My First Blog Button!!!

I got a button!  I'm excited.  My first button.  It's over there on the side gently flashing a welcome right now.

 It was done by Connie of Measured by the Heart.    If you need some blog work done, from buttons to a whole new blog design, go visit Connie.  She's great to work with and the prices are so affordable.

Frugal and Convenient Thread Storage

I've been working away on the sewing room which IS almost finished, but I thought I'd show what I did with my thread.  My thread storage started out on one of those hanging things with dowels-- pretty, but the thread got dusty.  When the collection outgrew that rack, I upgraded to plastic boxes that would keep the dust out.  When the boxes increased five boxes requiring a constant and frustrating shifting of the stacked boxes to find what I wanted, I knew it was time to make another change.

 Until I can afford one of those incredible wood cabinets, here is my frugal but convenient thread storage solution.

 It's a Sterlite and I paid $14.  The four shallow drawers work well for all the smallish spools and the tall bottom drawer has my large cones of thread.  My old boxes had inserts with dowels for the thread which I was able to reuse in the drawers.   Otherwise I was going to line the drawers with that rubbery shelf liner to keep things in place.  I have so many spools they pretty much hold one another up.

I even marked the colors on the outside!!  See those nice little rectangles of color?

The first label on the top drawer is metallic for my metallic thread, but it doesn't show as metallic in the photo.  The last one is stripes to designate all my strange threads-- plastic, button, upholstery, that kind of thing.  The rest signify the colors in the drawers and the sides they are on.

So much easier to find what I'm looking for now.

I used my ever-helpful Xyron Magic Sticker Maker and EK Success Photo Labels paper punch along with scrap paper in the appropriate color.

Just slide labels into the back of the sticker maker:

And twist the knob to turn them into stickers:

The paper punch has 3 different size labels which will be nice for labeling the rest of the sewing room, too.  The sewing room is almost done--really.  I'd say I will have it up next week, but I remember how that worked out with the master bath.  MAYBE next week.

Baker's Apron Tutorial

I made this baker-style apron as a birthday gift  for my son's fiance.  She loves to cook and often uses my apron for her culinary ventures. It's made of white denim from Joann's.  Decorative cotton is pretty, but I wanted the denim which is more likely to keep the spills from going through the fabric.  My old natural bull denim apron is a workhorse that has lasted for years.

In addition to the small pocket in the top bib portion, there is a large pocket divided into two section just below the waist.

I found the embroidery design from EmbroideryDesigns.com.  The hardest part about the apron was choosing the design for embroidery.  There are so many fun ones!  Some of the other designs I bought said, "Is Carrot Cake a Vegetable?", "I Have a Knive and I Know How to Use It", and, my favorite, "Spooning Leads to Forking."  All will be going on some Huck toweling fabric soon.

Now for the tutorial. The amount of fabric will depend on the width of the fabric you are buying and the amount of shrinkage that can be expected.   Prewash your fabric!  You will need:

•  one piece of fabric 34.5x 31.5" for the main part of the apron
• one strip of denim measuring 35x3" for the neck strap and D-rings strap (You will cut off  7" of this for the D-ring strap)
• 2 strips 35x3.5" for the waist ties (long enough to wrap around to the front for tying)
• 1 piece of denim 8.5x5.5" for the top pocket OR, if you don't have a serger,  one 8.5x10.5" for the fold-over method
• one piece of fabric 8.5x15" for the bottom pocket OR, if you don't have a serger, make this piece 16.5x15" 
• 2 one-inch D-rings

Directions for getting the curved sides on the main piece of fabric:  Fold the main piece of fabric in half across the 31.5" side.  You're going to mark the curved area from the top to the waist.  Starting at what is the neck area measure from the fold out and mark using a chalk marker or disappearing marker or whatever it is that you use:

• at the top, mark 5.5" from the fold
• 4" down from top, 6.5 inches out from the fold
• 6.25" down, 8 inches out from the fold
• 7.25" down, 9 inches from the fold
• 9" down, 11 inches from the fold
• 11" down,  should come to the edge of the fabric

I didn't take photos of this part of the process, but here is a  picture showing the marked curve on another piece of fabric.  I have a Wright's EZ Flex Design Ruler that bends to the curve for marking, but you could use any firm but flexible strip of plastic, a piece of string, or do this freehand.

