HI everyone and Happy Monday!
I hope you had a nice 4th of July weekend. Ours was pretty low key and we mostly tried to get caught up on things we had gotten behind on.
I have been working in my sewing room and am ALMOST ready to show it to you! I think I started on it back in January, but then all those leg surgeries got in my way and things just kept piling up until it was pretty much a disaster in there. I did take some messy pictures I’ll probably share.
On another note, I DID manage to get Kirsten’s dress set listed on Ebay this evening. (Elaine thought of the title for this one! It was as “obvious” as if it had been “written” on a pail!) :o) Thanks Elaine! The auction ends 30 minutes later than what I normally list my auctions, but I was so close, I just kept going and so it will end Friday evening at a few minutes after 9:00p.m. Illinois time zone.
If you want to see it on Ebay, you can click the picture or click HERE.
I’ll show you a few outside pictures I was able to take. It started raining on our way home from church and got everything wet that I usually use to stand my dolls on, so I waited a bit longer hoping the sun would dry things out pretty quickly. Well, it took longer than I hoped and that’s what caused me to be a little late getting it listed. Here are some fairly nice pictures that show off the pretty blue Kirsten’s dress is made from. You can also see how bright white that apron is.
Okay, now for the big reveal of what I was making for my sewing room. And I honestly don’t know why it took 5 wound bobbins full of thread to make this, but it did! I did use a smaller stitch and this thing is “pretty layered” so stitching one layer on top of the next and then another on top of that, I guess added up.
For several years I’ve been wanting to make a holder to put all my rulers and cutting squares in. It seems like the one I always need is on the bottom of the stack and I have to move all of them in order to get to the one I want. I had some suede cloth fabric I was going to be getting rid of and decided it probably had enough fabric in the bundle to make what I wanted. Let me tell you, this was definitely a fly by the seat of your pants project. I had no idea when I started how it was going to look when I was done, but sometimes those are the most fun.
I laid out the fabric and gathered up my rulers to see what my plans might be…
I used to make American Girl Indian Costumes from this fabric years ago and loved it because it didn’t fray, so you could cut fringe edges and it looked very nice. I had in mind to make some pockets for each of my rulers that were similar in size. I had some long ones, a few fat ones, some larger squares and a few that were actually cutting mats for them. I wanted them all in one place and wanted them to be easily accessible.
I made a couple pockets that could be stitched on top of the piece underneath it. I double stitched most every seam and there are lots of seams that can’t be seen… They were stitched, then stitched on top when the next layer was added… Maybe you’ll see what I mean from my pictures.
Each layer kept building upward…
It was becoming quite heavy too… and thick! I also had interfaced it so it wouldn’t be floppy, but have a nice shape. When I had all the pockets and areas stitched in place, I did a binding around the edges, kind of like framing it.
After I had the main section of the holder made, I added 2 very long strips of fabric that had been stitched and turned to the top. My plan all along was to make this piece hang at the end of my big 21 drawer cabinet. It’s almost a perfect match in color!! :o) Nothing could be placed on the end of the chest because it’s right at the corner of my cutting table, but if I hung this piece so it snugged up to the cabinet, it would make the most of the space and work perfectly. The strips I just spoke about were laid across the top of my big cabinet and at the end over by my wall.
Here’s the picture with the cording… 4 1/2 yards long… stitched once to fold the edge down, then stitched again to fold it over again.
I ran that cording along the back wall, then through the casing at the far end of the chest, underneath the lip of the cabinet, along the front edge and around to the end where the main ruler holder was laying against the chest.
This was my first “real fitting!” (this was when I realized… I think it just might work!)
It looked pretty good to me…
Then I put the stuff back up on top of the chest… my tulle, white fabrics and some batting.
It WORKED! YAY! It’s out of the way, it uses a space that is basically useless by itself, and it’s very easy to get my rulers out. I was very happy at using something I had and turning it into something I needed. :o)
Thanks everyone!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Congrats on getting Kirsten’s outfit listed, Jeanne! Sometimes the weather just doesn’t quite cooperate, but at least you did get your outdoor pictures.
I couldn’t quite figure what you were trying to do until you showed us the pictures of your ruler pockets. Very clever, and definitely specific to its place and purpose.
Hope everyone had a good 4th.
Dear Jeanne, I love how you use every inch of space to create storage. What a wonderful idea for the rulers. They do take up room.
You can add Unique Storage Creator to your list of titles (smile).
Kirsten’s dress is a lovely success! that is be snatched up in a hurry. I love every part of it. The apron is just a masterpiece!
This project for your ruler storage?!!! You did a good thing, great exercise for the brain. I call it “freestyling with fabric” when creating a something practical. The set up for your rulers is really genius! Your sewing space is looking good. It is so nice having a little bit of organization just to limit the frustration. This creation and how it attaches to the dresser is perfect, Jeanne. I really like the use of the sides of the cabinet and with exceptional style.
