Learning the Art of Tatted Lace at the County Fair

Can't wait to share with you pictures from the county fair! I'm trying to add to my craft arsenal by learning the art of tatted lace. "Pioneerland" is something my family has been involved in for the past 10 years or so, and the volunteers there are such a wealth of knowledge. Everyone from potters, wood carvers, basket weavers, fence builders, wood burners, blacksmiths, knitters, weavers, you name it. Several of the ladies have been kind enough to share with me their craft of tatting. I'm practicing, so hopefully by the time I get back to Texas, I'll have some pictures of something to share with you.
Anyone tatting out there? If so, I'd love to hear from you. I'm learning such a great admiration for this.
More about tatting later.......
Ooooh - I've also obtained a HUGE pile of wonderful vintage bits....lace, doilies, linens, ahhhh....can't wait to get back to sewing...... (After TwiCon in Dallas of course!)

Indiana Vintage Finds.....

Hi there from Indiana-
No pictures to share, because unfortunately I left my camera battery at home and I've got another 10 days to go! Also, posting from a dinosaur era computer with no USB port....
So you'll just have to take my word for it -
I've found some GREAT vintagey-gaudy sheets!! Yippee - they have good junk here!
Also, good Chicago style hotdogs, good Lake Michigan beaches, cool green grass, and low temperatures!!!!! Love it.

Mommy and Me Cool Summer Nights Lounge Pants

I just completed these pants for a wonderful customer of mine. I had to share because I just think they turned out entirely too cute! I can't take all the credit for them though, Amy requested the fabric and asked for the pockets and ruffles on the bottom. They are both capri length. These are the little ones - size 2. Cutie, cute.
Now that I've gotten that project done, I'm headed back into the sewing room to whip up an armload of coffee cozies to take with me to dole out to my friends and family in Indiana during our up coming trip. I haven't packed a single thing yet, but I do have a meager list started. I'd love to take a little siesta like the rest of my family right now, but I think some caffeine will push me through the afternoon so I can cross more things off my to do list. There is never enough time! Just got my hair color done this morning though, so I'm feelin' good....darker this time, no more brassiness. I'm thinkin' I like it.....hopefully won't fade too much.

Adios to the Layer Cake Apron and Thank You to Haley!

Just wanted to say a big huge - "THANKS" to Haley! - This gorgeous Layer Cake Apron is headed to Atlanta, Georgia today, purchased from my Etsy site.  Haley, I hope you love it -it's really one of my favorites.   I personally love the bark clothe on the waistband and along the bottom.

I posted about it earlier and you and read about it here.

That's all for today - I'm a busy beaver finishing up another project for "Amy" in Texas which I hope to get to share with you before I head north to Indiana with the little munchkins for a few weeks.  Hoping for some cooler weather - fyi - it's 104 today!!!  Could get worse, it was 110 degrees the day my son was born almost 3 years ago!  Can't believe my baby is almost 3!  He's on his 2nd day of big boy underpants!  Wahoo!  What a big boy, I'm so proud!

Freezer Paper Stencils

I swear I'm not trying to turn this into a Twilight blog - there are plenty of them out there - but....I did want to share this little project I recently completed.
Have you heard of using freezer paper for stencils? I had, but just had never tried it before. Mainly because I'd been busy with other sewing projects and just never had anything that I really wanted to stencil.
But, I didn't want to spend $30 on a tank like this one and I ran across this site - Sew Hooked in which Jennifer has a great little tutorial on how to make t-shirt designs with freezer paper. She even provided the stencil -which was great. You can find stencils all over the internet - just google what you're looking for. Many are free.
Basically, you print your design onto freezer paper (I just tore off a piece and stuck it in my printer). Then, take an exacto knife and cut it out. This step took the longest and my hand sort of looked like a claw when I was done :) Then, you use a cool iron and iron your paper to your shirt, then take fabric paint (I used acrylic because I didn't feel like running to the store) and paint over the top of your design. Let it dry, and peel the paper off. Viola! It's fun! Give it a try if you want to!
BTW- I purchased the tank top at Kohl's for$5, that beats $30 any day! (Especially if you're only going to wear the top during designated Twilight events!)

Sewing Projects, Snowcones, and ....twilight?

This is what I was trying my best to accomplish yesterday......what a cute idea, huh? I got it here at The Creative Crate - check it out - she's got some really fun ideas. I'm loving the bracelets she's got today..... Anyways, I made this for my nephew's 2nd birthday....(Amanda if you see this, hope you like it!).
This is part of what I had to do to get the towel completed......bribe the kiddies with a snowcone in order to stay out of my hair for a few minutes.Do you see what I saw???! I swear, I can't avoid it! I was cracking up because my kids were whining for snowcones yesterday afternoon and I thought I could send them outside for 15 minutes while I finished up the towel project. So, we drove to the snowcone stand and look what on the front window! Yes, a "Twilight" flavor.....so....of course I have to get that one! While we were in line with about five 8-12 year olds in front and five 8-12 year olds behind, my son and daughter kept saying..."Mommy,,,,, are you gonna get the TWILIGHT flavor?! Huh, are you? Are you gonna get TWILIGHT??" over and over and over....
Yes, I got the Twilight flavor, and it was oooh sooo refreshing....nice and cold, like you know who. And I think you do! Lovely self portrait, I know. Why do I keep torturing myself?
Happy customer with the "Batman" flavor and wearing fleece pants (102 yesterday)...he's dressing himself these days.
My girl with her favorite "Cherry" flavor...
hey stayed outside all of about 5 minutes once we got home.....with me (because I was eating my own snowcone, of course, did I mention it was "Twilight" flavor?) then we all came back inside because it was soooooooo stinkin hot.
Didn't get the towel done in that time frame, but I did get it done, and hopefully the birthday boy will be pleased!
By the way, I'm not sure what flavor "twilight" actually is...maybe sort of a blueberry, grape thing...oh well....it was a good giggle!

Cool Summer Breezes Pajama Pants

I've been meaning to share these for quite some time. I had made matching pairs for myself and my daughter last fall and I'm telling you - they are the most comfortable things in the world! These sweet pajama pants are made from vintage sheets - so they've been washed a million times and are just so soft and cool for the summer.
I used coordinating fabrics for the waistband and for the pair at the top - a few appliques as well.
Of course, I added some vintage lace, crochet work to the bottom.
These pants are so much fun to make. They are great for using up those old sheets from your aunt or your grandmother that I know you've got stashed in your closet. You can find a multitude a patterns out there to try - or even consider making your own from a pair of pants in your drawer.
These 3 pair of pants are available in my Etsy shop.