Saturday, December 26, 2020

Handmade Holiday Gifts

I stitched into the last minutes of Christmas Eve to get all my sewing gifts finished.  It was worth it!



Laura has become a fan of The Great British Bake Off show and is now embracing baking.  She naturally needed an apron!

I did a little baking too!  When I was growing up in Germany, my mother baked Stollen which is a breadstyle fruitcake.  I've been thinking about that again so tried a recipe I found on Pinterest.  Very good texture & taste.  





Some details from Hawkins' raw edge collage gift


Brent enjoys wearing caftans around the house in the evening.  A few linen shirts later and I had a nice long tunic for his gift.  He was delighted! 



My mother wanted me to pick socks from her hand knit collection.  I expected a pair or two but gladly accepted the others too!  

A very sweet handmade nativity set from Hawkins

The cow is a hoot! 

Happy Holidays My Friends!


Monday, December 21, 2020

Thrifted Fashion Show: Big Bargains!

 It's no secret that I think I have the best thrift store in Houston a mile from my house.  The amount & selection of inventory it turns in a year is incredible.  I'm sure it's partly due to the prices.  During the week if a customer spends money, a discount is tallied for Sunday purchases.

Yesterday I had a discount that afforded a 50% discount on my purchases.  With the exception of one or two items, everything I bought was around $3.93.  When the discount is applied, that's roughly $1.97.  Ain't much you can buy in a regular retail store for $1.97! 

I'm a little giddy!  

I'm nurturing my desire to cook & bake which means I need some dishes, pans & possibly some appliances.  This week's purchases included a vegetable steamer for $3.93 (marked down from the original price of $6.56), 2 beautiful handmade large pottery plates from Mexico, a dip serving plate, and a small Revereware saucepan.  




And, because I can, I shopped the clothes racks too.  Lately I am on the hunt for cashmere.  All sweaters are generally priced in the same range so when I spot a cashmere sweater, it's usually less than $5.  If you ever shop cashmere sweaters in regular retail stores, they are not $5.


I'm embracing purple now more than I have in my entire life.  So when I spotted this ruffled cashmere sweater I decided to give it a go.  It hand washed nicely & it's ready to wear.  I'm also embracing ruffles much to my mother's delight.  


This is a sweater/shawl/wrap.  The color is a bit off pink for me but the style is clever.  I can probably wear it any number of ways. It's a shawl that buttons into sleeves. 




And, of course, a purple cashmere scarf for pennies on the dollar.  


My other weakness is skirts.  I didn't hesitate at all when I saw this embellished lined denim skirt.  The trim has a little sparkle.  How perfect! 




Here the skirt is teamed with a few new to me accessories and a chambray shirt from Cindy's Poshmark closet. 



Hand crocheted shawl.  I can't resist these when I find them. 



More ruffles


Silver yarn with lots of sparkle

This is a pair of knit culottes.  So many ways to wear them!  I really am giddy over these.  I probably need to get a real life! 



I'll try to post pictures when I am wearing some of these new outfits.

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Friday, December 18, 2020

Finished: Feminine Apron

 My best friend from high school sent me a SOS message Wednesday asking if I could sew an apron for her daughter in law.  The chosen apron from Anthropolgie is on backorder for a few more weeks.  I might be biased but I think my apron is much better than anything Anthropolgie sells.  😀😀  This is a favorite Tracy Porter fabric I've had in my stash a long time.  So lovely and feminine.  




I hope your holiday sewing is moving along quickly!  

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Finished: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Wallhanging


 An unexpected collaboration!  Cindy sent me the Rose earlier in the month.  She makes them & sells in her etsy shop.  The Rose jumped on my Ruth wallhanging and it's just perfect.

This is headed to a Vermont feminist lawyer.  I bet she loves it!  (I certainly do.) 

Next up:  a frilly apron request.  Nothing like last minute gifts.  😀😀

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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Raw Edge Collage Work: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 Honoring Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg









Every snippet and scrap is worthy in my raw edge collages!  😀😀

A few more hours of work and these will be pillows.

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Monday, December 14, 2020

Cooking: New Recipes & Ideas

 I've been trying some new vegetable recipes lately.  Pinterest is a gold mine for information and suggestions.  So far all the ones I have tried have been easy and tasty! 


This Broccoli Cheese Soup paired with cornbread was really delicious!  
The recipe is from MamaLovesFood.  I did not use all the Half & Half and it was still creamy enough.  I used packaged broccoli florets & julienne carrots to save some time.  For the cheeses I used extra sharp cheddar, monterey jack & velveeta (about 2 cups each)


These sweet potato slices were heavenly!  Very easy with great results.  Here they are ready for the oven.  They came out with a nice edge and super soft.
The recipe is Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sweet Potatoes from Eatwell101.com



Sunday morning breakfast featured fried eggs, kale vegetable stirfry (I just made it up with some Italian Seasonings) and crispy baked onion rings.  What a scrumptious meal! 

The plate is one of 4 I got at the thrift store by Raymond Waites.  Raymond Waites anything is expensive so of course I snatched them up.  They are a little big for my usual meal but just right for this one!  The eggs cover a huge orange flower.

Any new recipes in your kitchen lately?
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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Raw Edge Collages: New/Old Work

 Sometime last year I stitched a length of patchwork raw edge from gray tshirts.  My intent was to make a quilted jacket.  Frankly, it was pretty lackluster and I lost interest. 

Yesterday I decided to turn it into a variety of compositions I can use for some artwork.  This should make 4 good sized collages.  The 1st layer is the knit patchwork.  The 2nd layer is additional topstitched patchwork.  I may add a 3rd layer of handwork with some embellishments. 

It's hard to photograph while it's still on the longarm but I think you can see the essence of what I have stitched.  I was trying to vary the colors for each collage. 

I anticipate stretching these on canvas so they are ready to hang. 




This one is my favorite.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Out and About Houston: Churches



A beautiful Catholic church peeking out of the middle of a historic Rosenberg neighborhood.  Such a pretty sight on a recent morning walk.  Who needs Europe anyway? 



I love how I was able to capture Mary with the sunlight accenting Her.



The rose garden still had a few blooming roses.  I bet it is gorgeous in the summer. I'll let you know. 

Gardeners and landscapers are busy planting winter flowers now.  Pansies are the favorite by a long shot.  When I moved to Houston from Chicago I was shocked to see people planting pansies for their winter gardens.  Obviously the Chicago winter garden was hidden under piles of snow. 


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