HI everyone,
I have been VERY busy today and was hoping I could find a place for everything so my sewing room would be ready for business… but as I took a few minutes to read the comments, I came across Sissy’s, who mentioned she had fabrics in 2 different rooms… uh-oh…I remembered something. I had totally forgotten about the stuff I had laid out on the guest bed and then carried it up to the attic because it would be too messy looking to have in the room when Karn and Rebecca were down at Thanksgiving. It’s been a while and I had completely forgotten about it. So I went upstairs, drug all those boxes and tubs down to my room and started looking at all the “new” stuff I now had to put away…I did find Sissy’s corduroy pieces I bought from her. I hadn’t found them yet in all my mess, but was sure they were in my sewing room somewhere… guess not. But I was glad to find them and they’ll go in the “corduroy container!”
Next I found all my knits… I have a box of lots of sweet baby onesies and sleepers that have the cutest little prints on them… I used to cut them up to make tee’s for under a jumper or some pants and needed something cute. I don’t have TOO many of them, but more than I really should… oh well, I went through them and sorted some out. Here are a few pictures of them…
…all neatly packed in this box…
So be patient a little longer and I’ll have this room under control. I LOVED how I’m not alone in this “fabric” thing… many of you said you have LOTS and LOTS of fabric… and I’ve come to realize it’s just something we do… collect fabric (and ALL the things that go with it) and it’s hard to stop!
My sister, Cindy, sent me this text after reading my post yesterday…
“I had a thought after reading your blog this morning, your fabrics are like antique books on a shelf that you’ve collected, things you’ve loved for years!”
I think she’s right… as I was looking around at the mess in my room right now, part of me wanted to take each row of folded up fabric on my shelf and just pick ONE to get rid of, but as I looked at a couple of rows of fabric, I was having the hardest time… How could I pick any of these, I like them all… then I’d move to the next row, and the same thing would happen. So I just looked at the overall shelf with all the different colors and just said, “Okay… pick ONE from the whole collection.” I did…in fact I picked a few… things I thought I’d probably never reach for. Maybe it just takes seamstresses longer to purge.
Dena posted late yesterday and she sounds just like me… having lots of stuff, not wanting to let it go, knowing she needs to, having a hard time…but her last line sounded SO SO SO familiar…”My goal for 2025 is to use what I have and not buy anything new!”
And I DARE NOT look at the place Elizabeth buys her fabric from… The Fabric Shack! I can’t even look! Sorry, but I just can’t!
Anyway, my hubby says he can see I’m making progress… so I guess there’s hope!
I wanted to share the story I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post… it was about these bright lady bug fabrics…
This post was from May 16, 2016. I again, copied and pasted the whole post here, so you don’t have to click a link.
A long time ago; probably in 2001 or 2002, I was selling little girls dresses on Ebay. I had dresses listed fairly often and did okay at selling them but not making much money though. I think my average was about $25 -$35 dollars for a dress. Well, I had this lady email me and ask me something I found pretty intriguing. She said she had this pretty little 3 year old daughter and she would gladly take pictures of her in one of my dresses and then send me several of the nicest pictures to use in my listing. It would be like she was my personal model. I could take special orders for the dress and she’d get the dress for FREE just for sending me her pictures. I thought about it and thought maybe this was my big break… so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought lots of these coordinating prints… all with (cute) bugs in them. They had names like Bug Trails, Lady Bug Allover, Bug Squares, and Buggy Stripe. I think you can figure out which one goes with which.
She said lots of ladies did this…for “wonderful designers like me who didn’t have a cute model to use…” Well, I did it. I worked like crazy making her little girls dress set perfectly and sent it to her free of charge….and in a little while she did send me back 5 pictures of her little girl playing in the grass wearing the dress. (I’m sorry I don’t have those pictures anymore, so you’ll have to just imagine it…)
I got my listing all figured out using her photos and sat back and waited for the orders to come in… and I waited and waited and waited… and nothing ever happened. I thought the dress was so cute and so bright and colorful…I was sure somebody(s) out there wanted it, but apparently they didn’t. That’s why I have that stack of fabric in my sewing cabinet… a distant reminder of a failure from long ago.
