Henrietta the Turtle

I started school this week. I know that soon my weekends will be filled with grading papers and studying lots of lesson plans...so today I wanted to venture off that path and create before school takes too much of my time. Since summer is on its way out and the weather says fall is a long time coming I decided to do something that I have never done before...make a pincushion! I saw this Heather Bailey pattern too many times in various stores until I finally succumbed to this cute turtle and brought the pattern home. I had plenty of fun scraps to use so I knew she would have lots of color on her. I loved the way she turned out...except that the stuffing is a whole lot harder than you would think. I bought a bag of polyester stuffing and tried my best to get it to move into the tiny corners of her feet and tail. It was difficult as the stuffing did not want to stay there. I have cut out another and will try some new tricks on the next one. Notice how in the picture below she tends to lean toward the front of her body...just a special quirk I guess to make her truly my creation! We will see if I can correct that on my next try. Happy sewing! 

Fun Hair Clips

It is 150 degrees outside so I decided this was a good day to get crafty. I treat these days like a snow day...just stay inside and get busy. I copied my smart friend Lindsey and went to this tutorial to get some help to create these cute hair clips. I am very happy with the way mine turned out...just could not get the circles I cut out to tuck one inside the other as well as the pictures in the tutorial did. If this happens to you just use your scissors and trim the circle as I did. I used my hot glue gun to help cut down on a lot of the work. Hope you get inspired...have fun!

Summer Berry Delight Dessert

I must share this wonderful recipe. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have. It is full of the beautiful berries that we are finding so abundant this time of year. It seems that anywhere you shop blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are easy to find. I have found the berries you see in this dessert at Sam's Wholesale club but they are in every grocery store that I have shopped in over the past few weeks. I used fat-free Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk and fat-free Cool Whip...the Cool Whip pictured is a 12 oz. tub but the 8 oz. is really what you need. Angel food cakes are very easy to find made in most grocery bakeries. My husband, who is not a fat-free fan, LOVED this dessert so I think your men will think it is delicious. The green dish I put the dessert in was found at Tuesday Morning...I like it because it has a lid for it and is easy to store in the refrigerator. This dish would be beautifully presented in a clear trifle dish. It really is low-calorie...I do not feel guilty eating it and is so easy and fast to make. Bon Appetit!

1 Angel food cake
1 can fat-free Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz tub of fat-free Cool Whip
1 carton lemon or vanilla fat-free yogurt.....(I use the lemon)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup washed and drained blueberries, sliced strawberries and blackberries...be flexible if one of these is not available and use more of another

Tear the Angel food cake into small pieces. Layer your dish with these pieces. The next layer is 1 cup of the fresh berry mix. The next layer is one half of the yogurt, lemon juice, cool whip, Eagle Brand milk and lemon rind mix. Start over with the cake and continue to layer until with the berries and yogurt mix until everything is gone. Garnish with some berries.

 

"Lakelin" Jumper Pattern

With school starting tomorrow for me I am quickly trying to complete some projects that I started last week. This is the "Lakelin" Children's Corner pattern that I mentioned sewing for my granddaughter. I love this fabric in soft corduroy and hope that she will too. I must admit that sewing a corduroy jumper in 98 degrees of August seems crazy but I will be so happy that I did this when October rolls around. I have pictured the jumper in two photos...front and back. The back is the side with the buttons. I love the chocolate brown rickrack....and as I sew it on I see how much these trims add to the final look of a garment. They are trouble but soooo worth it! The hem will be completed after she tries it on for length. The majority of this jumper was done with my serger...if you have one use it, especially for the "gut work". They are a tremendous time-saver!

Random Ivy Advice

This is a side-road blog. I am moving away from sewing and want to pass on some good advice someone passed on to me...in hopes that this will help you. I LOVE ivy topiaries! I think they look so good in my home- as a centerpiece, on a coffee table...I just like the way they look. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be such fun. I have lost so many of these after I bring them home to those tiny aphids or mites that must live in my home...YIKES!...and they take residence on the leaves. A few days later the leaves are yellow and fall off, thus the certain death of my topiary. I have tried insect spray for the plant, only to find that I spray too late and the plant is already too infested. For one more try.....hope springs eternal!...I bought a beautiful topiary at the Asheville Farmer's Market....very inexpensive...and brought it home. These are available at Lowe's, Home Depot, places you would never think to look. I asked the lady that sold me the topiary what to do about the bugs and she told me to use "Leaf Shine". She said it not only puts that nice shine on your leaf but keeps the bugs from attaching to the leaf, thus blocking the bug from ruining the plant. YES! I am trying it and hope that I will keep my new topiary alive until Christmas and use it for my centerpiece. I will let you know how it turns out! The topiary is pictured below.

