Yes, I'm Still Sewing!

On the occasion when I have time to think, (such as when I was on a two week vacation to Michigan recently!) I remember when blogging and sewing up items for my etsy shop was quite often. Indeed, this summer has already proven to be quite busy, eventful, and productive however.

And yes, I am still sewing. :) I've been blessed to be able to work for/with the same local bridal alteration business as last summer. One of the biggest projects was working on a bridal gown (took it from a size 10 to a size 0), though the business owner did the major stuff while I worked on smaller details. There was a flower girl dress to alter, as well as four out of seven bridesmaid dresses; I did all of those.

I don't have any professional pictures for you yet, but here are a few small snapshots that I took along the way using my "new" iPhone. Yes, I have been using one of my Dad's first cellphone's (a flip phone, mind you) and I told myself that I was allowed to buy an iPhone when I graduated from college. Per typica of me, I bought a used iPhone 6s, but it was in next to new condition and a beautiful rose gold color. 

Oh yes, you're not here to read about technology...ahem.

The flower girl dress was darling! I took the picture more for myself to remember the company name for the future. :)

Love being surrounded by beautiful textures, fabrics, lace, and tulle!

I put this gorgeous lace on the hem to make it a smidgen longer, and it gave the dress an overall completed look. 

The bride wanted a custom veil (finger tip length) and once we made it using fine tulle netting and a hair comb, I added the lace appliques to an otherwise simple veil.

Outside of bridal sewing, I have two aprons to make for some friends of mine who are getting married this summer. One of them I'll be attending next month up in Maine (can't wait!!) and she's planning a coffee shop themed kitchen. The fabric I found for her will work perfectly. I'll post pictures when it's finished.

If you were hoping to read that I'd be making aprons for the shop, don't lose heart! I have three fabrics on my sewing table that were just cut into aprons this evening. I'd sneak in a little sewing yet this evening, but alas, I'm out of bias tape. Quite rare for someone who has made hundreds of aprons, isn't it?

Well, toodles for now and I hope to be back writing more often in the next few weeks!

Autumn Scenes

Little time to write very many words, but I have not been completely lost in practice, papers, and productivity. In the last month I've gone on little excursions for my own sanity (and most likely my roommates ::ahem::) which included trips to an apple orchard and the mountains.

Tonight I fixed this copycat recipe of Panera's Autumn Squash Soup. The only thing I did different to it was use 1/2 cup of almond milk instead of 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. I may or not be on my second bowl. :)

The Gift of Solitude

["Turn your loneliness into solitude, and your solitude into prayer." -E. Elliott]

In the busyness of college life, sometimes there is a great struggle to find solitude. Perhaps my mommy-friends can relate, or my friends who work full time jobs and come home to spend the rest of their time in some kind of ministry or community outreach. Go, go, go. Do, do, do. Hurry, Hurry, Hurry. At times it can seem as if life is a never ending cycle - whether its the washing machine, the online assignments to turn in before midnight, or the phone than never stops notifying...

A college friend of mine shared with me one of their favorite spots, a lake I never knew existed until just a few weeks ago. I've discovered a time in my weekly schedule to where I can put everything else down and spend a couple of hours down at the beautiful waters. As I scribbed away in my journal this morning, my thoughts and prayer were parallel to the words penned by Horatius Bonar, words with which I will leave you this weekend:

In the still air the music lies unheard;
In the rough marble beauty hides unseen.
To make the music and the beauty needs
The Master's touch, the Sculptor's chisel keen.

Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hands;
Let not the music that is in us die;
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us, nor let
Hidden and lost, Thy form within us lie.

Spare not the stroke; do with us what Thou wilt;
Let there be naught unfinished, broken, marred;
Complete Thy purpose that we may become
Thy perfect image - Thou our God and Lord.

Never in a Million Years

A couple of weeks ago, a friend from church called up and wondered if I could come over and help her sew. I knew that she was neck high in bridal alterations, but it didn't dawn on me just exactly what she might have me do until she handed me someone's wedding dress. Um, intimidation was THE understatement.

