Blogtoberfest Day 28: Patterning My Dreams

Many vintage sewing patterns that I find while thrifting are uncut, supporting my belief that dreaming about making certain garments is as important as making them. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting at the pattern catalogue counter turning the pages and dreaming about the dresses. Playing dress-up was a favourite occupation and this was just a mental extension of that activity. Other sewers must also feel this way, that possessing the actual pattern is a way to grab onto that dream just a little more securely, with the expectation of it being attainable. The pattern for the dress and coat combination pictured is cut, but the sew-in label that was available with the pattern was not used. I love the seaming details and would like to make it but that would require grading up the pattern size.


This outfit also suits my tastes and is fairly close to my size. As usual, I am a sucker for a jacket especially if it has three-quarter sleeves! The notched collar on the jacket would make a perfect spot for a standout vintage brooch. A brocade, lace, linen or raw silk are all fabric suggestions on the back that fire my imagination.









I cannot decide which view I like the best of this Vogue "young fashionables" design, styled for the young woman who emulates an older woman's elegance. This is somewhat the opposite of current trend of middle-aged women seeking to be fashionable often choosing styles that, at best, erode their elegance.
While in high school, I longed for the time when I could make and wear couture-inspired suits and gowns. This style features darting from hip to bust which was a common detail for fitting a figure before the prevalence of lycra.







The controlled fullness of the skirt would be easier to wear than the above sheath. Although it has bridal and bridesmaid's view, this pattern is also suggested as an evening or cocktail gown. The simplicity of the figure-flattering bodice, self-fabric belt and softly pleated skirt would showcase the beauty of the fabric without overwhelming the wearer.


This apron pattern from the 1940's would be a good place to start turning these pattern dreams into realty, the charm of a vintage design with the practicality of full coverage. It only requires 2 yards and I am sure that I have some great rick-rack for the trim.


Which designs are your favourites? These come from my collection of vintage patterns. I have more than a few collections that I have linked with Vintage Velda's collections post.

Blogtoberfest Day 26: Pin Cushions and thrifted sewing basket

If you sew, even occasionally, you likely own a pin cushion which is this week's theme at Punky and Me's My Place and Yours. I have several in my possession: the one I have owned since a child, the vintage one that came in the pictured sewing basket and the magnetic one that I have used since my Mum bought me a sewing machine when I was 21. Ubiquitous as it is, the tomato pin cushion is actually very practical: some have an elastic wrist strap and the little attached 'strawberry' contains emery which keeps your needles and pins sharp and clean. When I was in second grade, my parents presented me with a Singer Junior Miss sewing machine along with the pincushion and scissors shown in this picture. A lot of doll clothes were made using that machine before I start using my Mum's Singer four years later. I have come across them at the thrift store and wonder if I should own one now? I am happy that I still have the pin cushion and scissors.


I did not buy the sewing basket for the basket, but for what was in it. I love vintage sewing supplies and this basket contained items that were definitely older than the basket. This photo shows darning wool, hook and eyes, pins and needles, a pin cushion, thimble and bodkin. The needles were all made in England in the town of Redditch which once produced ninety per cent of all needles in the world. The pin cushion had some hidden, slightly rusted needles, which I will see if I can clean up and I like its petite size which should be perfect in my chair-side kit in the family room. The bodkin is made of bone or ivory and is used for threading ribbon or elastic in a casing or eyelets and I am sure it will be more pleasurable to use than the plastic ones available now. I think about the former owner transferring all the vintage sewing supplies into the 'new basket'.


The yellow thimble is an early plastic, likely celluloid and fits me perfectly. I am looking forward to using it. With a fine level of finish and depth of colour it is very different than a modern plastic thimble that you might find in a cheap sewing kit. The fabric colour and design of the made-in-Japan sewing basket suggests the late 1970's or early 1980's and I think I will fill it with supplies for my daughter who is starting to show an interest in sewing.

