Window flowers

It's been raining all all all day. I've taken the dogs out, well forced them out and tried to sit on the swing for a minute but the drops were just too big and cold so I lasted about 5 minutes. I feel triumphant anyhow. Did I mention that it's been raining all day?

Fall is on the way ya'll, or maybe it's here. I'm not sure, I'd have to look that up. I'm hanging onto Summer for as long as I can anyhow.

I know everyone is out there in blog land salivating over their fall mantels and spooky Halloween decor but I'm not feeling it yet. I'm holding out for Indian Summer. It's always been my final good-bye to Summer.

Don't get me wrong, I love Fall. I absolutely love it! I wish we had Fall for 1/3 of the seasons, spring for the other 1/3 and then summer. We can really just ditch winter altoghter after that beautiful glistening snow...

I picked up an antique window at a little flea market in LaGrange which is where many Amish live and boy do they have good stuff. I would have stayed longer but I had happy hands (AKA Elliott) with me. Let's just say that I wouldn't be able to afford any of his "accidents". So I vowed to come back another day and sift very thoroughly. I've yet to keep that promise.

I think I paid like 5 bucks for it. I can't remember it was at the beginning of Summer.

Isn't she stunning? That's real leaded glass. In hindsight I should have just cleaned it up but I didn't. I broke out and made some chalk paint and painted it white with the intention of distressing it.

The problem is...I'm not real good at distressing yet. It's not for a lack of trying either. I'm just not skilled in that area yet and figure I can distress at any old time.

Bill replaced the things that hold the glass in place because the glass was falling out and I was terribly worried that it was going to break. (BTW, that's his hand not mine). Look at the difference. The diamond thingy on the right is what was holding the windows in.

Once again a picture of the perfectly aged window to salivate over.

He it is hanging in my dining room all cleaned up an lonely looking. By the way, that wall is getting some white paint....it's on the list.

I'm making a little faux window box with fabric rosette flowers to give it a little more of a summer feel. This has obviously been a project I've been putting off.

They looked like little lolli-pops so I added some leaves so I wouldn't accidentally eat one. I'm going to add a burlap tie around the base which, by the way, is just a green styrofoam crafting block.. I am ordering some burlap today. I'm late to the burlap party....never got an invite :(  I'm hoping it will ground the little ensemble or it may just float away, it looks so light, bright and cheery.

Too bad I'm not really digging it. Maybe it's because it's the only thing there. I have so much to do. But, I'm only one woman.  I will find a home for those little cuties one way or another.

These are just fabric rosettes in 2 different sizes (2 1/2 X 25 and 5 X 25). I twisted the floral wire and stuck some of the fabric in the back through it and hot glued it to hold them in place. I just cut out leaf shapes and hot glued those on too. I used spray glue to glue a pretty piece of fabric around the whole styrofoam block (minus the top so I could stick the flowers in) and then glue sprayed the lace only to the top.

 Sorry for the blur fest!

Where oh where do you think I should put these? Or should I give them away one by one as little gift embelishments?

If you need to figure out how to make the rosettes there are tutorials all over Pinterest. I find lots of help at All Free Sewing. Just a heads up, they're addictive and fun. I rounded the ones here a little bit to make them like a little flower instead of a flat one. Just practice and you will have flower power in no time!

Our first pillowcase dress!

I'm so excited to finally be posting one of my projects online. I just got my sewing machine a few months ago. It sat in the box for about a week waiting for me to research how to sew... via Pinterest, various blogs and YouTube. I basically stalked the web.

I will also admit that I was scared to death of this sewing machine. The last thing I had sewn was a stuffed football for my little brother when I was in 6th grade!

Fast forward and I'm sewing on a big girl machine for my grand-daughter's, Alana (Lala) and Micah. I've made several things now including the little blue shoes she (Lala) is wearing in the picture below. I've taken to it like a fish to water. Who knew?

