Porch Sale – Part 2

First, a big thank you to Sharon of Liberty Rose for hosting the first annual Fall Porch sale at her house. I can’t even tell you how much work Sharon and Evette did to get everything arranged and set-up for Saturday. Everything was perfect, down to the last detail!! I am very honored that Sharon asked me to be a part of this show and I look forward to doing it again next year (yes, we are already planning another one!).

This is what Sharon’s back porch looked like before the sale. All the tables are loaded down with goodies and the tree is full of ornaments. By the end of the day, everything was bare (I wish I had some after pictures).

Ladies started lining up well before 10am, eager to look at all the beautiful items that were for sale. This display features a wool Hootie owl I made and some pot holders and candle mats made by Laura.

Here is the main corner where my wares were displayed. The stand is my grandmother’s spool tree – it’s perfect for hanging purses and other small things. The doll was made by Jennifer :).

Here is the Halloween corner. You can see Bartleby the Pumpkin with his sly grin, hanging out with the other witches and ghosts. Evette had some beautiful wool Halloween ornaments, Jennifer made some witches boots, and Sharon had a cute little embroidered witch.

Thank you to all the ladies (and gentlemen – I saw at least two) who came to the sale. It was wonderful meeting everyone and I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Porch Sale!

OK, I have been talking about it for a few weeks, and the Porch Sale is this Saturday, Oct 23rd. Lots of ladies have been working hard to make some neat things for you to buy, including Jennifer and Sharon (check out their blogs for some sneak peeks). The porch sale is here (thanks to Jennifer for the idea to use a Google Maps link) from 10am – 3pm.

I am still working on a few more last minute items. I didn’t get nearly as much done as I wanted, but I had a lot of fun preparing for it. I will say it will be good to get this off my plate so I can focus on other things.

One more sneak peek – these are cute little Snap-it Bags (sorry the picture is a out of focus – I was in a hurry). They are about 3″ x 5″ and are the perfect size for carrying extra cash, sewing notions, coupons, etc.

They “snap” open when you open them with the prairie points. You use metal measuring tape to create the “snap” frame. It’s a pretty clever idea. You just cut off a length of tape and creating a casing to slide it in. The pattern I used is called “Snap Happy” and they are really fun to make. You can use all different combinations of fabric. These would make perfect little gifts for anyone!

Sneak Peek

I’ve been busy working on items for the Porch Sale. It’s hard to find time to generate a large quantity of items, but I am trying my best. Here’s a quick snapshot of some things that have been cut out and are ready to be sewn.

I’ve been trying to cut out a bunch of projects in an evening, and then spend the next evening sewing them. I haven’t made a much progress as I’d like, but I should have a good showing by this Thursday. More projects will be posted later this week :).

More Bargains!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been hitting up all the thrift stores for furniture and other accessories. Without fail, I usually find at least one bargain wherever I go. Here’s just a sample of what I’ve accumulated in the past week.

This is a cute little tin-punched cupboard I found at a church thrift store. It just needs a little TLC and it will look great!

I couldn’t resist these little strawberry canisters. My grandfather loved strawberries (and so do I) and seeing them always makes me think of him.

This is a sewing table from the “Standard” company. This one probably dates around the early 1900’s (Standard was eventually bought by Singer). I don’t need another sewing machine – but the cabinet makes a nice end table.

Here it is opened up. You can see that it has a test piece of fabric in it from at least 40 years ago (I know this because the woman I bought it from had it for 40 years and never used it as a sewing machine).

This is a wardrobe that is about 12 feet tall. My decorator said I needed some bigger/taller furniture for the bedroom to add variety. This is exactly the kind of piece I pictured in my head. It’s nice solid wood (oak or some other hardwood), and really just needs to be cleaned up a bit.

Here it is opened. My husband will get to use this for his clothes. Eventually, when I get more quilts, I will probably take this and use it for quilt displays (which means my husband will have to find something else for his clothes).

Speaking of quilts, here is an antique quilt I found at Goodwill for $10! It is in pretty sad condition – lots of holes, but there are several places where there are no tears. I haven’t yet decided what I will do with it.

I love the colors and the pattern. I was so excited when I saw this. As I paid for it, the cashier said – “I didn’t think anyone would buy this.” I said, “I can’t believe someone didn’t buy it already!”.

That’s all for now – thanks for looking! Meanwhile, back to sewing for me :).

Sewing Kit

This weekend I designed a travel sewing kit for carrying all the necessities you might want to tuck in your purse so you could do some handwork on the go, or be have a nice organizer for any supplies you might need to take to a class. This is version 1.0 and I plan to make a few tweaks/improvements as I use it and see how well it works.

When closed, it is approximately 9″ x 6″ and depending on how much you have in there, could be about 2 – 3″ thick. I used fusible fleece AND decor bond on the exterior to give make it nice and sturdy – and then the lining piece has decor bond. I opted not to interface the zipper pocket or interior pockets because I didn’t want it to be too bulky. I will probably use some light interfacing in version 2.0 as I can see already that the pockets will have a lot of wear and tear.

