Snoodle

Bloom Where You Are Planted

    I want a garden.  Not just that, I want to be a gardener.  I want to step barefoot into the backyard to harvest a salad.  I want to heal using herbs that wind into the depths of our property.  I want to fill dye-pots with hues plucked from a medieval-style plot.  I want to send Eleanor out to pick favorite blooms to decorate our dinner table.  I want a wide brimmed hat and dirt under my fingernails. Then, I remember that this is a rented home and close the door.

    This has been a sabotaging obstacle for me: this pesky renting, this tiny apartment.  I keep myself from doing projects because I'm waiting for a bigger bedroom, an attic sewing room, a pantry, and that garden I truly can call my own.  For years, I've been shying away from tending a garden because of the ever-present hope that we might move. 

    A little while ago I went to a garage sale with my sister-in-law in a very poor rural area.  The house wasn't much to look at, but the garden was sensational.  It was brilliantly covered with beautiful flowers and herbs.  She had small gardens with decorations and vignettes scattered throughout.  She spoke with great fondness about her plants.  It was clear that she was devoted to them and in turn, they gave her great joy.  My sister said, "she's really bloomed where she's planted."  I agreed but was internally thinking it a bit of a cliche- one of those phrases you see on stepping stones or fence plaques.  But after we got into the car, I though more about it.  She really did bloom, very literally, where she was.  She created an oasis of beauty spread out before her double-wide. Maybe I could, too.

    Indeed, it's expensive and a lot of work to start a proper garden when we might just leave it.  But little things have been creeping into the yard- the determined mint, the strawberries that might actually produce if the woodchucks don't get to them first, and a scattering of cheery violets and other little flowers and greenery fill the gaps between the blades of grass.  If these plants aren't speaking to me, my seven year-old certainly is!  I need to succumb to the fact that I surely have years -plural!- to continue living here and make it bloom. 

    It might be nice for the next tenants to have a little beauty left behind.

    This gardening idea, along with our farm fantasy, is not new.  Nora and I have been dreaming about our future garden filled with lilacs, apple trees, daffodils, herbs, and favorite veggies. We already have strawberries as berries of all kinds are high on the list.   Lately, she's been sure to comment on the bleeding hearts that we see as we walk through the neighborhood.  Knowing the generosity of our neighbors, I sent a plea to our neighborhood forum and asked if anyone had this particular plant to share.  I got many responses and immediately pounced!  We loaded up the wagon and a shovel and made our way to a hidden garden down the street.  We dug up the plant and replanted it under the dappled light of our (neighbor's) tree.  Its close to Sweet Pea's grave where, indeed, Eleanor keeps a piece of her heart.  The delight I have gotten in its presence makes me think that I might just be getting my hands dirty more often... right here where I'm planted.

I Heart Colette!

 

My heart always does a little flip when I find a vintage sewing notion on my thrifting adventures.  On more than one occasion, I've found boxes (sometimes actual sewing boxes -Yea!) full of notions.  Some of them I keep in the package because the sweet buttons on the card are so dear or the packaging is so vintage-cool.  A lot of it, like the binding, elastic, and snaps just get used.

One day, I was rifling through my newest box of treasures, wondering if I got my $3 worth, when I found a little metal... thingie.  It had the name Dritz embossed on it so I knew it was indeed a sewing notion, but I hadn't any other clue as to what it could be used for.  Also embossed was the patent number which I searched on the interwebs. 

...and I found that it is a bound buttonhole attachment.  How exciting!  A bound buttonhole provides such a finished, professional look.  It's not one of those details that you see in ready to wear clothing; at least not in my price range!  It's one of those things that makes vintage clothing so desirable.  It's these kind of details that makes sewing your own clothes special.  So, I thought I would try to find out how to actually use this little device.  Granted, I do have a lot of vintage sewing books, but I was on the internet anyway.  I came across a blog that had the answer:   The Coletterie!

