Evening Pleasures

New growth...
Shasta Daisies...

Roses blooming on the bush that I got for free...

Weeds that can look lovely in the last ray of sunshine...

...make for a pleasurable evening. Goodnight.

Going Retro Instead

All of you ladies were so encouraging with my post on the 1905 blouse, and I seriously was going to wear the accessories too. However with my recent custom orders (and getting another one) I've been informed that two of them m.u.s.t. be finished this week. That means 4 aprons, 1 dress, and 1 jumper must be completed by Saturday.

So...I won't have time to sew my blouse for our church's "Old Fashioned Sunday" on Independence Day. But that doesn't mean I can't dress old fashioned. If I can find my cream cotton Folkwear Gibson-Girl blouse and a prairie skirt I'll wear that and will look very pioneer (something which our pastor eluded to on Sunday), but my sisters and I are leaning toward a 1940-ish retro look with red lipstick and nail polish, netted hats, and heels. Never before have I tried to pull off that look, as I tend to like the 1930s era and my other sisters like the 40s era, so we'll see what happens! =) Any tips from you gals would be fabulous!

For the picnic I'm bringing a cherry pie using my Grandma's award-winning recipe, and some of these lemon bars (if I have time to run to the store for lemons!) for dessert.

Two out of Six

Every once and while people will write asking if we (my sister and I, who ran a modest apparel business out of out home for several years) accept custom orders. This month has been the month for such requests. And guess what they are? Aprons! =)

An etsy customer wrote asking if she were to send in her own fabric, if I could make her six aprons out of the 1940's "Gracie" style. Of course I said yes, and so this week I've been working on cutting them all out, and have two sewn up already. They are turning out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

The other custom order is for four aprons in a style similar to the 1950's "Margaret" apron. My sister and I will share this order. It is this dear 80+ year old lady's pattern, and Erin took her my other styles to see if she might like something different, but no, she liked her own pattern with no pockets, no rick rack.

I can't imagine an apron without a pocket or rick rack! Can you?

1905 Anne Shirley-Inspired Blouse

Just this afternoon I had the strong desire to pull out some fabric from my dwindling stash bin and combine it with a winsome and old fashioned pattern.

I found a match.
I have already cut most of it out, and have already begun sewing some. I'm guessing that I may have enough room in front for some vintage mother of pearl buttons, and I'm wanting to add that vintage lace somewhere. Perhaps hem the cuffs with it on the 3/4 length sleeves?

We'll see how it decides to turn out. Perhaps if it turns out well, I'll pair it with a ankle length blue skirt and wear a red scarf with it for my church's Old Fashioned Sunday picnic on the 4th of July. Do I dare bring my straw boater hat and vintage boots shown in these pictures?

A giveaway every seamstress should enter!

Take a look at this giveaway that a lady is hosting! It is a gift certificate for $100 towards marie-madeline studio! Imagine being able to spend that much money on patterns and fabric. T'would be like a little slice of heaven, I think! =)

The Tatter is Back, too!

Last weekend I finally pulled out my tatting after it being put away since Christmas. I discovered also that there were a few bookmarks left from the craft fair that I was at with Grandma.

They are all in my tatting shop this morning, which is back up and running. Take a look!

Emmeline

Before I left for TX, I finished up this apron for a friend who is getting married. Contrary to what you may think, I do sew with other apron patterns than my own. =) This one is probably my favorite of "outside patterns" as it so easy to sew, and fits a wide variety of sizes easily.
What is fun about this pattern is that it is reversible, too, and the ties are so long you can wear them in front if you wish!

Hooked? =) Here is the link for the website page where you can purchase a pattern for yourself! She also has an etsy shop, too, which is located at this link.

Happy apron sewing!

She's back, and with announcements!

Thanks to all of you who gave well-wishes in my last post! My two week stay in Dallas was fabulous, and many exciting things happened violinistically (that is a word, isn't it?) =) speaking. I'm looking forward to seeing how God uses the things I learned and am applying for His use in the future. Stay tuned for a public violin blog, for any violinists out there. A show of hands, please? =)

Meanwhile other exciting things were happening in my family too. Some of you may recall my traveling out to PA last fall to be in my sister's new CD. She is a gifted harpist, and already has two albums out, and her third was going to be more of a Celtic/Irish style with flute, pennywhistle, ocarina, and harp of course. She wanted violin on two of the songs, so I'm on there too. =) All that said, those CD's all packaged, shrink-wrapped, boxed, and shipped arrived not to long ago! If you're interested, the latest CD is This is My Father's World.

The other exciting thing is that I have finally influenced my other talented sister, who is a photographer, to open up an etsy shop of her own! She is always going somewhere to shoot a wedding, maternity or senior portraits, etc, but lately she has been getting fun things made from her amazing work such as note cards, magnets, key chains, etc. Do check her out, "heart her shop," or drop her a note to ask about her other work. She's got photos of nearly everything under the sun than could be made into cards, or whatever . . . you'll make her day! PS. Her stuff is high-quality matierals that she orders from professional companies.