When it is open, it is about 9″ x 18″ and can hold quite a bit of stuff! There is a slip in pocket behind the zippered pocket that can hold a pattern and a small cutting mat. In the zippered pocket you can carry pins, measuring tape, seam ripper, etc. The pockets hold a pen, notepad, scissors, small rotary cutter, and seam gage. I will play around with the pocket sizes to get the optimal combination. I included some elastic to hold spools of thread, but will probably remove this in the next version. I figure it is easier to carry thread in the zipper pocket, and to use the space for a needle/pin holder instead. Once I get the design perfect, I will make a few and try to sell them on Etsy or at one of the local shops.

Any comments/suggestions on what to change? I would love to hear what you think!

Thankful Turkey

Here is another Fall item (started two years ago) that is finally finished. Last week it was plucked out of the UFO pile and given the finishing touches. This was another project from Create and Decorate that was a lot of fun to make. The feathers are cut out of wool, the veins are stitched on, and then they are treated with fabric stiffener (I used “Stiffy” – insert joke here 🙂 ). Once the feathers are dry, the directions called for you to glue them together and then glue onto the body. However, I had much better luck stitching everything with black perle cotten – it was much sturdier and you know it won’t come apart.

The whole thing is brushed with coffee to give it that “prim” luck. My husband keeps smelling coffee in the house although neither one of us drinks it (the coffee smell fades away after a few days). The original directions made one that was about 12 inches high (suitable for a table centerpiece). My is about half that size, since I thought a smaller one would be more versatile.

Bartleby the Pumpkin

I really love Halloween crafts and I finished my first one this year – Bartleby the Pumpkin! The pattern was in the recent issue of Create and Decorate and I couldn’t resist his grinchy grin. The pattern had more of a party hat on him (made out of paper), so I opted to make a witch’s hat instead with a spider and spiderweb.

Of course, his name makes me think of that Herman Mellville story you read in school – Bartleby the Scrivener. Remember that one? It was about poor old Bartleby and all he ever said when asked a question was “I would prefer not to.” He drives his boss crazy, but instead of firing ol’ Bartleby the boss moves to a different building and leaves Bartleby behind! Such a strange story, and one I remember very vividly.

UPDATE: Just finished this one as well. This one is larger (if you can’t tell from the picture – it is probably twice as big). Not sure where they both will go yet….

Dyed in the Wool

I have new hobby (not like I need something else that is more time/money), but it is hard to resist the allure of dyeing your own wool! Sharon Stewart taught a class on how to dye wool and it was a lot of fun, especially since you get to mix chemicals like a mad scientist and create new colors! The actual dyeing isn’t that difficult, but it is time consuming.

Since you are working with chemicals, it’s best that you have the house to yourself so there are no accidental exposures (especially around kids). Close down the kitchen and send everyone out to run some errands. You need a nice white enamel pot (white so you can keep an eye on the color), measuring cups/spoons, and your dye chemicals. Sharon recommends getting your dye at W.Cushing and Co., and they also have all the pots and measuring utensils (think one stop shopping)! Once you have the basics, you need a book that contains the dye formulas – which are basically recipes for creating different colors. Cushing has about 95 different base colors to choose from and several books that contain the formulas. Many formulas use 3 or more dyes which really allow you get some subtle color variations (great for rug hookers).

The wool is prepped for dyeing by putting it in hot water with a chemical that causes the wool the felt. This opens up the weave so it can soak up the dye. You then mix up your dye formula, add it to the wool and let it soak for about 10 – 20 minutes (you can dye around 1 yard of wool at time). When done, you rinse the wool with cold water and throw it in the dryer. Easy as pie!

While at Sharon’s we each got to practice dyeing one piece of wool. The color I had was called “Jack Boy Blue” and the other colors were Oyster, Antique Gold, Moss, and Pumpkin. You can see what a beautiful pallet of colors we had at the end of the day! The colors aren’t showing their best in the picture above – they were much softer in person, but still really vibrant.

Furniture Finds

After years of living with the same furniture I’ve had since college (!), it’s finally time to decorate my house and have “a look”. As you can tell by my projects, I love the Americana/Primitive look (think Country Sampler magazine). To that end, I have been scouring the local thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales for some furniture and knick knacks that can be used in decorating. It’s been about a week and I already have several “finds” I am rather proud of.

This is a very nice quilt rack. It just needs to be cleaned up a bit!

This is a hand-crafted wooden bench. This needs to be cleaned and refinished. Shouldn’t be too hard for me to do (I hope).

This is known as a telephone chair – probably from the 40’s or 50’s. I plan to strip off the paint, re-paint it, and re-cover the cushion. Any suggestions for colors?

I just love this wooden carrier – not sure what it was used for, maybe tools? It’s in great condition, and I envision sitting by the fire and using this for my sewing projects. Lots of space to put wool, fabric, and other supplies!

Kaffe Fassett Professional Tote

Wow! It’s hard to believe that it’s already mid-September. I have a whole list of things I want to complete by the end of October and I am slowly working my way through it. I finished yet another Professional Tote in Kaffee Fassett fabric. This will be used as a class/shop sample at Elegant Stitches.

Professional Tote - Kaffe Fassett — Professional Tote – Kaffe Fassett

Professional Tote - Kaffe Fassett - Interior — Professional Tote – Kaffe Fassett – Interior

I’ve also compiled a few items for a Fall craft show in which I am participating. It’s pretty close to Halloween (Oct 23) so I won’t have a lot of Halloween things. Instead, I think I will focus on Christmas stuff and things that people can give as gifts. It’s exciting to plan for, as this is the first show I’ve participated in!