Pardon the Garden

Confessions of a lazy wannabe homesteader

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So much for making things off my list and not buying for new projects

November 24, 2012 Marie Leave a Comment

JoAnn’s had 60% off this fabric and as soon as I saw it I knew it needed to be mine. And it needed to be a skirt. For the holidays, of course. As kids, mom purchased new fancy dresses for my sister and I exactly twice a year – once for Christmas, and once for Easter. The Christmas ones were my favorite.

It’s been a while since I dressed up for the holidays. These last few years I’ve just worn jeans with a nice shirt, which isn’t bad or anything. But I miss those fancy outfits and having an excuse for dressing up. So, providing I don’t screw this up, I’ll pair this skirt up with a white tank, a colored cardigan (I’m thinking red, but I’ll have to see what looks better once the skirt is finished) and maybe make myself a little hair pin out of leftover fabric.

I’ve never worked with taffeta before. Hell, I’ve not really made a truly wear-able skirt before by a sewing pattern, either, with a proper waist band instead of elastic. So this will definitely be interesting, and challenging, and hopefully a totally rewarding experience. At least the fabric was reasonable, at $5.19/yard rather than the regular $12.99 price tag, so if I screw it up I’ll be disappointed but not furious at the huge waste of money.

Posts sewing

Whipped up

October 29, 2012 Marie Leave a Comment

The weekend’s sewing confidence boost led me to dig into my stash and whip up another pair of sleep pants. The gingham is thin, and not really practical for the cold winter. But I love them and will wear them all the same. I’ll be making a stop at JoAnns for some flannel for some proper winter sewing, but for now you can find me snuggling in these today with a hot cup of tea and my warm wool shawl and pondering what next I might try (a girl only needs so many PJ pants, after all!)

Posts sewing

We’re all pretty lazy on this gray day.

October 28, 2012 Marie 1 Comment

As I sit here and write I’m wrapped in my thick Vernal Equinox shawl. The 80 degree temperatures of this past week are most definitely gone, and the rain and cold and those endless hazy gray clouds cover the sky.The lack of sunlight is making it difficult to take photos (or I need to learn how to compensate better).

It’s been a lazy weekend, filled with lots of sitting about and watching TV and crafting. I’ve made a lot of progress on some yarn on my wheel, the color of which is quite fitting for a weekend such as this. Gray, with hints of brown and blue. It’s quite boring and makes me sleepy. Even the pup is lazying about.

I did get up the nerve to give some sewing a shot. A pair of pajama pants with fabric from the stash. The last pajamas I attempted were a total disaster, so it took serious courage to attempt them again. So far, so good. They went together well, I didn’t have to rip any seams, and – most important – they fit. The elastic band is in but needs finished/secured, and the bottom of the pant legs need hemmed. But that’s the easy part. And now that I have a tiny bit of confidence with sewing patterns I’m resisting the urge to run to the fabric store to make more. And maybe snag a new pattern or two to try.

Maybe this knitter can learn to sew clothes, after all?

Posts sewing, spinning

Little blocks for a little cradle

July 5, 2012 Marie Leave a Comment

Christmas 1986 my grandparents gifted my sister and I with a wood cradle and matching chair for our dolls. We each had our own with our names written underneath so we knew which one was which. After we grew out of using them, my mom and dad tucked them away for later when we might have our own children. And now the little cradles and chairs are with my sister and I.

In between the OMGENTERTAINMEAUNTIE! moments I cut up a few 4.5″ blocks to make a little blanket for my sister’s cradle so my niece has something to use with her dolls. It’s nothing much – just some cheap broadcloth I had on hand and the patterned fabric is from a vintage pillowcase I picked up at the thrift store for 99 cents. It’s not perfect – the broadcloth puckered, and the corners of my squares don’t all match up like they should. I’m not great at this quilting thing, or maybe it’s just that I’m not so picky about it? Regardless, the munchkin will be happy regardless of its faults.

In other sewing news, I finally purchased batting and backing fabric for this old project. I figured it was about time to get on with it, so I’m slowly piecing that project together.

Posts quilting, sewing

Sewing the morning away

March 3, 2012 Marie Leave a Comment

    $4 for 2 fat quarters
+ $2.50 for a magnetic snap
+ Barely anything for a few squares of fusible interfacing
+ Free pattern from Made By Rae
————————————-
Cute new spring purse for less than $7

My current purse (a store-purchased one) is getting pretty beat up and ugly. Rather than buy another one I figured I’d just sew myself one. I’ve toyed with making bags in the past, but I’m still far from great at them.

This one had some mistakes (like cutting the fabric the wrong way and having to improvise the strap), and I probably should have done the top stitching across the edge of the bag and the straps a little closer than I did. It was my first time using fusible interfacing, and my first time using magnetic snaps as well. I think, on my next bag, I’ll use the interfacing on the entire bag and not just where the snaps go to make it a bit more sturdy overall. But for this size bag, two layers of fabric seem to be sturdy enough.

It’s a bit smaller than I usually carry. I knew it would be a small bag when I decided to make it. After all, you can’t get much from 2 fat quarters. The outside fabric immediately drew my attention when I saw it in the store – deciding on the inside fabric was the hard part. This fabric has so many colors on it that a nice solid color would have been ok. But I wanted something different – something fun/funky. I mean, I’m the one that has to see it day in and day out, so why not? And then I found this charcoal/white zebra print and I knew I had to have it.

Overall, I’m pretty damn pleased with myself and my new bag. I purchased the patterns for Daphne, Ava Rose, and the Market Bag from Artsy Crafty Babe yesterday so I do believe I’ll be trying my hand at one of those later this weekend or maybe the next. I’ve been eyeing her patterns for so long and finally sucked it up and purchased them. We’ll see how I do with one of those patterns now that I have some new skills/knowledge under my belt.

Posts sewing

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Pardon the garden. A phrase I’m most likely to utter anytime anyone visits the house during the growing seasons of spring through fall. Sure, there are pretty flowers and delicious veggies in there somewhere, but they might be a little hard to find amidst the mess of overgrown grass, dandelions, and weeds that have found their way in there and haven’t been pulled. Read On

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