Category Archives: Sewing

A Look Back at October 2023

Crafts, crochet, Reflections, Sewing

Hello and welcome.

The days are flying by and before we get too far into November, I wanted to take a quick look back at things that happened in October that I haven’t yet blogged about.

Crafting

I made a batch of soap in October, something I haven’t done in far too long. It won’t be ready to use for a couple of weeks yet.

I also did a little sewing. Granddaughter Addie’s birthday was this week (it’s hard to believe she is six years old) so I made her an outfit. The top is pictured below. I also made a pair of matching leggings. He birthday party is today and I’m excited to give her this gift. She always loves new clothes.

Over the summer and into the fall I had been working on some projects to donate to the humane society. I made 7 fleece blankets that they will use for the dogs that they care for.

Puppy Paw Print Scarf

I also crocheted eight, puppy paw print scarves and three chicken potholders that I donated for them to sell at their annual Pawzarr, a fundraiser that they hold each year in December.

Chicken Potholder

I decided to deliver these items to the humane society on October 10, my late mother-in-law’s birthday. I chose that day because the humane society was mom’s favorite charity. I thought the donation was a nice way the memorialize mom. The staff at the humane society were very appreciative.

House Plans

Things are coming along with our house plans, not quickly, but building a house isn’t something that happens quickly. We did get the permit to install the septic system. Since the permit is good for three years, we shouldn’t have to worry about it expiring before we can build the house. We have a quote from the excavation company for building the septic system and digging the foundation and we are working with the builder to put together the house plan and get the figures of what it is all going to cost.

Recommended Reading

The first book on my recommended reading list this month is one I read earlier this year but I’m sharing it in honor of Veterans Day (November 11) the day which we in the USA honor our military veterans.

The book, No Surrender, is about World War II hero Roddie Edmonds and is written by his son Chris Edmonds years after Roddie’s death.

From Good Reads:

Spanning seven decades and linking a sprawling cast of heroes from every corner of the country, No Surrender is an unforgettable story of a father’s extraordinary acts of valor in the treacherous final days of World War II and a son’s journey to discover them.

Like most members of the Greatest Generation, Roddie Edmonds, a humble American soldier from East Tennessee, rarely spoke about his experiences during World War II. Not even his son Chris—who always considered his father a hero—knew the full details of Roddie’s capture at the Battle of the Bulge or his captivity at Stalag IXA, a Nazi POW camp. But when Chris’s daughter was assigned a family history project, Chris reread Roddie’s wartime diaries, which set in motion a series of life-changing events.

Called to learn his father’s story with a renewed sense of passion and purpose, Chris embarked on a years-long journey, interviewing surviving POWs under Roddie’s command, and retracing his father’s footsteps, from Fort Jackson, Georgia, where a boyish Roddie transformed into a seasoned leader of men, to the patch of grass near Zeigenhein, Germany, where he stared evil in the eye and dared a Nazi to shoot.

Chris Edmonds, along with New York Times bestselling author Douglas Century, takes us to the front lines of this inspiring multigenerational story, revealing in gripping, novelistic detail Roddie’s previously untold heroism—and the lasting effects his bravery had on the lives of thousands, then and now. “What was most remarkable about my journey to discover what my father did during the war,” Chris writes, “was the realization that any one of us has the untapped potential to do something incredibly courageous. We all have the potential to change the world simply by standing up for what’s right.”

A quintessential American story of bravery, compassion, and righteousness, No Surrender is a shining example of the transformative and redemptive power of moral courage and a celebration of faith, family, and service, the very characteristics that continue to define us today.  

On Good Reads this book is rated 4.29 stars out of 5. See more of those reviews at this link https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43615796-no-surrender. Personally, I give this book 5 stars and consider it a MUST read.

My second recommendation this month came about as a result of a recent conversation with my daughter. As she inquired about our family ancestry, I included that, although it is undocumented, my dad has always claimed that we were somehow related to the Donner Party.

“The Donner Party?” she asked, as if she was familiar with their story, and indeed she was. After our conversation I did an internet search and found the following website with the story of the Donner party, a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. This account is written by Eliza P. Donner Houghton, the youngest Donner child and one of the few survivors of the trip. The entire story can be found at this link https://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/donner.html.

The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate

by Eliza P. Donner Houghton
CREATED/PUBLISHED
Chicago, A.C. McClurg & co., 1911.

SUMMARY
Eliza Houghton (b. 1843) was the youngest child of George Donner, one of two Springfield, Illinois, brothers who organized the ill-fated California-bound emigrant party that bore their name. Eliza and her older sisters were rescued by relief parties that made their way to the stranded travelers at Donner Lake, but their parents perished, and the girls were left to make their way alone in the West. The expedition of the Donner party and its tragic fate (1911) begins with Mrs. Houghton’s account of her childhood and the family’s tragic overland journey, and rescue. She continues with her life as an orphan, first at Fort Sutter, and then with a family in Sonoma and with her older half-sister in Sacramento.