I can sew clothing, doll clothing, costumes, tote bags, aprons (duh!) and even did a quilt top way back when, but a wedding dress?? Very thankfully, my friend is the most patient person on the planet, and was satisfied with what I did for her. To confess, by the end of the day it was actually not to bad.

I've been able to help her every day this week, and if she keeps getting dresses, I'll be able to hopefully get more and more comfortable (and faster?) at something that I never dreamed of doing. Not in a million years! Lace, tulle, hems, trains and bustles. So very grateful to have the opportunity of learning.

But sewing here at home won't be neglected. Mom wants me to sew her up a jumper in the next couple of days, and I have some darling fabrics that I came across earlier this week that are just begging to be made into aprons. I already have the bias and vintage rick rack ready for them. Be on the lookout for them to appear in the shop, hopefully in the next week or so.

Popping In

In the life of a musician, there can be semesters where midterms stretch into two weeks, with an orchestra concert thrown in the mix. Such as been my life. Not to mention that college in general is an never ending cycle of reading, papers, memorizing, practicing, listening, sleeping, etc, etc. :) This weekend there is a small chance of being able to catch my breath, and maybe, just maybe I'll get to venture out and take a hike in some hills and woods not to far from here.

We've been having such lovely weather here lately, and spring has just arrived here in SC. How do I know? Just yesterday I noticed a thin layer of yellow dust coating my car. Thankfully spring pollen has never bothered me (only wild grasses in the month of June back home; odd, I know) and clusters of yellow are budding in the neighbor's yards with a patch or two of lily-of-the-valley here and there. Down the lane there is a redbud tree that is just starting to bloom.

In the last day or so I've been itching to be in the dirt again, dig up the hardened soil, and water the signs of green life. Or gather nosegays from my rose gardens. To confess, I'll be adding another rose bush somewhere in one of the gardens back home. My favorite source for English roses had a recent sale which was to hard to resist, so I'm having a plant being shipped here for me to look after until I can get it in the ground. While most college students go to the malls to buy clothes or shoes, this odd person splurges on a rose bush. ::winks::

Summer

It's hard to believe how fast the summer has been flying by. Part of the reason for the rate of speed at which it feels is most likely largely due to working so much. Tomorrow will close out my work week at nearly 50 hours of work. Though I'm around a constant supply of caffeine, my days mainly consist of sleep and being a barista. If there is any spare time it's usually squeezing in violin lessons between work and naps, or spending a few moments in my gardens. Oh the quiet and much-need havens they've become this summer!

With working so much I haven't been in the sewing room as much as I had originally planned for the summer, but that's okay. I think I should be able to eventually finish the 1930s frock I started, sew up another 1940s Gracie apron, and sew some Tasha Tudor styled-aprons before I head back for school in a few weeks.

If you only follow my blog and not my etsy shop, I'll make a quick note to mention that I eventually found time to list the rest of my historical stash online. The 1914 white dress is in my etsy shop here and then my Edwardian shoes had to be listed on ebay.

Enjoy the rest of your July!

All She Wanted for Christmas

This pretty much sums it up. ;) However I have been very grateful to have been able to get some good naps in the last couple of weeks, partly from sheer exhaustion and partly from my body fighting off the various sickness' going around campus.

This coming week there are just a few finals to finish up, and then I will be on my way home for Christmas break. Looking forward to some much-needed relaxation!

'Tis the Season

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1 

In a couple of days my younger brother will be a college graduate.
In a couple of weeks my youngest sister will graduate from highschool.

And in other news, the lilacs will (hopefully) be in full bloom for my sister's open house party. One may or may not feel as though they have a small taste of Mackinac Island. Last I counted we have 17 bushes in 6 or 7 different varieties ranging from 6 feet tall to 6 inches tall.

