Happy New Year and the Sewing Room Hangover

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With that out of the way, I do hope that you all had a wonderful December and were able to spend time with the friends and family you love. I was able to have 4 days in a row off of work, and those days happily coincided with Christmas and a visit with daughter Laura (plus entourage). I feel like I've been so lax in blogging that I must reintroduce you to my family... that is if I have any readers left.

no sewing happening here

Anyway. I've been reading with envy what I'll collectively call the sewing blogger's 2012 round-up. Truthfully, you have all made many MANY gorgeous things, and in the last quarter, I've pretty much made bupkiss, so I haven't had the gracious feelings of awe that perhaps I should.

Do I resolve to change that? Well, I do want to make a few things, and I did get a Tiramisu for Christmas, so look for that sooner rather than later. Steph is hosting a sewalong starting next week, and I might just attempt it! She calls it 30 minutes a day, and c'mon... surely I can manage that!

I would like to blog a bit more, because I do enjoy that, but my topics may not be as sewing related as in the past. Having worked in the bridal industry for 3-1/2 months now, I have formed a few opinions, and might just share a few of them with you. And, in lieu of actual sewing, perhaps a little indulgent fantasy sewing.

My Etsy shop is still open, and I just celebrated my 600th sale, so do drop in now and then. I have some "new" patterns that have yet to be listed, so look for some fresh merchandise appearing soon. You can keep up with the latest in that little Etsy Mini in the side bar on the right.

Finally... and just in the nick of time. Yes. There is still time. There really is. You know you want to shop there. Denise, aka The Blue Gardenia, is having her End of the Year sale, and it ends TOMORROW NIGHT PEOPLE! Click HERE to shop for your favorites and get a great deal. Hurry before they're all gone!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day! My daughter in Virginia called this morning, and I got to have lunch with my husband and son, Kyle at Two Urban Licks (where this delightful duck painting is hanging).

Happy New Year!

Boy, that's an original title. I've been reading blogs on and off all day, and really enjoying the wrap ups of last year, and the plans for this year. Some of you are really ambitious! And some of you really did a lot of sewing last year!


I haven't added anything up. I made a lot of things, and have some favorites, and some that were not as successful. And a couple of things that I haven't worn at all.


But, today's post isn't about sewing. It's about art and the process. I think that sewing is definitely a creative process, and it's one of the things that I have been able to do at least fairly successfully most of my adult life. It just comes easy to me. And this year, artistically, I decided to stretch myself. In December, a friend, pointed me to a possibility for an art workshop of sorts on Etsy. 366 Pages, a yearlong, online, mixed media journaling workshop. After briefly contemplating, I leapt in (sorry). If you check it out, it's not too late to join. And what a deal! $20 for a year of encouragement, ideas and fun.


OK, the promotion is over, and I've done my first day's journal entry.

You will have to click on the picture to learn a little more about it.


And don't worry, this will stay a mostly sewing blog, with Wilma still making some appearances with a recipe on Wednesdays, and the occasional post about family or dogs. I may put some kind of flickr slideshow thing-y here, but that's still TBD.


Finally, I'll leave you to ponder on the size of my ironing basket when I tell you that my #1 resolution right now is to iron everything in said basket before the end of January (and hopefully sooner).

Here's to 2012!!!

Peace, Love, Joy

and memories...

1961

1971

1987

1988

1990

1994

2008

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Wilma on Wednesday Makes Cookies

Sand Tarts to be specific. These delicious shortbread-type crescent-shaped cookies are a family favorite, and my grandmother could make them like no one else. Mine are not nearly as pretty, but they're still pretty tasty.


If you do a search online, there are lots of variations on this recipe, and lots of traditions and "family rules" about these delightful cookies. Our rules included the one that they had to be rolled in granulated white sugar, always. No colored sugar for us! The sugar was the "sand" part of the cookie!


Anyway, here you go, and there note that there are no eggs, so good for someone with allergies. There are lots of nuts!

Sand Tarts


7/8 cup butter
5 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp water
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)


No instructions here from Wilma, but basically mix everything together the way you would make cookies. Bake at 375 deg. F for 15-20 minutes (my oven cooks hot, so 12 minutes was all I needed).


Gently make them into crescent shapes. If the butter gets too warm, chill before baking (that was the problem with mine, so they aren't too crescent-y).


