New Jewelry Technique

I forgot to mention in the last post that these old hands also are pretty good at making jewelry! I found this new stuff (well, it was actually my sister that told me about it): UTEE - Ultra Thick Embosses Enamel. I took a heart shaped tray, arranged several sewing themed charms in the tray (I clipped most of the rings off the tops) and poured the crystals of the UTEE all over the top. I placed the tray on a cookie sheet in a 340 degree oven for about 5 minutes until the crystals melted into the clear enamel. I added a bit more and baked it again to get the coverage I wanted. I think I baked it a bit too long because there is a bit of a yellowish cast. But, it is very minor and I will take it out sooner next time. I would also place it on foil so I didn't wreck a cookie sheet. Maybe that quick release foil would work good. I am anxious to try more ideas. I think this could be fun!!! Jerilynn

She Ain't No Hand Model!

I have always been a little self conscious about my hands. They were old before the rest of my face/body caught up to them. When I was a shoe buyer, I discovered that my feet were the sample size and had many shoes given to my by vendors. Liked my feet and also the vast collection of cute shoes. My hands, however, were never cute. Sun damage didn't help. The other day I was sewing something that needed a little help to get things to line up well and I noticed that those good-old-German-stock-farm-hands were doing a pretty good job at get things smoothed out and lined up. So, I took another look at my hands and started to think about all the things they were able to do. Sewing, both hand and machine sewing. Knitting - good, consistent knitting. Crochet. Painting (watercolor). Cooking....grandma foods, of course - cream chicken over biscuits, apple pie, roasts. Fishing - threading a worm on the hook and carefully taking the hook out of the fish's mouth so they could live to tell their bigger brothers to watch out! Card playing, applauding great plays and music. Soothing many cranky babies. Folding fitted sheets into a decent square. I think I haven't been appreciative enough. The thumbs are starting to warp a bit, arthritis, I guess. My nails have developed quirky lines. I avoid bright polish. I am thankful, however, for the talent and the willingness to play along. I will not publish other pictures of old body parts. Promise. Jerilynn

Do Overs

I still had some fabric from previous cabin curtains and a previous cabin dustruffle (yuck) that I wanted to put to good use. Something about ripping old things apart and giving them a new chance is extremely satisfying, isn't it? Wouldn't we all like the opportunity to reinvent ourselves every few years? After making the box spring cover (refuse to call it a dustruffle) for the twin bed in the studio, I thought I would use more of the fabric to make some pillow cases to plop against the wall. That is another instant gratification project...pillow cases are so fast to whip together. Lots of different tutorials out there on the internet - I like the one where the seams are French seams so there are no unfinished edges anywhere. I used the fabric from our old bedroom curtains for the main body of the case, the stripe from the old guest bedroom dustruffle, and the accent trim is a new red fabric. I didn't have enough fabric left over for a third pillow cover, so I had to dig around for something else. I found two towels waiting for cute embroideries or appliques that were good choices. One side is a light turquoise dot and the other side is a red with cream stripes. I plopped them together, topstitched the sides and made five buttonholes to fit five vintage red buttons. Easy to open and use the pillow for guests. The pictures aren't great, but better than the others lately. I found the battery! All I had to do was pray to St. Anthony: St. Anthony, St. Anthony....please come around. Something is lost that must be found. Works most all the time. Jerilynn P.S. Top picture is old master bedroom at cabin. Note the curtains and the quilt on the bed. Now both are happy residents of the studio.

Curtains Life Two

My pet peeves are those awful metal bedframes. The legs are not pretty. You can hide them with a bedskirt, but that leads me to another pet peeve - beds are hard to make with them and they look too foo-foo, and they collect dust. Maybe that is why another name for a bedskirt is dust ruffle. Anyway, I put a twin bed up in the studio and I like how it looks and it is a great place for a quick little nap. I am using the red and turquoise quilt that used to be on our bed, but you could see those metal legs. So, I took the stripe curtains that used to be in the guest bedroom, cut away the linings, sewed them together and made a fitted cover for the box spring and frame. I know, very close to a dust ruffle, but no ruffle, and fitted enough that making the bed should be okay. On another note, I am at our condo for a day or two and cannot locate the camera battery! Plus, my IPhone pics are still bad. jerilynn

Twinkle Lights

Another bad picture....can you hang in there until I get my camera up and running again? So, you are asking....what is it that I am supposed to admire??? The lights are antique blue mason jars that we outfitted with lights. Behind them you can see the closet that Carl finished - still waiting on the doors. The lights look adorable. I hope to get some good pictures soon, or learn how to take better ones with the phone!! Jerilynn

Got Notes?

First image: A cork board that my sister left in my trunk. She said I could either take it back (receipt provided) or keep it. Well, it didn't look all that groovy. But, I had been wanting a cork board in the studio and had recently found some thumbtacks that I made a million years ago by gluing white buttons onto a simple tack. So, I brought the ugly board up here and wrapped some interesting fabric around the board - black with white thread images. I simply thumb tacked the fabric in place in case I wanted to change out the fabric for a different one or maybe even use the black fabric for a project. White button thumbtacks look great on it. Now I need some inspired notes or words to tack to it. A simple grocery list would not do. Jerilynn

Coaster Through the Day

Experimented a bit tonight with the covered clothesline and made this quick little coaster. The fabrics I used are some of my new most favorite...Hometown by Sweetwater. Love the colors and the variety of prints in the collection. You can't see it in this awful picture (my camera's battery dies and the back-up is back home...used my camera to get this shot), but the white fabric next to the red middle has all kinds of hometown names written on it. Strangely enough, as I am sewing along, Chippewa Falls, my hometown, appeared right on the part of the fabric that was going to show. Had no idea that it was there. Spooky. I think the coaster turned out good. I have a couple more clothesline ideas. I am tired tonight, though, so I think they will keep until the morning. Jerilynn P.S. I made a few more of the improv coasters today. Once I get a bunch made, I will let you know, just in case you want to buy some....:)