Jackie O inspired!

Jackie O inspired!  I got this little gem at a tag sale for $2 and it is authentically 1960's!  I wore it to school on Halloween and the kids were like, who?!!  I love how the sewing is so precise and there is a lot of hand finishing.  I felt quite elegant!

Restyle-Presto-changeo!

Restyle- I took a faded chambray 80's style top, cut the sleeves off and hemmed the edges, shortened it, added a tie to the back with the sleeve remnant (a long, small tube) and most importantly, dyed the whole thing!  Now wearable!

Great Lutterloh Find!

I found this little gem at Goodwill and I was unsure about getting it at first because I wasn't sure what it was.  But for $3.99, I decided, aw...what the heck.  Then when I got home I stalked the internet and found out how to use the Lutterloh system and saw a lot of cute clothes made with it.  This isn't the "to die for" early set (like from the 40's or 50's), it is from the 80's.  But is has some cute and timeless patterns in amongst the less than desirable 80's fashion.  I like the round neck dress and the cute tie blouse.  I think the blouse will be my first attempt at making a pattern with this system.

Sobretto Top in Polka Dot!

I saw this great free pattern on the Collette website and have stalked many blogs looking at all the great tops made from this pattern so I decided to make one too.  I should have measured the little test square because it was smaller than it should have been.  I had to make extremely tiny seams and it needed to be a bit longer, but it still fits well.  I printed the pattern from google which didn't print true to size.  Someone blogged that if one prints from Mozilla, the pattern is true.  I tried it and it worked.  Now I need to make another one with the real measurements! 

Back from PA

An unfortunate trip due to a death in the family resulted in many trips down memory lane.  Although it was a sad time, I did manage to get together with an old friend and in a whirlwind 6 hours, we traversed the beautiful countryside of Snyder county, PA.  I tasted foods that I had forgotten about which leads me to why I'm blogging this.  I am going to try to replicate some of those foods and share the recipes.  I will post later.  Be prepared for downhome country goodness.

sew knit me: gingham shorts

sew knit me: gingham shorts: I made these shorts out of a Ralph Lauren new, unused top sheet, which someone gave to me knowing that I like to sew.  They are a modifica...

Embellished Kitchen Towel

New Apron 50's style

I made this apron for a bridal shower along with some other things (posts to follow).  I cut a 21" x 45" piece of fabric and hemmed the sides and the bottom.  Then I used a ruffler set on 6 for the waist.  I cut a contrasting piece of frabric  4" x 2 yards.  I folded over the long ends and pinned that to the waist continuing the pinning for the ties and sewed close to the edges.  I cut a 6" square out of two pieces of contrasting fabric and sewed the wrong sides together leaving an opening and turning right side out.  Then I folded down the top of the pocket and ironed in place.  I added some ric-rac for trim and a button with a rossette made from ruffling a piece of the blue fabric.  I then sewed the pocket onto the apron.  Finally, I sewed ric-rac to just the apron waist, stopping at the tie area.  I sewed on all the ric-rac by hand, I think it looks nicer that way.

Crochet Geek - Free Instructions and Patterns: Stripe Crochet Beanie Cap Hat

Crochet Geek - Free Instructions and Patterns: Stripe Crochet Beanie Cap Hat: Skill Level: Easy Beginner Stripe Crochet Beanie Abbreviations MC = Magic Loop SC = Single Crochet CH = Chain ST = Stitch Siz...

Cowgirl Mailbox

First, I cleaned the mailbox with a vinegar solution so the paint would adhere well. Then I spray painted green at the bottom for grass, blue for the sky and then I blended in some white for clouds. Let that dry. Then I decoupaged wallpaper horses onto both sides of the mailbox. (I used a decoupage especially for outdoor use.) After applying several layers, I then coated the whole box with a clear coat of polyurethane spray. The numbers were created by my DD with horseshoes that he welded together. (how cool is that?) and then I painted them a rustic brown. He then attached them to the pole. Ta-da!