Blogtoberfest Day 18: Weekend Thrifting Thrills!

Starting with Friday, I would say that I have had a rather stellar weekend for thrifting. This past Friday, as I have done for the past ten years, I had my hair done by a hair stylist who lives and works outside of the city in the community of Embrun, which is about 25 minutes east of Ottawa. I started having her do my hair when she worked in an upscale salon in the city. When she had her second child, she decided to work in a studio set up in her home which allowed her to pass on some savings to clients and gives me quality service at prices that I can live with. About a year ago I found a second hand store in Embrun which, for the three to four times a year that I have my hair done, I have added to my thrifting path . When I walked in last Friday, I saw these mixer/processor/blender bowls and blades without the motor for $10. These belong to the Braun 5 in 1 machine which is the type that I have had for almost 18 years and have spent more than $10 dollars when replacing a lid, blade or bowl. The parts are no longer available to order in North America as Braun is now distributing only its personal care products in North America. My Mum still has the predecessor, the Braun KM32, to my machine. It first came out in the 1950's and my Mum purchased one in the 1970's. She was pleased when, last year, I found a unit for her at the thrift store to use for parts. It has only needed minor repairs over the years but with parts unable to be ordered buying a unit at the thrift store becomes sensible so I was happy to do the same for mine. Both machines were designed and produced before the wide-spread practise of planned obselence over-whelmed the kitchen appliance market: With this quality in construction and design it is worth trying to repair them. At this store, I also found a small white with black enamel saucepan, some small, vintage Swedish candles and a little bit of trim in ivory and orange just waiting to be used on a Autumn themed vintage style apron.


The next morning, I was off to the Fabric Flea Market which is held every year to benefit a downtown public school. The vendors are made up of home sewers reducing their stash and professional re-sellers. Just in from the entrance, I rummaged through a table that had hundreds of patterns, sewing books, fabric remnants, buttons and laces and trims. This table was run by the public school that benefits from the whole event and is stocked by donations. The first thing I picked up to buy was a bag of about 10metres of this 1950's printed ribbon/lace. There were a few more bags of this same trim but I felt that I needed to set some personal limits from the start.


The next two bags contained various ribbons. The really wide ribbons(on the upper right hand of the photo) are vintage hat ribbons while the rolls are mostly gift or bouquet ribbons along with twill and seam binding.








The next picture is one of aged and stained bits of lace. Not everything in the bag is shown in this photo. I will wash the bits and pieces and try to remove the stains but try not to whiten them. That may take a little research but I suspect that a bar of Sunlight soap will be involved. Oxyclean might remove the patina of age and, if there is any silk, destroy some of the fibres. Even tea staining does not get the same subtle tone as simple age.








This fabric will likely be made into an apron. I collect vintage aprons and I have almost too many to count but the ones that wear out for me are the full ones. I love beautiful clothes and I have a busy household to run so full protection is a must! The dominant colour in the kitchen is blue with mostly red and yellow accents depending on the season and which direction you look. All of the colours in this fabric are found in my china on the plate rack which is Laura Ashley's Hazelbury.


I bought this fabric from a lovely lady who had all sorts of vintage fabrics and some vintage clothes including some made with Liberty fabric. This piece is likely from the late 1940's and is artificial silk, mostly likely rayon. I love the colours and I think that I have enough to make a sleeveless blouse to wear with a suit. She also had a vintage floral bedspread that was exquisite. It was the colouration and type of floral pattern that inspires Cath Kidston and Cabbages and Roses. I kind of wish that I had asked how much but I was pondering a bigger purchase. I also regret not getting her contact information as she was the type of vendor who is obviously in it for the love of the textiles and I would love to get know her.


Here is the artificial silk again with a little tray cloth/place mat that should look great with my aqua and pink Pyrex and a fascinating December 1939 magazine from England with a Canadian insert. I cannot wait to explore its pages in depth. I was acquainted with at least half a dozen of the vendors but did not have the chance to really chat with any of them. I also ran into people that I know from other interests. The mood was very happy with most buyers not looking to haggle and the vendors did not seem competitive or pushy but just there for a good cause and the love of fabric and everything fabric related.


