SEW AFRICA

One thing I have been doing this year is sewing dresses for little girls in our sister parish in Malawi. Women of our church have been sewing dresses and britches. We began making the little pillowcase dresses that have the little ties at the shoulder. The britches for the boys are made from men's t-shirts. It's a very clever design; the armholes become the crotch of the britches.

When looking online for more examples and tips for making the dresses, I found lots of pics of the little girls wearing the dresses; and most wore shirts under the dresses. I also found examples of the t-shirt dresses, and decided to make those.  I made five or six, which are included in the over 100 pieces of clothing that were blessed this May for their upcoming trip to Malawi.

Last night I made three more. They're quick and easy, and I really enjoy making them. It involves merely attaching a skirt to a t-shirt. Here they are.

HAD A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Started off Mothers Day at church with my church family. Then home to sew on my VesTotes, four of them. Had taken the vests apart Saturday night. Got all four put together and they look great.

Then off to Mom's where the whole famn damily gathered (except for MHN as he's still in Ecuador). MHNNL grilled burgers and hot dogs. Sister and MBN had all the fixins' prepared. We topped off our meal with strawberry shortcake. Yum. Best of all, though, we had a wonderful time visiting and catching up on "What's new with you?"  We all live within 15-20 miles of one another, but everyone's busy and we don't get together as often as we'd like. So, when we do, we have to make it count. It was great fun.

MBD posted some pics on Facebook that are so cool. Her and I when she was just a toddler. And one of the Chisam girls (from left to right Me, Mom, Sister; Mema seated). Don't you just love the hair!




Oh my Gosh! I look 12 in the pic of MBD and I.  Well, I was 12 when she was born! :) (NOT)

Okay. Back to the present. Speaking of presents. I received a lovely card and a VISA gift card from MSH; a sewing book from MBMD2 and hubby; a bracelet "The Story of Jesus" from MBMD1 and hubby; a hibiscus plant from MBD, MHSNL, MBGD and MHGS; and a phone call from MHMS.


The book is by THREADS and has more information than I can ever use (but I'm gonna try). The bracelet is awesome, comes with a card that shows you how to tell the Gospel with the beads in the bracelet.





And the hibiscus is already planted in my huge planter; gorgeous orange flowers.







Wonderful day. Wonderful family. Wonderful life. Thanks be go GOD.

SHOPPING, NOT DROPPING

Another shortcoming -- oh, so many -- that I must confess to: shopping for fabrics and notions for my bags. If I did more sewing than I did shopping, I'd be a lot better off. And so would the closet in my studio. It's full. I mean FULL. But I keep on shopping. I mean, if I don't, I might miss the perfect thing for my next project, right? Don't you feel that way, too? At least I shop THRIFT. I haunt the local thrift shops and garage sales to scoop up those wonderful finds.

So, in honor of shopaholics, thriftaholics, GSaholics everywhere, who live for the hunt and smile over the finds, this is for you.

Check out the double-knit fabrics from the Sixties. If it were a puppy, my mom would say, "It's so ugly, it's cute."  I mean FUGLY, freaking ugly. But, oh, so, wonderfully cool. Is that what you call "kitschy"? 





I also snagged a bag full of ribbons and trims. Most are so-so; nothing you'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming for, but the ones wrapped on the flat card are the ones I bought the bag for. Really nice trims that I can envision on one of my bags in the near future.

And check out the envelopes of embroidery transfers. These have to be from the Fifties-Sixties, too. They retailed for 19 cents, for crying out loud! And were made in the USA! I don't know if they'll actually transfer, but I can scan them and trace them if NEED BEE. (Note the cute reference to one of the envelopes of cute bee sayings.)



Last, but not least -- well, maybe least. Naw! It's pretty cool -- is a brocade valance with tassels. I can see this becoming some pretty amazing Just Enuf bags, and maybe some larger versions of Just Enuf bags. Perhaps they'll be More Than Enuf bags. (My cleverness at naming my bags is exceeded only by my silliness at naming my bags.)





Uh, oh. Almost forgot. Whew! (So, the valance is not last nor least.) Here's some vests I snagged for future VesTotes. You know, the soon-to-be famous YAYAMADE design that is to appear in the gallery section of the August edition of   GREENCRAFT magazine. (See "Whoa, Nellie" post below.) Not that I'd brag or anything by repeating that I'm going to be published!

