Hi everyone,
I’m going to get my stuff out of the way and then let Charlotte finish up today’s post.
When I woke up this morning, I found one of my hubby’s boots that he uses out in the garden and doing yard work, on my island in the kitchen, laying on a piece of newspaper. He had told me he needed to see if I thought I could fix it. Well, YES… if I can do pants pockets, I can surely do a BOOT! :o)
One of the sides of the boot had torn apart and he wanted to know if I could stitch it back in place… and it didn’t matter what it looked like. He said he fell once yesterday because it wasn’t tied tight against his ankle. EEK! And then this morning before I got up, he said it happened again… So, of course, I got started on it right away. (We don’t throw anything away, until we have exhausted all possibilities of fixing them!)
This was the boot and this is where it had come apart…
I decided to punch some holes in each side of the split and then stitch them together. They had a foam/lining and it was a bit tough to get some of the holes punched, but I managed.
I used a leather needed and some waxed leather thread and did a cross stitch saddle stitch…and this is how they turned out!
He was thrilled and said he thought he’d keep me! :o)
Now let me show you Felicity’s dress. I added the skirt to the bodice and pressed the waist seam toward the bodice.
I used 3 rows of basting stitches at the waistline and gathered them up very close together…
Don’t you just LOVE perfect tiny gathers? Me too! :o)
Oh, and one more thing… I was reading the comments and noticed a few comments about the raw edge of the ruffle around the neckline on Felicity’s dress. I searched my vintage laces for something to use on top of the dress in a bright white… like the sleeve ruffles, but didn’t have ANYTHING… but modern polyester, nylon or Venise lace. They just didn’t look right. So I used a piece of my Swiss Batiste and cut it on the bias… (it won’t unravel) and gathered it up. It was the only way to make it curve around the neckline. It was too delicate to finish the edges. I paid $21.00 a yard for this at a fabric store about 30 minutes from her and love the stuff but seriously it’s like sewing a tissue. It’s super delicate and I think it will look okay when you see the dress all finished and neatly laying in place.
Oh, just one more thing too… I was reading the comments and Marilyn’s comments about Felicity’s dress had me laughing out loud… then I read it to my hubby and he was laughing. I had to read it 4 times before I moved on. I think it was the most I’ve laughed in 2 weeks. So, thank you Marilyn, and for those of you who missed it… here it is again…
“Felicity’s dress is going to be beautiful. As everyone is saying, that is her color. I was thinking that this is “do it over” day. My house is being painted and yesterday the team was painting the window frames and staining the porch railings, which were supposed to be a little darker than golden oak. They are now reddish purple, which clashes horribly with the fresh brown house paint, turning it yellowish. Yuk.
While the stain was going on, the windows were covered with plastic, so I couldn’t see out, and the team couldn’t say, “Come see,” because we have no common language. The bilingual assistant manager is trying to be at 2 projects (in different towns) at once. She’s very good with colors and will faint when she sees this. The work is beautiful — it’s just that the color is horrible.
Perhaps this story is so sad that Jeanne will send me Felicity’s dress to make me feel better. Do you think? Then in the future, we can tell sad stories to try to win the next outfits and before long we’ll have the most depressing blog on the internet.
Maybe I’d better quit before I dig this hole deeper.
Thank for indulging me again, Marilyn! You made my day! :o) :o) :o) :o)
Okay, I can’t forget Charlotte waiting in the wings! This is what she emailed me…
Hi Jeanne,
Last week we had two crafting days at our church, where we made cards. Diane, the daughter of one of our members, has been making cards for many years, and she has LOTS of stuff! I should have taken pictures of all the things she brought over (they live across the street from the church). She filled several tables!! She also had tables set up for us to work on, complete with things like scissors, glue, etc. In addition to card stock, envelopes, and rubber stamps, she had many colors of stamp pads, all kinds of fancy papers, washi tape, ribbon, sparkles, you name it!!! The first day there were eight of us, including Diane (who was there just for guidance, not teaching a class or anything). Even our pastor got in on the card making, especially the second day. I think he helps his wife make cards sometimes–they used to always make all of their Christmas cards every year, as well as for other holidays, birthdays, etc. I’ve saved quite a few of the cards they’ve made and given us.
I didn’t get pictures of Everything we made–and I didn’t have my camera with me the first day, so didn’t get any pictures of Becky’s or Katy’s cards, which were all lovely, and somehow I missed getting pictures of Pastor’s cards, but here are the pictures I did get.
The first picture shows how some cards begin. Penelope (the pastor’s wife) was making some cards suitable to send to men, so started with more “masculine” prints to glue onto the fronts of cards. I didn’t stay long enough to see how she finished them, but this was her start.
The second picture shows the cards that Jum made. The blue lacy stuff on the card on the right is actually that Penelope cut with her special machine! Jum layered it over yellow.
The third picture is the two cards I made. The one on the left is done on a very pale blue cardstock; I found that little piece of star print in one of Diane’s folders (we save even small scraps because that’s often all you need!), and she had the sequin trim which I added around the edges of the star paper. The quote is something I stamped on white cardstock, then cut with my deckle-edge scissors (yes, I have some card-making supplies, too!) and glued in place. The two diplomas are stickers Diane had on hand. This card is for my friend Tonya’s younger daughter, who just graduated from college.
The card on the right is a notecard I made for my friend Kathy, who now has dementia and can’t email or message any more. The gold oval, the flowers. the sparkly centers, are things Diane had among her bits and pieces. The “Just a Note” is something I stamped on a scrap and cut out with my deckle-edge scissors.
The fourth picture is the inside of the graduation card. I stamped and cut out the “congrats” and glued it, and stamped the two corners directly on the cardstock.
The next two pictures show cards that Diane made. She uses lots of die-cut pieces on her cards, everything from simple shapes cut from printed paper to ornate and delicate things like butterflies. She does such beautiful work! As I said, she’s been doing this for years, and is very artistic!
The last picture is my transplanted snapdragons–as you can see, there are now LOTS of flowers and buds!!
Jeanne here… I have quite a few bits of scrapbooking things too, and they come in pretty handy when you need a quick card or even just “stuff” to embellish a card you may already have! Nice work Charlotte!
Have a wonderful Friday and then a great weekend! I’ll see you Monday!
Blessings, Jeanne
