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my vintage love

My beautiful little lap top has a virus.  So things here have been a little slow.  My hub finally came home tonight and has time to fix it though.  Hopefully!  So for now, I am using the big computer that we usually send our kids to.  And it also has none of my pic’s on it.

So I have decided to share with you something that I have recently started collecting.  Vintage tin recipe boxes.

I am just drawn to the graphics found on most of these.  And the colors.  They remind me of some of my favorite fabrics!

These tins are made even more fun to collect by a favorite manufacturer.  One is Avon.  Many are Ohio Art.  Yup, the toy manufacturer.  They diversified.

These pictures are all from Etsy.  There are some really special ones on there.  It is the best place to browse and find that perfect little bit of vintage that you long for.

Some of these recipe boxes are even made more special if they happen to come along with the recipe cards.  I love to see the personal notes, like “Grandpa’s Favorite”, “Delicious”, “Made for Judith’s Wedding”.  They turn a simple box into a treasure.

What is your vintage love?

not so scary

The hopscotch scarf has been a katie jean staple for me to sew up.  Just look at my website and you will see a great rotating picture of one on my little model.  It’s actually fabric therapy, going through my fabrics and laying them all out together, mixing it up.  And then finding the perfect vintage chenille and minky to add to the back of the scarf to lay cozy against the neck. 

This past week I have been busy making a few extra scarves.  And this is the new style that I came up with.  It has a fun ruffle going down one side of the scarf.  It’s like a caterpillar!

This is the not so scary halloween scarf.  Which was extra fun to make since I found a bit of this perfect owl and cat fabric.  And some pretty soft yellow minky!  If you look at my girl’s hand, you can tell how much she likes this fabric.  She snuck a little piece of it out of my sewing room. It has now become yet another doll blanket.

And this is the scarf that you have a chance to win!  If you visit Polka Dot Chair you will actually have 2 chances to win.  Just read her post about the giveaway for you to see how.  Good luck!  And thank you for your sweet comments!

why i love it

I really like doing custom orders.  It’s fun for me to give people a chance to pick out and create something that they feel really comes from them, not the department store.  And this one was extra special for me because it was to be a gift for my niece Katie.

She and her husband Victor are having their first baby!  Yes it’s a boy.

My sister-in-law asked me to make a gift for them and I thought of this Dick and Jane fabric right off.  It reminds me of her and seems like something from her own childhood that she would want to pass on to our new baby nephew.

The blanket is soft flannel with vintage chenille and the tie fabric is perfect!  Doesn’t that plaid just rock it as a tie :D  I am also working on another special order that I will be done with tomorrow.  I’ll show you that one too if you like!

And with this sewing project done and posted it means that I have completed my Sew 5 Challenge!  Thanks Creative Maven for keeping me busy and on task!

finished my wip

I know you have seen this before, but I wanted to show you how these little squares got all sewn up together.  Finished finally!

Sometimes these little things can just sit around waiting to be finished.  It’s just a little sewing and quilting.

But once I laid out the fabrics and my girl saw the tiny quilt she decided it would be perfect for her doll.  So I had to get it done right away!

She picked out the backing fabric with the cute cats.  And I did the rest of the sewing.  Now Jules Sparkles will rest nice and toasty, cozy at night.  Thanks to her Aunt Mary.

gift tag tutorial

I save all sorts of fabric scraps.  Including the scraps from the tiny quilts I have made.  That’s where these little bits come from.

Too cute to be thrown away, right?  So don’t!

I also have on hand the card stock that my bias tape was once wrapped around.  Any crafty paper will do!

Just place the fabric on the card stock, trim your fabric length or width as necessary. Then sew away, on your sewing machine.  I like using a zig zag stitch.

Use that ever handy hole punch and dig through your stash for a bit of ribbon.  I love to see what I find, looking for just that right color.

After you thread your ribbon through you have a nice little handmade gift tag.  I usually stamp the to: and from: on the back with a brown ink.  They also make cute bookmarks for what ever sewing book you might be giving as a gift this year!

my vintage love

I still have some a lot of unpacking to do from The Tattered House show this past Sunday.  My sewing room is such a mess.  So sorry, but I have no pictures of that!

What I will show you is this blanket.

When I first saw this fabric my heart skipped a beat!  I even looked around to see if there was anyone else ready to grab it just as I was reaching out for it.

I just love all of these colors together.  It is sweet without being overly sweet, if you know what I mean.

The flower print is vintage as is the nubby chenille on the back.  And the blanket is sized perfectly to fit over baby in the carseat or stroller so momma doesn’t have to struggle with folding over a big blanket that is just too big.  I know… I am so thoughtful :)

new sewing class

This Wednesday night! Don’t stay home, get out and sew with me!

Log Cabin Coaster’s at  The Tin Thimble 3750 Taylor Rd, Loomis,  6 p.m. 9 p.m.

Call if you would like to reserve a spot 652-2134.  I hope you can make it :)

sunday

Come see me  Sunday, September 19 at the Roseville Fall Antique Market.

8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Rain or shine!

Oak Street, Roseville

Visit The Tattered House to learn more about the 50+ vendors!

making progress

I am getting a few little quilts finished.  Picking out the last bits of fabrics, sewing and hand stitching on the binding.

This one is the from the Wonky Log Cabin Quilt class that I taught.  Red is used traditionally for the center square, but I wanted to use this untraditional olive green.  Then I used some reproduction fabric in yellow for the sashing and back of the quilt.

The binding is some yardage that I have had awhile that I love.  I am into the yellow, orange, and blues together, aren’t they just so happy!

And here are some blocks that my sister Mary sent me home with during my visit with her this past summer.  All reproduction prints.  Don’t you love the soft yellow centers!  It’s like a little pat of butter :)  This one is going to be a little quilt for my girl and her favorite dolls.  It will be just the perfect size.  And made with love from her Aunt Mary and Momma!

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