Have I told you lately how much I love a good rummage sale?I stopped at a sale on my way home from the grocery store yesterday at noon. I got this great little suitcase and a fun yellow check tablecloth. P LOVES the suitcase. It is like one that I had when I was little but this one is bigger. She uses my old one for her doll clothes and is eager to use this on a trip. The table cloth has a hole in it but I am hoping that we can use it with a strategically placed flower vase on the table.
The crafting department was filled with treasures.
Someone had cut out some projects and had them bundled with the pattern jackets. I love that old flannel print.
I pawed through boxes and boxes of fabric and found some real winners.
Lots of vintage pieces, even some large pieces made with narrow width.
And some great old searsucker!Here is the fabric haul all washed and folded.
The best part of all is that the total for all of my purchases was $3.70!Three dollars and seventy cents!! And I even got a a few things that were not pictured!Can you believe it?
A Gift From the Thrift
A friend recently returned from a trip to the thrift with a big sister to my little pyrex bowl that I picked up last winter.I love it and use it all the time now. It is much more fun than a clear glass bowl.Thanks for thinking of me, M!
Friday Finds
One of our vacation walks took us past the local thrift store where I scored a stack of great old patterns. I can't pass up an old apron pattern.
Here are two more from the stack. The pattern on the left reminds me of my mother's sister. She has always been very stylish. I don't think I'll use these but I love the pictures.
It's too bad I don't have a thrift store on my regular walk route at home.
Retreat Progress
Quilt retreat weekend was fun and productive. I quilted all but the top and bottom borders of the basket quilt. I decided to quilt bishop's fan in those area and my template was at home so I didn't quite finish. For me, the decisions are sometimes the hardest part of the quilting process so I was fine with waiting to finish after I had finalized the quilting plan.
The daisy vines in the narrow strips make be very happy. I'll take some better pictures when I have a finished quilt.
I also started another quilt using my solid fabric stash and scraps. I currently plan to make this one big enough for my queen size bed. We'll see how long that lasts. I think I'll need about 400 of these blocks. I made 53 this weekend. But as M pointed out I make about 3 months worth of progress during a retreat weekend.
The sewing machine was having some tension troubles with the free motion quilting so I took it to the shop today to be cleaned and tuned. I sure hope they can get it cleaned and tightened up for good quilting. Today I cut some more solid fabric squares for the new quilt so I'll be ready to sew when the machine comes home.
Keep Calm and Cast on
Surely you all must be excited about the OLYMPICS! All I can say is "the cast on is TONIGHT!"
I love Derya Davenport's knitting version of the 1939 British propaganda poster Keep Calm and Carry On.
P and I have been keeping calm while darning socks. She told me yesterday that she has been wanting to learn how to darn socks. So, last night she learned. She was thrilled to be able to fix one of dad's socks. She has her own darning egg so we can both work on socks at the same time.
We should have the pile finished before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
Winter Walk
We have been having some wicked cold weather around here. We have had the same snow for weeks and are eagerly awaiting some fresh snow! We want to have a snow day and build a snowman. It is too cold for snowmen now. The snow is dry and powdery and doesn't stick together.Yesterday, we enjoyed a quick walk to the frozen lake.
Our house project is moving along slowly. We are still in the demolition stage. Some flooring came up yesterday and one wall in the stairwell came down before that.If you were wondering - plaster dust gets in EVERYTHING. Even when you close doors to the demolition area. The entire house filled with a cloud of plaster dust. I cleaned up a lot of it but I think I'll wait until the rest of the plaster that needs to come down is removed before doing much more.
Future Project
Every so often I flip through my old pattern books to get ideas. The latest perusal has left me with a 1945 Beehive pattern book open to this page.
I have put this little dress on my knitting list. I think it would make a cute top for P. I can see her wearing it for a few years over pants.I have searched through the stash and don't have proper yarn for the project so the search is on. I think I know what I want but I am open to suggestions. The pattern calls for baby weight yarn.
Happy Birthday
(for D who is missing our garden harvest fun this year.)"I wish we could do what they do in Katroo. They sure know how to say 'Happy Birthday to You!'"Happy Birthday to You!, Dr. Seuss, 1959.
Guest Blogger
How to make Christmas ornament gifts. by P.
First tear out a page from a colored coloring book. Then, cut the things out. Poke a hole in the cut out with a needle. Thread the needle and put it through the hole. Then take off the needle and tie the thread.
Keep them in a display until it is time to wrap them up for Christmas. Then you have to clean your desk.
(so easy a four year old can do it!)