Not only did I find the perfect answer, but also the perfect blog.  Okay, now click on the link, but come back eventually because I must warn you:  There is A LOT to look at.  The blog is filled with the history of fashion, tutorials, sew-alongs, and oh, the patterns!  Colette is actually the name of Sarai Mitnick's pattern company- the finest patterns I've ever seen.  I've just found the perfect fabric for the Violet top and can't wait to plunge in.  There's a whole sewing lesson in there, and if you do follow the blog, you'll discover lovely little details to add to your patterns.  Today there was even multiple styling options for one of their dresses.  

Reading the Colette blog and forum is blissfully inspirational and also provides the means to make that inspiration become reality and see how others have been inspired ... which is inspirational!  *Sigh*  If I can't go fabric shopping with Sarai herself, at least I have the Coletterie.

And then there's this:

Yes!  What I imagine to be a sewing course between two covers!  I'm so excited about the release of this book in November and available for pre-order now.  I'm feeling confident that it will be not only informative but also beautiful!  This, along with the new Fall patterns that have just been released (Hello, Peony!)  I think I'll be quite busy until Spring... when I might actually complete my Colette Spring Palette Challenge!  Does it really matter what year?!

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So, I picked a name out of a hat and the winner of  

Singer Sewing for the Home is:

Aimee!

Please email me your address and I'll ship it off to you soon!

A Little Privacy, Please?

Huzzah!  At long last, the little door curtain is finished.  Was it during Spring cleaning that I took the old one down?  Considering that it took me all of about 20 minutes to make the thing, I'm a little embarrassed that it took so long.  The cute fabric that I used is a vintage sheer with tiny flocked dots.  When I cut the fabric, or rather, tore it (ripping is a totally legit way to straighten fabric) I was a little concerned that this fabric was so vintage that more would fall off, but it's fine.  I don't tend to gravitate toward sheers, but I may be turning around.  The fifties/ sixties feel of it is quite dear and watching MadMen and the Help is only increasing my desire to decorate my home and self with all things vintage.

Everyone here is thrilled:  there's no glare on the television (priorities) and my they can run around in their birthday suits... er, it might be time to sew a couple more robes.

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Don't let the competition deter you!

There's still time to comment here and win!

The Make Do Desk

Our little compartment, I mean apartment, is small.  Really, really small.  Exacerbated by a seven year old who likes to dance, a mama who uses the kitchen floor for basting quilts, a daddy who tinkers with computers, and a whole family who collects books, this place often feels like it is shrinking around us.  We've had to "make do"  a lot:  laughing at the idea of a queen sized bed and sharing a dresser, a loft for said seven year old to make room for dance and play, a dining/ sewing table - one which often pushes the other aside...

One thing, however that I was not willing to "make do" with is going without a place for Eleanor to do her work: school, art, newspaper writing, mad-libs, jewelry making, sewing, whatever it is that she does; I feel it's important for her to have a space of her own and certainly not add to the dining/ sewing table usage!

It was clear that she needed a desk.  We had an old school (literally) desk with the flip-up desktop and inkwell, but I was always worried about her pinching her fingers, the angle always caused the writing utensils to roll off, there wasn't space for anything to be left on the top.   It never really got used.  So, I was thrilled when I found a child-sized desk at my favorite thrift shop, ReStore.

It certainly did NOT look like this when I got it.  It was painted white and appeared to be left in a garage as the top sustained a lot of damage and was quite rough.  It was so rough that I thought twice about getting it, but I checked out the drawers, gave the chair a good shake and all appeared intact and sturdy.  I coughed up my $25 and brought it home.  Fast-forward a few months and it's done!  Much of the time was spent just picking out a color.  I had no preference which might have made the decision harder.  Nora chose green and we got many, many paint samples and observed them in different lighting throughout the day... for many days. 

Nora finally decided on  "Little Apples" by Pratt & Lambert.  (a semi-gloss acrylic latex).  It makes me think of jadeite but brighter and a bit cheerier.  Thanks to David for finding time to do this.  I can't paint. 

