Two Things to Do with a Butter Yellow Tee

First, you can cut it off below the armholes, and gather that length onto a smaller piece of pale pink cut from a different shirt in the scrap bin, so it will be a long enough skirt for a little girl. Sew a casing for elastic in the top,

and trim the bottom with matching velvet ribbon and a rosebud from the box of rosebuds you made while sitting with your mother when she was recovering from surgery. There, that's a good skirt for spring.

Then take the rest of the jersey and cut it into four long strips, each an inch wide. Pull them out into jersey ropes. Find a pretty straw bag at the thrift store for $1.00, one with a cheery yellow gingham interior, and cut the ugly vinyl straps out. Make new straps out of your jersey pulls, and give the purse to a girl with a yellow skirt.

The Gentleman with the Beard of Gold

Felix reports in from Peru that the travel ban for Americans has been lifted (whew!), that he's planning a trip to Manu National Park where he will quite possibly see parrots at a clay lick (among many, many other exciting birds), and that his host mother has given him the uber-awesome nickname (in Quechua) of, "The Gentleman with the Beard of Gold."

Clara's Knitting: Ruffle Scarf

Clara finished her ruffle scarf, made from some hand-dyed yarn from Purl in the fantastic colorway Poprocks. I think she pulled the pattern off Ravelry--I love how it drapes itself.

And the hyacinths are blooming!

Young Ladies Lunching

That's right, it's spring break for someone! Lots of knitting, resting, cooking, talking, kissing of Daisy. messing with kitties, and laughing.

A Tea Party Wedding Shower

Our young lady friend Aimee is engaged to be married in June. Having invited her to many a Sunday afternoon tea party over the years, hosting her wedding shower and disguising it as yes, a tea party, seemed just right.

I broke out the thrifted tissue paper wedding bells--they all hung from the ceiling fan (it was off).

Ham sandwiches with tiny pickle slices, roast beef sandwiches with tiny radish slices, cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches.

Assorted daffodils, so convenient.

And now we'll talk about cake. The girls and I made six cakes from Jane Brocket's Vintage Cakes, a treasure of a book. Only one had frosting; they all presented themselves with old-fashioned restraint, which allowed guests to taste several kinds. Above you see Victoria Sponge filled with cream and strawberries. Below is the Lemon Drizzle. And that picture up at the top was the Coffee-Walnut layer cake.

We also made Tea Loaf (a huge favorite here, and Clara has figured out that she can make it in the dorm kitchen! It just needs an egg from the corner market), Nutmeg Cake,

and these Almond-Raspberry Slices, which were outstandingly good and presentable.

To actually serve tea to thirty people at once, I cheated by making several pots of different kinds, brewed up twice as strong as they needed to be. After pouring a half-cup for a guest, I topped it off with almost-boiling water from my coffee urn. I think it wasn't quite hot enough but these Southern ladies didn't seem to mind. Of course, that could have been just their Southern politeness!

Alabama Chanin: Violet Paisley Applique

This violet jersey dress for Bella has been finished for a long time--just forgot to photograph it. I used Alabama Chanin's "Paisley" applique in a slightly darker shade of violet, then stitched two rows of beads inside each shape, in lavender and pale green. Oddly this made the paisley shapes look like sea creatures. You just never know.

It's still a great dress.

Jade Plant in Milk Glass

In my newlywed days I had a jade plant that suffered greatly from overwatering--it dropped all its leaves and ended up a sad bare stalk. I'm going to try again with this one. My orchids have taught me to trust the "water sparingly" directions, which go against my nurturing instincts. Less is more, perhaps, for these succulents.

Little Bites

I squeeze my creative endeavors into my life in little bites. Once or twice a year I might have an uninterrupted half-day to myself, but generally all my sewing, writing, painting, and decorating get squeezed in among the daily things of caring for a family and home.

And here's how.

1. I don't like a lot of projects going at once. One machine sewing project and one hand-sewing project, *maybe*. I like to start something, keep after it, finish it, bask in the glory for a moment, then start something else. (In the winter I always have two things going because sometimes the sewing room is just too cold to hang out in. Then I have to do handwork by the fire.) If you stick with just one or two sewing projects, and do something on them every day, you will come to the end eventually. Finishing creates its own energy!

2. Every morning, I sit and write three pages of longhand in a notebook. Far from recording anything profound, I tend to note the tiny creative achievements of the day before, and mull over what I might get to do today. This makes a huge difference in helping me to spend my free moments productively: I planned them at dawn!

3. I am so not a perfectionist. More and more I love the process, but I have never held myself to some impossible standard of precision or accuracy. I love almost everything I make, forgive the discrepancies, and move on.

4. I don't mind taking tiny bites. Five minutes of hand-stitching. Reading over my current writing and thinking about it while I go for a run. Stitching in a dart. There's always tomorrow, and I know that I *will* get back to my dear projects.

What works for you?

