Making Us Both Happy

19 Comments / By / January 3, 2013

I admit it.  I am a conservative when it comes to clothing and with money too.  With clothing, I believe more is better…especially when it comes to my teenage daughter.  Don’t get me wrong…I can handle spaghetti straps.  I can handle shorts…just not the SUPER short ones.  I can handle holes in jeans…but not the holes show my daughter’s underwear, that’s where I draw the line.  I know it’s style right now to purchase jeans with holes in them, but as I mom, I have a REALLY hard time spending $70 for a pair of pants that already have holes in them.

While I was thrift shopping looking for 100% cotton shirts, I was flipping through clothes and found this pair of Silver jeans.

Silvers-1

They were my daughter’s size, exactly what she’d been wanting and the price tag today…. 10 cents… Yes,  10 cents.  The thrift stores in my area are honestly that good.  How can I say no to that?  I know they are exactly what she wants but I won’t spend the money for.   I struggled with purchasing them…they still had holes that would show her underwear.  I didn’t like that.

I thought I could patch them in a way that was a bit inconspicuous, but I would have to get her on board with patching them.  I didn’t want a reason to get into a disagreement with her so maybe I should just leave them at the store…

I ended up calling her.  Telling her I was purchasing the pants but they would be patched to my liking in a way that we could compromise or I’d throw them out.  She agreed…

I got home and she tried the jeans on.  They fit and she was excited.  I started patching.  First the hole in the back, then the hole in the front.  To do it I found a piece of recycled fabric that would mimic pocket material.  I put a piece of heat and bond on it.  I folded it in half and ironed it together making it two thicknesses strong.

patch

I pinned the patch material behind the hole and sewed around the edges of the hole.

Silvers-2

She still gets the frayed edges simulating the hole.  I still get to keep her underwear private…in the end she actually liked the patches enough that she asked me to patch another one of the holes.

KalissaJeans

They look good, cost a dime, and something we can both be happy with.

Today I am hooking up with So Happy Geek and What Works for Me Wednesday.

A Blast from the Past

7 Comments / By / December 26, 2013

Over Labor Day weekend, hubby and I went to an antique and flea market in the part in Clear Lake, Iowa.  Apparently it’s something they have every year and we have every intention of going next year.  It was lots of fun and we really had a great time.  We came home with a few goodies including some outdoor furniture and the old wash tubs I’ve been using to collect corn in.  They had quite a few quilt there too…here’s just a little sampling.

QUilt

It was really crowded there and I wasn’t on the hunt for quilts to purchase so I didn’t unfold the quilts.

I took a few pictures to remind myself to use solids in scrappy quilts….a yellow version….

YellowQuilt

and an orange version.   They both are different but I really, really like the use of solid colors.

quilt-orange

Oops..don’t forget…a green version too.  These “hexies” seem a little longer that most…

quiltblocks

I don’t know why, but I just don’t think to use a solid color as a setting or sashing.  Sometimes I think I am too worried about “matching” a room’s decor.  I think I should start ignoring that thought process…after all an artist doesn’t match his color pallet to the room the painting might potentially hang in.  But…I do like the quilts to match too….  (just some food for thought)

I almost bought these blocks.  I love them!

FanBlocks

..But the thought of appliqueing them all down was a little daunting for me.   Look close and see how there are pieces bordering the inside fan blades.  They were in good shape and the colors were good too.  Oh so tempting.  I never know when I see something like this if $32 for the pack is a good deal or not.

Then in the next booth was my “blast from the past”….I about scared my hubby when I squealed as I saw this….

Drowsy

Drowsy!   This happened to be paper doll version.  I had the doll version.  Well actually I had two of the doll versions.  I wore one out and my parents bought me another one.  She was my first doll.  I don’t remember how or why but my Drowsy doll was name “Sloppy”.  I must have named her when I was really little because who names a doll “Sloppy”?!?!

She had a pull string and she said, “I want another drink of water,” or “I go sleep now, night, night,” or “Close your eyes, mommy.”  Anyone remember anything else she said?  It seems she said other things too.  My first doll’s voice box lost it’s voice so that’s when I got the second doll.

My mom was such an amazing seamstress.  She designed and made clothes to fit “Sloppy”.  There was no pattern for the doll clothes that was available for purchase.  She was so oddly shaped.  The things Mom made were fitted with a hole for the  voice box string to come through.  Honestly my mom was such an amazing seamstress.

Hubby said buy it….I said no.  It was a happy shot of memory but I don’t need something else to dust around.

Anyone else remember “Drowsy”?  Do you have fond memories of her like I do?

A Wool Project for Spring

2 Comments / By / March 11, 2010

I am typically quilting, not stitching….but my daughter volunteered me to make this…
WoolChickCandlemat
It’s a little candle mat from Bareroots. 

Currently my two teens are participating in the play The Egg and I.  It’s about a dad having a mid-life crisis and moves his family to a chicken farm in the country.  My son is the father and daughter is the daughter. 

The cast always gets the director a present that is signed by each of the cast members.  While in an area quilt shop, Kalissa saw this pattern and squealed.  I have been working on getting Kalissa interested in quilting so I checked to see what was up.  Well it was this pattern….not because she wants to make it….because she wants ME to make it. 

I cut it out lastnight and started assembling.  Once it’s finished we are matting it in a larger picture frame.  We are having the cast sign the mat…with a deadline loaming, it looks like I’ll be stitching for a few nights.

Embroidery with Eight Year Olds

Leave a Comment / By / January 6, 2013

Well…if you read yesterday’s post, you know that this week I am taking care of my nieces and nephews.  When their mom dropped them off, she gave me a ball of yarn and knitting needles hoping I could teach my eight year old niece to knit.  After about 30 seconds of that I decided on a different craft…embroidery.  It’s  MUCH easier than knitting and their might be a hope that my patience could handle this. 

embroidery1

Luckily I had all of the supplies we need on hand and my neice caught on really quickly.  I was impressed.  The only problem we had was that she was catching the towel in her stitching.  Several times I had to pull out quite a bit of her stitiching.  That was getting discouraging until I came up with this solution.

embroidery2

I bunched up part of the towel she was embroidering and used a pony tail holder to secure it in place.  The I used narrow pieces of duct tape to tape the rest of the loose edges in place.  It worked perfectly!    She is really taking to embroidery.   Embroidery is MUCH easier to teach then knitting especially when my knitting skills are so poor that the only thing I have made is a dish cloth. 

I am trying to think of something to send home to their mom….I am thinking a bunch of recipes might be a good idea.  It would be recipes of the things I cooked while the kids were here…you know the kids favorite things….She hates to cook about as much as I dislike knitting…after all, turn about should be fair play.

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