Made Myself Cozy on this First Day of June

 Sunny it may have been but if you ask me there was a definite nip in the air today. So I hunkered myself down in the cozy chair with a cuppa tea and a basket of handwork. And what was in that basket you ask? Why another Hitty cape of course! I know, I know your all probably sick of seeing these by now but frankly I'm addicted. Besides, this one's in brown which kind of makes it new and exciting.....if your addicted to tiny woolen doll capes that is!

 Anyway, I finished up the embroidery,

 put in the lining,

and tried it on for size.

I swear, if it had fit me, I would have worn it to the bus stop this afternoon!



Made Crafty Wish Ticket #4 - A Bitty Batch of Painted Clothespin Kits

 Success!

The sun came out, the paint dried, the gloss too, and these little dearies were finally ready for their big reveal as.....

......the "Make Your Own Lily" Painted Clothespin Kits! Perfect for those of you for whom painting is not your cuppa.

 In each kit you will find one happy little face.....

 .....and all the other fixing you'll need.....

 .....to get started on your little friend!



Happy Crafting!!!

Made an Assembly Line

Here's a sneak peek at the crafty wish ticket for this week. I set up my little assembly line early this morning thinking everything would be wrapped up tidy by the afternoon. HA! The humidity certainly threw a monkey wrench in those plans!. Have my fingers crossed all the little bits and pieces finally dry up enough for their final coat of gloss tomorrow. Stay tuned...



Made a New Section in the Shop

 Just so you know the de-stash, de-clutter, de-stroy the house project is still going on behind the scenes here. Bit by bit, however, nooks and crannies of pure simplicity and serenity are emerging and if I can manage to squeeze myself into one of them oh let me tell you it is pure bliss! So encouraged am I by this that I've become a bit of a mantra maniac spouting out things like "A place for everything and everything in it's place," or "Have nothing in your house you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful," or some other such words of wisdom I've discovered while reading those wabi sabi books of mine.

 Problem is......in the wake of these words lies a trail of discarded items which are too good for the trash, too many to keep toting off to Savers, and too risky to leave in a pile for that "someday" yard sale. But then I remembered......Etsy has a vintage section! Technically I'd never really forgotten about the old goodies they offer, at least not from a buyer's perspective, but I'd never considered selling anything in that genre before. The hardest part about committing to the process was getting over the fact that many of the items I'd be selling there as "vintage" I'd actually purchased new.  I know my kids think I'm way beyond my prime but to have my possessions validate it.....UGH! But commit I did and ordered up myself a little shop section titled "Piccalilli Past."

 

 I'd previous had at my collection of L. M. Montgomery books and displayed the keeper's here, above the sewing hutch,

 

 

and here, in one of only three under-the-bed storage boxes. The excess was.....well excessive and so I made up the first three listings from those piles. With shipping fees on books and such so much more expensive than that on a wee pincushion or petite pillow, I decided to group things in lots so as to fit as much as possible in those flat rate boxes the post office so kindly offers, hoping to give more bang for the buck by doing so! However, I can't help but feel a bit guilty.....meaning my intention is definitely not to fill your house up with my junk.....unless of course you have a place for it, find it useful, or consider it beautiful, right?!!

 Or as dear hubby said to me last week upon returning home from the used bookstore quite a bit more than empty handed, "One man's trash is another man's treasure!"

 

Made Me See Double

 Yesterday we were off to Pop and Grandma's house for a Memorial Day cookout. Everyone was excited for the event.....

Kiddie #3 wanted to play Frisbee,

Teen #2 hoped to get a tan,

Teen #1 was game for some poker,

Dear hubby's tummy was hungry for steak,

Puppy dreamed of falling crumbs,

and I couldn't wait to see my mom's (newly redecorated for the summer holidays) dollhouse! 

 The housewarming gift was well received and fit in with the decor quite well if I don't say so myself! Speaking of decor.....I noticed something funny about grandma's houses. Mini house had a corner cupboard filled with blue and white china.....

 .....and so did the big house!

 Mini house boasted a decorated fireplace and more china hutch goodness...

 .....as again did the big house both here....

 .....and here!

 A sun dabbled table complete with sweet tablecloth and festive dishware?

 Ditto!

 Oh and don't forget the well groomed, obedient and oh so quiet puppy sitting by the rocker.

Well.....it's a puppy by a rocker but I'm not saying anymore!



Made a Mini Memorial Day Pillow

 I made up this (even smaller than usual) pillow as a housewarming gift! I'll show you what house tomorrow.....

In the meantime, I've got the cookies baked,the pillow wrapped, my sewing basket stocked, and the house boogied. So why am I sitting here on the computer and not out the door and headed for fun? One itty bitty teenage girl that's why! She looked dressed to me an hour ago but then again what do I know?!!