While this piece is not rated in stars, for anyone who enjoys learning about U.S. history I think it’s worth your time to read this first-hand account.

Thanks for visiting.

Catching Up

canning, garlic, Grandchildren, Rain, Reflections, Sewing, The Farm, Tomato Sauce, Weather

There were so many things in August that I wanted to write about but didn’t – this is my catch-up post.

Weather

The rainy streak that we had in July continued into August as our gardens continued to flounder. We were blessed that we didn’t get any of the severe weather, tornadoes, high winds, and hail, that other parts of our state experienced. We also did not have any power outages. We didn’t have our super-hot “dog days” of summer that we normally have in August, but we are having them now. Yesterday was hot and today, September 4th, we have reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit with a “feels like” temperature of 103 Fahrenheit. This weather is supposed to stick around for another day or two but today will be the hottest. A good day to spend indoors with the air conditioning on and writing to you all.

Back to School Shopping

It’s been about a decade since I’ve done back to school shopping (my youngest daughter graduated in 2014) but when Tina mentioned that they had received school supply lists from Jackson’s and Addie’s teaches I thought maybe I could help out by buying what they needed for school.

It was like stepping back in time when I walked into the same store where I bought school supplies the last few years my girls were in school, and saw all the notebooks, folders and others school supplies steeply discounted for their big back-to-school sale. I was flooded with fond memories.

The lists for a kindergartener and a first grader varied greatly from that of the high schoolers that I last shopped for. I bought crayons instead of highlighters and red and black pens, and safety scissors and glue sticks replaced the multitude of three ring binders with dividers and spiral notebooks. Hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes, items I would think should be supplied by the school, are now a priority.

Jackson and Addie started back to school on Monday and I saw a picture of them walking into school with the new backpacks I bought attached to their backs. That made me smile.

I also made them each a new pair of pants. I had planned to make the t- shirts to match but time got away from me, and I have not got around to making the shirts.

Books

Oure local library had a used book sale in August. When we walked in they handed me a plastic grocery bag and said that it was $2.00 for whatever fit in the bag. I ended up with two bags full, about 20 books for $4.00. That should keep me in reading material through the winter. My husband found a partial set of Audubon Nature Encyclopedias. They were printed in 1964 and were a first printing. It was the first 5 books in the set (A through IN) they have some lovely photos and illustrations and will make for some interesting reading. He paid $1.00 for the set of 5. Now that’s my kind of shopping! 🙂

I wonder if I should start doing some book reviews or at least some recommended reading posts. Several of the bloggers I follow do book reviews but is that something you would be interested in hearing from me?

Like Winning the Lottery

One afternoon as I was getting up from my recliner I happened to see something sparkle on the floor in front of my husband’s recliner. I didn’t think much of it at the time other than to remind myself that I really needed to do some vacuuming. A short time later I happened to glance down and notice that the diamond was missing from my wedding ring. At first I started to panic. Then I remembered the sparkle that I had seen on the floor. How it ended up there I’ll never know but indeed it was my diamond. (Angels perhaps?)

I just can’t imagine, of all the places it could have ended up, what the odds of it ending up there and me noticing it are, but it has to be at least equal to winning a million or more in the lottery. Though the monetary value of the stone is nowhere near that of a million-dollar winning ticket, I don’t think I would have been happier if I had won the lottery.

After two weeks at the jewelers my ring is back on my finger and as good as new. 🙂

Canning

In early August I mentioned to my husband that peach season would be coming up soon and I wanted to get another half bushel to can this year. Not wanting to miss out my husband called the orchard where we got our peaches last year and found out that they had quarts and pecks but would have large amounts later that week. Early the next week I knew I would have time to can peaches so on that Tuesday my husband went to the orchard and picked up a box. As it turned out they needed a few days to ripen so I ended up waiting until Friday. I canned 21 pints of peaches and made 7 1/2 pints of peach jam. They taste like summer in a jar – oh so good!!!

In addition to the bread and butter pickles I made last month we had enough cucumbers for me to make 5 more quarts of garlic dill spears. Since I still have pickles left over from last year we will have more than enough to get us through the year.

I finished up last week canning 14 quarts of tomato sauce. I also have 5 gallons of tomatoes in the freezer waiting to be made into sauce. Since I still have some juice left over from last year we decided to share our abundance of tomatoes with our neighbor who was also doing some canning. God is good!

Garlic

The garlic that was harvested and hung in the barn in mid-July was finally ready to be cleaned.

It took me about 4 hours over the course of two days to clip and clean the approximately 330 bulbs this year.

