Growing Up On the Farm

When I was twelve, I became a country girl.  Up until that point, I had been a bonafide city girl, living in a suburb on a quiet cul-de-sac.  All that changed the year I turned twelve.  My parents moved us to the country.  And since I was the oldest, some of my siblings never knew anything but the country.  That would mean my five little brothers.

I loved all five of my little brothers and taught them all kinds of things as they grew up.  Surprisingly, even though they were outside boys, bonafide country boys, I taught them how to embroider and they didn't protest.  We embroidered baby animal quilt blocks when they were preschool and elementary age.  (The five of them were born in a six year span.)  The blocks never got finished, though, because chickens, and goats, and calves, and horses called, and then the boys began restoring old engines, and mowers, and bicycles, and now trucks.

So, this winter, I went on a finish project kick.  This was started simply because I was snowed in my tiny apartment for three straight days.  That was rough.  So I started looking for things to do and I found the blocks.  First, I finished sewing them and I put names and dates on all of them.  (This was accomplished while talking to friends on the phone.)  Then, I put the blocks in Biz and water.  Biz is an amazing thing.  It removed all the little boy fingerprints from the white blocks, but it didn't hurt the stitching one bit.

After the snow and ice melted, I visited my favorite local quilt shop.

There I found these adorable ginghams to border the blocks - because, in my infinite fifteen year old wisdom, I had made the blocks rectangle instead of square.  After squaring off the blocks with gingham, I cut blocks out of the farm boy fabric I had bought years before at Hobby Lobby.  The blocks were 12.5" when I was done cutting. 

I laid out the blocks on my bit of bedroom floor to decide on the most eye-catching pattern.

After piecing the top, I took it to a dear lady who hand quilted it for me - in time for Mother's Day.  I put the binding on the day before Mother's Day and we gave it to my dear mother.

Isn't she beautiful?  I think so, especially for having borne eight children - with the five boys all teens right now.  She was thrilled with the gift - and surprised!

For a parting shot - here are the boys when they were all elementary age - so a few years after they worked on these blocks.  Wish I had a current picture - but then, they are much cuter in this picture.

They are pumping water when we were on a family vacation - they used to beg to get to pump...now they wouldn't do it if you paid them!  How times change!

Many Years Later...

I think I have said this before, but in case I haven't...my mother and I have been cleaning out the home that my siblings and I all grew up in.  Well, some of them are still growing up in it, but you get my drift.  Because of aforesaid cleaning out, many old projects have been rediscovered.  Now, if there is one thing you must understand about my family, it is this cardinal rule:  Never, ever get rid of a project.  Always, always keep it in the hopes that you will one day have the time, or the inspiration, or the money to complete it.

So, yes.  A good part of what we have found are unfinished projects.  Lots and lots of them.  Many of them have actually been featured here on my humble little blog. 

One such project...

My mother began these placemats a long time ago...quite possibly before I could remember anything.  They were for her mother.  Through the years, we would occasionally find said placemats and I would offer to finish them for her.  And she always said she would finish them herself one day.

Well, finally, this last time around, I convinced her to let me finish them in time for Mother's Day.  It was a simple project, since she had already cut them in ovals.  It just took patience to get the lace to lay flat around the curves.

So I pinned carefully, working in a little extra on the curves...

Then I sewed slowly...

Yes, I sewed over the pins.  If you believe that is absolutely unforgiveable, you can let me know in the comments section.  I will sew over pins when it is precision work that might not come out right if the pins are removed before the sewing is completed.

And here is the finished product...

I made four - to go with the two my mother had completed years before.  And we gave them to my grandmother on Mother's Day.  I like them...maybe I will make some for myself.  My mother has lots of good creative ideas.  I inherited that from her.  I also inherited the propensity to not complete projects...

Easter Dresses: Photoshoot

It is a very rainy, dreary day...a little over a week after Easter, and I am finally getting these photos up for you.  Enjoy the sunshiny warmth of the pictures and maybe it will make your day seem a little bit warmer!