See my little dots next to the ruler?  Once you've marked out your line, cut it!

When you have all the pieces cut, here are the seam and sewing measurements.  I don't serge the main piece of fabric because I prefer the hems to be really solid. All are folded under twice.  Aprons in this house get a lot of use and spend their fair share of time in the washer and dryer.

For the main piece of fabric:

• Hem the curved side seams first.  Press under a scant 1/4" seam.  (I use a seam gauge while pressing for this. It's easy to set the exact measure to stay on target.)  Then turn it under another 1/4" and press.  Pin and sew these curved edges in place about 1/8" from the edge of the seam.
• Hem the straight side seams by turning under and pressing 1/4" then turning and pressing 1/2".  Sew 1/8" from the edge of the seam.
• Hem the top, neck end by pressing under 1/2", then 3/4".  Again sew about 1/8" from the edge of the seam.
• Hem the bottom turning and pressing first 1/2", then 1" with the same 1/8" sewing line. 

For the 36x3" neck straps:

• Press in 1/2" on each long side.  Then fold this in half and  press.  This will leave you with a 1" wide strip. (You might be wondering why not just do the" fold in half and press each side into the center" method which is easier.  That would make the straps bulkier and stiffer since this is denim. Hence, this method.  A little more work, but the straps are more flexible and comfortable.)
•  Now, cut 7" off the end.  Fold and press the short ends of both strips under 1/4".  Sew the long ends of each piece closed 1/8" from the edge on both pieces.  Then sew the short ends closed.    
• Slide the two D-rings on the 7" strip.  Fold it in half and place it on what will be the right-hand side of the apron when you are wearing it.   (Look at the photo if your confused.)  With the stitching line side on the outside edge,  place this folded piece one inch down on the inside corner and sew in place using the usual square with an x inside for strength. 
•  Now sew a line just under the D-rings to hold them in place.  Directions will be on the D-ring package if you've not used them before. 
• Sew the other neck strap on the other side in the same way.  Remember to have the stitching line on the outside edge.

For the waist ties:

• With both 35x 3.5" strip, Press in 1/2" on each long end, then fold in half and press.  Fold under a quarter of an inch on the short ends, and sew the long ends and both short ends closed 1/8" from the edge.

Okay! The basic apron is complete!  Now for the top pocket which you've decorated-- or not.

• First the directions for a serger because  I do use my serger for the pockets since these seams are inside and don't get as much abuse as the outside edges of the apron.
•  Serge around the squares and press in a 1/4 seam around all four sides.  
• Sew the upper edge seam of the pocket across, again using 1/8 sewing line.  
• Now place the pocket 3" down from the top, center it, and pin in place.  Sew the sides and bottom to the apron using the 1/8 line. Remember to reinforce the top corners with a few extra stitches.  Pockets get a lot of tugging there.
• If you are not using a serger
• Fold the pocket in half inside out (if it matters with your fabric or if you have embroidered, painted, appliqued a design) to get an 8.5x5.25" square. 
•  Sew the two sides shut using 1/4" seam allowance.
• Turn right side out and press the open ends in 1//4" You can sew a  line across the folded edge now if you want to.  It will give you a crisp top pocket edge.  It's not necessary, though.  
• Place the pocket with the folded edge at the top 3 inches down from the top and centered. Pin in place.   Sew the sides and bottom to the apron using the same 1/8 sewing line.

For the bottom pocket, you will do the same as the top pocket.  If not using a serger, fold the fabric into an 8.25x15" square and follow the same instructions as for the smaller pocket.  Place this pocket 14.5" down from the top and centered.  Pin and sew it in place and you are finished!

It's actually a quick and easy project.  Give it a try.  

New Birdbath and Garden Ornament

Someone had a post in which she used small glass vases and other dishes to make garden ornaments.  I loved them, but I have none of that kind of stuff hanging around. BUT, the local Marshall's store has all kinds of inexpensive glass things that I've always loved looking at but had no reason to buy.  While wandering I found two small orange vases that turned into this:

Then I found an enormous red glass vase and and equally large platter that I thought would make a great birdbath.  The combination was a bit wobbly so I glued another piece to the bottom to make the base wider.