I did make one and sell it… this is the same style as the one I sent the lady…
It has a lady bug appliqued on the front with 2 bumblebees buttons sewn on.
I also made a cute reversible triangle headscarf and Rebecca made a fun bracelet to go with it.
…and I did make one for Katie Effanbee and Molly tried it on too…
So there’s no real moral to this story… except maybe don’t buy your fabric before you have your orders.. I guess!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I can’t complain… I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams when I discovered sewing for dolls. They never disappoint and are MUCH easier to photograph.
Thanks everyone,
I will see you Monday… and maybe I’ll be done!!! :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, Jeanne, I’m so glad you found your corduroy and those knit onesies again!
I once made a dress for Lily (my granddaughter) similar to the one you showed, only it has little puffed sleeves. I used scraps of the “Tutti Frutti” brand prints of plisse’ (what we used to call “crinkle crepe”) left over from other things I’d made for her (they all coordinated), and it turned out so cute. I think it’s my favorite of all the things I made for her thru the years. She will be 18 in July!!
Rosemary, I answered your reply to my post yesterday.
Dorothy in PA and the world asked what the sofa sisters collect. Well, for me, fabrics, notions, yarns and all related things, of course! (I’ve lived in this house for 50 years, and have been sewing since 1956, so you can just imagine…! Anne, I reached SABLE long ago!) Also tote bags (some I’ve made, some are from various sources, my favorite is a silk-screened one from the Menominee [MI] County Library in Stephenson, a library I went to often when I was a girl living in that village. Its purchase price helped support their Friends of the Library.
I also collect (don’t laugh!) sprinkles! You know, those fancy little things you put on top of frosting? I have maybe over 50 bottles of various kinds for different seasons and holidays, as well as some licensed ones (Barbie, Looney Tunes)! Actually I have used some of them on cakes and cookies, but I don’t bake as much any more, so I try to not look too hard at the sprinkles in the stores because I might find something else I need! (In a related vein, I also have a collection of cookie cutters–my best of that collection is a set of 6 floral cookie cutters still in their original box, probably from the 1940s or maybe 50s.)
So glad you found your “missing” materials, even thought you forgot about them, Jeanne!
Although I can’t say I collect fabrics and such like most of the sofa sisters here, I do have some small collections, and one larger one, basically doll clothes! I have pretty much stopped collecting the things I used to collect, mainly because I just plain ran out of space, and I don’t like clutter at all! Most people would think I am a “neat freak”, and I probably am, but I have been this way all my life. I only buy what I can use, and that’s that! Just because I see something I like, doesn’t mean I have to have it. I hear all the time the comment “I couldn’t resist it”, and it completely confounds me why they can’t!
I did collect Snowbabies for a time, but when the shelf that I put them on was full, I stopped. They are adorable, and still are, but I do not even look at ads for them anymore, because I’m not buying anymore! I also did collect storybook dolls, and have two shelves of them, but now that they are filled, no more of those either! Maybe some have seen them when I show Felicity’s table settings.
Another thing I collect or did, is Dept. 56 buildings. I still do buy smaller items, since I have enough buildings. However, did get two buildings last year, so now I am really out of space to display them! There is one thing I can always use more of, and that’s trees. I think Barbara might understand that!
As for my large collection of doll clothes, I do try to have everything used in my doll scenes, and routinely go through what I have and have them wear things that haven’t been worn for awhile. I really have cut back though, since AG is not putting out the things that I like now.
Sorry Charlotte, but I did laugh when you mentioned that you collect sprinkles! I have some of that too, but never thought of it as a collection, and certainly don’t have all those special ones that you have!
I love those little dresses you made, Jeanne! Molly looks so cute in hers! I think any little girl would love having one!