The bigger purchase that I was pondering was eight 1.2 x 2 m panels of this vintage Gabrielle Cie. upholstery fabric to update the look in our family room. Some of the upholstery that I have already done has some of these colours already and the feel of the room is mid-century modern so this 1950's design will be fabulous. Recently I found a great deal on two upholstered chairs at the Sally Ann and since then I have been looking for suitable fabrics for slip-covers. I was glad that I had limited myself to that point as it was easier to make a bigger purchase when I discovered this material. The analogy of 'kid in a candy store' could not be more apt!







On Sunday the Thrifting Fairies called me again and some of the family made a late afternoon visit to Value Village where I was justly rewarded. The beautiful printed corduroy (1950's ?) and vintage Anchor Hoching Sun Tea jar were waiting for me! The colouration and design are amazing and look great with the two pastel pink platters, stamped Morn Glo, and Ice-o-matic that I found at the Salvation Army on Monday morning. Join the sharing excitement with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday. I love to see what everyone finds.

My Creative Space: Make Do and Mend

My Mother once commented that I must lie awake at night dreaming about projects to do. I have to admit that she was right. Of course, sometimes even when we dream of doing big things with our creative energies life has an habit of getting in the way and our creative muscle goes unflexed. This is where we need to find pocket size projects that fulfill that need but that we can fit into slivers of time. We also may need to redefine our creativity. Make do and mend is an old idea that really had its day during the Second World War when shortages made it an absolute necessity. The concept of scarcity is foreign now but we can choose to apply some of the vintage strategies it demanded.


If our Grandmothers stained or damaged a garment, most of them could not afford to toss and replace the item as so many people do today. Clothing was far more expensive relative to income and was chosen with care for longevity in a way that few of us consider now. This may be why there are beautiful vintage clothes available sixty or seventy years after they were made. I usually wear an apron to protect the clothes I own but on rare occasions it is hanging on the hook in the kitchen instead of being usefully worn by me. The sweater pictured here was being worn by me when I splattered myself with a bleach solution. It should have been a 10 per cent solution which would not have removed colour from the fabric when I immediately tried to rinse it out but it was not. I was left with a sweater I really liked that had some horrible bleached out spots at its hem. I tried to re-dye the area with a 'sharpie' pen but the colour was not intense enough. This is where my habit of lying in bed thinking up projects came in handy and I decided that maybe black lace appliques would cover the offending marks attractively. I did need to purchase the appliques but they are the kind of thing you might see at the thrift store. Covering the bleach marks took very little hand-sewing and I decided to balance the effect by placing an applique on the shoulder. While I was happy with how it looked, I further embellished the appliques with some seed beads that had been purchased for another project.

The relative speed and success of the sweater mend has inspired another quick repair: one of the pictured bobbie pins had lost the marquise-shaped stone. I have a nail polish of the same amethyst shade as the stone and layered a few coats in the setting. Now the missing stone is hardly noticeable and I am not too upset by its loss. It is just a good thing that it is not one of my favourite vintage pins with a lost stone.

Be inspired by all the other creative spaces on Kristy's blog.

My Creative Space: Performance Anxiety

In my sewing studio is a half finished evening gown for my daughter. I am not yet panicking, but it needs to be ready for her performance on Saturday. Even though this performance is a big deal for her, she does not seem to be too anxious in anticipation nor am I worried for her. My anxiety does not even lie in what is left to do or the fact that despite my years of experience in dressmaking, I have yet to insert an invisible zipper. The source of anxiety is the fact that this dress is the first outfit that I have made for her since she was a small child and I hope that it will live up to her expectations. The silk dupioni is lovely to work with and I will get an opportunity to use some of my vintage boning that I picked up at the Fabric Flea market (not called for in the pattern but always a good idea for a gown). I am trying take the time to enjoy the process but with all the activities at this time of year not making mistakes is becoming my biggest priority.
Enjoy all the creativity of the season over at Kristy's blog