FUNNY LITTLE VALENTINE

I got inspired to create some Valentine gifts. A first for me. It's like the creative bug bit me and CHEWED for a good long time and it was either create or -- okay, I'm done with that little bugger.

I tried my hand at strip piecing and log cabin, for some Mug Rugs. They turned out quite nice. I even decorated the envelopes I put them in. Mug Rugs, good. Envelopes, not so much. But, hey, it's the whole thought thing, right?



Here's what I made for my BFF Ruth:
I chose the butterfly, because it's the symbol for the ECW (Episcopal Church Women) of which Ruth and I are members. And it's the sign of the Resurrection, and Ruth and I both love Jesus.








Here's what I made for MBD and MHSNL:

I chose these colors because they're "beachy" and my kids love and live near the beach.





And here's what I made for MBGD and MHGS.

 I chose the oranges/browns for MBGD because she had pinned a comforter that had those colors in it. (See Pinterest can be used for good).




I did "My Mug Rug" for MHGS because he's 20, a guy, and, face it, he needed a clear explanation of what the thing was.

Whoa, Nellie!

Okay. OVER a year since I last blogged. So sad. I've been thinking: I spend way too much time surfing the web instead of contributing to it. Besides sucking the time out of my life, it sucks the life out of me. No productivity. No good feelings of accomplishment.

No, I've not been depressed. It's just way too easy to get on the net and Pinterest or Facebook my life away. Both fun sites. Both way too easy to stay on and get nothing else done. They're like the candy and magazine displays at the checkout.

It's time to break the cycle. I'm thinking egg timer. Set that puppy for 15 minutes or so, and when it dings, that's it. Off the site I go and back into the studio to create wonderful things.

So, here we go, F&F (Family and Friends -- or -- Friends and Family -- whatever you feel more comfortable with), time's a-wastin'.

Besides all this deep thought, I also have some GOOD NEWS. Perhaps -- not perhaps -- for sure, that's what has inspired me to be more inspiring and get off my net.  Ready? Interest peaked? or is that piqued? Anyway:

I submitted three of my YAYAMADE items to GREENCRAFT magazine -- Tote-A-Tee, both regular and messenger styles; Milk Money, several pieces; and VesTote, two or three.  I received an email this week that VesTote will be included in the gallery section of the August issue.  I AM SOOOOOOO EXCITED. 

Now, keeping things in perspective, the gallery section is like the honorable mention section, where you get a page or half-page for a picture of your item and a brief write-up. But to me -- I'm so freaking excited! I'm going to be published!

So, I was thinking, why don't I get off my net and get more serious about this whole creating and blogging and promoting/marketing and selling thing. I mean, I love to create/sew bags and the like and I really enjoy selling them. I could use the money. So, here I am, blogging.

I HAVE created a few things. I'll be posting about those things, including pics. We all love pics. And I'll also post pics about some of my recent finds at my local thrifts and garage sales.

TWO-FER

I'm finally sewing again. I'm working on a purse, upcycled from a skirt. I'll be posting pics when it's done. In the meantime, I thought I'd share last summer's DIY projects.

The first I saw in a magazine, thought it was awesome and when I found the octagonal end table, decided I'd give it a try.  I took the door and top off the table. In order to stabilize and make the top more attractive, I made trim from a 1x2 which I had to miter, 60-degree cuts. I think I'm most proud of that. It was the first mitering I'd ever done. And I did the whole putty-the-holes thing, too.  (All those years of following my Jack-of-all-trades father around when I was a little girl paid off.) The outside of the table was in good shape and it matched my bedroom furniture, so I left it as it was. I stained the newly created trim and painted the inside and made a cushion. Mollie just loves it. 

The next project is tied to the first.  I already had the Singer metal base. It was white when I bought it, with a plywood top, also painted white.  I sanded the round top of the octagonal table and restained it and used it as the new table top for the Singer base, which I spray painted a bronze metallic.  It is now a stunning piece -- my new end table in the living room.  

MY WAY

I've been so busy reconfiguring my studio, I haven't been creating. Not good. I did, however, try making my version of a Pinterest item, the tee shirt necklace.  I added some wooden rings for interest.  Here's what it looks like.  I kind of like it.  No. I like it a lot.