Linda, I did laugh when you talked about the Dept. 56 buildings. It is very reminiscent of what can happen when you start small with little intention of it becoming a collection. When David and I were first married we lived in an apartment complex. The lady next door had a small display of Christmas houses by her living room window. She left the drapes open so everyone could enjoy them. David and I decided we wanted to do that. We started with a couple houses and a church and a few accessories on the bar between our kitchen and dining room. Then we moved to a house and we decorated the tiny wet bar counter with the houses. That was in the mid-1980s. In 1990 we moved to the house we’re in now with a formal dining room so we decided to put our small village on the dining room table since we had an eat-in kitchen. For Christmas that year David and the kids bought me the start of my Dicken’s Collection – the train depot, Scrooge’s house, a hansom cab, Tutberry Printer and a carriage – and my first trees. But that collection was expensive so I knew it would now grow quickly. However, fate intervened and in the 1990s Wal-Mart introduced a village collection where the buildings were reasonably priced. Now there was no turning back. We bought every house and other building they had including two churches plus whatever accessories they had. Well that pretty well filled up our previous dining room table so I decided enough was enough. Then Dionne’s dad was moving and selling all his furniture. He had a dining room set I loved so we bought it. Great! With the two leaves in the table my village increased in size a good deal and I could buy more buildings and create a park. Now my village was complete. Not! One year for David’s birthday I found on Dept. 56 a brewery and his hobby is making beer and wine so I had to buy it for him. Then he wanted to know why it couldn’t be part of the village during the Christmas season. So I did a little rearranging and found room for his brewery. Then I realized the village had no school so I went on eBay and found the school that went with the original set we bought from Wal-Mart and did some more rearranging and found a spot for it. I now had to admit my village is complete because unless I want to give up my park, I have no more room. David was already annoyed with me for putting houses where the farm he chose was. I’m always complaining that they take farmland around here to build houses and then I go and do the same thing in my village. I just needed a place for more buildings. And thus ends the saga of how my village got to be what you see today. But considering I was in my 30s when I got started village collecting and am now nearing 80, I think I’m going to have to train my grandkids to be village builders – or reduce the size considerably and since I’m not the only one who enjoys the results of my efforts, I don’t see that being a doable deal. I just know what used to take me a day to do now takes me a week because of all the rest breaks I need.
Jeanne, check your email, I sent you some more hankie dress photos.
Also, so glad my blog comment yesterday helped you find your attic fabric…..hmmmm is that a rhyme?
Your “buggie fabric dresses ” sounded like a great idea, so sorry it didn’t work.
I still have several outfits that didn’t sell. Isn’t it funny that you just KNOW it is adorable and you worked hard at it and no one wants it? They will go to the Modern Doll convention Helper Room in August. (That is where you by tickets and put them in little boxes for each of the items you would like to win. The proceeds helps to finance the convention.) You can’t win them all, although I really doubt you have any that didn’t sell.
Have a great weekend every one!!
Wow, I love the comments today, girls! Now we are delving into the garden!
I think I stopped collecting fabrics… but I did buy two huge bundles of Art Gallery Fabrics… and my daughter did give me a 40$ gift card for the local fabric shop…
Now these other things, I love your sprinkles Charlotte!
I think all of you know that my parents were from the Netherlands and they both lived well into their 90’s, 99.5 for daddy. I have a lot of their stuff.
Oi! I could write a book of their treasures. I have several several tea sets, many of them are old and maybe some are valuable. Yesterday afternoon I was digging deep into the pile in the dining room (I have to wear my indoor sneakers) I found a… well, an old pristine mixed drinks shaker? It is Crystal and quite beautiful. It is marked WMf Germany and just for fun I googled it. these things are worth $500! minimum!
So, I am still holding onto a lot of mom and dad’s memories and even a very adorable sewing projects my aunt Judy made in the 50’s which is kind of inappropriate to hang on the wall now. Jeanne I could send you a photo of this adorable little brown guy. I assume the design was made by a dutch artist for the project book. My entire maternal and paternal sides of my family are from the Netherlands and date back to the early 1670’s. I am trying to “down size” here to move into a small house in May, but it has been difficult. I am just packing things up and we will have a lot of boxes.
Thank you for your previous comment Charlotte.
Jeanne, I understand your desire for these fabrics. In reality, if we still feel like we have grand idea for so many of our fabrics, there is no reason to give it away. I have many many fabrics. Fabrics are pretty easy to let go of though. My mothers hand made, some embroidered dresses are very difficult to let go of.
