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Great Expectations— or Something Like That
There was a period in my sewing life that my attitude was “if it has to be lined, I’m not making it!!!!”. Fast forward 15-20 years and now it seems “If it’s NOT lined, I’m not making it”. My, how attitudes change over the years. If you’ve seen much of anything that I have made since getting back to one of my greatest passions, sewing, you’ll most likely, at some point, realize I line EVERYTHING. Just doesn’t seem to me that it’s a finished product if it’s not lined. But that causes other issues… Since everything, or most everything I...
read moreThe Christmas “Coffee Table”
Finding Clay a gift is always an issue. He has no real hobbies, unless you consider working or coffee drinking a “hobby”, so every year it becomes a guessing game as to what to get him for Christmas (or any other occasion, for that matter). This year, amidst the usual stuff for “work” like ties, shirts, fountain pens, etc. (yawn), I found an opportunity to give him something he’d never expect and actually needs. Daniel and I purchased a vintage end table a couple of years ago at Goodwill, but it needed more than we were prepared to handle...
read moreThe BEST Sweet Cornbread
I’ve become somewhat of a purist along with Gluten free by choice, almost fat free by force.. and somewhere in the middle as far as proteins and carbs go. If I still ate cornbread, this is the only way I would eat it … Because …… It’s quick, It’s simple, it’s absolutely, unequivocally delish …. ………. and if you ever invite me over and expect me to eat cornbread, this is the only way I’ll eat it, so be prepared. LOL 1 Box Jiffy Cornbread Mix 1 8oz container sour cream (lite works as well as the full fat/regular type sour...
read moreLike The Blue Suede Shoes?
Some things, you just don’t repeat, but some are really cute and bear being overheard and shared … at least that’s my story and I’m stickin to it today. lol A little back story here, Deb is going Cruising … AGAIN !!! AND, she’s already said she’ll be going again in December – SMH SMH SMH – What am I now? chopped Cruise Harley Hotel and Bag Maker? LOL – I mean, she did just abscond with 10 of my latest bags AND she left the dog? What’s with that? So, we have this sisters/mother private Messenger chat group, right? Well, I caught...
read moreThinking Outside the Box for Border Prints
Growing up our home was filled with seamstresses: a grandmother who should have been a fashion designer, a mother who was so good her own daughters were afraid to compete, and all three of my older sisters were (and are) talented seamstresses in their own rights. As for me, a discussion of fabric types, prints, patterns, measuring and so forth was like listening to the adults on a Charlie Brown special: just a lot of “Wa-wah, wa-wah”. So, as we began to pull our businesses together last fall, we moved fabrics and other supplies from one home...
read moreThe Toddler’s Velveteen & Lace Dress Gets an Upcycle
1st sister, Pat discovered this cute little toddler dress and evidently it just screamed “send me to Jennifer, send me to Jennifer.” So, she did. In the box that she sent were probably at least half a dozen shirts she sent for making my man’s shirt aprons, a slinky, shiny blouse which I loved, and this little dress. The dress screamed the loudest … and it said “Me, Me, do something with me first.” 2nd sister, Deb, happened to be visiting at the time and when I waved it at her and said, “this would make a cute bag, but it’s gonna be bigger...
read moreThe Upcycle Challenge–Making an Adult-Child Apron Set using A Man’s Shirt
It’s a set of Aprons for that special Mother/daughter/son, or Father/daughter/son combo. And of course there are numerous other combos … the Aunt or Uncle/niece/nephew, Grandparent ……. etc … The original challenge by the 3 other sisters and our mother was to make matching aprons for an adult and child from shirts. If it weren’t an upcycle challenge, I could have just gone out and bought a child’s shirt and adult man’s shirt as a matching set. But, I also don’t like accepting easy...
read moreA Valentine 36 Years in the Making
“Back in the day,” which, for the purpose of this blog means the early ‘80’s, I had a purple velour sweatsuit Clay says I wore all the time. I had only vague memories of this outfit, as it was the only warm one I really owned in college. So, when ever it was even moderately cool, out came the “purple suit”. Then, about 3 months ago, a funny thing happened: a box arrived with the top of that long ago lost sweatsuit. You see, my mother throws nothing away for fear someone might need it someday. (And, yes, in case you’re wondering, her daughters...
read moreThe Taming of The Thread
LOL – this is so incorrectly titled, it makes me laugh. Honestly, there IS NO taming of a thread, not when we’re talking about upcycling fabric. But let’s start at the beginning instead of the end, ok? Two mantras: Clip your threads as you sew Press as you go Those were the two mantras I learned over time and they repeat in my head every time I sit down at the sewing machine. However, since I probably do the most seam ripping of all four of us, I probably have the most to lament about here … I know, I know, Shari would say...
read moreWho Is More Bow Dazzling?
If you’ve read many of our posts, you probably know by now that even though we take our arts seriously, sometimes we just go wonky funny. So here’s the back story… Shari bought this pair of interestingly colored pants…. And, of course, she shared it with us in the Sisters/Mother FB chat group. Since no one was asking ME to wear them, I just moved on as I suspect, everyone else did. …. Except Shari …. because she had plans for those pants and she wasn’t telling anyone either… The next day, she and I are private chatting about this and that,...
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