Mug Rugs and Taxes

Sometimes I just need something mindless to do.  Today was one of those days, because I just spent the last day and a half organizing tax stuff.  Not just mine, understand, but my aunt's plus a small family business  It made me feel quite good to get it all done before the end of January.

So I needed a small project that I didn't have to think about.  And that's why I make mug rugs.  I also make them because they always sell at craft shows.  I don't actually have a plan to do a craft show any time soon, but when I do, I want to have lots of mug rugs.

I had already done the prep work and my scraps are all organized by color, so all I had to do was start sewing.  I do these by a "stitch and flip" method, building around the center motif.   I cut the back and batting in a 7 inch square and then cut it down to 6 1/2 inches after all the fabric is added.  Then I bind.

I find they sell better if there is a picture in the center.  People love the shell, crab, fish themes here, but cats are also really popular.  I sell these for $5.00 and for those of you who sew, this may not seem like enough, but they really don't cost me anything but my labor.  I use mostly scraps and left over batting.  I only sell them at craft shows.  The shop that sells my work on consignment takes a percentage, so it would make the price higher.  And in today's economy, you have to have a 5.00 item at a craft show, just in case nothing else sells.


Well, now that the taxes are done, I'm off tomorrow for my next least favorite thing....I have a dental appointment.

A Valentine Idea

I made this 5 or 6 years ago.  The idea came from a display I saw at a gift show.  The company had a number of different shapes like birds, animals and hearts.  All of them used candlesticks as the base.  I made sure, I felt all of them.  At the time I was shopping for wholesale items for my shop, but I thought this was just too easy to make.  I can't remember exactly what the price was, but it seemed too high to me at the time.

When I got home, I found this glass candlestick at the dollar store and made the heart for the pincushion part.  I should have stuffed it a little more.  It stands about 9 inches high.  I stitched all the way around, just leaving enough of an opening to insert the top of the candlestick.

If you have a sewing friend that you'd like to give a little "Valentine" to, this is quick and inexpensive.  And the best part is, no calories.

What I Made Today

Now before you start laughing at these pants, let me explain the origin of the fabric.  The first year my quilt shop was open, I bought 4 yards of fleece from Wal-Mart to decorate my large table for fall.  I had some ceramic pumpkins and silk foliage, etc. and it looked very nice.  Each year when I took it off to put up the Christmas display, I washed the fabric and stored it for the next year.

Forward 11 years to today.  I'm trying to clean up and clear out my shop (more about this in another post later).  I had needed some fleece to make hats for the cancer center last fall and used some of this piece of fleece, but I still had a huge amount.  So this morning I got out all my fleece and made these 6 hats to take to the cancer center.

There are 3 of the pumpkin ones and 3 of the black with the leopard tops.  I know that they are a little loud, but if you head is cold, you could wear them around the house.  I told myself this as I made them and wondered what to do with the rest of the fleece.  Hum, I said, my legs are always cold if I'm just sitting around the house, why not make a pair of fleece pajama pants!  So I did.  Didn't take any time at all.  Of course they are too big, but that's good.  I'm wearing them right now as I write.  And they are warm.  And I know they'll wash well because I've washed that piece of fleece every year for the past 11 years.

I just went in and modeled them for Dan.   He just shook his head. 

Yesterday when I sat down to look at the blogs I read, I was pleased and surprised that my new blogging friend, Rhonda, had featured me on her blog.  You can see what she had to say by going to http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/
I first met Rhonda when I wrote her to tell her that I had used one of her designs and was very pleased with the outcome.  Each Friday Rhonda has "Free Pattern Friday" and very generously posts a new creation.  I never sent her a picture of her cover-up that I made from her pattern, so I'm posting it here.

As you can see, the fabric is sheer and drapes beautifully.  It also will not wrinkle, so is perfect for traveling, which is what I had in mind when I made it.  Go to Rhonda's blog to get the pattern.  This is the link to that post. 

Just before I made Rhonda's design, I had finished this

I used Vogue Pattern 8088.

I beaded the entire front and bottom band (I'm not sure if this will show up on your computer).  This fabric also does not wrinkle, in fact, it would not hold a crease no matter how I steamed it, so that is one reason for the beading.  The only problem I had with this pattern was the miter.  You are supposed to miter the front corners and because I couldn't press it, I finally gave up and just folded them instead.

My plan is to take these on my next cruise with brown slacks and shell to make two dinner outfits.  I used to teach watercolor painting on cruises in exchange for a free cruise, but lately these perks seem to have dried up.  Besides, Dan said he'd never go on another cruise with me that I was working on.  After the cruise disaster last week, I'm not sure I'll ever get him on another cruise ship.  I, however, will not be deterred.  My ambition for years has been to take a world cruise and some day I might.  I'm hoping these two projects won't be out of style by that time.

My Designer Copy

Last fall, I saw this ad in a fashion magazine and cut it out.  Every now and then, I see an outfit or item that appeals to me and this one just looked comfortable, as well as fashionable.