I hope the birds like this as much as I do.  I used E6000 sparingly and according to the directions after globbing on too much the first time.  I also put a thin clear silicone caulk line around the joints to keep moisture out.  ( Learn from my mistake.  If the pieces have any openings between them, moisture will get in and may show through.

As for the cost,  all these pieces were very inexpensive.  The three pieces of the birdbath in descending order were $7, $9, and $6.  The E6000 and silicone caulk were already here from other projects.

Update:  Check out even newer birdbaths and garden totems here, here, here, and here.

Hoo Are You? Questions for the Week from Night Owl

I have not done this before, but Night Owl apparently posts a set of questions each week.  I found out through A Creative Princess blog. You answer the questions in your blog and post a link at the link party.   I'm joining in the fun cuz it's nice to get to know other bloggers.  Here are the questions and my answers.

1. Do you decorate for the 4th of July?

    No!  I'm way too lazy.  Now that the kids are grown, I only decorate for Christmas and not too much of that.  I do, however, love looking at everyone else's decorations.

2. Do you you buy fireworks for the 4th of July?

    No, again.  It's illegal in New York.  If I wanted to risk getting my name in the papers for breaking laws, I'd probably in for something like growing weed.  If nothing else, I'm practical.  I'd have to be making money.  Of course, I'd claim it was medicinal.  (And, no, I don't smoke weed.  I am much too cowardly to risk getting caught.  They'd take my picture, and I just don't photograph well.  It always ends up looking exactly like me.)

3.How  do you celebrate the 4th of July?  

    It's never the same.  Sometimes, we go camping.   If I can get the family together at home, we have a cookout and make use of the pool.  If not, the hubster and I hike or bike somewhere.  We always go see fireworks at night wherever we are.  Darn, we are boring, aren't we!

4. Do you have a family member that is serving our country?

    Yes,  my nephew, Rusty,  is in the Marines.

5. Do you dress in red, white, or blue on the fourth?

    Only accidentally.  It would require planning at  which I suck..

So there you have it.  This year I have a little more respect for Independence Day since I just finished reading David McCullough's book, "John Adams" for my book club.  It was a powerful, moving reminder that by and large, ordinary people made this nation happen with a lot of hard work and personal sacrifice in those early years.  

Interesting July 4th Fact

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day--July 4th, the fiftieth anniversary of the big day.

What were the chances of THAT happening?

Sewing Room Closet Door Decals

When  I decided to paint the closet doors in the sewing room white to match the trim, I wasn't prepared for the rather massive expanse of white I ended up with.  It looked a bit like a giant movie screen as you can see here.

Since I've been wanting to try vinyl wall decals, I thought I'd get some for the doors.  Here's the result.

I love it!

This was my first experience with wall decals.  I was a wreck when I unfurled the whole thing.  It looked daunting!  I feared that I was in over my head and would ruin it.  The actual process turned out to be easy.  The only downside was that all the leaves had to be put up individually.  Still,  I managed to finish it in four hours without any assistance.   I'm looking forward to trying a few more of these--without the individual leaves, though.

How to Remove Moss and Algae from the Roof

I've not stopped blogging.  I've just been REALLY busy with outside and inside projects.  With nice weather, it's been mostly outside work such as fixing up the pool shed.  That job had to start with getting the moss and algae off the roof.  Half the roof looked like this:

After wetting,  scrapping, and rinsing with the garden hose for a few hours,  it looks like this:

, 

It's a rainy day here!  How nice of nature to wash off any of the residue of the Brand X version of Clorox 2 that I used on it yesterday.  I tried just scraping it off--didn't work at all. Then I Googled and found that oxygenated bleach would help.   Actually I think just getting it wet helped.

Not being a fan of walking around on a roof let alone a wet one, I tried doing this by moving a tall ladder around and scraping with a long-handle brush.   The ladder worked but the brush didn't.  I finally took the brush off and just used the plastic piece on the end of the pole to gently loosen the moss and algae and the garden hose to wash the mess off.   Success!

This is a short-term solution, though.  According to the internet, I can get rid of the problem permanently by cutting down my neighbor's tree (no, he will not like that) or putting copper or zinc strips under the top rows of shingle.   Oh, wait a minute!   I could also spray Wet and Forget once a year.  What?  Yes, after all that work, I find rave reviews for this product on Amazon.  I could have sprayed the roof with Wet and Forget and not only would the moss and algae have washed off by itself in the rain, BUT it would have prevented further buildup for a year. The Wet and Forget 10587  is a moss, mold, and mildew remover while Wet and Forget 800003 is for moss, mold, mildew, and algae.You should see the reviews for these products! I can't get it locally, but I have placed an order on Amazon. No more hours of scrapping for me.