After the paint decision was made, it was my job to come up with a lovely coordinating fabric.  I was struck with the jadeite/ 30's inspiration. I thought I would use something from my small collection of reproduction fabrics.   Though, anything would be better than the original:

Now, I don't fault the previous owner for the fabric choice.  I'm guessing it was fine 80's fabric... in the 80's.  And you've got to expect a fair amount of wear and filth, but what I don't understand is why the fabric was pieced.  It was clearly sewn together before the chair was upholstered and not a repair.  Kudos to the person who sewed it because the pattern matched up perfectly. But for the small amount of fabric needed to cover a chair, why not use a continuous piece of fabric?  Which makes my ultimate fabric choice so ironic:

Yup, that's a lot of piecing!  The paint color choice was not the only area of indecision.  I couldn't figure which fabric I wanted to use the most, and when I did, I only had scraps left.  So, I crazy quilted the scraps that I had.  So, now I am the  woman pieced the chair cushion.  I did, however, use fusible fleece to hold it all together.  I think it will last until I get tired of looking at it and want to reupholster it again.

To make the actual cushion, I used nap mat from work that had ripped and was going to be thrown away.  Because it was covered with vinyl, it was easy to use a marker to trace the wooden seat's base and just cut it with strong shears.

The drawer pulls that were originally on the desk looked like this:

They're not horrible, but needed cleaning that I wasn't going to do.  The knobs that I used also came from the Restore.  They are wooden knobs that I painted with white craft acrylic.  They're fine, but I'm noticing that arty-y fingerprints are appearing on them at a steady pace.  I might replace them with vintage milk glass or porcelain knobs. 

Being unimpressed with the inside of the drawers which were (almost) painted in a previous life, I told David not to paint them green and that I would figure out "something."  Once again, the ReStore came to the rescue!

I always peek at the wrapping paper/ wallpaper section there, but have never taken anything home with me.   Maybe I was looking with a different eye that day, but I found the perfect wallpaper (from 1979 according to the paperwork in the roll).  I put the good ol' Mod Podge to work and papered the inside of each drawer.  It looked quite antique when the glue was wet (sort of tea stained) but also looks lovely when dry.

I'm loving Nora's little desk accessories.  The toadstool eraser/pencil sharpener was in her Christmas stocking, the toadstool stapler was a lucky garage sale find.  The caterpillar is a wind-up toy and apparently essential to homework completion.  The bulletin board in the first photo came from (surprise) the ReStore.  It's Melissa and Doug and was still in the original packaging.  Score!

Eleanor is really enjoying it.  I think she's writing more ow that she has her own space. The typewriter really pulls together the whole 30's theme!  I'm happy with the depression era thriftiness that made the whole project quite economical!

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I'm really excited to be giving away a copy of  

Singer: Sewing for the Home.

All you have to do is leave a comment on my last post.

 

 

Sewing for the (mom's) Home ...and a Giveaway!

I love sewing curtains:  straight lines and dramatic effect.  Curtains were really the first thing that I learned to sew.  My first curtain was not good.  I didn't know that fabric could be straightened and the resulting drapery reflected my lack of knowledge! 

After college, I happily taught third grade while a teacher took a year of maternity leave.  When she decided to return (drat), I had to find a job.  Alas, there were no teaching positions in my area.  So, I applied to the home decorating fabric shop only a block from my house and in the same building where my fiance and later husband was working at the time!  The manager was fabulous. 

A former home economics teacher, she spent lots of time teaching me when business was slow... which was often.  I learned a lot!  First of all, I did learn the different ways of straightening fabric as well as calculating yardage, inserting a zipper, and sewing a mitered corner.  In retrospect, there was an awful lot of down time! 

She was very influential to keeping up my interest in sewing and my desire to learn more.  Thank you, Joanne, wherever you are.  Sadly, that shop closed a few years after I started working for my current employer, and while I do not want to work retail again, I am thrilled that I had the experiences working with interior decorators, seamstresses, and homeowners helping them find just the right fabrics for their projets. 

While working at the fabric shop, I was introduced to the book, Singer: Sewing for the Home.

It is part of the Singer sewing reference library.  While out of print, it seems pretty easily attainable from used booksellers, and I've seen this and other books in the libarary at garage sales and thrift shops.  The fabrics are a bit dated, but of couse, that's not what you will be using anyway!  This book has exceptional photographs of each step of a project's process.  Being a visual learner, this is the closet thing that I have found to Joanne sewing it in front of me!  I have a lot of sewing books, but this is always my go-to for curtains and home dec.