Fabric Flea market and Recent Thrifts

Most sewers have abundant stashes of fabric! After a time, we sometimes wonder why we bought so much of it. The organizers of a sale that benefits a public school in Ottawa's urban core have capitalized on this knowledge. The Annual Fabric Flea market brings together sewers (and other fibre crafters) to sell off what they don't want and buy what they do. I was very restrained and bought only two lengths of fabric but my self-control was challenged when it came to vintage sewing notions. I think that I was most excited by the purse frame (on the left hand side of the photo) and the printed bias binding was also a score. I love the packaging of the mending tape and the zip lock bag contains seven fabric covered belt buckle kits. I am looking forward to making a holiday apron with the fabric. Presently, I am drawn to birds in design.

In this photo, the most exciting thing for me is the book. The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction is a book that my Mum has. I remember reading it in her sewing room when I was first learning to sew and I feel it really completes my vintage sewing library. These books were written when the average woman had sewing skills and many women who wanted well-fitted, fashionable clothes would make themselves most of their wardrobes. I will likely scan some of the information to share but another blogger reviews the book here. The second length of fabric I purchased is five metres of shell pink silk. It is 115cm wide so there are lots of possibilities with this fabric. The lady selling it also had the suit pattern that she had planned on using with the silk. Maybe it is because I was making similar patterns in the eighties, but I had no inclination to purchase her pattern (I have difficulty thinking the eighties are vintage). The graphics on the box of boning may have been what prompted me to purchase it but my Mum said that it would be of better quality that most of what you buy now. The best part of this year's flea market was definitely that I went with my favourite sewing buddy, my Mum.

At a community wide garage sale I found this vintage sewing table. It needed a little cleaning up and I need to find a small screw that will work for the little knob waiting for it in one of the drawers. The rounded sides of the table are bins to store your handwork and have hinged lids on the table top. The crocheted lace was thrifted and the orchid was a gift from my Mum-lucky me!










The two lamps picture here on the buffet were purchased from the same vendor later on in the sale. My Mum thinks that they are probably from the late forties. They cast a beautiful light in the room and I cannot wait for their debut at a party.

Thankful for Family Thrifting

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada and I have a lot to be thankful for: a beautiful (relatively) healthy family, a comfortable home and (almost) enough time to be creative. I am also thankful for being part of a family that possesses the thrifting gene. My Mum has been visiting from Victoria for the last few weeks and we have enjoyed more than a few visits to my local haunts. We have had a great time and found some real treasures.
I think that we spotted this Buxton jewellery box at the same time. Mum treated me, insisting that all my vintage costume jewellery needed a home. She also put hours in cleaning and polishing the leather. I have thoroughly vacuumed the insides and just need to replace some of the satin lining as it was previously removed in two sections.
I plan on posting more about the vintage jewellery in future. I love wearing it and always receive many compliments when I do. I now have enough of a collection that when I see a piece I have to really love it or know it to be a collectors piece before I purchase it. This weekend I will go to the Fabric Flea Market with my Mum to look for vintage sewing treasures.

My Creative Space: the heart of my stash

Two little boys have been born lately, so that means getting into baby sewing mode. While I love the projects in Amy Butler's book with all that has been going on recently, I thought I would stick with the tried and true. I found this fabric at Ikea recently and while I try to use a lot of thrifted fabrics this collection was so cute and right there in front of me. Needless to say, I was unable to resist and as I knew there would be some baby sewing coming up, I already could see a purpose.