Fun Fabric to Share

It must be a hundred degrees in the shade and back to school sales are everywhere. No wonder it is hard to get inspired! I was in Nashville yesterday passing my grandchildren back to their Mom and took advantage of the time I had to drop in and see some fabric. It is SO HARD to shop for corduroy in this heat...I think it was 102 degrees there yesterday!...but I know that this is the best time to shop. This cloth is so cute and I know it will not last long. I found this navy blue corduroy at the Children's Corner store with a golf embroidery design on it. It is made by Fabric Finders out of Florence, Alabama (I LOVE their cloth...cute every time!!!) We have lots of golfers in this family so I knew this would be a hit. I will use the "Britches and Bloomers" pattern for my grandson's pants....this is the pattern mentioned earlier. He will be so cute in his "golfing pants"....and as I tell you this I am actually dreaming of cooler days!

Sweet Baby Things

This blog will be a change from older kids clothes into baby things. If you are like me there is always a baby shower in my future and I love creating something on my own for a gift if I have time. I have found an incredible Children's Corner pattern that is many designs in one....it is actually a baby layette. It has a gown, bib, blanket, cap....all in this one pattern. I bought it for the gown that is a breeze to make, serger or no serger. This pattern is wonderful because they are so specific in the directions. My daughter wanted some sweet newborn knit gowns for her babies so I began to research patterns looking for one that would work. This one happened to have a layette with it. The gown directions are very easy to follow and even tell you the sewing machine settings to use as you put it together...YES! It really looks good when you finish and is so much softer than store-bought if you are lucky and can find the Sea Island knits to use. They are incredible...just cost a little more but are such a good investment. They wash wonderfully...and these will be washed many times!...and are as soft as a baby's skin. As I looked over the pattern I wondered why in the world they would include a blanket pattern...I mean, does a blanket really need a pattern?! To my surprise I tried one...and it was my favorite layette item in the group! They give you these sewing machine settings to use on the blanket edges and it makes your blanket look professionally done when you are through. Who wouldn't love that! The other benefit is that you are able to make the blanket any size you like when you cut it out and that is a plus. My daughter liked them big so that she could swaddle her babies. Some of the store-bought receiving blankets draw up in the dryer and are too small after a few washings. The blankets take no time to do and are a great homemade gift that you will be so proud to give. I found some wonderful flannel at Textiles Fabrics in Nashville at 50% off this summer and bought enough to make some blankets for gifts. Give it a try...I hope you will be as pleased as I was! The pattern is pictured below.

Long Jumpsuits for Boys

Collars Pattern, "Will"

I wanted to add a post about my favorite jumpsuit pattern for little boys. When you sew, as many of you know, you are always on the search for a better pattern, so that when you make it the next time all will go smoother. Collars has a pattern that in my opinion, has the best jumpsuit. It is called "Will". If you follow their directions to the letter...and you will see what I mean as the turning of the lining gets really confusing...it turns out beautifully. When I invest my time I want it to be worth my effort, and this pattern proves worthy! The short jumpsuit is just as good. I love having something that works out for me every time and this pattern does. I have pictured it above.

I bought this cute trucks, tractors and cars print to line a corduroy jumpsuit for my grandson this fall. I have seen this done and I am going to try...there are so many cute jumpsuits with an applique on the front taken from the lining design. I hope to applique on the front of my grandson's jumpsuit a truck I cut out of the cloth pictured above and use it...such a simple idea that turns out so well. I have noticed that the appliques do not need to be polished and finished with a fat, thick zigzag stitch every time.....just a simple straight stitch done on the outer edge of the design suits just as well. I will send a picture as soon as I get it done!