This little outfit has been finished for quite awhile. I started the apron right after Christmas; it was made long before the dress and bonnet. I really like the little dress; it's a very simple basic pattern first published in 1921.The apron is from 1921 too, but the bonnet is a bit earlier; it's from 1911. I made the little doodads to trim it with fabric left from the dress. The dress was made from a thrift store blouse because I wanted a small 100% cotton gingham check and I couldn't find one at Hancock or JoAnn. I think it turned out very nice. I'm waiting for my stash swap package to get here before I start anything else for her.
Why? I don't know. I just picked the yo yo makers up a couple of evenings ago, and well, now I seem to be addicted.I know I will loose interest long before I have enough for a quilt, especially since I am making 3 sizes. I may end up putting them in a destash listing on Etsy.
Oh, I want to go fishing! There are all these fishing shows on TV on Sunday mornings and these guys are catching big bass and I just wish I was with one of them. I saw one show where this guy was ice fishing and catching gigantic bluegill, and I'm ready to grab an ax and cut a hole in the ice on the pond by Chris and Richards. It's got to be thick enough, it's been sooo cold this winter. The tackle box is already cleaned out, so I can't do that.
I told Sio yesterday that if she wins the lottery all I want is a little cabin by a river with a few chickens and a bunch of fishing stuff. I only need 2 rooms, a bedroom and a combo living room/kitchen. A woodburning stove to keep the place warm and to cook on, a fridge, a generator in case the electricity goes out and I'm all set. I'll bring the treadle and one tote of sewing stuff. Oh and bathroom, I need the convenience of modern plumbing. John and I could be perfectly happy there; maybe eventually we'd add on one more room for Chris. He would definitly want to visit a lot, even if he didn't live there. We could fish all day everyday, right off the front porch. I could have a little garden and it would be heaven.
I have been busy creating lately, and listing in my Etsy store. I think I've made a couple of really cute things. I recycled a couple of hooded sweatshirts; one I put the Ninja Turtles on, the other is light green and I put a Celtic applique on it. I orginally was going to cut off the bottom and make a hoodie dress, but then I came across the Celtic applique and that was that. I also made a cute clutch embellished with wool felt, a yo yo, and a vintage button. I crocheted some wash cloths, and 4 sets of coaster, plus the scarf from the recycled sweater and a pair of fingerless gloves. Anyway, with all the making and listing, it started paying off. I had 2 sales; one Friday night and one yesterday morning. If I make the commitment to list EVERY day I generally do sell stuff! And right now I want to give everything I make to Sio so she can keep going to school. Even if John makes the payments for her, she still needs stuff like clay and whatnot, not to mention gas money for her car and so she can eat while she is at school. Anyway, if I'm going to make stuff I might as well do it for a purpose. I've had over a month of playing with Josette, so I'm taking a break til my stuff from the stash swap gets here. She's all dressed for Valentines Day now, anyway. I am going to take pics of her later to post on my sewing group and I'll post them here too.
I've been listening to Yonder Mountain String Band a lot so here's a clip from YouTube of them doing Sharecroppers Son:
Carla and I were at mom's Dr's office during the inauguration address, but we watched it anyway; the receptionist had it up on her computer so we stood and watched it with her. It was a pretty amazing moment; she was struggling to hold back the tears. Lines of the speech were accompanied by "yes!" and hand clapping from the 3 of us. Mom was distracting like she tends to be, but even with that it was still emotional. John taped it for me so I could watch it when I got home.