Anna's Garden Reverse Applique

Making a very wide border of reverse applique and embroidery for a blue jersey dress. The blue is laid over a lining of black, the shapes are stencilled on with fabric paint, then stitched around with button and craft thread, then the inside of the shape is snipped out with much holding of the breath. I'm almost done with the front of the skirt, then I'll do the back, then I'll put them together!

Frederick, Soft and Gray

Here's a greeting from Frederick, just because he's soft and gray. I'm so lucky to have him. This is what he looks like when he's keeping me company in the sewing room in the very early morning while we tidy up.

Late Afternoon Daffodils

Reflecting Pool Log Cabin Quilt

This log cabin quilt is named "Reflecting Pool." It was inspired by Eden Gardens State Park in Florida (hence the smattering of flamingos). I just love the overgrown, can-we-pack-any-more-in-here aesthetic of that type of garden. Live oaks, Spanish moss, the formal pools that are never quite clear . . .

In  the shop.

"A Person with Eyes to See"

"You don't have to go out into the world to do something useful, she told herself. For a person with eyes to see, there is always something close at hand. Misery, loneliness, sickness, fear. . . ."

--Emily Loring, I Take This Man

Seriously Easy Cloth Napkins

 I live on planet Cloth Napkin and we never, ever use paper napkins at my house (I do use them on picnics) and here on planet Cloth Napkin, the napkins do tend to get worn out and used up, and sometimes I need a whole big batch of new ones. I actually hate hemming squares of fabric. Corners always end up thick and messy.

So I bought a yard of 60" duck at Hobby Lobby and cut it into squares, and zigzag stitched half an inch in from the raw edge. A trip through the washer and dryer, and I have fringe! Granted, some of them need haircuts after the first trip or two through the laundry, but then they stabilize and look halfway decent. Perfectly fine for the everyday dinner table.

Some Easy Jersey Dress Patterns

Here are a couple of Big Four patterns I've been working with lately, with cotton jersey. I love the Alabama Chanin patterns but wanted something with a little more drape and these have fit the bill nicely for my recent projects. 

First up, Burda 7082. This dress has a pleated, not-too-low crossover bodice (it does benefit from a pin or a stitch to hold things together). It also has a built-in sash across the front, with an interesting twist.  I initially tried to sew it as presented in the pattern but it was just too much fabric, so I simplified it to a straight strip across the front. 

And on my second time around, I took a great portion of the center front fullness out of the skirt.

 If you carefully mark the pleats, this is an easy pattern to sew, and very flattering.

I've also enjoyed Simplicity 2369. I did a trial of this in some cotton-poly jersey blend, in the tunic length. I've never worn raglan sleeves before, but something about the drape of the sleeve, and the cut of the front was really working for me! Even in my junky fabric this felt supremely elegant, so I was excited to make it up in a longer dress form, with the same sleeves. Yes! I love the dress, although I've taken off the unnecessary tie to streamline things, and just sewn the crossover panel into the opposite side seam.

There you have it--two flattering patterns that call for knits. Make them plain or dress them up with Alabama Chanin-style handwork. That's what I'm going to do!

Spring Cleaning

Today I started a week of good hard spring cleaning. I've divided the house into five parts and here I go: sitting room, dining room, and living room done.

Daisy's caught the bug and created a little bit of make-work in a clean corner, hand-washing some doll linens and using the *real* iron not plugged in.

Sigh.

The she refreshed herself with a dip into the Composer's childhood box of puppets.

Which is kind of random, but is the kind of detail that keeps me happy as I work.

A Tea Cart for the Orchids

I've long wanted a rolling tea cart because they are just sort of awesome. I found this one for very cheap, with wood-look metal shelves and brass pipes, and it's fully collapsible.

For a few weeks Daisy zoomed all the dirty dishes from the table to the kitchen in one load, but now I've commandeered it to hold the large number of orchids in my bedroom who are waiting out the winter at a west window.

Then when spring comes, I can zoom them out to the porch.

Shield Your Eyes: A Bright Crocheted Rug

This is what happens when you crochet a rug from leftover bits of orange and red t-shirts. Requires tinted goggles.

Cold Rain

Outside the bedroom window.

Daisy and the Very Large Sock Monkey

I don't even know where he came from, but he's been living in the toy room for several years,

the biggest thing of his kind I'd ever want to see.

Big Breath Out

First the State Department announced that Americans should stay out of Cusco until at least the end of the month. No biggie, unless you just got there. So, no going out after dark, no speaking English loudly in public (not that Felix is speaking English there, I know it's all Spanish and his two new phrases of Quechua, but I know it's loud!).

Then Giles called this morning in a voice I could hardly understand to report that he'd just been violently rear-ended on his way home from Maine, and was missing a front tooth (actually it wasn't missing, later the doctors found it IN HIS LOWER LIP where it was no longer useful). The accident was not his fault--he was stopped for construction and an elderly driver plowed into him. I choose to see God's mercy in the fact that the injuries weren't worse.