Remove from the oven, immediately roll them in sugar and put on cooling rack.


Note from Wilma: If you use 1 cup butter, use 2-1/4 cups flour, but also add the appropriate amount to each of the other ingredients.

The Matchy Siblings -- Easter Edition

As promised, just a bit more cuteness to fill in while we're all waiting for Self-Stitched September to start! Are you participating? I just placed an order to Gorgeous Fabrics and fabric.com, so fall sewing planning is in full swing. I'll give it to you buy the numbers tomorrow. In the meantime, the Easter edition:


Easter, 1991. This is Kyle's first.

 Kyle's pattern is one called "Allan's Bubble" that was in the now defunct Creative Needle Magazine. Laura's is the Basic Square Yoke by Chery Williams. I used commercial smocking plates for the picture smocking. I think I might have made Kyle's little shirt, too.


I stayed with the pink and blue combo in 1992 as well.

I do not remember at all where these patterns came from, but probably a magazine. You can't really tell from the pictures, but Laura's dress is open from the waist and an eyelet slip peeks out. Kyle's outfit is a shorts romper with the matching patchwork pattern. I know I made his shirt. I made all the piping on all their outfits, and used a thin crochet cotton to make that baby thickness.


I can almost guarantee that Laura was talking as she opened each egg in her basket!


In 1993, I got really fancy! And they didn't really match, but they certainly went together!

Laura's smocking is called Counterchange, and is a type of pleaterless smocking. The design on her dress is called Lydia's Basket by Ann Hallay. The stripes on the fabric are used to help form a grid that makes the pleats as you embroider. I don't remember the dress pattern I used.


Finally, because these are not digital pictures, I can't really manipulate them that well, but I wanted to enlarge Kyle's picture so you can see just how cute he looks.

 

This was taken a couple of months before his 3rd birthday. The pattern is the boy's button-on suit by Ginger Snaps Designs. And his dad told me not to make little smocked shirts with bunnies for Kyle any more. It was a sad day. I did make a few more things for Kyle after that, but things like camo pants and Halloween costumes. No more bunnies.


By the way, I've kept all these special outfits. They were passed on to my sister for her girl and boy, and when they outgrew the outfits, she sent them all back.

The Matchy Matchy Christmas Siblings

Did you know that September is right around the corner? Yep. And since there will be lots of Self Stitched Sept (SSS) pictures, I thought I would take a walk down memory lane a la Carolyn, and show you just how adorable my kids were when they were little. I am just a little biased, I suppose.


I liked for them to match on Christmas and Easter, and so of course, I had to make them matching outfits. Even with a boy and a girl I didn't have any trouble finding what I wanted to make. And so as not to make your eyes glaze over, I'll just do one holiday at a time.


Christmas 1990 was Kyle's first.

I'm not sure what these patterns were, but undoubtedly one of the Big 4. McCall's maybe? Anyway, I used 2 different green cotton checks and red satin ribbon as trim. You can see that Laura's vest has a bigger check than her skirt. Her top is a RTW, and I think Kyle must have had on a long sleeve onesie. Oh, before I get any farther let me apologize for the picture quality... way before digital!


Christmas 1991 I got a little more ambitious.

Yes, navy blue velvet. And Laura's pinafore bib is organza. Kyle's turtleneck is RTW. I'm not sure of her dress pattern, but the bib was from a company called A Garden of Smocking Designs. The applique design was from Sew Beautiful maybe? I'm also not sure about Kyle's romper pattern was, but it had buttons at the shoulders and snaps down below for easy diaper changes.


Apparently, they still fit the next year, and they were super cute, so I didn't bother with new outfits for Christmas 1992. The pictures don't lie. I'm including the 1992 pictures because they show the applique so well.

I'll let y'all absorb the awesome cuteness of these, and do the Easter outfits in another post.

Happy Birthday America!

photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

On a sewing note, yes! I have been sewing! Just not writing about it here, but that will happen this week. I promise. Things I've recently made include a denim skirt, a knit top, and a sundress for a party tonight. Success-wise, I was 2 for 3, and the question is "why is it so hard for me to get skirts to fit right?" Darned if I know, but will explore that problem and my continuing sewing with knits issues.

Please stay safe today if you are out celebrating Independence Day!