A hooded towel is my standard homemade baby gift in the last few years along with the occasional double layered receiving blankets. A lot depends on the season in which the baby is born. I made the first about twelve years ago after being unsatisfied with what was commercially available at the time (thin, non-absorbent stretch terry). I made that towel for our Preschool's annual fundraising auction at the request of the director who paid quite a bit of money to be the successful bidder. I had previously sewn items for the auction (over five years at that point) and the director knew that her daughter in law was expecting the first grand-daughter. It was very frilly with eyelet across the hood and lilac fabric on the hood. This lemon yellow towel was made shortly after for No.3 who was still doing internal acrobatics. I used the Hey Diddle Diddle Laura Ashley fabric for the hood and an accompanying stripe for the bias binding. The towel has faded considerably after being used by two boys for around three years each. For No. 4 I made two additional towels which I have packed away to give to the right person.

Here is another Laura Ashley fabric with just a little bit left over from some projects that I made for my first child. I am thinking of using this for one of the towels (I made one for No. 4 in this fabric). I really love this fabric for sentimental reasons and the quality which may be why I have yet to use it all up. I have no reason to hang onto it yet I have. I suspect that this may be a reason why sewers can have such large stashes. Of course, we are often addicted to buying new fabrics and could never possibly have the time to sew it all, yet some of it is truly difficult to pass on even when we know that we no longer have a purpose for it.


Here is some of my baby/child friendly stash which includes some pieces from my Mum. The fabric is two piles deep on the shelves and behind these pieces there can be found the Holly Hobbie fabric my Mum did not get to use for my sister and me back in the seventies. In this shelf there is some early purpose-made quilting fabrics which is where you might find some hidden hearts. Kristy has challenged us all to hide some hearts for us to find. I was always more interested in the hand quilting stitches than the piecing even though I love looking at other peoples traditional quilting blocks so most of my "quilting" fabrics have not been used for quilts. I am inspired by Jane's quilt and may try piecing in this way.

Another shelf two stacks deep of fabric (mostly) for children. This group contains flannelette and knits. Most of the knits were purchased while pregnant with No.4. I made towels, blankets and layette items and was thinking about some clothes but my iron died unexpectedly. It takes most sewers a bit of consideration time to figure out which iron they want to use with a fair bit of analyzing the pros and cons of the previous one. This is not a good activity for a very pregnant mother of three young children. By the time I replaced the iron, I was not doing much sewing or ironing. I now frequently review what is available in irons just in case I need to make an emergency decision.


How do you approach your stash? Is there a sentimental reaction? What about guilt? I like to look at mine and dream up projects. Look at others enjoy their creative spaces at Kristy's blog.

My creative space

With many of my children's activities approaching the year's big finales, my creativity is definitely found in dribs and drabs; little things that I can pick-up and put down easily. A year and a half ago, we gave my daughter two sizes of the Clover Yo-yo makers and a charm pack for Christmas. While she happily expresses creativity in baking, she has never showed much interest in sewing and crafting. This crafting idea caught on and kept her busy through the rest of the Christmas holidays. She liked it enough that she decided that should would like to make a throw out of the yo-yo's. Once we had used all the samples in the charm pack we went to the fabric for more of the same line which was Moda's Chez Moi. Unfortunately, they only had a few of the prints in stock, but we bought several metres of what they did have. Unfortunately, shortly after getting at the new fabric, she became sick with mono and lost some of her interest. She did a bit when she was recovering but was quite overwhelmed with the need to catch up with her school work. When she started learning to make the yo-yo's I made some along side of her to help teach her, understand how the makers worked and to keep her company. I soon discovered, as my daughter had, that they are addictive to make. We stopped at some point for a variety of reasons and it has remained a dropped project until recently. I am happy to say that I am back at it and with a up coming (Victoria Day)long weekend, No. 2 should be joining me.




This is another dropped project that has been picked up again. The garden and other things pulled me away from this but I believe that I was also doubting my vision on this project. This is a jacket that I have had for about eleven years. I love the colours and texture of the linen check but I was finding the styling a little dated and overall a little boring. I want to create a vintage safari look (think Out of Africa) and I have started by applying a tatted lace edging made by my Grandma. Amazingly there is just enough edging for the collar and lapels.