A Bit of Spring and Hope

With working lots of hours at the coffee shop I've barely stepped in the sewing room, let alone turn on the machines. It may be this way for an unknown amount of time as I race to save up for college this fall. Transferring to a college that is 4x more expensive than the last is no easy task, but I have hope in "Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20, emphasis mine).

Just Life

It is an odd feeling when one's life is at a "stand-still", yet be one of constant busy-ness at the same time. Such has been my life for the last couple of months. Even more craziness seems to be on my horizon, so you most likely won't see very many sewing related posts any time soon. Not to mention that I have z.e.r.o. motivation or desire to sew. Thankfully there is just one project on my table and it's one of those to work on "just for fun."

Happily, I can just confess that the blog may take a little turn towards other things and not disappear off the face of the earth. In fact, I still want to show you pictures of my sister in her 1940s Swing Dress. I playfully teased her that she'd need a chaperon when wearing that dress. ;) She pulls off that classy-vintage look so well.

Life

As you all might have guessed (and you would have assumed correctly), "Cheri is busy." This is my attempt of coming out of my hole/practice room/busy schedule/(insert any other word here) to give you a brief update.

 

We had snow a few weekends ago. Being born and raised in the mid-west, and live in a snowy part of the world when I'm not in school, getting an inch or two of snow doesn't phase me. It changes everything down here. Schools and businesses close while people frantically run to the grocery store for bread and milk. (Don't they realize that it will be gone in a couple of hours? Especially when it's in the south?) 

 

 

The majority of people are literally scared to come out of their front door if there is snow on the road, while I leisurely took a walk early Sunday morning before church (and yes, the snow was gone by the time I got there) to grab a few pictures before the sun began melting it all away.

 

With classes, practice, and work I rarely have time for socializing (unless you count a quick walk with a friend or two to Starbucks in between classes as being social) and even on Sunday I don't often visit with people from church. If it wasn't 1 1/2 hours away, that would most likely be different. However, last week I was blessed with a several hour visit from a MN friend who was in the area for a friend's wedding. Amy and I enjoyed visiting over Olive Garden, window shopping, and Starbucks. 

School is going well, work is going well, and so is music. Each day I count myself so blessed to be able to learn from some of the best professors and teachers I know of. God is so gracious.

 

And as a testimonial of my joy in learning music, here I am with my just-arrived unaccompanied Bach sheet music. I had a cheapy edition, and my teacher was practically begging me to get a better one. I am working on the Loure and Gavotte for those of you who may be familiar with unaccompanied Bach. It sounds so simple, clean, and pure, but it takes more effort and practice than you can imagine to endeavor to get it sounding that way. :)

Well, I'm off to go make a grilled cheese for supper. Have a lovely February, and may it be graced with clusters of blooming daffodils like we're seeing in yards and hillsides down here (though my northern and western friends may have to settle with a bunch of blooms on their kitchen table!).

Lots of "New"

Family time, Christmas, and New Years came and went. Way to quickly. School started on Monday, so the first week is offically over and my weekend started with working at Starbucks. I started training as a barista before the break, and now I'm a regular part timer there making everyone their favorite lattes and frappachinos. It's great fun, but what is even more fun is making the more complicated "custom" drinks for the regulars and them saying you did it perfectly. Yay! :)

Trying to juggle work with being a full time student and practicing violin and piano is a wee-bit more difficult than I had anticipated, but I think it should go fairly well if I can somehow prioritize and schedule my time. More often than not I'm one of those that takes life as it comes, but then get in a jam when there are "must-do" things to squeeze in that I run out of time for. Any tips from those who live by lists and schedules? :)

Yesterday I was super thrilled to have bought an ear training book for a music class. The campus bookstore was selling it for an outrageous price, so I looked it up on Amazon and found it there for close to $20 less. Yay! :) I got free two-day shipping, too, since I'm a student/Prime member. In fact, there is a special going on of getting a free 6-month trial period if you have an .edu e-mail address. Check it out!

