old fashion toy ornament

When my son was a wee boy,

many winters ago,

I was concerned, as most moms of young children,

of the danger of Christmas ornaments.

And my solution, like many other moms,

was to make soft, unbreakable ornaments.

We do not need them anymore,

so we usually used them in a wreath:

These 6 ornaments are paper pieced little patchworks

of old fashion boy toys:

a topper                     a sail boat

a horse                      a train

an airplane                      a boat

These ornaments were the first paper piecing I did,

and as you have seen before not the last!

see some more here, here, here and here

I know, I just think it makes everything easier!

The pattern is "toy box ornaments" from Sweet peas, Inc.

by Kim Halvorson.

I looked around for some web address or info

but this company seems to be gone.

 The pattern was publised in 1998.

Happy sewing!



a href=”http://sewnso.blogspot.com">img src=”http://www.southern-stitches.com/Blog/cmaslinky.jpg”>
also linked to: spirit of christmas past
at SewN so

dress finished....just in time!

Last week, I was working hard on finishing
the kids outfits....
 Thanksgiving was great and perfect,
but no sewing time!

I did manage to finish Miss C. dress.

The pattern is Pascale from Sew Beautiful,
it was fairly simple, and perfect heirloom dress for older girls
(no puffy sleeves!)

I choose to use piping, and no collar or sash in the back.
I wanted a simpler, modern look.

And I am pleased to report that she likes it!
Not a small detail,
as I have spent many hours on dresses before to hear
"I just do not love it Mommy!"
which means there is no way she will wear it,
we are a strong minded family!

She had a great visit with Santa,
probably her last Christmas picture
with the Jolly man.

Happy sewing!

a not so perfect doll bed

Last year, I made Miss C. a bunk bed

for her dolls as a Christmas present.

She was very happy with it,

but I was not very pleased with my handy work!

I made it up, and just built it,

with some 1 x 2 and 1/4 inch plywood.

It was late in the season (so very cold in the garage)

so I worked fast and not so well!

But this year, I found a great tutorial

at Ana White.

So I got some wood,

cut it all up,

following the great directions

and built it!

Yes I did it!

It took me longer than her (no surprise here!)

but I am happy with it.

I still need to fill in all the holes,

prim it and paint it,

and of course make some bedding,

which will have to wait, remember

I am busy sewing Christmas clothes!

Happy crafting!

PS if building a bed is too much,

IKEA sells again their doll wood bed,

it is unfinished wood and not great bedding

but with some help (paint and fabric),

it can be very special,

ours is already 2 years old.



a lot of chemistry

Today it is my twelfth year anniversary!

You probably heard it before:

"there is a lot of chemistry between you two..."

well it is especially true for us,

as Mon Cheri and I were both graduate students 

in chemistry at the time of our marriage!

 (with our typical French cake, made by a German baker!)

Oh happy day!

 

busy sewing!

I have been busy sewing the kids'Christmas clothes,

in a matching, but hopefully not cheesy outfits!

I am making a vest and bow tie for Brick Master

and a dress and shrug for Miss C..

I am using a dark blue featherwale corduroy from Spechler-Vogel,

not navy, more like shingle,

a matching pima cotton tartan also from Spechler-Vogel

(same blue, darker blue and white)

and a white cotton velveteen.

I purchased all of them at the heirloom store,

so much better quality and feel

than the regular fabric store.

We will be taking some pictures next week

so I need to finish them in the next few days,

better get back to it!

Happy sewing!

beaujolais nouveau

le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive!

Today it is officially the first day we can drink Beaujolais nouveau,

this year's wine!

and yes it is a big deal!

Probably a very French thing,

a great celebration on a Thursday night.

Usually on this day, you can go to all the wine stores

and try the new wine with some snacks

like bread and pate.

Since I am a vegetarian, I made my own version

with baguette and goat cheese,

sprinkled with some herbes de provence

and lightly toasted, so good.

Enjoy!

PS: moderation is key here,
as too much will bring a huge head heck!
Remember it is a very young wine!

one more bag

I made another make-up bag!

I know, I know, I need to sew something different,

but they are fun and make great presents!

(here and here for the previous ones!)

As it was my sister's birthday,

I thought she needs a little something extra,

besides her lingerie bag with guys!

A little sweetness with Japanese fabric and hot pink!

Happy sewing!



happy B-day, sis!

Today is my sister's birthday!

It is a big number but I am not telling,

I am almost 10 years older,

so soon it will be a big number for me too!

Definitively not telling!

Bon anniversaire!



how to make a lingerie bag

yesterday I showed you my last year design

on lingerie bag.

Here is this year model:

outside

and here is the inside:

interested?

(I know these guys are too ...., what is the word I am looking for?)

All right here is how I made it.

I started with 2 rectangles of fabric : 14 x 30 inch

the green cotton fabric is a little heavier than a regular cotton,

better for the bag, it holds better its shape without being bulky.

the other fabric is called "all I want for Christmas",

and totally appropriate for a lingerie bag!

I also used a 6.5 x 40 inch of cotton for the shirring on the top,

I folded the fabric in half, right side together, and stitched the long side.

Then I turned it right side out, and ironed it, with the seam in the middle.

 At 1/2 inch from the side (both side), I gathered the fabric with a long stitch.
It took a while to pull the tread and have both side even.
I then pressed it to set it and flattened it, making it easier to sew. 



I pined the gathered fabric to the top fabric,

and stitched over the gathering stitches.

close up of the band

I used a hair elastic for the closure ( a lot of color choices),

I also recovered 2 buttons with the same fabric that I used for the band.

I used 2 pins to mark the place of the elastic.

I cut the elastic in half and stitched it on the top with the raw edges even,

as seen on the pic below.

Then I pinned both rectangles right side together, and stitched around it,

making sure to leave an opening to turn the fabric around.

I like to leave the opening on the side, where I will stitch again.

I then turned everything right side out,

and pressed.



I top stitched around the entire rectangle, closing the open seam.



I folded the fabric in an uneven 1/3 so that the top is a little shorter.
I stitched both side on the previous top stitch, forming the bottom of the bag.

I closed the bag, and marked where to sew the buttons.



I hand sewed them through both layers, less easy than if done earlier,
but sturdier!

And here is the complete project!

Then add your unmentionables,

these guys will take good care of them!



Of course you could use linen and a old corset image to give it a vintage look,

and probably no boys inside!

You can also totally change the size and make it yours.

Happy sewing!

Newer version: here and here!