The three girls in the back seat were somehow unharmed (thank you LORD) and all of them are being put up in a local church's guesthouse (after the volunteer EMT handed them a business card and explained that he was the pastor and they had a place to stay and food to eat). 

So. Big breath out. God is good.

And there's another table runner in the shop. If you're from Maine, I'm going to give you a 25% discount to thank you Yankees for your hospitality to my boy.

Hello Palette, My Old Friend

I seriously haven't gotten this out in years, everything was covered in dust bunnies under Daisy's bed. But yesterday I realized that I was itching to paint again, so here we go!

Yellow Roses in an Aluminum Pitcher

 Boy these were glowing this afternoon as we headed out of the house. Our good friend celebrated his 50th birthday by hiking fifty miles *on* his birthday, and we met the hikers at the end with big vats of chili in the woods. 

And Another Jersey Rug

 . . . in a completely different colorway. You can see that between yesterday's rug and today's I've used pretty much all the colors there are (oh wait, there's a red and orange rug coming for the mango lounge). The jersey scrap gauge is sitting on Empty!

A Jersey Rug for Daisy

Daisy and I are a rug-making TEAM! I cut the strips, she connects them, I crochet, and she tells me what color to do next (from her little paper list). I love having a project we can honestly do together, as so many things are beyond her little eight-year old hands. But this is definitely a good collaboration, and now she has yet another cozy spot to curl up and read in her room.

A Crewelwork Pillow for Duck Hunters

I've put a crewelwork pillow in my etsy shop; go ahead and look because you know you love embroidered scenes of duck hunting.

First Big Bouquet

Daisy with the first big bouquet of the season. Daffodils!

Freddy the Pig

Here is some excellent reading aloud--the Freddy the Pig series. We have multi-generational enjoyment going on here, with grandparents getting in on the act and lots of loans and presents changing hands both ways as everyone makes sure they've read them all.

These are some self-respecting animals! Enjoy.

Taming My Jersey Scraps

I've been doing plenty of sewing with jersey lately and the scrap boxes are overflowing. In between projects now I'm cutting them into scraps, attaching the strips, then rolling them into balls for when I feel like making a rug for Daisy's room like she's asking me to.

Please Look After This Bear

He's leaving this weekend for a semester in (darkest) Peru. He'll be staying in Cusco, the city in the mountains that's closest to Machu Picchu, living with a local family, and studying at a language institute: Spanish, Quechua, Latin American history and literature. And then there's the little matter of South American birds.

Today he went to the clinic and got his hep A and yellow fever vaccinations--or, as he put it, uploaded a new defense program into his system with a flash drive--and now he's complaining that his data port is kind of achey.

The Lord bless you and keep you, Felix! The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Something Sweet to Listen To

 I stumbled on the band Page CXVI, looking for a recording of "Be Still, My Soul", and have been enjoying their re-worked hymns. You'll like them too if you like beautiful and surprising vocal counterpoints, and very contemporary settings of some hymnal classics. 

They offer quite a bit of music for free--check out "In the Sweet By and By" and "Wash Me Clean."

Download their music here!

Kitchen Geranium

Thank you, pink geranium, for blooming next to the kitchen sink.

Daisy and the Piano

Last spring Daisy started taking piano lessons--and it was a disaster. The teacher was a terrible choice for her (though she had come highly recommended and was, in fact, the only one I could find)--she loved to scribble all over Daisy's music, kept large smelly dogs, and was prone to asking questions that Daisy found distressing, since they had no answers. 

For a few months she studied at home with Clara, and then those good times ended when Clara left for college. After much calling around, I found a new teacher for both Daisy and Bella this fall, and while Daisy had her doubts about taking lessons from a Strange Man, it's been a wonderful fit.

Still, she really did not like to play. All week her practice time included a lot of discussion on her part as to why she shouldn't--quite yet--try to play hands together. Progress was slow indeed.

However, this story has a happy ending. At Christmas her teacher gave her some Christmas hymns to play, and at that moment she took off for the horizon in a cloud of dust. There is nothing she won't tackle now. She's racing through her book, and never asks for help. I think it was the experience of playing music *that she could check with her ear, because she knew what it was supposed to sound like*, that gave her confidence. I'm excited to see where she goes with piano.

Meanwhile, these little bluebirds in the photo are sitting on a table runner that, of course, is in my shop. And there's a vintage crafting book, *and* I've discounted the one remaining quilt. Happy Monday night!

Frosty Morning Log Cabin Quilt

My mother finished quilting and binding this log cabin quilt for me, as usual (I do the piecing and turn it over to her). I absolutely adore her design choices. 

She picked up on my quilt title ("Frosty Morning") and bound the edges in a surprising French blue printed with snowflakes, and it's just perfect! And here and there she ran a line of embroidery in blue, rather than the expected yellows and pinks.

She has a such an eye for color, I wish you could see her house! Quilt is in the shop.