Made My Grocery List

Just about the last thing I feel like doing on Memorial Day weekend is going to the grocery store but since I need to bake cookies for tomorrow's festivities and there are no eggs to be found in the fridge I guess that's where I'm headed. Decided to have some fun writing out the list at least or perhaps I'm just procrastinating! 



Made An Addition to My Summer Wardrobe

No, the new addition was not the dress....that I've had for ages. Originally when it was crisp and bright I wore it with shiny ballet flats and a cardigan and I loved it. Now after oodles of washings it's faded, soft and worn in all the right places which means I love it even more! It's the perfect barefoot dress which is fine if your staying home but sometimes you need to step out quick for milk or kids, neither one of which require ballet flats or cardigans. Most often I just slip on my flip flops and head out the door which is fine except when your flip flops are black. It's kind of a downer to to be wearing sweet pastels and then anchor your feet down in black so when I spied these little beauties at Old Navy today I was delighted. And at the ultimate bargain price of $2.50.....

 

 

.....I snagged myself a second pair in green to go with this thrifted skirt !

 

 

Hmmm.....seems there's the possibility of making a patchwork version out of them as well!

 

 

Made Use of My New Goodies!

Had to finish up a few more Hitty capes today which meant the new sewing helpers I made yesterday got their first work out. Honestly I was a bit concerned they would bother me.....wondered if I'd be annoyed with opening and closing the little boxes or if I would get distracted by their oh so very bright and matchy, matchy fabrics? All went well however, and thanks to that opened tin top I never even misplaced my thimble once! Seems I'll be giving them a thumb's up!

Made Crafty Wish Ticket #3 - A Pincushion Just For Me!

Remember that "something special just for me" that I promised to show you real soon? Here it is, crafty wish ticket #3, my new pincushion!

 

 

While I was at it, I found a cute little bowl to keep it in as well as a few other goodies to embellish for my portable sewing basket.

 

 

A place for everything and everything in it's place!

Made a Mini Home Improvement

What could be better than this sweet little design?

Lots of them all together! I discovered this sheet at Ink About It where I always find the most delicious paper goods and such for my tags. It was love at first sight but in the back of my mind I knew who else would be delighted to welcome it into her home.....

.....Lily Red!!!

And by "into her home" I mean literally.

First we installed it in the bedroom where it was so well received we continued the process.....

.....in the living room.

I hear tell she's now back to to the drawing board making plans for wallpaper and curtains! Hmmm...wonder whose window apparel will get finished first? 



Made Some More Cuts!

Seem to be on a roll so I went with it! Had at some more fabric for the curtains but also prepped up the ingredients for a big ole pile of pincushions destined for Candlelite, a batch of wee pillows, and something special just for me which you'll see real soon...but not today.

Made Some Cuts

These curtains and I have been doing battle ever since things warmed up enough for the windows to be opened. When the wind blows they get all staticky and adhere to themselves in the weirdest of ways which has me constantly trying to straighten them out. Besides, I'll admit it, I'm finding them a bit boring.

So today I borrowed the pantry curtain for a look see at a more colorful alternative. Although the squares might be a bit tiny and the colors a tad dark for the summer I loved the overall concept.

With a bit of measuring and some general math applications I was able to determine I'll need 1,080 four inch blocks to make enough panels to cover the five windows. GOODNESS ME!!! It was almost enough to make me rekindle an appreciation for the old white curtains.....but then a gust of wind came through and wrecked havoc. This sent me scrambling for the rotary cutter, mat and a pile of fabric. Along with the 4" curtain squares I started cutting some 6" squares so I can have a go at that Nicki Trench quilt for my bed.

  

My goal is to incorporate a minimum of 120 unique fabric prints. Currently I've got only 10 but I couldn't help but play around with them a bit.

And thanks to those staticky curtains I was even able to set them out vertically!



Made a Trip Across the Border

Yep...I crossed over from Massachusetts and into New Hampshire to attend my doll club meeting for the month. I participated in a swap shop of sorts from which I scored some new "old" books on vintage fabric and toys, got to hold a Madame Alexander baby doll, and received a pile of fliers advertising our upcoming fall show and sale. I can't wait for October and am already wondering what goodies I'll come home with that day! 



Made Crafty Wish #2 - Keeping Hitty Cozy

Alterations have finally been completed!

Each cape now falls slightly above the hemline as was discovered during my Red Riding Hood research project.

The adjustment was actually a lot easier than I had anticipated.....I merely clipped away the corners from along the lower edge and.....

Voila!

I love how much swirl this minor change brought to the cape.

Even better, this half circle version is now sized correctly for both.....

....the Robert Raikes Hitty.....

....as well as the Gail Wilson version I was also working with.

So now that I have one specific pattern to work with I can turn my attention to creating a variety of other options. A blue plaid cape per chance?

Or some new colors and designs for the embroidery would be fun.

And then of course there are the unlimited options for the cape lining.....calico, florals, dotted, gingham.....whatever can be imagined!

Can't wait to get started on a new batch!