Twist and Turns

I mentioned in my previous post that life had taken some twists and turns and I know some of you might be concerned over such an ambiguous statement. I apologize and assure you that we are well. We have, however, started exploring our options for building a house at the farm. We are mostly in the research stage – gathering the information that we need to make decisions. I do think this is going to be a long process and pray that it will be a good experience.

Don’t be surprised if someday in the future you see a house in the background of this photo.

Thanks for visiting!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Gardening, Making Curtains, New Shed, Reflections, Sewing

Hello and welcome!

The last few weeks have been very busy around here. That really isn’t uncommon for this time of year since it is gardening season. This year, however, our “busy” has included a couple other big projects that we have completed or nearly completed in the last two weeks. Are you ready for a look at what we’ve been up to?

Gardening

We waited until the last weekend in May, Memorial Day weekend, to begin planting our garden. It was a good decision since our last frost was earlier that week. On Saturday, May 27, we managed to get 48 tomatoes, 24 peppers, 24 cabbages, 12 broccoli and 12 cauliflowers planted – all plants that we had started from seed.

Keeping these plants watered then became a regular chore since we had no rain from that point until this past Sunday, June 11.

Later that week my husband went to the greenhouse and picked up a few additional plants – eggplant, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, celery and a couple of melons. We also put in the few peanut plants that I started from seed We did get a layer of straw mulch around the plants to help retain moisture and keep weeds down.

In the above raised beds we planted green bean and cucumber seeds, but we decided to wait on planting anymore seeds until we had rain in the forecast. We spent the next two weeks keeping the plants watered and watching the weather forecast. Since the forecast showed a good certainty of rain on Sunday, June 11, Saturday became planting day.

My husband planted two varieties of pumpkins and several varieties of winter squash. He also planted carrots, beets, Swiss chard, and dill. I planted a patch of sunflowers. We ended the day with a prayer asking the Lord to bless our efforts.

We were overjoyed and thankful when the rains came on Sunday. The gentle but steady rain soaked into the ground was accompanied by cooler temperatures that allowed the ground to retain the moisture. We’ve had more rain today (Tuesday) but not too much and we have rain in the forecast again on Thursday, so we do not anticipate having to water anything for a while.

Sewing Projects

In April, when Ken and Tina told us that they were buying a house, and had a closing date set in May, I asked if I could make curtains and matching pillowcases for Jackson’s and Addie’s bedrooms. Once they closed on the house, I asked Ken to measure the kid’s bedroom windows, then Tina and I took Jackson and Addie shopping at the fabric store.

Jackson selected this Mario cart fabric and a solid red trim and Addie, after much deliberation, picked out the pastel unicorn fabric with a pink glitter-infused fabric for trim.

I started by making the pillowcases using this tutorial that I have used in the past.

The curtains were my own design.

I added a 6-inch boarder (with the trim fabric) to the bottom of each panel and used the trim fabric to make the top loops for hanging.

In these pictures the curtains are hanging on windows in my home. The windows that they were made for are wider than the ones in the pictures so the top loops will not be so bunched up when the curtains are in their new home.

I am quite happy with the way these projects turned out and look forward to seeing them in Jackson’s and Addie’s new bedrooms.

Our New Shed (or is it a Barn?)

Last Thursday, we had a new shed built at the farm. Though its footprint is only 10 ft. by 12 ft. my husband said it is more of a mini barn.

The building crew (two men) arrived shortly before 9:00 a.m. with all of the materials and tools for building it. They were finished before 4:00 p.m. Quite impressive.

We purchased the shed from this company but when my husband originally called the company he was referred to a local dealer/contractor. Through the contractor he was able to order the shed by phone and arrange for delivery/assembly within about two weeks.

Before they came to build the shed my husband had to prepare the site where the shed would be located. He first had to move the old metal shed that this one was replacing. Then he leveled the ground and added several inches of gravel for a base for the shed to sit on.

It looked quite big inside until we started putting stuff in it. LOL. The loft provides extra overhead storage space. We had a few upgrades added to the base package. They were – the solid wood floor (instead of osb), the three windows, and the five-foot ramp at the entryway that will make it easier to bring in equipment with wheels on it.

We were both impressed with the quality of the materials and the workmanship. It was also nice that the shed was already primed (that is the brown color in the above photos) and ready for us to add the paint color of our choice.

We spent much of the day on Friday painting and a bit of the day on Saturday (but had to break from painting to get planting done). We only have a bit of trim left to paint but that will have to wait until dry weather returns. I haven’t taken any pictures of the shed since we started painting but, if you’ve been hanging around here for long, I bet you can guess what color(s) it is.

*If not here’s your clue – The question remains – will it be our Big Red Shed or Little Red Barn?

Thanks for visiting!

What’s been keeping you busy this spring?