The Official Start of Summer - or The Mother of All Rummage Sales
June brings great things each year such as summer vacation, fresh local strawberries, three family birthdays, bare foot weather, new baby chicks, and the highly anticipated Mother of all Rummage Sales. I kid you not; this sale is HUGE! We have learned to attend this sale with a wish list. We plan out which "department" to visit first based on the priority of the items on the list. When the boys come along we can divide and conquer.I am not sure what I am going to do with these orange crates but I had to have them.
Look at the labels!
Here are a few of the books I found.
The sewing supplies table had a few boxes of patterns. These are my favorites of the twenty or so that I purchased.
I also found some old quilt blocks - hand applique butterflies on feedsacks. I love the way the seamstress placed the fabric in that upper left butterfly.
There are quite a few plaid, stripe, and check fabrics.
These are P's favorites, of course.
Other finds of the day were a nice flower pot, a set of vintage floral sheets, shiny blue glass Christmas balls still in their box, a bike for M, and two old suitcases which I have used in my sewing room tidy up project. I have eliminated two big plastic tubs and replaced them with fun, vintage suitcases!Now we can say that summer has officially started!
Thrifting Fun
This morning P and I went to Ann Arbor to exchange a couple of Christmas sweaters, then we went to the thrift stores. I thought I would share a few of our finds. The little eyelet dress will fit P this spring I think. She says she would like it in a different color. No surprise there. I did notice after we got home that it is missing buttons and a sash. Perhaps they could be pink. I don't have any idea what I'll do with that knitting ribbon; it just jumped in my bag. I am sure you know how that is. The singer zigzagger will be fun to try on one of my old machines.
We also picked up some old sheets and a fairly large doily. The doily is raveling in a few places so I'll use it to spiff up my shopping look by making a shopping bag from Jessica's Dilly Doily Bag Tutorial. Zig zagging the edge should keep the doily from raveling anymore - and it could be really fun if I use the old zig zag attachment to make the bag!
I was pooped after two thrift shops so we came home for lunch and a nap (for P).
Farm Girl
P thinks she is a real farm girl. She hasn't spent much time with the chickens lately as they are full grown now and LAYING EGGS of their own. She still calls them her baby chicks. I know she will enjoy getting new chicks in the spring. We have not clued her in on one of our weekend projects which is the reason we get new chicks each year.... We will start culling the old hens and new roosters and making chicken broth for the freezer. B will do the first steps in the back yard with the drapes closed.
P's new farm "chore" that she enjoys is helping dad with tractor stuff (going on tractor rides). Sometimes there is a lot of waiting until Dad has everything ready.
It is not until now, while looking at this photo, that I see how worn her shoes are. But, they are great shoes. They come with a lot of history. I bought them years ago for D. then M. wore them. Next, they went to Virginia and were used by two of her cousins. Now, they are back where they started, on this old tractor. Having rides again with the same Dad.
Milkweed
When we were small we used empty milkweed pods to make Christmas ornaments.
My father said that in World War II he gathered milkweed fluff from fields near his home.
It was used as the stuffing in life vests.
I want to try to spin milkweed fluff. I hope to some day be THAT caught up.
Celebration
I started this blog as a way to share creations from my sewing room.
I have also shared socks,
a few recipes from the kitchen,
some of my favorite books,
and some tidbits about life on our little farm.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Making Progress
I have made a couple of things for P to wear when preschool starts and progressed a little in my sewing room tidying at the same time. P. had been admiring these pink fabrics in my sewing room ever since they arrived in the mail back in the winter, so, I made her a reversible apron/smock.
I also turned these size 18 women's thrift shop capri pants into a pair of pants for P.
Please forgive the uncooperative model. I started these a week or two ago but was frustrated with the way they fit. I trimmed the legs down but they still did not look right. This morning I took the front waist band off and reworked the elastic in the back and the band in the front. I hemmed them and they fit much better still a little baggy looking but we are going with it.The fabric was stretchy and I wish I had remembered my walking foot before I had finished them.I also finished knitting B's slippers but I'll wait until I knit my new slippers and then felt both at the same time.Back to work...
Rummage Sale Day
This was the weekend of the BIG rummage sale. We look forward to it every year. This is the kind of sale where you can go with a shopping list and usually get everything on it. It is held in a school where they use the gym, the cafeteria, the entrance, and the halls, outdoor items are on the lawn. D. and I got there 10 minutes before they opened and the line was all the way to the back of the school. People know the layout of the sale from past years and when the doors open the line moves quickly as the people disperse to shop. D was looking for a bike but could not find one large enough for him; he's tall. He did find a nice tripod for me.I spent a long time in the book hall and filled a bag there. I also found an old washboard that I will use for felting. My favorite find was a set of seven linen dish towels. They are embroidered with the days of the week.