As soon as it stops raining, I get to start painting this in a lovely shade of gray.

Just in case you're wondering what happened with my sewing room, it's almost finished!  I'm waiting for a couple of things that are on order including some vinyl wall decals! I've never used them before.   Can't wait to brag  or rather blog about it.  It has been a LOT of work, but I'm lovin' the results.

Need Help with Old Quilt Top Dilemma

A neighbor was moving and gave me this quilt top she had put together long, long ago.

She got all the way to pinning and basting the top, batting, and backing together before rolling it up and leaving it sitting for years.  It had stains and a nasty musty smell.  It HAD to be washed.  I finally took it apart for washing. 

I just have no idea what to do with it now.  There are problems galore.  While it is comparatively well sewn, it's a first-time quilt with some of those flaws.  The colors are not what I would ever have chosen.  I find the pastel circles next to the primary colored ones jarring.  I got almost all of the stains out, but the base fabric was tea-dyed.  Now it has some lighter spots where the dye came out with the stains. 

My neighbor said to feel free to take it apart and use pieces.  However, each corner has those yellow-centered leave pieces.  And, here's the worst part:  every single stitch of this entire top was done by hand as in no machine was used for so much as piecing the blocks together.  Each of those leaves and yellow circles is hand sewn. All the blocks are hand sewn together.  It feels wrong to take them apart. So much work went into this thing!

So help me out here!  What do you think I should do?  Should I bite the bullet and put this together as is?  That will leave me with a quilt I admire in some ways but don't actually like.  I could continue with the traditional theme and put it together on my quilt frame.  Or should I take it apart and use some of the squares for different things?  I'll lose pretty much all of the corner applique with this choice because of the mix of pastel and brights. 

Fish Windsock with Tutorial

I am taken with things that blow around in the wind.   I saw some beautiful fish windsocks, but decided to try making them myself.  I'm happy with the result.

 And it flies in the wind, too!

 Sometimes it's upside down.

The only problem is that it sometimes turns this way.

That's just plain weird, but the ones you buy must have the same problem, right?  Actually this view is kind of fun, too.

This site, http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/carp-wind-sock-675371/   has a great tutorial for making a fish windsock with paper. Since I wanted something that would last longer, I used their pattern with the following changes.  

I extended the mouth opening about a half an inch and cut the tail from the original wavy pattern which you can see in the photo to make it easier to sew.  If you have problems understanding the following how-to, let me know. 

Cutting:

• two pieces of nylon for the fish body
• two pieces of contrasting nylon at a 45 degree angle, that are 4 inches long at the base for the smaller fin on the bottom.  This size is arbitrary.  My ruler has this angle on it, and it happened to work out great.
• two pieces of the contrasting nylon at a 45 degree angle that are 5 inches long at the base for the top fin.  

Sewing:

• I serged the tail pieces to prevent fraying.  You can do a zigzag stitch or turn it under twice, or just use Fray Check instead.  
• Sew the outside edges of the fins with a quarter inch seam, carefully cut a few of those nice little triangles out of the seam that that it will flatten nicely, turn right side out, and press. I use a cotton press cloth so that I can get a nice flat edge.
• To trim the fins to match the curved edge of the fish body, place the raw edged of the fin under the yellow pieces as in the photo below. The center point of the top fin should be about  6 1/2 down from the mouth edge (measuring straight, not along the curve of the fish body edge.  (Remember the point is inside --all the raw edges are together as in the picture below.)  The  center point of the bottom fin should be about 5" from the mouth end--again measuring straight not along the curve of the fish body.  This center of the fin is the spot where where the raw edges of fish body and fish fins meet.  The corners of the fins will be sticking out.   Use your rotary cutter to trim of the pieces sticking out or mark with chalk and cut.  You could do this as part of the next step where the fins are inside for sewing and trim later, but this might be easier for some people, Maybe??
• Place the fins  between the two yellow pieces (in my case, yellow)--sorry I didn't take a pic at the time, but this should give you an idea of what I mean. Pin the sides of the fish body with the fins in their proper place and sew the sides using a 1/4 inch seam.  

