $3-4 for an adult size. I did pay $5 for one adult pair that was in a sage green because it was such an unusual color. I ended up being very open-minded about colors as long as they fit the other requirements....

Of course, the overalls had to be washed again and then cut off just below the waist, and the pockets and shoulder straps (with clasps) trimmed off, too. That's what I did differently than Gerry; I re-used the straps. Instead of making a new tie to go around the neck, I just sewed the two ties to each other in the back. They're still adjustable in the front. Take a look.

This denim was a gray-blue with brown stitching, so I chose this brown-background coffee print - a kitcheny theme - to go with it. I've photographed these aprons on my Victorian dressform with the 18" waist, and I've learned a few things from this photo session. First of all, Victoria is going to need some sort of undergarment on to show off the apron tops better and cover some of her less glamorous features, LOL.

This apron has blue checked ties. I love the country feel that the denim gives the aprons; perfect for selling at the Farm!!

I had this wonderful scrap of home dec fabric and it just didn't look right with blue denim. I ended up with a khaki-colored denim bib, but I'm still thinking it needs some decoration on the pocket to carry some of the red up a bit. I've got the perfect piece of vintage red and ecru trim to add....

This was my first effort, and so far it's still about my favorite!

However, I'm not too happy about the grosgrain ribbon ties, so those will probably come off in favor of blue checked ties. I've got yards and yards of the home-dec weight blue check.

And I've got enough of this fabric to make one more apron. My plan is to use any aprons that don't sell as Christmas presents. This one may become my own! ;-)

And we mustn't forget the girls!! This can be used as a girl's apron or Playtime Pinafore - you know, like when kids do arts and crafts, or whatever.... The apron above is a Laurel Burch fabric (dog theme). The one below is just red checks with red checked trim and a daisy border.

I'm going to do another one similar to this with the daisy fabric and a checked border....

Now, here's my challenge to myself. This is where the "frenzy" from the title of the post comes in.... I've got to kick it up a notch here, if I'm going to get a sizable inventory of things ready in the five remaining weeks before the boutique. In addition to these aprons, I have three denim chef-style aprons to decorate, and a few half aprons I want to do with hankies, sheers, and/or vintage linens. I also plan to make some stuffed owls, hearts and cats, some lace and button cuffs, more dishtowels and oven mitts, and some handbags. And I'm sure there are a few things on my list that I've not mentioned.

So...... My goal this week is to finish 6 aprons by Saturday night. And the 3 denim ones next Sunday. Nine more aprons by this time next week. That's about one per day during the week. I may not finish one every single day, but it should average out to that. So, feel free to nag me!! :-) I'm hoping things at the Farm will settle down after Monday (when I have to finish the October deposits and cash reporting). And I've got 3 medical appointments on Monday (mammogram), Wednesday (dentist) and Friday (annual physical) to cut into my production time. But I am Woman, and I shall succeed! I may not cook or clean this week (but who cares about that?) , but I will reach that goal. And that's because ... next week is Stuffed Things week.

And to throw a wrench into the entire plan, I've GOT to CQ a 6" block for the Flower Fairies Round Robin I'm in so I can mail it out in the next week or two.....

Maybe sleep is overrated???