February Sewing Projects

Reflections, Sewing, Tie-Dye

I know February is long gone but I thought I would take a few minutes to show you the sewing projects I completed during the month.

First up is the set of pillowcases I made for me and my husband.

Last fall, when shopping a Hobby Lobby, I came across this Amazing Grace fabric and thought it was beautiful. I had no idea what I would make with it but purchased two yards anyway. When one of my sisters mentioned making pillowcases I decided that would be the perfect project for this fabric. I set it aside until after all of my Christmas projects were finished and it wasn’t until February that I around to it.

I followed this tutorial and the pillowcases came out beautiful. They look professionally made.

I made myself another hoodie (I love wearing hoodies in the winter). I then made hoodies for the grandkids.

Addie’s hoodie (front)

Addie’s hoodie (back)

The tie-dye fabric that I used for my hoodie and Addie’s came already dyed. Although I have done some more tie dying I have not yet combined tie dyeing and sewing to create a project.

Jackson’s hoodie (front)

Jackson’s hoodie (back)

The characters on Jackson’s hoodie are from the Disney movie Luca. I have never seen the movie and was not familiar with the characters, but my sister offered me the fabric that she had left over from making hoodies for her grandson and great nephew. I checked with my daughter who said that Jackson had seen the movie and would probably like the characters on his shirt. It turned out really cute, so I hope he wears it often.

My last and most challenging project in February was the dress I made for Addie.

The gray fabric of the bodice and sleeves has Disney princesses, Ariel and Belle on it, and the top layer of the skirt has iridescent swans embedded in the tulle. I found this project challenging as it required a lot of gathering (sleeves and skirt) which I haven’t done before. Also, I was nervous about working with tulle for the first time. Thankfully it all came together nicely.

I mentioned earlier that I had done so more tie dying so I’ll show you those as well while you’re here.

The first two tie-dye projects were shirts that my sister asked me to dye for her. They were both light colored and she wanted to wear them for work. Since she works in a warehouse, and it can be a dirty job, she thought that the light-colored shirt would show the dirt too much. Adding the darker color would make any dirt less obvious. She asked for this blue marbled pattern and was pleased with the way they turned out.

For the other project I used a new (to me) method called ice dying. I first got the garment wet then bunched it together and placed it on a rack in the bathtub. (I had lined the bathtub with a large plastic bag because I didn’t want the dye to stain the tub.) I then covered the garment with a layer of ice cubes. Next, I sprinkled the powdered dye on the ice. I decided to do rainbow colors.

I then covered it with another plastic bag and let it sit until all of the ice was melted. (About 24 hours.) As the ice melted the dye dripped down into the fabric creating the shirt you see pictured below.

Ice Dye hoodie (front)

Ice Dye hoodie (back)

I like the really like the way it turned out. I think I will do this again in the future.

Thanks for visiting.

What’s keeping you busy these days?

Dog Quilts

Dogs, Reflections, Sewing

Our dogs might just be a little bit spoiled (I hope you read a bit of sarcasm into that sentence,) and after writing this post I can no longer blame that solely on my husband. Each dog not only has his or her own bed, but they also have a blanket to go on their bed. Over the years our dogs have worn through many old blankets we have given them. The main problem with giving people blankets to dogs is that rather than covering up with a blanket like people would, dogs walk on the blanket, then lie on the blanket, and some, like our Ranger, might even feel it necessary to walk in a few small circles on the blanket in order to create a nest to lie in. These blankets can wear out quickly. They need something sturdier.

I decided to make the dog quilts when I realized that our old living room curtains would make a durable quilt backing and perhaps hold up better than the blankets that we had been giving the dogs.

I used two layers of flannel then added the curtain, that is a heavy woven fabric, for the backing and binding. I finished the first one Tuesday evening and after showing it to my husband we presented it to the dogs.

When we placed it on the dog bed my husband coaxed Ruby on it so I could take a picture.

Shortly after Ruby got up Ranger staked his claim.

The next thing I noticed was Ruby hiding in the corner. I think she was pouting.

I guess I should have waited until I had both quilts finished before I presented them to the dogs – what was I thinking? 🤦‍♀️

Since Ruby made me feel guilty that Ranger got a blanket and she didn’t, Wednesday became a quilt making marathon for me. I had the second one finished by Wednesday evening.

I did have a nice even pattern planned for this quilt with the same color blocks connecting on the diagonal. After sewing the first two rows together I realized I had sewn the second row of blocks on upside down and messed up the pattern. I decided not the rip out all the stitching and redo it because the dogs wouldn’t care about the pattern of the blocks.

We (Ranger, Ruby, my husband and I) all love the way the quilts turned and as a bonus they add a warm and cozy feeling to our living room.

Thanks for reading.

Do you have a spoiled pet in your life?