All but one class is music this semester. Our orchestra is doing Mozarts 40th symphony and another work or two that is yet to be determined. For violin I'm working on the usual stuff (scales, arpeggios, double stops scales, ie, 3rds, 6ths, and octaves ::ahem:: must get those down before I start on 10ths ::ahem::, a couple etudes) finish up the first movement and start on the 2nd of the Bruch concerto, and then in preparation for my junior recital next semester, I'll be starting some unaccompanied Bach on Monday. After attempting a partita and completely ruining it a couple years ago, I've stayed away from even listening to it since, but I think I'm ready for it now. I love the clean simplicity of Bach. Of course Hilary Hahn's CD is always a favorite and a great inspiration to model after in the practice room.

Speaking of which, I'm behind on practicing and will be under the knife if I'm not prepared Monday morning, so I'll sign out for now. I've got a post in the works for next week, so watch out for that.

Autumnal Joys

It was such a treat to be able to fly home for Thanksgiving Break and spent the week with my family.

These are a few testimonials of my visit...

 

Three pumpkins greet guests as they come up the front step

By the back step wild fruit or berry of some kind can been seen that the birds love this time of year

I was surprised to still see the Johnny-Jump-Ups bravely blooming in the brisk late November weather. There must be a deep layer of leaves to protect them!

My sisters and I (minus one) on Thanksgiving Day. I think the only time I took my apron off was for the dinner. ;)

Sparkling Cider in my inherited glasses from Grandma. It (the cider) was a perfect addition to homemade pumpkin pie and chocolate pie.

My very tall brother (who also flew in for Thanksgiving) and I.

Now back in the south with just a little over two weeks of the fall semester, I cannot guarantee that you'll hear much from me. I would covet your prayers for physical, mental, and emotional stamina! :)

Anticipating Christmas break already, I've pulled out some of my favorite Christmas music. Can anyone recommend their favorite CD (preferably traditional or classic Christmas music of orchestral, symphonic, and/or choral? That is, nothing wild and crazy)?

Gathering Autumn's Last Harvest

This week as I was walking back from class, I was approaching the stone steps when I slowed my walking pace for an older women who had a small bucket with her and tucked underneath her arm. She was bending down in appeared to be looking for something of great importance.

Did she drop a keepsake?

Was she collecting prized leaves to press between wax paper like my dear Grandma used to?

I was getting curious as to her vigil and watchful eyes that were guided downward. Continue walking and wondering if I should ask if I could help her or not (lest my blog has you assuming I'm an outgoing extrovert, let me dispel those ideas very quickly to say that I am anything but that!) I glanced in an unassuming way (introverts master this skill...) and looking into her little container, I concluded that she was gathering nuts of some kind.

The trees all over campus have nut-bearing fruit dropping all over this time of year. There is one tree just outside the music building that releases orange-sized fruit that crack open leaving nut or seed bare to the squirrels or feet that walk by. I've been paranoid that I'll be walking by one day, and one will drop on my head. ;) I recently discovered these huge things are containing walnuts.



via Pinterest

Several other trees have much smaller clusters of hardened fruit that drop also, and they drop in abundance. My head has been spared of these, too, and these are what the grandmotherly-lady was gathering.

Sitting out on the stone steps near the music building this afternoon, I chatted with my sister who was at the airport about to leave for Africa. While in conversation, I saw an elderly couple with that familiar downward gaze to the earth, searching for these little treasures. They must have scouted other places since their bag was getting full of these little round things.

At my feet I saw one of these little oval shaped shells crushed and halved. The fruit inside was still intact. My curiosity had been satisfied. They were pecans! I don't know why I never figured it out before. Memories of when I was a little girl came to mind. Mother-dear would keep a basket on the light blue "mountain-weave" tablecloth (like these) that draped our antique maple dining room table during the holidays. That basket was full of various nuts with two silver nutcrackers. Happy times...

via Pinterest

There was one unbroken lying on the ground. I picked it up and am saving it. (Does anyone know if I can plant it in the spring?)