I love this suede fabric! What is it exactly? I have a small piece of it from the other end of a tie of my fathers! the other end is some amazing bark cloth, also kind of small but I could fussy cut some things from both pieces. My rulers are upstairs lined across one room on the floor….. huh? Yes, we are IN the new house. Hubbs and I have moved many things over the past 4 days, We got the van from Home Depot on Thursday, moving the two twin beds was a beast but we had heavy duty beds, and got the van bk to HD in an hour! It was a hot day. Then we got snazzy and moved the little tv from our bedroom. That was cake,. I had to find some little tables and a long board to make a tv stand. Well, then oops, the F1 British Grand Prix was on Sunday and of course, we “needed” the bigger tv. Oh my gosh, that thing is heavy…. for a flat screen. So we got that over in my acura little hatch back suv. Done, and I was literally exhausted completely spent from those few days. We had a day of resting and puttering. Kitty Princess loves her new house. I would say, excluding the large furniture, we are about half way moved out.
I hope all of you had a very nice holiday week-end! This marks now the beginning of our country’s declaration of Independence 225 year. Do any of you have any “memorabilia” of the 200th anniversary?
I hope this Monday and through out this week, all of you have enjoyment and successful endeavors – as Jeanne is a good example!!!!
“heavy duty beds” 😂 I meant heavy duty BAGS to cover the beds and box springs. and as long as I am correcting typos : Kirsten’s dress WILL sell in a flash!!
Glad to see that you are enjoying your new house, but sorry you have to work so hard to get it all together.
And yes, I have a memory for the 200th Anniversary. I made some cute red, white, blue jackets for my sons and took a photo of them. That is all I remember, but there must have been a parade or something.
Oh Sissy, that is adorable. I bet those jackets were very festive!! Perfect memory!
Hi Rosemary,
I know we have some bi-centennial quarters and half dollars. Not sure if anything else. I’ll check with my mom as I was seven and then eight that year. I know we did a lot surrounding it in school during history class as well as other things.
Happy to hear you are enjoying your new home.
Glad you were able to get Kristen’s outfit listed. Of the pictures on the blog, I like the second one to the last because there is no shadow on Kristen’s face. It is a great photo. The outfit is so Kristen pretty. Very sweet.
Lots of stitching on that ruler holder piece which looks like it can hold even more rulers if needed. Such a great use of space too. Around here, I have two rulers that I often use. Both are simple around 12″ and have centimeters on one side and inches on the other. Of course, I’m pretty old school as they didn’t have all of the ruler selections around when I started sewing in the 60’s. 🙂
Well, guess what? We have a second yellow jacket nest in the yard. I had cut back and pulled out all of the blackberry in the gravel on the level part above in the backyard and casually started pulling on some big sprawling pieces in the next level below when I spotted a couple of soldier watch duty jackets fly out. I guess they didn’t like their cover disturbed. Yikes. When I saw them, I didn’t even sit and wait, but grabbed my tools and stool and made a beeline for the house. The problem is, that I’m not sure exactly where under the mess that the nest is located. I’ll have to make a closer inspection today. And the other nest, has to be marked better as well. The mosquito and vector people want the nests clearly marked. So, this gives me a reason to not work on clearing that area anyway. We’ll see how it goes today.
Hearing and seeing the stories of families affected by the river flooding in TX, is heart wrenching. Those surviving have related ways they made it through the flood waters. My thoughts are with those that didn’t make it out in time. So very sad.
Joy, my heart has been so filled with thoughts and prayers since finding out about this the day after the 4th. My 13 year old granddaughter was at camp in Long Island the same week, and I just can’t imagine something like that happening to her. I can’t stop thinking of the children and their families, and all the devastation.
All these awful things that have happened over the year and last year just makes me wonder, “What next?”
I guess give your grand a squeeze when you see her again. I’ll do the same for mine.
Yes, Joy, my thoughts and prayers are also with those families who lost loved ones. All those poor children. So very, very sad.
I saw the devastation in Kerrville. My maternal great-aunt lived there. It was a beautiful place.
I understand that the whole river area was pristine with beautiful blue water. So sad.
When they found the lady in a tree 20 miles down river, I thought that they might find more survivors. But no. She was a lucky one.
This tragedy in Texas is heart crushing. Just an absolute tragedy, and life long heart ache for the survivors and family.
And so many missing. The death toll keeps climbing. Awful.
Jeanne, Kirsten’s outfit looks just wonderful! I love all that lace on the dress and apron ! Just beautiful! The bows are just the thing to accent all the lace! She looks perfectly at home in your yard! Good name for the title too, very homespun and inviting! Yum, those Moonpies!
Like Charlotte, I couldn’t figure out just what you were trying to make until I saw the finished product! That is just the perfect thing and I hope it works out well for you! No, it WILL work out well for you!
Jeanne, what you made is just what you needed. Just leave it to you to create such a great help to you and so attractive too.
Kirstin is ready for the ebay world and I know the winner will be more than thrilled.
Hoping to see another great outfit soon, maybe on Mae????
Kirsten’s dress turned out so sweet. I really love the apron on this one. Wonderful to see an AG modeling. They don’t model nearly enough anymore. What a wonderful use for that suedecloth. At least that’s what it looks like. I had a couple of fall skirts and my daughter had a jumper my mom made. It’s a dream to sew on because nothing ravels or frays.
Our 4th was quiet as well and very hot. We skipped the parade, concert, and fireworks in the glen again this year. The neighbors set off some fireworks in the cul-de-sac and the kitties were not pleased.
Yes, Laura, our sweet animabibbles, (kitty Princess, with us here) do not like the loud booms and the crackling too is quite scary. I have been putting soothing music on the radio for our kitties ears, hoping that helps.