So, when my mother asked if I would sew a new valance to replace the one that came with the house, quite possibly from the same era as this book, I happily agreed.    Curtains can change the whole look, style, and light of a room.  I was delighted to be part of a transfomation... and then she asked if I would make Roman shades, and tab top curtains for her sliding door, and could I have it all done before Labor Day weekend?  Um, sure, mom.

But I whipped out my copy of Sewing for the Home.  And they were done with plenty of time to spare.  It's an awkward room to photograph, but they're fabulous!

Her living room went from a dated pink and blue floral motif to a lovely "bourdeau."  She ordered a new couch and recliner, but the truck they were on got hijacked!  Seriously?!!  So, the Country Life toile is sharing a room with pink and blue peonies for now, but if you keep your eyes on just the one side of the room, it's just lovely!  This Waverly toile is the same fabric that I have in my bedroom, but mine is blue.  It has a huge repeat, but between the curains, shades, and valance, I had just barely enough.  Calculating for a repeat was one of those things that I learned at the fabric shop!  I'm so glad that this fabric is fairly common as I will have lots of options for sewing accessories for the many years that she will enjoy these curtains.

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Giveaway!

I'm so excited about finishing up this project, and I do so love Singer: Sewing for the Home, that I'm going to give away one of my copies and save you a search at the thrift shop.  I did it for you!  If you would like it, leave a comment before Wednesday, September 14.  If there is more than one comment (tee hee), I will randomly select a winner and announce a winner on Wednesday.  I would be over the moon to know that someone afar was reading this blog.  So I'll be happy to ship it anywhere.  Good luck!

Soy un Perdedor

Thanks for all of your kind words about my silly little entry to the Sew Mama Sew! serger contest.  I did not win, but I got a nice tip of the hat from the Mamas on their blog... and on Facebook, too!  Yup, my duct taped boobs are all over the internet now.  Yea, technology!

The winner was Tabatha of Refugee Crafter -a lovely singer who created lyric, music, and video for her entry.  Now, I'm a little jealous of her serger AND her talent.  But I'll wipe away my bitter tears to wish her congratulations.  It really is a lovely song:

Why my life would be better with a Husqvarna s21 Serger

Welcome SewMamaSew!  Thanks for doing another amazing giveaway.
In my previous post, you'll see that I have just made a dress form made out of duct tape a.k.a. the duct tape double.  (I know you’ve got a lot of entries to read, but check it out here.)

I’m so pleased that I can tailor clothing to fit my unique figure.  As a busy Toddler teacher, comfortable, easy, good-looking, professional clothing is important.  Knitwear could certainly achieve all of this, but I know that it can be challenging to sew knits without a serger.  I haven’t actually used one since working in the costume shop in college.  In fact, that was where I first heard of this miracle machine and discovered the ability to quickly sew strong seams, tackle knitwear, and cut edges while sewing (thrilling!)  But my affair ended with graduation.  Even with the tens of dollars that I make as an ealy educator, I’ve never been able to buy a serger.  But after making my duct tape double, I got to thinking:  If I could save money and create the perfect dress form out of duct tape, maybe I could do the same thing with an overlock machine.  So, I took out what was left on my roll of duct tape to make <drum roll> my own DUCT TAPE SERGER!

Knowing that sewing knits would be a breeze, I thought I would start with a simple repair job of my husband’s favorite t-shirt.

It did close the hole, but hubby is complaining of the stickiness.  So picky!

So, I thought I’d make something for myself.  After all, that’s why I made this serger.  I’ve been seeing lots of lovely, embellished t-shirts lately, and it would be great if I could shorten a t-shirt to better fit my 4’ 10” self.   So, I thought I’d use the awesome decorative stitch feature of my Duct Tape Serger to fancy up my shirt.

Just a little dial adjustment...

It IS awesome, no?  NO?!!
I was probably trying to be too awesome with my Duct Tape Serger.  So, I picked the simple task of refinishing the edges of our cloth napkins that are starting to fray.

Just a run through my Duct Tape Serger

I was so excited for Nora to get the napkins before dinner to see what she thought.

