Scrubbies...Ready, Set, Go...

The netting has arrived and have already been cut into strips:

Whew! cutting 12 yards of netting into 2" strips is hard work even a rotary cutter and rulers.  The blade on the rotary cutter was no longer sharp by the time I was done.  Of course it could have been on it's last legs before I started.

When did fabric.com start having minimums on the by-the-yard items?  That is how I ended up with so much netting.  One color was a minimum of 5 yards and the other was a minimum of 7 yards.  You'll find that with other fabrics as well.

Here's the strips combined and wound up, ready to start crocheting the scrubbies:

This is enough to do 39 scrubbies.  I now have something to keep me busy while on shorts trips or waiting on appointments for a while.

Have you ever made scrubbies?  If not, you should give it a try.  There are lots of scrubby patterns over on Ravelry.  Most of my family love getting the homemade scrubbies.  My son in particular likes to use the scrubbies.  Many of the scrubbies made with this batch of netting will end up at his new apartment (first) this spring.

Happy Stitching!

Inspiration...The Shirtdress

I really like a nice shirt dress and this one by Eileen Fisher is very nice:

It is made from silk georgette crepe.  The style is a-line with a self-tie and a 10" back vent.   I really like the fact that it is machine washable.  This dress is long.  It's listed as being 46" and on me that would be close to my ankles.  The price tag is $398.  You should check out on the Eileen Fisher website. There is a video showing how beautifully this dress moves.  Anyone know where to get washable silk georgette crepe?

Here's a pattern that might work will for a duplication:

This is Vogue 8903.  Most of the details are there.  Well, maybe not the length.  It would need to be lengthened with a vent added for that.  This one you can make short-sleeved and be ready for spring, summer, and maybe fall. 

Okay off to see if there is actually washable silk georgette crepe available to the home sewer.

Happy Stitching!

New Bed...

Finding furniture to fit the small rooms in our new house has been a struggle.  I had brought two beds from the old house.  One of them was perfect and the other a little bit big but we're making it work.  The third bedroom was a challenge.  I wanted a queen size bed.  To have a queen size bed, it needed to be a storage bed.  I did look a little bit and asked my husband if he was willing to get it a try building one.  So, the adventure began.  We picked this plan from the Anna White site:

It is the Farmhouse Storage Bed.  I think it was a challenge.  DH certainly didn't finish it over a weekend and it costs more than $200.00 to build.  We made one change and that was to the head board and foot board. We used bead board instead of plywood.  Here's our version:

Here's a version put together:

I was in the closet to take this picture.  The room is just big enough to have the bed and be able to open the closet doors.  That is a success in my book.  Here's a view with the drawers in:

I'm so proud of what my husband accomplished.  This is the first time he has built anything this large.  Now, I need to get the room straightened up, locate new lamps for the wall, and figure out some kind of little shelf /table for between the bed and the window.

I don't remember what color of paint we used.  I can look it up if someone is interested.  The paint is from Lowe's and it is a furniture paint.  

Happy Stitching!

Stitchin', Stitchin', Stitchin'....

I have completed a sampler for the Swing Skirt:

You can really tell much by the picture but I think you can click on it and get a better idea of the colors used.  The fabric is teal and aqua with the stencil done in a grey.  Starting in the upper right hand corner the thread colors played with are:  the two petals diagonal from the right hand corner are navy, the two leaves below and to the right are done in a charcoal grey, the next petal to the left is outlined in light grey, the next petal is outlined in black, the large leaf/petal on the left in outlined in light grey, the next petal/leave diagonal from the left corner is outlined in lack with the final petal in the middle top outlined in black.

I am leaning toward the black or the navy for the outlining.  What do you think?

I haven't gotten my stencil ready to stencil the skirt panels yet.  I still have to work out the whole transfer bit to the felt.  I had the local printer print the stencil for me but I don't really want to cut it as I may want to use it again.

I definitely need to invest in a smaller pair of scissors.  I used my regular shears to snip out the appliques and it was not easy.  It would also probably be a bit neater with smaller blades.

This sample is for the Craftsy The Swing Skirt: Techniques & Construction class. 

Have you tried this style of construction?

Happy Stitching!

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I Have Not Been Knitting....

Oh, my knitting supplies are sitting out like I'm knitting but I haven't touched anything since last Wednesday when I went to the knitting group.  It was so much fun to sit around and chat with other women.  I had very carefully finished my swatch while at the knitting group but in reading the instructions, the swatch was suppose to be in pattern.  Okay, that makes sense but I wish I had noticed it before finishing the original swatch.  So, I started over.  I can't seem to keep the pattern going.  So, I'm going to start over again.

In the meantime, I have been working on The Swing Skirt: Techniques & Construction class.  I have watched the class all the way through and will return to the various sections as I work on my skirt.  The skirt by the way is now cut out.  I'm now working on how to get my stencil ready to stencil.  There are a few additional decisions that need to be made.  I still need to decision what color of thread I'm going to use in the applique.

I also fell off the Craftsy purchase wagon and purchased more Craftsy fun:  Sewing Bras: Construction & Fit and Simple Knitting Techniques for Super Fit.  I've always been curious about sewing bras so I thought that this would be a good introduction to that type of sewing.  The Knitting Techniques class just falls into the knitting interest.

So much to do and so little time.

Happy Stitching!

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