Someday I hope to have time to gather nuts, and loved ones around the table to share the fruit of them by hearing that old-familiar sound of the shell releasing its treasure inside...

Do YOU gather nuts? How does the "drying" process work? or are they ready to eat now?

Bright Hope

"Strength for today,

And bright hope for tomorrow.

Blessings all mine,

With ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!"

[My lens has been fogging up from all the humidity in the air, but the evening light here is so lovely!]

The words ring true for me these last few weeks. It would seem as if heaven decided to open up above and pour out the richest of blessings to me. I'm so grateful...

• Musician's gathering at the coffee shop for laughs, discussion, and cultural experiences
• Tangerine colored sun settings in the western horizon that cast a peach glow across the skies while lighting the clouds a lovely lilac color above the rich green meadows and the purple mountains
• Phone chats with my sister
• Jeremiah 33:3, Psalms 31:19
• Pumpkin Spice Lattes (they haven't been advertised yet, but here in a mountain town of GA, they've been available since early this week!)
• Mozart in orchestra (among a few other composers)
• My last class today finished at 2:50pm, and I have a three day weekend ahead of me. Yay! :)

ETA: Use SHIPFREE when checking out from Peasant Cottage to receive free shipping this weekend!

Nearly 600

Working on starting a new post, I realized that I'm nearing 600 posts here on the blog. That is alot posts. This winter I will have been blogging here for 7 years. That is alot of years. Anyone still here from the very beginning?

Now before you all start thinking this is a "goodbye post," let me tell you that it isn't! :) The upcoming months are shaping out to be some super busy ones that I may not be able to write as often as I have this summer. I mean, there ins't much gardening going on (my apologies if you've gotten tired about my excitement over beans and berries!) in October or September for that matter if we get an early snow fall, nor do I have  alot of sewing projects to do. I think I unknowingly did a sewing marathon of some kind this summer! ;) But I have some great posts lined up that I'm excited to share with you.

In the mean time, I've having a little celebration party for this blog and all of my favorite readers (sure, it includes you!) so anything in my two shops will be 25% off if you punch in 25SALE when checking out. How long you wonder? The entire week including Saturday!

Breaking News (in the world of sewing)

It rarely ever happens.

Over the course of several months I've had several projects on my tables, dozens of fabrics (literally), and patterns belonging to said fabrics falling over and yet all piling together in one big massive mess that would only make sense to the seamstress. (Please tell me that you can understand or visually get that picture because you have one yourself.)

As of this afternoon I now have two little neatly arranged piles that contain no pressing projects. I repeat: nothing that needs to be sewn except that which will be for leisurely fun such as a white Edwardian dress or blouse.

This happens every year or two and when it does, I relish in the delight of nothing to sew. It gives me room to breathe, step back and evaluate goals for sewing, future projects and ideas, as well as the time to go through notion drawers, fabric stashes, and pattern boxes to see what I will actually use or if I'm just keeping it "because I like it" or "because it's cute."

::happy dance::

As a totally random note, the raspberry season is just coming on here at the cottage and if you've never tasted homegrown raspberries, you don't know what you're missing out on! I'm hoping there will be enough to make a small batch of jam.

Shirley Poppies & Bees

Two years ago my family brought home a huge tin full of wild flower seeds from the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. This spring I attempted to plant every kind of seed that it contained (no, not all of the seeds, but a couple of each kind) and several came up, but I had no idea as to what was growing other than recognizing the cosmos and shasta daisies.

I had at least three good size plants to transfer into my flower garden, but they have been a mystery to me up until this week. I now have some Plains Coreopis blooming in vibrant color and just this morning I learned that I have Shirley Poppies in the most gorgeous coral color you could imagine:

A week or so ago I learned that I was growing some kind of poppy (as I have another variety of white and yellows blooming) by recognizing the prickly head, but it wasn't until this morning when I was out watering that I noticed this beauty. The plant was bending down from more heads ready to pop into glorious splendor, so I made sure to stake them.