• Turn right side out and sew a little over a quarter of an inch to enclose the seam you just made--a french seam.  This will prevent fraying and make the piece hold it's shape better.
• Turn it inside out again and sew the tail end together leaving a two inch gap in the center open
• Turn the mouth end in a 1/2" once and press (use a cotton press cloth so the heat is high enough for a crisp, flat fold) and then turn it another 1/2" and press again.  Pin and sew that around.  I was going to put some plastic strapping in the mouth to hold the circular shape, but I found that the material held the shape without it. If you use ripstop nylon which is lighter, you may want/need to use the plastic inside this hem area.  I save all the plastic packing straps from packages for these kinds of things.
• I sewed buttons about two inches down from the hemmed mouth with the top of the eye about 1/2" down from the top fin edge.

Last, I used nylon mono-filament also known as fish line for hanging.  The craft store sells an 8 lb strength in the jewelry-making section or you can get the same thing in Walmart's fishing department.  The fishing department also sells the barrel swivels for the spinner which I could not find at the craft stores.  I used an Eagle Claw brand size 5 swivel that is working out great.

I cut 4 eleven-inch long pieces of monofilament and spaced them evenly around  the mouth sewing through the mouth seam and knotted the four pieces together in the circular base of the swivel hook  I cut another piece of mono-filament for the hook end of the barrel swivel because I wanted mine to hang more.  That part will depend on where you are putting the windsock.

Now hang that sucker up on a nice windy day.  The good news with a fish windsock is that it looks good just hanging there--like you just caught a fish. 

You Might Want to Check Your Recent Posts

Poor BlogSpot!  What a rough time with posts the last day or so. 

I usually stop back and reread my posts to check for typos and make a few changes.  Today I found my most recent post was up but without any of the post-publishing editing.  If you tend to edit after posting, you might want to check recent posts.

What I've Learned in a Year of Blogging

Here is what I've learned about blogging in the last year:

1. Blogs take a LOT of your time.   This first one was a bit of a surprise.  I didn't think it would take up quite so much time.  
2. All the work involved in photography for the blog is as time-consuming if not more so than the writing.  This was also a surprise.  I had no idea how long it would take to get the photos--sun, neat place in the house-- or tweak them in some editing program.  I don't know about the rest of the world, but it also takes a while for my photos to upload on Blogspot.  That's not so bad for a photo or two, but for tutorials and such, it can seem like forever.
3. You start to feel guilty if you don't do something blog-worthy to post about. This was a total shock.  I thought this would be fun.  I figured I would post when I had something to say which would be about weekly.  Instead, I started listening to all the advice of semi-professional bloggers who insist that one should to have a specific area of interest, not write too many off-topic posts, include some but not too many near-professional quality photographs, post often, keep paragraphs short, keep posts short, and on and on.  The pressure!
4. Approximately one-half of one percent of people who visit my blog will comment.  Okay, to be honest I'm exaggerating.  It's actually less than that.  It's one-fifth of one percent.  I did the calculations.  In addition, most of the comments turn out to be from people saying thanks for commenting on their blog or joining their link party rather than actual comments on the post. As a commenter, I just assumed others left comments as well and that blogging would be a sharing experience. When I read someone's blog post, I read the comments, too.  People often share additional ideas that expand on the content, offer alternate suggestions, provide new sources, bring up points I've missed or even misunderstood.  Comments are opportunities for the writer and readers to learn and grow. 
5. Some people view blogging as, well, crap.  This  fifth bit of enlightenment came through a few conversations with people about blogs.  This usually begins with me saying I like reading blogs and, in fact, have one.  For some reason people who I normally consider polite seem to feel that insulting blogging is perfectly acceptable.  I have zero interest in sports.  When the topic comes up in conversation, however, I don't say sports are nonsense and a waste of time.  One anti-blogger particularly zeroed in on mommy blogs which is ironic in that she reads mommy blogs to get ideas for her online business relating to children.  Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!  
6. If you move away from your original intent in blogging, it will become too much of a chore.  So for my second year of blogging I shall be blogging about what I want when I want!  To that end, the following photo is here because I feel like sharing it not because a post SHOULD have a photo.  It is my  lovely husband at one of the many beautiful hiking spots he finds for us.  If this task were left to me, we would be hiking up and down the aisles of a  fabric store.  He is away on business for a few days and, even after 27 years of marriage, he is dearly missed.   