GPS Bag

  
See'>http://www.cutoutandkeep.net">See Gps Bag and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep
See'>http://www.cutoutandkeep.net">See Gps Bag and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

The Best Strawberry Pie

This pie has just the right amount of sweetness. Here is the recipe.

Hot water crust
Put 1/2 cup of shortening in a bowl and pour 1/4 boiling water over it.  Stir until smooth and creamy.  Then sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of baking powder.  Stir this into the shortening until it forms a ball.  Chill for 1/2 an hour.   Roll out the dough and fit into a 10" pie pan.  Prick it all over and bake at 500* for 6-8 minutes.  This crust holds up well to wet pies.

Strawberry pie
Sort 3 pints of strawberries, clean and trim.  Place one pint of imperfect berries in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of water and boil for 3-4 minutes.  Mix 1 cup of sugar with 3 tbs. of cornstarch and add to the berries, stirring constantly, until the glaze is clear and thick, about 3 minutes. allow to cool a bit.  Arrange the other berries in the crust and pour the lukewarm syrup over, coating each berry.  Chill and serve with whipped cream.  Yummy!

Berry Jam!

It's Annual Strawberry Jam Time!!!! We went to the Plant City Strawberry Festival, and came home with 3 flats, (yes, I know, that's a lot of berries!) So, I made strawberry jam, strawberry butter, strawberry with other berries jam, strawberry pie and froze a bunch of strawberries!!!! Whew....anyhooo, I put the 4 berry jam and the strawberry butter in the fair and got a first and a second place ribbon! The recipes are pretty straight forward, just follow your basic canning instructions, and here are the recipes:

4 Berry Jam

3 cups of strawberries
2 cups of frozen (thawed) raspberry, blueberry, blackberry mix
6 cups of sugar 1/4 water if needed
1 box of Sure-Jel
2 T. lemon juice
Chop and crush the berries, add water if not juicy enough; add Sure-Jel and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Add sugar slowly and bring to a boil again and boil for 2 minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

Strawberry Butter

2 quarts of strawberries
2 cups of sugar
2 T. lemon juice

Crush the berries and cook down until soft. Press through a food mill or sieve. Mix berry pulp, sugar and lemon juice, let stand for 2-3 hours. Bring to a boil and cook until thick. Pour into hot, sterilized jars. Process for 10 minutes. (This is really good on homemade biscuits with butter!)

'Lil Western Shirt

I made this to enter into the fair and for my sweet neice! I used a vintage pattern that I puchased at a church sale for 10 cents. The embroidery patterns were found online for free. I had gotten the awesome zebra fabric at a yard sale with a bunch of other fabric for next to nothing. All in all, a cute shirt for little mula!

More peeks at the show shirt with a tutorial on the way!

Quick Peak at the Show Shirt

It was extremely cold at the horse show so I could only get the DD to show part of the shirt. The judge didn't see it either...oh, well, maybe next time! I will post a how-to later!

Alicia's shorts!

The DD finally finished her jammie shorts! She did a nice job and I only helped a little!

Another stellar shopping trip!

All this for $23.46!!!!! I Love coupons!

Yay for the Red, White and Blue!

DD and Jax at the Rodeo!

Kitty Post

She is often found here surveying "her" land!

Finally!

Yay!!! My tutorials are working again from Cut out and Keep!

Baby diapers!

I am making a bunch of these for my niece who is excited about saving money and saving her baby's bottom from rashes!


See Diaper Old Style With A New Twist and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

New Apron Sewn by Niece

My sweet nieces came over for a visit and riding the horses. One of them received a sewing machine for Christmas so I showed her how to operate a sewing machine. She made this pillowcase apron as her first project. Good job Kenna!

Baby blanket for Kaylee

I made a flannel double sided blanket for my 6 week old niece. I embroidered a separate piece with a Precious Moments design on my Deco then satin stitched in place. Kaylee's mom loved it!