On the back, I wish to create some interest. I found this open-work and lace tray cloth(?) and I have shaped it slightly and I am tacking it on the centre of the back. Where there are wear holes or tears that I cannot fix, I plan to sew vintage mother-of-pearl buttons. The buttons in the front and on the sleeves will also be switched up (I hope mother-of- pearl) and I have a pocket hanky and a few other lace bits to try. Does anyone have any ideas of what else I could do? (with out decorating it like a wedding cake).




Tomorrow the post will include a recipe from this book as cooking has really been my creative time lately. My family needs to eat more than I need a revamped jacket. If you would like to see where others have their creative space, check out Kristy's blog.

Mother's Day

My view from breakfast in bed. It is a good thing that I had something blooming inside because today was cold and grey. The African violet and Christmas cactus are in recently found thrifted cache pots. The pot with floral decoration is marked Japan and improves the look of the cactus that will not bloom again until Autumn. I guess because my house plants need a little dressing up I have been finding ceramics lately. I have limited knowledge about where they come from or when they were made but buy things that appeal and are reasonably priced.


I chose this little bowl because of its sweetness. The gold has almost worn off and the surface shows signs of wear. The mark on the back is Alfred Meakin Ltd. and would suggest that it was made between 1907 and 1930. I do not think it worth a lot of money but I enjoy having it. I have photographed it on a tablecloth that my Mum embroidered before she was married(or maybe just before I was born) and used when I was little. She gave it to me early in my marriage and I love the colour combination. While I remember her doing crewel work, I do not remember her doing any other embroidery. I guess she was influenced partly by what would work in her house (modern Danish) and how time consuming young children and home keeping can be.

My Mum found this Lloyd Loomchair at a second hand/antique store. She bought it for me when I was still a child and it is of smaller proportions. I remember that she saved for a long time and paid for it a little at a time in a way that businesses do not seem interested in doing these days. It has proved to be a good investment that I still enjoy. The pillow with the church was made with a panel of Nottingham lace that was given to my Mum by one of the members of the Nottingham Youth Orchestra that we had hosted in 1984. I made the bargello pillow a few years earlier.




My Mum made this crazy quilt pattern with the last scraps of a Laura Ashley fabric used in my curtains and bits of lace. The creative use of luxurious and precious fabrics has always made me love crazy quilting but I have yet to try it. I do have quite a few precious scraps...




These two pillows are embroidered with my Mum's Viking #1 sewing machine. She has become very adept at using the designs available in ways that serve her creativity well. The fabric she used for these cushions was from I skirt that I owned back in the '80s. She was up cycling before it was the thing to do.



I hope all the mothers you know have had a great day.

Earth Day and Thrifting

Earth day is a perfect day for thrifting. You can bring that which you find no longer useful and find something you do. Most thrift stores support charities and without over emphasizing the psychological effect of supporting such causes, feeling good about making a small difference for someone less fortunate can certainly make it easier for us to take on more ways of making a difference in the world. If you are reducing stuff to make a donation you will be reducing the clutter that I believe is at least partially responsible for our desire to buy so much more than we need. It is also possible that lightening the burden felt by the recipients of the charity will also give them enough breathing space to think beyond survival and maybe what they can do for the world. I know that I could be accused of being terribly idealistic but changing our consuming habits and how we regard those facing tough times is something that if done on an individual basis will make a huge difference collectively and it is fairly easy to do.
When I started thrifting, I started to see that there are always many cookbooks available. Of course there are hundreds of cookbooks published every year so that number is not surprising. The books that have interested me most have been those from my childhood or earlier. Nostalgia accounts for some of that fascination as does the design aesthetic from an earlier time. Ultimately it is the content of these books which I find most useful. The recipes presented tend to be tasty, efficient and frugal and easily suited to a family. I do consider myself a "Foodie" and enjoy experimenting with new cuisines but I find that quite a few of today's cookbooks do not offer families enough favourite meals. I do cook from scratch yet
it is not realistic for me to spend hours in the kitchen just to keep the meals interesting. I would guess that many families used to eating out or relying on convenience foods would not know where to start if they chose to change that habit. I find that vintage cookbooks offer a great resource for building a families weekly menu. The Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Cookbook pictured above offers fairly easy variations on this idea and the McCall's Cookie Booklet is a quite complete cookie primer. It is also charming with its feature of the doll Betsy McCall baking as featured in Jane's Apron The tablecloth was also scored the same day and I believe that it is from the late 1950' or early 60's. I remember similar patterns on wall paper in kitchens and restaurants. There are a few stains which I am not sure that I will be able to remove so it may end up as an apron.