Getting all prettied up for the photoshoot...

The view from the back...ties, ribbons, sashes, and all...

Hmmm...what's down there?  Good thing we didn't see a snake in the creek or they would have all gone running!

"Are we almost done yet?" 

Easter Dresses: Part Four

Since I did the dresses in ascending age order, it was now time for the oldest daughter's dress.  She did not like the blue floral print that figures largely in her sisters' dresses, so for her, I put a flower on her dress that she could remove when the photoshoot and Easter were over.

This was the hardest dress for me to create.  She had picked a pale pink cotton and wanted this pattern of McCalls.  To have the dress made in only the pink seemed too plain for me.  So, I looked at other fabrics and trims that I had, trying to get my creativity gears going.  The best I could come up with was to make the dress in the vintage style that is so popular right now.  However, the ideas would not "click" to create a picture in my mind, as it normally happens.

Finally, I found this Simplicity pattern, a tiny blue check, and a hand crocheted white trim.  I combined them with the look from the McCalls pattern and came up with this end result.

I made the flower in the same way that I made the one on this dress.  Here is the lovely herself modeling...

Easter Dresses: Part Three

Well, it was time for the third daughter in my friend's line-up.  As second oldest, and being very vocal, this daughter is the one who picked the blue floral which you see in all of their dresses.  She wanted her WHOLE dress made out of the print, so I obliged, adding a shiny pink sash to set off the dress.

The pattern is an older Simplicity pattern, which is no longer in print, with one simple addition: the belt and sash from Simplicity 2828.  In my humble opinion, this one change made the entire dress...and fit her personality very well.

And here are the youngest and the second oldest modeling for you...

Such sweet faces...and so much fun!  They came up with this pose all on their own!

Easter Dresses: Part Two

Yes...you are right.  It is past Easter.  I am behind in posting to the dear little blog, but I promise you that I did complete these dresses before Easter!

Part one was the dress for the two-year-old daughter in my friend's line of four daughters.  Here is the dress for the six-year-old...the next up in line.

We started with an idea from McCall's 6018.  But, McCall's were not on sale at JoAnn's anytime soon, so I got Simplicity 2828 when JoAnn's had a 5 for $5 sale. 

Because of the thickness of the lined bodice and the double layer belt, I had to put in a regular zipper, as opposed to the hidden zipper I typically insert in all of my sewing projects.  Funny how I have been sewing all these years and I just learned that hidden zippers do not do well with many layers of fabric...

Then, to finish it off, I made the flower.  I cut two pieces of fabric, one of the blue floral and one of the pink plaid, 2 1/2 inches by 6 inches.  I roll hemmed the two layers together, then ran a basting thread 3/4 of an inch from one edge.  I pulled the thread in tight, then wrapped the excess around the gathered part and tied it off and trimmed it.  To finish the flower, I pressed down the two layers with an iron and ran three loops of ribbon through the middle.  I sewed a safety pin to the back, so the flower can be removed when the dress is washed.

Here is second youngest modeling the dress for you...

For My Niece...

Tuesday was the baby shower for my sister-in-law and my niece-to-be.  So I can finally post the pictures of the project I have been working on for several weeks...yay!

I started out with three inglorious piles...

Those were the three colors for the quilt.  Now, there is a story behind the fabrics.  First off, I found a pattern for a baby quilt years ago that required both satin and calico fabrics.  The result was absolutely stunning and sweet.  I had decided to use this pattern for my little niece.  Then, when I went to dig in my scraps for appropriate fabrics, I found a bunch of white satin...white satin that we used to make the dress for the flower girl's dress in my brother and sister-in-law's wedding.  Then I found the pink satin-like fabric we used for our bridesmaid dresses.  Ta-da!

I pieced the top - the pattern required making nine-patch blocks in random patterns - and then sent it off to the quilters.  I put the binding on late Monday night...

...yes, the binding is pieced, too.  I love piecing!

And here is my beautiful sister-in-law with the finished product.  I love it, she loves it, don't you love it, too?