Flowers, Quilts, and Strawberry Jam

What do flowers, quilts, and strawberry jam have in common? They all came from plants!



These daisies and wild roses were growing in profusion on the side of our road.



Now they grace our dining room table.



This quilt I am working on also has daisies and roses on it, which were printed on fabric spun from cotton plants.



My first patchwork square.



Then the other day, my mom and I drove all over three counties to find strawberries for making jam. In one county they were watery and tasteless. In another the farm was already closed. At the third farm, a kind man on a tractor told us they were closed, but we were welcome to pick all the strawberries we could find free of charge!



My mom and I felt like Ruth gleaning in the fields. By the time we finished, we had picked two heaping bags of sweet, sun-warmed strawberries.



The amount was approximately equal to two flats and yielded 13 1/2 pints of freezer jam.



What a blessing it was after driving across three counties and meeting with disappointment to encounter such generosity and warm-heartedness! Oh, how I love the South! :)

Projects projects projects

Ever since I came home for Christmas break, I've been trying to reduce the enormous pile of extra materials in my closet. Leftover fabric, stuffing, yarn, beads, hemp, cross-stitch material, embroidery thread, the list goes on. I've managed to use up about half the materials since I've been here and it's certainly nice to have a little more closet space!



Here is my second attempt at a Raggedy-Ann style doll and in my opinion an enormous improvement on the first. I did have a little trouble with the permanent marker bleeding over the lines, but I touched it up a little after I took this picture.



I used up all the leftover stuffing and a large bolt of fabric making this lovely red pillow.



In my bag of fabric there were also some scraps of adorable pink plaid, which I turned into this cute half-apron. I thought there would only be enough to do a child-sized apron, but it turned out big enough for a small adult to wear.



And I finally finished my green scarf! I started it over thanksgiving break, but in the hustle and bustle of things it got laid aside, and I didn't finish it until day before yesterday.

Recently I've started a new project that I am very excited about! I don't want to tell what it is until I'm finished, but I'm planning on having it done before the end of next week. I'm taking step by step pictures, so I promise to post about it as soon as I'm done. :) Hope everyone had a lovely New Year!

Christmas Crafts

Winter is my favorite time for crafting. It's so delicious to sit by the toasty fire and knit, or curl up on the couch with a book. Here are a few crafts I've been working on recently.



These are the promised pictures of the scarf I've been working on. It isn't finished yet because it was laid aside amidst the busyness of packing and exams, but now that I'm on break I'm hoping to have it done by Christmas.



I'm using a soft acrylic yarn in a lovely olive green color.



Here's one of my favorite creations. I named it the Jingle Bell Wreath because it jingles merrily whenever someone walks through the door. Believe it or not, making the wreath was the easy part--it was tying the bow that gave me so much trouble!



This is my attempt at making a Raggedy Ann style doll. She is 100% hand sewn and hand stuffed. I drew the face on with permanent marker, but I didn't get it quite right. Hopefully with practice I'll do better next time.

For now, these crafts are going in my Etsy box. If I do get around to starting an Etsy shop, it might be awhile from now because I have to get a credit card and build up an inventory first. :) Hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the season!

It all started with a dress

One day I was perusing Shabby Apple’s website when I fell in love with this dress:



The soft gray color, the graceful drape of the fabric—it was love at first sight! There was only one problem. The hefty price tag.

Not to be dissuaded, I shopped around and found a similar dress for half the price at target.



But it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. Still not satisfied, I continued to surf the web. Then I found this lovely lady on a website called BurdaStyle.



BurdaStyle is a website for budding seamstresses to share inspiration and ideas—both of which I found in the pictures she uploaded. This young woman created her own pattern and uploaded it to the BurdaStyle website to share with others. Though I was originally planning on starting my summer sewing project on something easy, I quickly became carried away...

After printing out the pattern, it took me over two weeks to work up enough courage to piece it together. Once I overcame that insurmountable obstacle, I completed this dress in three days:



It isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the simple fact that I created it makes me value it ten times more than if I had spent $100 on it! And I am proud to say, “I did it!” Now I just have to find some matching shoes...

Pretty in Pleats

A few weeks back, I started altering a blue cotton skirt my grandmother gave me. (You can see that post here.) It was quite a feat for me since sewing is not my strong point, but I am happy to say I have finished and can't wait to wear it!



A white t-shirt, hat, heels, and matching jewelry complete the outfit.



I bought the hat from Target and sewed on a matching ribbon. It was an impulse buy, and I couldn't decide whether I liked it or not, but I've finally decided to keep it.



I think this outfit would be most suited to a tea or wedding. :)

Life

This week I begin my long-awaited spring break! To keep myself from becoming too bored, I've been sifting through my project bag looking for various things to occupy my time. I found an old half-finished cross stitch project this week that I finished and framed. I started this cross stitch about six years ago.



I've also been doing some mending for my summer wardrobe. My grandmother gave me this lovely cotton skirt to wear, but it's a women's size 12. I have very slowly and tentatively started to take in the waist. I am still working on getting the waistband off--I had to use a seam ripper and I'm still only halfway finished.



Since sewing is not my strong point, I try to work slowly and thoughtfully so I don't mess it up or become frustrated. This skirt is very full with a high, fitted waistband, pleats, and decorative blue and silver stitching. It should turn out nicely if I don't ruin it in the process.



On a lighter note, it's definitely spring outside! I've been working some in my garden and my rosebushes are doing well. I planted a new hybrid tea called a "Queen Elizabeth" that has large, light pink blooms. I also dug up and transplanted several runners from my mom's lilac bush and they appear to be very happy. You can't see them in this picture but I planted them just to the left of those two chairs.



In the greenhouse my sweet alyssum are coming up nicely though nowhere near as fast as I'd like. I've decided from now on I'm simply going to buy plants from nurseries instead of raising them from seeds. It saves a lot of time, work, they generally do better, and it's only a few dollars more. Still, it's been a good experience.



I've also been doing a lot of reading in my free time. In the past two weeks I've read My Ántonia, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, The Last of the Mohicans, and I'm working through A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. So far it's very good.

Although my spring break is a lot longer than most people's (a week and a half) I know it'll fly by. Each day is precious because it's the last spring I'll be living at home for awhile, so I'm going to savor it while it lasts. Happy Spring!