Well, she’s a bit of a tough critic.  She’d rather I make her some clothing anyway.  Here’s what I did in an attempt to make a hem on her dress last Winter.
Before the Duct Tape Serger:

(Clearly, I have no idea how to use hem tape, and it took forever!)
After the Duct Tape Serger:

I think that I remember hems like this in my high school costume shop!

I used my Duct Tape Dress Form to clean up the seams on a cute Built by Wendy top.  I used a vintage bed sheet for the fabric.

The seams look a little lame, and making French seams takes so long.  It took only seconds to finish the seams with my Duct Tape Serger!

Hmm... it’s not as “awesome” as I thought it would be. 
It looks like there are some jobs that Duct Tape simply CANNOT do. <gasp!>
So, SewMamaSew team, it looks like I really could use the amazing Husqvarna s21 after all.

I’m pretty creative, but I guess I cannot create anything better than the folks at Husqvarna.

Please don’t make me stick with the serger that I have!

All Aboard the MealTrain!

My neighbors are an eclectic mix. We've got a professional photographer, massage therapist, home schoolers, a folk music radio host, a landscaper, a math teacher, bakers, bikers, and a smattering of lawyers, dishwashers, and actors. A little of everything. They're an incredibly generous group of people who are active in many areas of the community. This is the 'hood where The Front Porch Forum started. It keeps us informed about events  going on in the neighborhood - from garage sales to school plays. We get updates from police and firefighters about how to keep our homes safe as well as anything else that might be specifically important to our area of town.  The forum helped me pass on my old quilting magazines to a new quilter, and it helped me to get many copies of the local newspaper when Nora was in it last December. There is some serious genius coming from this neighborhood (I hope it wafts over to my side of the street) because recently, my neighbor, Michael, came up with another great idea: the much needed MealTrain website.  It takes all the organizing, calling, and stress out of creating meals to give to family or friends in need of casseroles (or something perhaps more appetizing). In fact, the person launching the MealTrain can list the kinds of foods that the family enjoys along with any allergies or other notes.  I'm predicting this *free* website will soon be seen on many shower invitations. What a great site to help families with a new baby, a family member serving in the military, illness, a lost loved one, or new to the neighborhood.  The site is extremely well thought-out. It even includes points of etiquette reminding you to label your containers, include cooking directions, and how long to stay at drop-off! If you're on facebook, it would be easy to round up a lot of folks to start cooking. You can learn a little more about MealTrain there, too.   So, spread the word and make someone's life just a little easier.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

 We walked home in the rain- my hands full of umbrella, grocery bag, and fallen leaves collected along the way when I saw a little something peeking out of the mailbox.  Being a Macintosh geek, David often gets computer parts from all over the country.  So,  don't usually get too excited when I see a package. As I walked up the porch steps, I noticed this one looked a little soft... almost like it could be filled with... fabric... if only... I didn't order... Hey, it's my Liberty Tana Lawn that I won from Mr. Monkeysuit!  So soon!  It was a super-busy evening- the last sailing race of the year for Dave, packing to go to my sister-in-law's house (more about that later), homework, laundry, cleaning, but I had plenty of time to ogle over this lovely fabric.  The sizes vary from just enough to cover a button to 8x10.  While it is a joy just to touch, I can't wait to play with it.  I'm thinking about a quilt, but Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting a month of scrap buster tutorials, so I might get a inspired with another idea.  

Mmm... so pretty, so soft, and what a cheery picture on that card.  Thank you so much, Josie!  

I'm a Winner!

This is my sweet win from the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway.  This lovely list taker was made by Jennifer atRather Be Crafting (so would I).  It is beautifully made.  I love the cheery colors, the handy pocket, and pen pocket... how much time do I waste every day searching for a pen?!!  Yeah, some of my lists are written in crayon-- but not any more!  Thanks, Jennifer!  

It came just in time.  I'm taking a couple weeks off in July, and there's a lot "To Do".  I'm creating lists like a mad woman in preparation.  I'm planning a little 'staycation' with a mix of household organization, reading (mmm... I remember novels!), and family time.  I'm open to suggestions about good books to read or family activities.  I'd like to fill this fancy list taker!