 

The outfit is made from a knit fabric.  My copy is not a knit, but a "designer" fabric that I bought on my last trip to Philadelphia.  I've mentioned Jomar's before in my blog.  They have a table of fabric which come from clothing manufacturers.  You never know what you'll find there and have to go in with an open mind.  Anyway, I bought 3 yards of this black and white tweed.  I ended up with 4 yards, because as I was leaving the store, the lady from the fabric department came up to me and handed me a bundled remnant of the fabric.  She said "You might want this, too."  It said 1/2 yard for $1.00.  So I bought it and when I got it home and unbundled it, I discovered it was slightly over one yard.  That was plenty to make the skirt since its 60" wide.

I had not intended to make this outfit with that fabric.  My idea was to make a long jacket.  But here was the fabric and I decided to go ahead.  I even bought a pair of black suede boots to complete the look.  

I actually made this between Thanksgiving and Christmas and have been waiting to blog about it until I had a picture of me wearing it.  I've worn it once and worn the skirt several times with a black sweater.  But since I still don't have a picture I decided to put it on my old dress form and take the picture.  The dress form is not my size.  Its an antique store form that I inherited when I bought my store.  It's probably a size 4 and I'm a 14.  So the skirt is being held up by a clothespin in back.  The top looks a little large on the form, but it looks fine on me.  Also, I wore it with a black turtleneck, not white.

The skirt is a pattern that I drafted years ago and just change the length from time to time.  The poncho was easy, except for the cowl neckline.  I did it twice with muslin until I got it right.  I lined the skirt, but the top is unlined.

I don't make many clothes for myself any more.  The main reason I don't is because I don't have many opportunities to dress up very much.  Most of the time I wear jeans, so this was kind of fun, and the fabric is suitable for most of the year.  I think its a rayon/polyester blend.  That's one of the problems with buying a Jomar's, no labels.  I'm pleased with the results and have enough fabric left over to make a vest.

We're off to the "big city" (Virginia Beach) for the day to have lunch with some friends and do a little shopping.  Hope you have a good weekend.

VIntage Quilt Project Update

I started sewing these vintage blocks together by hand, and quickly tired of it.  ( See my original post here).  Today I finished machine piecing them.  There are 101 triangular sections, with a few left-over pieces of fabric.  The woman (I'm assuming it was a woman because there were probably not a lot of men quilters in the 1930's) outlined each of the separate parts with a pencil before cutting them out.  She also was perfectly on grain with every piece.  The photo below is how I think she meant for the blocks to be put together.

If I do it like this, it will be quite small, with only about 12 blocks total and then I'd have to "fill in" with another fabric.  So I'm thinking of using another fabric and do it like this.

I could also lay it out like this,

or use a plain fabric in between each pieced block.  I need to think about it for awhile. 

Working on this project led me to look into my box of blocks.  This is a large box where I have stored all of the left overs from my other quilts for a few years.  There is a lot.  So I have decided to list them on Ebay and see if someone else is interested in them.  Go here to see my listing, if you are interested.  I'm also going to list some of my quilt books tonight.

I'll keep you posted on my progress with the quilt!!

Little Dresses for Africa

Last November I watched a Sewing with Nancy episode that featured a charity called "Little Dresses for Africa".  I thought of all the many pieces of fabric I have left from my shop and decided to make a few of these dresses.  To date, I finished 18 of them.

Its taken me longer than it should have to make them, but the holidays came in the middle.  So this morning, I decided to finish all I had started, box them up, and send them off (they'll go Monday). 

I based the size on the piece of fabric.  I made multiples of some of them in different sizes, thinking that sisters might like to dress alike.  There are one or two pockets on each dress, depending on how much fabric I had.
I made nine in size small, six in size medium and three in size large.

When I showed them to my granddaughter while she was here for Christmas, she said she'd like to have one for summer.  So I plan on making a few more for her before I start any more for the charity.

If you'd like more information, here is the link to Little Dresses for Africa website.  The pattern I used is here on the Nancy's Notions website.  It is a pdf. file.

Here are all of my little dresses, ready to package and send off.
One more project finished!!!  

Projects and a New Year

As if I don't have enough unfinished projects of my own, I have found one that belongs or belonged to someone else.  A week before Christmas I went to the thrift shop and found this plastic bag in the craft section.

Of course I was intrigued and had to peak inside.  It's a cut out quilt, I'm not sure how many squares it will make, but they are all laid out so neatly, that I had to invest $2.99 in the bag.

The fabrics are from the '30's and '40's. 

I am going to put the sections together and see how many there are.  Because the fabric is rather thin (as most fabrics from this era are), I'm going to do it by hand.  Then I will decide how to sew them together.  I might add sections of muslin between each triangle to make it larger.
Any way, stay tuned and I'll finish it eventually.

I have no New Year's resolution.  Last year I decided to lose weight, and I did, 15 pounds.  I'd like to resolve to lose more, but I'm not sure I will.  I'd like to resolve to walk on the treadmill every day, but I know I won't do that.  I don't smoke, I don't want to give up wine, and I'm not in debt.  So no resolutions for me this year. 
Do you have any?