What was even more amazing was to watch President Obama yesterday. He really did hit the ground running, and while obviously he can't solve all the problems his first day in office; I think he showed that he really meant what he said about getting to work. And that's what's really important; the fact that he understands and will work on the problems that we all face. I liked the cap on some of the White House salaries, and I liked the no lobbying provision on ex-staffers. But so far the high point is the closing of Guantanamo; and the end of torture. We are at the beginning of a new era where we show the rest of the world that we as a nation are not what was seen in the last 8 years. We have a collective memory now of what it means to give up too much of our identity, the essence of who we are, the relinquishing of the underpinnings of our society, into the hands of men who are governed by greed and self interest rather than the good of the country who they takes oaths to serve, and our Constitution which they took oaths to protect. We've seen first hand what happens by giving up the freedoms in our Constitution. The lessons of the last 8 years are death and destruction. It's something we need to keep in our collective memory and never let it happen again. I think that even though we have so many issues facing us, the end of the torture of other human beings is the most important. I'll admit that I would like to see those responsible for the subverting of the laws of this country and international law brought to justice. I think it's important for those images to make their way into our collective memory. I don't know if they will or not. Keith Olbermann had a great Special Commentary on it the other night:
In the meantime, it was a great picture yesterday to show a President acting openly and with confidence. His words yesterday on restoring transparency to government and on the rules imposed concerning lobbying on his own staff are like a breath of fresh air. It truly is a new day!
We are having some really cold weather here right now. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 35 below with the wind chill. It's the first day of the semester for Sio although they might cancel.It's way too cold to spend much time in the basement sewing so I worked on things the last couple of days that I could do upstairs. I made 3 little crazy heart sachets and am almost finished with a scarf made from a recycled sweater I got last time I went to the thrift store. I haven't spent anytime sewing the rest of the quilt together, it's just way too cold. When I finish the scarf I have an idea for a cuff that I can make by hand too, although I'll probably do that Friday; tomorrow I am going to moms and I am taking Josette and fabric to make her a school dress. I listed 2 of the heart sachets on Etsy and I'll list the 3rd one before I go to bed.
I made 3 blocks up in this pattern and I have to say I love the pattern! The original quilt blocks date some where between 1900 and 1920 I'd say and was made from a blue and white checked shirting fabric. I have a picture of them I saved from somewhere; they had never been made into a quilt. I decided to make them in blues, greens and purples, although they would look equally good made from small calico prints in lighter or brighter colors, or in homespuns. I think I'm going to take strips of fabric varying from 3/4" to 1 3/4", and sew them together to make sashing 3 inches wide. I know I have a couple of yards of blue on blue star print; not the one in the photo, but a different one, and that should be plenty for borders. I'll probably back it with a flannel sheet from the resale shop. I'll quilt it in a simple 1 inch diamond grid. I have batting here, but I might use an old thin blanket for the batting instead. I'm figuring on making this a throw, and I might sell it in my Etsy store, or I might give it away. I know a couple of people that would really like it. I see myself using this pattern for other things, too. I think it would be really great in a rug, as a wallhanging, or pillows.
My sister in law, Linda, has just opened an Etsy store that she calls Mi Casa Bella. She makes some really nice pillows; I've added her to my links section.
Sio and I are going to Evanston either tomorrow night or Tuesday. I'm leaning towards tomorrow; it's supposed to be really cold on Tuesday, plus Sio does not like to get up early. I'm looking forward to it; we always have interesting discussions with Jimmy and I get to go to Vogue. I will confess that I really haven't been paying that much attention to current events lately. I know that's wrong, but there it is. I need to step back every once in awhile and just take a breath; it helps me renew my perspective.
I joined a stash swap for my Bleuette. There'a a list of items to send in by the end of January, and then I'll get back some other peoples things. Then there's a contest to make something for Bleuette by the end of Feb, or maybe March, using at least 3 of the items received in the swap. I think this could be a lot of fun.
I found this excellent video of Dervish doing An t-Ull in a pub. I love Cathy Jordan! She plays the bodhran, too, although not in this video.
I have been watching all the Stargates I can get my hands on, and now I've started watching the Stargate Atlantis episode as well. I cannot believe I have gotten so thoroughly hooked on these 2 shows, but there it is. John is checking to see if we can get AT&T's U-verse package in this area, if we can we're going to switch from Comcast to U-Verse, and we'll have the Sci-Fi channel with the package and I can watch episodes on there. Plus there is supposed to be a new Stargate show starting this year called Stargate Universe. The series finale of Stargate Atlantis is on Friday and I'm going to see if we can go to Richard and Chris' and watch it.
I've been sewing while I watch tv, though, and Josette got a nice New Years Day dress. It was made from ivory dupioni and a contrast cotton for the sash, cording and buttons. I made the dress by hand, and I think it came out very well. It was a Londonberries pattern I had bought before I got my doll.