Happy Friday every one. Today is going to be sunny and 61º and hubbs and I might take a walk around the neighborhood
How wonderful that you have so many family keepsakes. Mine are few and far between and mostly from David’s mother’s family. David’s father’s people were from the Netherlands. They came to New York when it was New Amsterdam. Their farm was where New York University and Greenwich Village are today. Today the name is spelled Haring but was previously Haringh.
Oh! ps: Jeanne, your corduroys are dreamy
Granddaughter was born in 2002, and they knew she was a girl. So, ALL her baby clothes had ladybugs on them! Daddy called her “Little Bug”!
I used some of your bug fabrics to make her doll clothes!
Good memories!
Thirteen degrees and snow forecast for tomorrow. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Sorry that Jeanne’s. rent a kid photos didn’t work out. I think you have to sometimes see the fabric in person to get the full picture. Brights like that bug stuff are kind of passé now, I think. But, there may be people out there looking for that special bug fabric to finish a quilt. I really would try putting things like that on Etsy or Ebay. You may be surprised with the sales. I can be wrong though. 🙂
As to collections, I have many. In fact yesterday, we were looking at a box of vintage jars at the other house and thinking about pricing. Some of them on auctions are going for a lot now. Much of the stuff around here has been passed down. Not so much things of great value, but historical for the family. Like tatting by my grandmother or a vintage cake topper. Haven’t figured out who will get that stuff yet, especially, since grand’s current collection is slime which I may have mentioned prior. She and younger bro both have lots of it. One day she mentioned that she had glitter, tons of colors, smells, etc. I wonder what one does with old slime?
I’m sure Jeanne, will get everything back into her “one room” soon. Hope the floorboards don’t sag. 🙂
Here, we may finally get some sun. Hopefully, no more floods or landslides. We need to dry out for sure.
Have a fun weekend everyone and don’t eat too many appetizers watching the game. I’ll be watching the Puppy Bowl. 🙂
That little dress is so cute and so is the doll dress. I love bright fabrics like that. I have a lot of ladybug fabric. I used some of it for Jaiden when she was small but still have a lot left. Most of it will work for doll clothes. So glad you found your missing fabric. It’s funny but no matter how much we have we know when something is missing be it fabric, notions or even clothes. I once could not locate a blouse. It drove me nuts. I looked everywhere. Then one day I moved some clothes to get to something on the floor and there was my blouse. It had fallen off the hanger. Can’t believe I didn’t see the empty hanger. I love corduroy with a design but I do sew a lot with solid color corduroy because that is mostly what I have. Right now I am making a cute outfit for my Gotz Hannah doll out of hot pink finewale corduroy with a flowered knit top with hot pink flowers. Hope to get back to that now that all our family holidays are over and Christmas is finally put away.
The weather here has been springlike for days but I understand we will be cooling off from Sunday on for awhile. Ready for that . Heat is cheaper than A/C. Tomorrow afternoon we will be babysitting the grandkids so Sean and Dionne can celebrate Valentine’s Day early. Dionne always makes dinner for us that Skyy (he’s a great cook) and I finish up after they leave. Then we watch a movie. Tomorrow will either be her wonderful stroganoff or her delicious chicken enchiladas. Not sure which yet but looking forward to either.
I’m really enjoying reading about the collecting habits of my Sofa Sisters and wish I’d had more time for commenting the past few days.
Dear Jeanne, I say do/collect what makes you happy. And lovely fabrics make you happy.
Thanks to the Sofa Sisters who shared what they collect.
My list is kind of small: dolls, tote bags, Jane Austen spin-off books. Well the books may not be a collection so much as I re-read the ones I have once or twice a year.
Happy February to all!
Dear Jeanne and my Sofa Sisters, my friend Martha Boers has yet another Ruby Red doll she has helped to design. Her name is Abigail. Here is the link to the site which has information about her.
https://www.unbonheurdecolibri.be/en/fashion-friends-dolls/8879-abigail-fashion-friends-doll-ruby-red.html
I am so happy for Martha!