My "bench garden" is bursting with more color from delphiniums, zinnas, primroses, salvia, and a blooming bush (can't recall the name!) that the bees are just loving. They are quite busy this time of year, I think!

I am as well, and have a couple projects on the table to accomplish this week. You'll see a couple in the shop here soon. Oh, and which reminds me: A little bee told me that all half aprons will be on sale for $10 each this Saturday, so mark your calenders! :)

Weekend in Pictures

What a busy weekend!

It started Friday night with a fabulous "Reclaiming Hope" rally at my church with a historian who spoke on America's history and politics to a crowd of over 1200 people. Excellent lectures, great music, and some honored WWII veterans.

That evening I dressed up as I would for church or any other special occasion and came up with a "formal" hairstyle that is EASY PEASY. I have thick waist length hair, so I'm not sure how it would work for shorter hair, but you could give it a try. It literally took a couple minutes.

You'll want to have curled hair to start off with. If you're like me who does not have natural ringlets, use a curling iron, flat iron, or (shh, this is what I use: sponge rollers on damp hair and sleep with them in, letting them dry overnight) hot rollers, or what you do to achieve curls. You'll also want some long hair pins, and long bobby pins.

 

Gather hair over to the side of your head and start wrapping your hair as if you were doing a side bun. Once the ends of your hair are pointing downward and you have a bun look, start adding your hair pins to keep the bun up and making sure to place several where the hair is "just hanging" to achieve that roundish bun look. Add bobby pins to finish off and adjust any stray hair or curls. The extra pins will help support heavy hair, too.

WaLa! A fancy hair-do. :)

Sunday and Monday were both wonderful days of rest and relaxation. Daddy let me use his SLR, and I had fun snapping the following pictures:

Jonny Jump Up's

Water droplets on 'Camelot Lavender' Foxglove's

The last blooming peonies

Catnip growing on the deck

Anyone know what this is? It started growing in one of my gardens a couple of years ago without my permission. But now I don't mind it in there. It's delicate and feminine, not to mention the butterflies love the color.

I never planted the Yarrow either. It came without permission and still doesn't have it. Unfortunately it has nearly overtaken a bed and I can't keep it under control and the roots are quite stubborn. I've been tempted to dump gallons of weed killer on the entire bed, but my lavender patch and shasta daises are in the bed too. Any ideas or suggestions what to do with it?

Have I ever introduced Charity to you all? She is one of my purebred Persian cats. She is only allowed outside when she's in this particular garden and under close supervision. She has a tendany to want to explore the area since we have five different bird feeders in that area and she is certain that she wants to catch one of the flying critters. Just to play with, of course.

Bird watching

This afternoon I was able to get three aprons cut out, so hopefully they will be available sometime this week. One is from a vintage pattern that I've never sewn with before. It should be fun, and sure, I'll post pictures.

Springtime Busyness

Over the weekend I had to do some "emergency" sewing. A long-time family friend of ours, and who we affectionately called "Grandpa" passed away Thursday morning and the funeral was to be held Monday morning. My older sister and Mother were flying out Easter morning to attend his viewing and funeral service. Mom didn't have a stitch of black to wear. Providentially some beautiful black fabric came in the mail just in time for me to sew her a dress. That's what I did over the weekend, and finished up around 9:30pm Saturday night.

[The evening light was lovely as I was out by the apple tree yesterday.]

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. Full of sunshine, perfumed wind (the flowering trees seem especially lovely this spring!) and fullness of joy. The church service was a blessing with all of the music, one of the choir special accompanied by piano & orchestra, which I was happily apart of, and an encouraging sermon. (Yes, if you're wondering, I did wear my comb.) :)

Laundry, meals, assisting in research papers and book reports, teaching violin, and errands will fill my week, but this afternoon all of us are heading outside to do the first grass-mowing (please tell me you like the smell of freshly-cut grass, too!) yard work, and seed-transplanting from their tiny cells to larger containers where the seedlings will grow some more before put into the gardens.

Speaking personally, I think this is the most wonderful time of the year.