(Love you tons, Mr. Easton!)

The Joyful Quilter is Now Online!

The Joyful Quilter is the quilt shop closest to my home.  I need to give them a special shout out because of something really nice one of the owners did for me recently.  Why will you care?  Because they also have an online shop now.  You deserve to hear about a quilting shop that has all kinds of great sewing and quilting things AND outstanding customer service. 

The Joyful Quilter's latest email update shows some prewound bobbins in gorgeous colors.  I love prewounds.  They last so much longer than the ones my machines make.   Instead of checking to see if these particular bobbins would fit my machine, I mindlessly sent an email asking if the bobbins would fit my PC420.  I should have looked that up myself.  After sending the email, I thought they'd probably email me back to do just that.

Instead, Jim Helm emailed back that he tried to research my question online but could not find the answer.  He even apologized for not being able to help.  How many quilting stores would have bothered doing that?

He's so right about the lack of information online. I love my Brother machines, but the company does not have this information anywhere online!  My manual lists a couple of model numbers, but they never match any of the bobbins I find in stores. 

I went to the store check out the bobbins, but I don't think they are going to work for my machine.  Too bad cuz they are so pretty and 100% extra long staple Egyptian cotton!

 I did, however, find this:

I've been wanting to make a new robe.  I'm making the center version which has a terry lining.

I also got a few sets of the center panel of this collection:

After staring at these whimsical owls for a few days, I've figured out what I want to do with it (baby boy quilt, bibs, etc.) which will require another shopping trip to The Joyful Quilter for some of the other fabric in the collection. Considering that these photos show only portions of the store,

 

AND it is only twenty minutes away, I'll leave the online shopping to you guys.  If you're ever in the Capital District/Saratoga area of New York, this store is well worth visiting.

Master Bath is Finished!!!

 Finally!  Finished at last.  It's been at least four years in the making--yeah, I am serious.  It was worth the wait, though.  From the doorway:

Did I fool anyone by making the valance long and placing it up high so that the window looked bigger (or at least longer)? 

Behind the door is my husband's favorite part.

And my favorite part.     

I insisted on the excessive towel bars because I always forget towels and stuff.  My husband thinks that towel holders should NOT be over the tub.  He caved, however, when I reminded him that I would be calling him when I forgot towels.  Note the remote in the picture above, right within reaching distance for...

our second favorite thing in the bathroom--the flat screen hooked up to cable.  It's important to know that the water stays nice and warm through an entire movie--really.  I tried it.

Here are the sinks, etc.  I figure granite and brushed nickle should be going out of style now that I finally have them in.  I love those medicine cabinets.  They are set into the wall and completely mirrored inside and out.  Even the BACK of the cabinet doors are mirrored ! 

See the little cairn on the back of the toilet?  Is that not just so Zen, so spa-like.  Close up:

I have a thing for stones.  This cairn is from a shop in Clifton Park (NY) called Artique.  They sell small amounts of floor space to crafters which gives you  access to all kinds of interesting mini-shops in one big store.

These seem easy to make.  The middle stones are completely drilled through at the center.  The base stone is partially drilled in the center with a dowel glued upright, and the top stone is partially drilled to sit on top of the dowel.  I really want to try doing some of these.  I fear that I will spend more on drill bits than if I just went to Artique and bought a few more, though.  If you've tried this, let me know what kind of drill bit to use, please and thank you.

Making Napkins and Tablecloth

I have a really long table in the dining room.  Tablecloths that are long enough are usually hard to find and often expensive.  The fabric on these store-bought versions has never been that great either.  After making napkins using directions in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts, I decided to take Martha's advice and make the table cloth as well.  I've posted about my Martha mitered napkins before.  I dearly love them.  They are so very easy to make.  You iron squares of cloth and sew some straight lines.  You just cannot make a mistake with these! 

I did a white-on-white embroidery design, but these look elegant without a design as well.  Here is a pic of those awesome and so easy mitered corner.  The fabric is a medium-weight linen blend from Joann Fabric.  It washes beautifully and comes out of the dryer without wrinkles--a real plus!  

