I wanted to share this pot of kalanchoes with y'all.
Oddly enough, I discovered that the plants are growing in a pot that is only half-filled with soil. But they seem very happy there!
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Just for pretty
Hello, everyone.
I wanted to share this pot of kalanchoes with y'all.
Oddly enough, I discovered that the plants are growing in a pot that is only half-filled with soil. But they seem very happy there!
I wanted to share this pot of kalanchoes with y'all.
Oddly enough, I discovered that the plants are growing in a pot that is only half-filled with soil. But they seem very happy there!
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Stash busting, outplaced fabric edition
Hello, everyone.
Last weekend the local sewing club I belong to provided two volunteers to demonstrate and instruct on the use of an antique, hand-operated sewing machine. (Hand-crank model Singer. And wow! what a beautiful straight stitch it makes.) We set up on a table provided by the museum for their Pioneer Crafts Day festival. We had bits of cut fabric for our guests/victims to make into various things. There were rectangles for the very young to make into bookmarks...putting just a straight line onto the fabric and getting the feel of the machine. There were fatter rectangles for making purse tissue pouches. And, using clothes-type fabric from my overflowing stash, there were stacks of rectangles and ties to make needle books out of.
The cylinder with the pink ribbon is a rolled-up needle book. (Needle books are related to the more-encompassing needle holders called hussifs.) The green piece on top of a blue piece is a needle book ready to sew. The tissue holder examples are there, along with a stack of the other fabrics.
I was able to turn a lot of assorted clothing leftovers into the covers and interiors of the needle books.
It was a lot of fun, and many people who thought that they "can't sew" made needle books, or tissue holders. When we asked them if they'd like to "take her for a ride," they were fascinated and had a great time.
This is the machine we were demonstrating:
The sample needle book is in front of the white tissue holder.
The antique machine had a bobbin, which gets refilled, like modern machines, but it's very long and the bobbin case looked like a big bullet. It went into a holder in almost the same fashion as the modern type of bobbin case does, and one brings up the bobbin thread in the same way as we do now. It was an enlightening exposure to the kind of equipment our great grandmothers had.
Last weekend the local sewing club I belong to provided two volunteers to demonstrate and instruct on the use of an antique, hand-operated sewing machine. (Hand-crank model Singer. And wow! what a beautiful straight stitch it makes.) We set up on a table provided by the museum for their Pioneer Crafts Day festival. We had bits of cut fabric for our guests/victims to make into various things. There were rectangles for the very young to make into bookmarks...putting just a straight line onto the fabric and getting the feel of the machine. There were fatter rectangles for making purse tissue pouches. And, using clothes-type fabric from my overflowing stash, there were stacks of rectangles and ties to make needle books out of.
The cylinder with the pink ribbon is a rolled-up needle book. (Needle books are related to the more-encompassing needle holders called hussifs.) The green piece on top of a blue piece is a needle book ready to sew. The tissue holder examples are there, along with a stack of the other fabrics.
I was able to turn a lot of assorted clothing leftovers into the covers and interiors of the needle books.
It was a lot of fun, and many people who thought that they "can't sew" made needle books, or tissue holders. When we asked them if they'd like to "take her for a ride," they were fascinated and had a great time.
This is the machine we were demonstrating:
The sample needle book is in front of the white tissue holder.
The antique machine had a bobbin, which gets refilled, like modern machines, but it's very long and the bobbin case looked like a big bullet. It went into a holder in almost the same fashion as the modern type of bobbin case does, and one brings up the bobbin thread in the same way as we do now. It was an enlightening exposure to the kind of equipment our great grandmothers had.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
A pretty flower (Camino del Norte)
Hello, everyone.
Sorry it's been so long. We moved house a little while back, and did some renovation to the new place (new to us, that is) and it's been hectic.
There has been more stash busting, pictures of which are not in the main computer yet, and some gardening.
Today, though, I am putting up a picture of a passion flower blossom that we saw in northern Spain during our Camino last summer.
This is called a passion flower because the parts of the flower reminded people of the Passion of Christ. Supposedly the five stamens remind of the Five Wounds and the lots of fringe bits correspond to, um, I think it was the number of days of the season of Lent. I am impressed by the idea that someone actually counted all the bits and discovered allegorical symbolism for them. I would never have thought of all that.
The passion flower blossoms are really pretty. Even the wild unimproved native Texas version is pretty! There is a kind of butterfly whose young--the caterpillars--think it's just the best food going. They are orange and I think they have dark spines or bumps all over their little wormy bodies.
Sorry it's been so long. We moved house a little while back, and did some renovation to the new place (new to us, that is) and it's been hectic.
There has been more stash busting, pictures of which are not in the main computer yet, and some gardening.
Today, though, I am putting up a picture of a passion flower blossom that we saw in northern Spain during our Camino last summer.
This is called a passion flower because the parts of the flower reminded people of the Passion of Christ. Supposedly the five stamens remind of the Five Wounds and the lots of fringe bits correspond to, um, I think it was the number of days of the season of Lent. I am impressed by the idea that someone actually counted all the bits and discovered allegorical symbolism for them. I would never have thought of all that.
The passion flower blossoms are really pretty. Even the wild unimproved native Texas version is pretty! There is a kind of butterfly whose young--the caterpillars--think it's just the best food going. They are orange and I think they have dark spines or bumps all over their little wormy bodies.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Busting a little more stash: mug rugs
Hello, everyone.
This little project was quick and pretty easy.
I try to make mug rugs and placemats (and someday napkins) in multiples as most of the time the recipients will want to use them as a set.
The fabrics are quilting cottons, two prints and a bit of Kona solid for an accent. I quilted it in simple rows.
This little project was quick and pretty easy.
The fabrics are quilting cottons, two prints and a bit of Kona solid for an accent. I quilted it in simple rows.
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Using up stash: apron
Hello, everyone.
There is nothing like loading up all your stuff in boxes to reveal just how much stash there is on hand. Ouch.
There is now a concentrated effort to find and apply stash-using ideas.
Today's effort: an apron.
It used up around 2/3 yard of lightweight denim that was on hand, plus half of the custom bias that was leftover from the Easter egg placemat set and a D-ring that was in the little drawer full of random clothes-hardware.
The denim is really dark navy. The log-cabin-square pocket at the top is pale pinks and greens. (I lined the pocket so the seams don't fray in use.) The bias is likewise. The camera in the tablet has a bit of trouble with the contrast.
Done in about a half day, while also doing other necessary things.
There is nothing like loading up all your stuff in boxes to reveal just how much stash there is on hand. Ouch.
There is now a concentrated effort to find and apply stash-using ideas.
Today's effort: an apron.
It used up around 2/3 yard of lightweight denim that was on hand, plus half of the custom bias that was leftover from the Easter egg placemat set and a D-ring that was in the little drawer full of random clothes-hardware.
Done in about a half day, while also doing other necessary things.
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