I also found some vintage gift wrap and gift cards. If presentation of gifts is part of the overall appeal, I definitely have recipients who will welcome something wrapped in one of these.





I can't visit a thrift store without looking for sewing and craft supplies and did not leave empty-handed on this day. I don't crochet, so maybe I am getting ready for a give away. The embroidery kit is a crewel work kit of a Trillium, Ontario's Provincial flower.






I was planning to do a re purposing project with some of the contents of this laundry basket. It is full of pyjamas, t-shirts and corduroy pants that have holes or tears that cannot be repaired. When I actually get to it I will be making throws for the kids using fabric from the garments. It is a variation of the idea of using baby clothes to do the same. My youngest is very concerned about being environmentally aware and is very excited about this project. Think about the little ways we can make changes every day.

My Creative Space: Inspiration, WIPs and Results

Inspiration can come in many forms. As with many people, I find much of it in nature and most specifically in flowers. I was fortunate to grow up in a climate that had something flowering most of the year and to be the daughter of a passionate gardener. Living in the climate that I do now has required a lot of readjustment. We have lived in Ottawa for over 18 years and I have learned that I require indoor flowers through the winter and into the spring just to survive. You cannot beat nature for use of colour and design.


When I started making felt purses I thought first of flowers. The nature of the material does not allow for realistic representation like can be achieved with silk but the sculptural qualities of wool can create some surprising results. Graphic design such as this beautiful gift wrap can help translate the suggestion of the flowers more suited to the ability of the wool or maybe just my abilities.



Sometimes my frustration with my work will prompt me to abandon the project. I was attempting to create white lilac on this piece and my dissatisfaction with the result caused me to drop it while still in progress. Last springs weather and the garden beckoned me outside. It is not difficult for a mother of four to be pulled away to other duties. Now that my studio is so well organized and pleasing to be in, I am looking again at some of my WIP's(work in progress) that were temporarily dropped. My critical eye with this piece has softened enough for me to take it up again and I hope to finish it soon. The handle of the bag is being formed by splicing hand rolled felt tubes that are braided so it is an intensive part of the making that can only be done a little at a time.

I have been delighted to see birds used in decorative home accessories and patterns for home decor fabrics. When I first looked at the sweater used here, I thought of a robin even before I taken the garment apart. I used natural roving for the branch and bits of the sweater to create the robin. I dropped it as a project when I was commissioned to make another purse and have yet to figure out the construction of the bag. Usually the size or shape of the original sweater influences my decision along with handle options and the weight of the felt.



The old adage of necessity being the mother of invention is certainly true as shown in this cosy for my cell phone. Using some of the felt leftover from my first purse, I fashioned this with a little needle felting, applied cut-out and shell button. It was such a small project that it was finished before it had a chance to be abandoned. The phone is new (after at least 4 years with the old one) and I hope to keep it happy and new looking for as long as possible with the help of its cosy.



Of course not all projects find themselves abandoned. This purse is one that I have used almost daily since I made it. The process flowed
easily and I do not remember too much questioning along the way. Take a look at the creative process at Kristy's blog.