My secret is to be fearless. After I got over my fear of the machine I decided to come out with scissors blazing! You see I can't afford to purchase a sewing machine and all the notions, trinkets and fabric and not use it.

My husband actually took the boxed up sewing machine and put it up to get it out of the way. And I'm sure you know what happens to things that get "put up". So I decided to get it out and put it on the kitchen table. It sat there for only about 2 days before I grabbed the instruction booklet and read it.

Then I decided that I was going to teach myself once and only once to 1) thread the bobbin (I didn't know what bobbin thread was for before this), 2) thread the machine and 3) utilize the self threading needle. Once I did that I felt pretty happy and self confident with myself. I turned into a mad woman...a mad sewing machine

It was on then. I have sewn skirts, shirts, doggie beds, pillows, valances, napkins, headbands, little purses, fabric flowers and now dresses and shoes. I've also altered 2 of my husband's pajama pants and altered 2 of his shirts to make them sleeveless. Don't tell anyone but I think he secretly wants some shoes too.

I'm also in the know. My daughter handed me a few things to alter. She also knows to save clothes and pillow cases. There are all kinds of things that can be done to used or outgrown clothes. It's free fabric for smaller people clothes, pillows, embellishments or alterations. Really your imagination is the only limit.

I have a whole list of things in my imagination to tackle too.

I have to admit that I also have 2 grandsons that have been terribly neglected in this area. When it comes to boys clothes it's not the lack of ideas, it's the lack of experience. You can basically cut the top off of a pillow case and turn the disgarded fabric into straps and viola...a little girl twirls. But when it comes to boys well we have pockets, zippers, hoods, arm holes and shirt lengths to deal with. I know I will need to learn these things not only for the boys but for the girls and anyone else that I will sew for.

I'm stalking researching all of these things and I'm getting ready to tackle the zipper. I have already tackled the button and button hole so I'm on a role. I have had a bad streak with snaps. I put them on a shirt that I made for Lala and when I opened the shirt the snap came with it. I even got one of those plier things to smash them. It was dissapointing but a lesson learned.

Just like the lessons I learned when I sewed the bottom of a skirt closed, the end of the valance closed, the many many times I attached a piece of fabric backwards, broke needles and stalled the scary sewing machine. By the way, her name is Loretta.

I discovered that I talked to myself a bit too much when sewing so I named my machine and me and Loretta are getting along just fine.

I wish I had taken pictures as I threw this dress together this morning but I didn't. I was a spur of the moment situation and Lala is staying with me for a few days so she was right there to make sure everything fit. And it really only took about 20 minutes to throw this together and that includes my design ideas that swirl around in my head when I'm making something.

This is what I did...I cut off around 4" from the top (the closed end) and sewed a casing for the 1/2" elastic, leaving a small opening to stuff the elastic in. I also zig-zagged around it again to keep it from fraying. After putting the elastic in and sewing it together, I sewed it shut.

I took the discarded fabric and fiddled around with it a bit because I was just going to make a sleeveless dress but a 3 year old kinda needs straps...ie it kept sliding down a bit. So I wrapped the fabric over her shoulders and figured out how much I needed to cut to make a strap and be able to put her head in the dress. I folded it over...sewed the long end and one of the short ends, zigged it and turned it right side out. I then attached the strap about 3" from the arm, sewed them both on and crossed it a bit in the back and sewed that on.

One thing that I really love about sewing is the finishing touches and the personal details that you can add. I have yet to make something for my grand-daughters without making a hair piece to match. The hair piece in Lala's hair is just a piece of the fabric with the edges sewn down and tied into her hair.

Since I'm a sewing manic I wanted to leave my mark on my creations and make them extra special. The tag on her dress I ordered through Etsy for under 20 bucks for 200. They are fabric and it's a picture of a tree with a little boy peeking out from one side and a little girl peeking out from the other and the text I added says "Made with love and stitches xoxoxo". I can't tell you how much this meant to her. It made my heart melt. I just love that little girl so much.