They have never been used! I will wash them, but, I don't know if I can get myself to use them. I think I'll just use them as a reference for what to do each day. Tomorrow is laundry day. I should have cleaned on Friday.
This is what we should do each day of the week:Monday - wash clothesTuesday - ironWednesday - sewing/mendingThursday - marketFriday - dusting/cleaningSaturday - bakingSunday - rest/look out the window
Quilt Binding
I use a single thickness binding for more drape at the edge of a quilt. I think this is especially important for the smaller doll quilts. For quarter inch binding cut straight grain strips that are one and a quarter inch wide. Lay the strip ends right sides together at 90 degrees to each other. Sew across the diagonal. Continue until all strips are joined. Trim seams to one quarter inch.
Start with a quilt that has been trimmed and the corners square (90 degrees). I start in the middle of one side and leave about 8 inches of the binding strip before I start to sew.
Sew a quarter inch seam until the needle is one quarter inch from the end of the quilt. Stop with the needle down.
Pivot the quilt 90 degrees and stitch backwards off the quilt.
Remove the quilt from under the presser foot and fold the binding strip back so that the right edges are even.
Next, fold the binding strip back down with the folded edge even with the side just sewn while keeping the right edges even. Sew a quarter inch seam.
Repeat for all corners and sew until you are a few inches from where you started. Remove the quilt from the machine.
Fold each of the binding strips back on themselves leaving an eighth inch space between them. Pin the fold at the center of the strips.
Fold the quilt so that the two binding strip ends can be joined.
Match the pins with the binding strips at 90 degrees to each other
and sew.
Trim the seam and sew the rest of the binding to the quilt.
When turned to the back the corner should look like this.
Fold under the raw edge and pin the binding to the back. The folded edge will just cover the stitching line. To distribute the bulk of fabric in the mitered corner pin the corner in the counter clockwise direction.
When you stitch the binding down make sure to stitch the miter closed on both sides. This gives a more finished look.
I do only pin about five pins ahead of where I am sewing. This way my thread does not get tangled in the pins.
Here is the finished corner on the front of the quilt.
If you make something using this tutorial please add photos to my flickr group. I'd love to see what you've done.edit to add.I now finish all of my full size quilts with a 1/2 inch finished binding.To make the wider binding, trim the quilt so that the backing and batting extend 1/4 inch past the edge of the quilt. Use binding strips that are cut 2 1/4 inches wide. Follow the above directions using a 1/2 inch seam allowance when attaching the binding.
Good News!
We have been using a dial up connection here to get to the internet. It has been very slow and frustrating. We frequently get disconnected.
It takes so long to upload pictures that I want to scream.
We searched for other options.
Cable is not available here and we did not want to buy a satellite dish. We tried the wireless phone connection but it was expensive and we only got "one bar" reception.
Now, we are celebrating because we have DSL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
We are speeding along now! We can even talk on the phone while being online! Woohoo.
Hankie doll
My grandmother could entertain children all day with a button, a handkerchief, and a piece of string. When I was little she taught me how to make a doll from a handkerchief. All you need is a friend, a handkerchief, and a ring or small piece of string.
First, stand or sit opposite your friend. Each person take two cornersof the hankie and roll them towards each other to meet in the middle as shown below.
When the two sides meet, rotate the hankie 90 degrees sothat each person now holds two corners that are touching.
One person then folds his or her corners down about one third of the lengthof the hankie. These corners will be the feet of the doll.
The other person then folds his corners up leaving a little of thehankie showing above the corners. These corners become the hands.
The last corners that were folded up (the hands) then get crossed through the loopformed when the first corners were folded down. Each person then tugs alittle on the corners in their hands to stretch the arms and legs.
Last, slip a ring or tie a string just above the arms to shape the head.
Now you have a finished doll.
If you want to use the hankie or make another doll just remove the ring or string and shake it loose.
Cookie boy land
P. has gotten some lovely gifts from "Cookie Boy Land."
The crocheted boy came from our friend Tracy. The felt boy is from her aunt G. And the book, which is ALMOST as old as me, is from our friend Melissa. I think she may have a hard time packing those ornaments up with the Christmas things. We will keep the book out for reading all year. Thanks to you all."Run, run, as fast as you can..."I love the variety of gingerbread men ornaments - this one is very creative.