A 50% off coupon for the fabric got me over being nervous about dealing with a large piece of fabric for a tablecloth. The fabric I used was wide enough to give me enough overhang on the sides even after hemming.  I squared off the fabric and used the same ironing, pinning, and straight-line sewing used to make the napkins.  It was finished while watching television in one night. 

I left a fairly large overhang on the ends in case I lose my mind and buy an even longer table someday.  I chose to go with white because it goes with everything and fits every holiday.  To bring in color for some occasions, I'm making squares or runners to put on top--or not.  I saw this colorful light-weight linen blend with poppies while shopping for the white fabric and decided to make a Springy looking square to center on the table for Easter.

 

This poppy fabric requires ironing, but it irons well, looks like pure linen, and is so freaking pretty. I used a wider hem on this piece.  It is 1-1/2 inches folded twice instead of the half inch and one inch Martha suggests for the napkins.

Next on my agenda, is making some sets of these napkins to put aside for gifts.  Joann's has the medium-weight linen blend in a number of colors. Quick, easy, beautiful, inexpensive, AND good for the environment.  Happy Easter Y'all!

The Never-Ending Master Bath Saga

Is my master bath finished?  No, but I do FINALLY have a shower enclosure.  Yesterday I caulked everything else needing it.  Today I paint the trim and door.  I will not sleep until it is FINISHED!

So why am I posting today?  I was checking out a link party and saw what look very much like my own bathroom cabinet--right down to two green rugs in front of the cabinet.  That blogger asked for ideas on hardware for the cabinet.  I'm posting this so she can see what we did and to let you know what she did for WAY less money.

Go check out what 3krazychics did to update her old cabinet using some Rustoleum product.  It looks as nice as mine (Yes, I'm bragging about my cabinet.) for a whole lot less money (Yes, I wish I had seen her post before spending so much money on mine.).

Tammy Vitale: Sharing Insights and Inspiration

Tammy Vitale has some wonderful blogs and an email thing going that have been giving me an emotional and spiritual lift for a while now.  These are a few of the recent email messages that have been particularly enlightening for me. 

This message is one that I heard when I was young, but never in such a direct and succinct way.  I only wish that I had truly understood it years ago. 

"The traditional female ideal of assuming responsibility for the lives of those around her is not only egotistical but doomed to failure.  The myth that women are spiritually superior—responsible for saving men and children through remaining spiritually pure and selfless—oppresses both women and those around them.  The female hero, by electing to live her own life, automatically frees those around her to live theirs."

                                                                             Pearson/Pope  

I actually still benefit from this one because I STILL tend to feel as though I have to "save" everyone in the family.  This message has come to mind several times since receiving it when I start trying to come up with solutions to everyone's troubles.

As I read the following one, I thought, "Yes!  That is exactly what had been building in me. 

Nothing was working - not in my professional life, my private life.

As the months progressed, I could feel my panic rising

I was again at the beginning of a quest, a turning point

and I was failing it.

"What is it?" I shouted inside myself.  

"How Am I supposed to change?  What do you want?"

It's hard to not sound melodramatic

about these times of transition. 
                                                              Christina Baldwin

My AmeriCorps service has been far tougher than I thought it would be.  For every one I please at the nursing home, it seemed there were four more who are not pleased.  At home, instead of having fewer people as my last one was off to college, I have more and all the ensuing problems that come with meshing adults of varied personalities and cultures.  I tend to forget that life is like the tide continually changing and not quite as predictable as we would like to believe. I was seeing failure rather than transition.

Tammy sent this message yesterday.

"Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.  It just keeps returning with new names, forms, and manifestations until we learn whatever it was to teach us about where we are separating ourselves from reality, how we are pulling back instead of opening up, closing down instead of allowing ourselves to experience fully whatever we encounter, without hesitating or retreating into ourselves."

                                                                Pema Chodron 

Once again--so fitting for me.  Too many times this year, I have chosen to ignore things rather than deal with them.  They didn't go away.  They eventually had to be dealt with.  Dealing with them was often uncomfortable.  However, not dealing with them merely delayed the inevitable increasing the time and level of discomfort!  

If nothing else, these quotes help me to see that I am not alone in my thoughts, feelings, and foibles.  More often, though, they also give me encouragement and direction.    

If you would like to find out more about Tammy, here are some of her links.

