jane's apron

dressmaking

I started sewing my daughter's dress on Sunday.  I cut the pieces, read the directions a few times...didn't really understand all of it but knew I could figure it out.  I had the most trouble with gathering the skirt...and I worked at it for a long time.   I forced myself to stop and went to bed feeling a little discouraged.   This was supposed to be an easy pattern...was it really worth it to sew a dress that I could so easily buy (or borrow from an extra nice school mom that offered me her daughter's dress)? 

I woke up yesterday with the same questions and then...

I read a great post from one of my favorite bloggers. There are some blogs I read, some I skim, and some I just look at the pictures.   Barbara's blog is one that I LOVE to read with the added bonus of  great pictures.  She recently had a post about going to the department store for fabric and remembering the thump-thump of taking the fabric off the bolt.  I watched my daughter see and hear the same thing when we bought the fabric for her dress (that she picked out herself).  When I read In Praise of Alice and Edna yesterday morning, I was ready to finish the dress...it was worth it to take this time and effort.   By the end of the afternoon, I had attached the gathered skirt and sewn the cutest gathered sleeves...far from perfect but starting to look like a dress.   And Ellen loves it.   

mamie in a may basket

I like swaps because it gives me chance to try something a little different.   I signed up for Kari's Year of Color May Basket Swap knowing that I could easily group some goodies in a pretty basket.  My swap partner is Jen Bowles and Jen told me she likes blues and greens...Pam Garrison and Katie Runnels...Anthropologie...yes, me too...this would be fun.   I created two "bird nests" of pretty things in pretty colors.

But my favorite bit is something I found in the just-returned-from-vacation mess in my room...

We were in D.C. for Spring Break and my husband wanted to take the kids to Gettysburg.  I wasn't so sure (driving around a battlefield? listening to a tour-on-CD?  with the kids?) but everything was fine.  The kids loved it and I learned a lot.   It was a rainy and cool on the second day so we went to the Eisenhower National Historic Site...the home the Eisenhowers retired to after leaving the White House.  It is a complete 1960s time capsule.  Take a virtual tour here...and check out the cool slipcovers on the porch furniture.  What do you think?  I'm getting off topic here but just one more insanely cute link.  OK...I'm done.

Anyway...the brochure had a picture of Mamie in her inaugural gown so I pasted her on some pretty paper, cut it out, distressed the edges a little, and added some glitter...pretty as a May flower.  

busy

She was busy in that wholly-consumed way...and I snapped a picture.  

The pattern and fabric have been selected for her First Communion dress.  I've practiced sewing a simple dress.  I will take my time sewing it...none of my usual non-stop-get-it-done rushes...I hope.  I've got two weeks.

play tents

I have said before here that I am a reluctant Brownie Scout leader.  This year is slightly better because I have a dedicated helper at the meetings and I've learned a few things from my teaching classes about classroom management and procedures...along with my Girl Scout Law addendum that states "and there is no crying in Brownie Scouts".  

Combining the need for something fun for the girls with the need for an item for our school auction, I found a perfect project for a play tent.   It takes only a few items...heavy cotton duck cloth, bamboo garden stakes, plastic rings, and grommets.   And some optional paint, ribbon, and beads.

I basically followed this tutorial with a few modifications:

• There is one major flaw in the instructions.  The tutorial calls for 3 yards of 60 in. wide fabric...folded in half to make a 60 in. square.  This is impossible because 3 yards will only make a 54 in. square. So...buy 3.5 yards and trim it by 6 in. to get a 60 in. square.  
• I used 7 stakes instead of 6.  You can never have too much structure.   
• When marking the spots for the plastic rings, it's much easier to lay the cut canvas on the floor, place the stakes on the fabric, and mark where the rings will go.   

I had my art teacher friend help with the painting.  The girls took turns painting the grass and then each took a turn painting a flower.  The girls also each had a ribbon and beads to make a pretty decoration for the top of the tent.  After everything dried, I went back and added some detail to the flowers and butterflies and added some clouds.  

 

The auction is next weekend and I think the tent will look really cute...a bright colorful display to go along with all of the other items.  Of course, my daughter wants me to bring this back home but we'll see...I have a feeling we'll be making another one for our house.  

softies only a mother could love

I received a copy of Softies Only a Mother Could Love and my kids are excited about it...especially Ross.  He's always got big plans for using my sewing machine and he seems to have a natural talent for hand-stitching.  He made this little monster for me in art class last year and was proud that the teacher liked the careful stitching around the eyes.   The book is cute and full of things I think I could handle...but maybe not as good as Ross.  

I occasionally share stuff my kids have made but really feel the need to explain...put an asterisk on all of these kinds of posts.  I never want to give the impression that we bake and craft constantly around here in perfect harmony.  Most of the time it's just a bunch of me yelling "Who did this?", "How long have you known about this project?", "I have no idea where you shoes are." and "Put that damn dog outside.".  Just so we're clear.

spring break

The kids are off school for Spring Break so we are away for a few days.  Flying.  And, for some reason, I am not insanely nervous about it.  

I picked up the little bunny-suited elves at my tiny thrift store (it was the much anticipated "boutique week").   They have golden stickers on the bottom that say "Relpo Chicago, ill" so I think they are vintage...packed away very carefully every year in their box. 

Happy Easter! 

stitched notebooks

Last summer, Erin at house on hill road asked for vintage sheet scraps to create a quilt she had in mind.  I had a green dot fabric I thought she'd like and sent it to her along with a few others.  She made a beautiful quilt scattered with flowers...and then shared the same pretty flowers stitched on notebooks.  I love my notebook...it's handmade, it's pretty, and it was such an unexpected thank you (the best kind).  

Inspired by the notebooks, I tried my own version using paper. 

 

Want to try it?  I ordered the notebooks from amazon, used a glue stick to create my collage directly on the notebook, and then used a simple straight stitch around the entire border.   Learn from my first mistake and start at the top right corner of the image (otherwise you might end up running the machine in reverse...not recommended).

I also made one with a ribbon bookmark secured with a zig-zag stitch and a vintage button.

I just love pretty and practical things.  

eva zeisel

Still recovering from the math test hangover here and, since I've done nothing but treat myself to some cute new shoes and a haircut, I still don't have any new creations to share (but I'm working on it).  This is the perfect time to show some photos I took last year.

These are my mom's Eva Zeisel dishes.  I don't know the details but I know she bought a whole box of them super cheap at an estate sale.   Are these seriously not the most beautiful dishes? There is the classic Eva shape...see the handle on the serving bowl?

I come from a long line of dish freaks (I think this is closely related to an addiction to fabric and patterned papers). No simple white dishes with tasteful  borders for the girls in my family.  We need vibrant colors and pretty patterns...sure they're for eating off of but what is that?...like 1% of the time?  Just look at the colors...

 

As much as we blog girls love our bright fabric designers, don't you think it would be so cool to see those designs on dishes?  

done with that

I took and passed my math test yesterday.  A solid 7 days of hurried study and practice tests followed by a 4 hour test yesterday morning.  4 hours.  I finished with about 2 minutes to spare...never getting up for a break (no time!). To say that the test was "rigorous" would be a major understatement.  I'm unbelievably relieved it's over.  

I'm not one to toot my own horn but I am one to turn the music up in my car so loud it makes the side mirrors shake.  To sing along loud to this song on the way home from the test was a great way to celebrate and get rid of the tension that gripped every muscle in my body.