Blog: Women Art Life:  Weaving It All Together

Sixties Women
Wylde Women's Wisdom: daily inspirational quotes delivered free to your in-box.

Sell Your Art, Keep Your Soul

Kite Flying Time!

With the warmer weather, I'm in the mood for flying kites again.  It's been a long time since I made these kites using David Michael's book, Making Kites, but they were easy for a novice to make and are as nice as the first day they flew about 12 years ago. 

 

Michael's book has a ton of ideas for making kites and spinners from all kinds of materials--poster board, shiny metallic wrapping paper, acoustic tiles, garbage bags, and, of course, ripstop nylon.  While the book gives clear and concise measurements and directions for some of the kites such as the Delta Star on the cover, sometimes you are on your own to figure out the measurements.  That can't be too hard, though, since I managed to do it easily for the two kites above!   

Want to start with something easy?  Try the Delta Star with all the measurements and directions.

  

  

Since I wanted to do a plain, old-fashioned kite, I used the Diamond Two-Stick pattern from  the book.  Unfortunately the books lacks measurements for this one.  Just in case someone else wants to try this one, I'm posting a semi-tutorial with the measurements I used.  My kites are about 31 inches across by 34 inches finished and fly just great.  Why those numbers?  No reason whatsoever.  It just kind of looked right and was smaller than the dowel length sold at the store.

Did I follow the Diamond's directions exactly?  No.  I don't think I am capable of that.  Rather than cutting out two triangular pieces and having to sew them together, I cut on the fold for one main piece.  I used a 35" line on the fold, slanted down and out 21" on the side, and drew a straight line from that point to the bottom on the 35" line.  All edges have a 1/4" seam folded twice for a clean finish.

Some things I learned along the way:

• See that little green square between the two green circles above?  Don't do that.  I thought I would sew some of these squares on to thread the dowel through.  I actually had another one 3/4 of the way down.  They make it difficult to bend the dowel to fit into the pockets--very bad idea. After breaking a few dowels, I removed the one I had put on toward the bottom.  Putting on ties is a much better idea.  You absolutely need the tie at the point where the dowels meet anyway. 
• I  also tried using 1/8" dowels figuring they would be lighter.  They are but they also break easily. The book says use 1/4" dowels and now I do!
• Buy extra dowels and carry them with you.   Cutting the kite flying trip short because of broken dowels is so annoying!
• For the side dowel pockets, make them rectangular rather than square.  Some of mine are square, and I think it gives the dowel room to move around.  I ended up sewing another line to make them narrower. And, don't make them too long!  It just makes it harder to bend the dowels into place increasing the chance of breaking them.  An inch and a half finished length is more than enough.
• Use button or even upholstery thread to sew on the plastic ring for the kite string.  Those rings take a LOT of punishment from the wind.
• Carry a needle, thread, and a couple of small rings to make repairs if needed.  You may never need it, but it's nice to know it's there. 

Back to the construction.  The fin is attached in the middle as you will see in the book (and in the pic below), down 3 1/2" from the top.  This is the piece that will hook to the kite string.  I used a 26 1/2" long  piece of fabric for the fin, slanted down a bit and out 16".   (This is not on a fold--you only want 1 triangular piece not a diamond shape.)

You don't want to come all the way back in at the 26" mark, though as you would on the main piece.  Square that off by drawing a line 2 1/2 inches down at the other end and drawing the line from the 16" point to the 2  1/2 inch point.  I think this picture shows how the end is squared off as opposed to coming to a point as on the main kite piece.

 

Sew on those corner pocket pieces and a circular plastic piece on the tip of the fin.  You are ready to tie on your string.  I used the plastic pieces they sell at Joann's for making Roman shades. You do need a tail--just a long strip with smaller rectangles spaced down.  I took a tuck in each of the small rectangles to make them look a bit like bows.  My tails are 30" long with five 5 1/2" long "bows" about 6" apart.

Last, about all those geometric shapes on my kites--I was just in the mood for doing appliques.  I cut out shapes, pinned them on, and did an applique stitch on the machine.  Then I cut out the main fabric on the other side to have the shapes show on each side.  

Next on my sewing list is to make bags for toting these around.  Why didn't I think to do that before?   I'll post a tutorial.  UPDATE:  Click here to see my version of a kite carrier.