It Doesn't Fit Grandma

Poor Grandma still has nothing to wear. The new outfit didn't fit her, but it does fit Sandy!

Remind me to change the thread when I go back to sewing seams. I'm not liking how the purple thread shows on the shorts.

Grandma shows some signs of kyphosis in her back. That makes fitting her rather difficult. Her head, neck and shoulders are all one piece of porcelain. Grandma insisted she would NOT have surgery to correct this!

I have promised her that she will get her new white dress.

Tomorrow.

I promise.

Sew it Goes

I'm still playing with my new sewing machine. I tried making another outfit for Grandma. I like the little capri pants with one of the decorative stitches my machine makes.

The top is going in the bin. I may make a blouse to match the pants instead?

I've cut out a few other things. I'm starting the white dress over. It is just too big. Then I'm going to try to make a red jogging outfit with a hooded top. I have YARDS of this red t-shirt fabric!

Here is Grandma's Valentine's Day apron in progress. Love this little heart fabric!

For some reason, sewing makes me sleepy. I'm going to go take a nap and then get back to work.

Clip Tuck and Tension

The dress pattern I bought needs a lot of adjustments. It is too big and too long. Casey makes her own patterns. So does Taru. Maybe I should too?

I began with the bodice of the dress. Poor Grandma modeled patiently while I pinned and poked to try get it to fit. Maybe I should get one of those dress forms? I think Grandma is getting tired of it all.

I had half the top sewn before I realized the bobbin thread was going loopy. Well, don't you know, right there in the instruction book that came with my machine, it showed there was a dial on top to control the tension! Sometimes, most times, it's good to read ALL of the instructions!

Maybe tomorrow I'll have something put together that looks a little better?

I'm going to bed now. It's too dark to sew anyway.

Sew Sew Happy!

I am so happy! I got my new sewing machine yesterday!

Grandma is happy too. She's going to get a new white dress and a Valentine's Day apron!

I need to go get some white thread and a new erasable fabric marker. I can't believe I don't have a spool of white thread! I have just about every other color, just not white.

I found a dollhouse doll clothes pattern by McCalls. It will need some minor adjustments but I love the little tuck and pleats on the front of the dress.

If you don't see me for a while, you'll know what I'm doing! :D

A Real Turkish Rug!

I had to clear out the living room to show you my new rug! I found it on Ebay and am NOT disappointed. The colors are perfect for the beach house!

It is a finely woven rug from Istanbul Turkey. My photo does not do it justice. This one is from the Ebay listing.

Even the back is pretty!


The best thing was the price. $1.00 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. I waited about two weeks for it to arrive, but it was well worth it!

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to buy another one. This seller has so many to choose from. I think a little 2" x 4" one would look nice inside the front door? They also have larger rugs.

Have a great day! I'm trying to figure out what kind of flooring I want on beach house front porch and in the kitchen.

Excuse to be Late to Work

Do you think my boss will understand?

Unpacking

I unpacked some of my living room accessories this morning. I found some gifts that I have received too. It will be fun arranging them.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me things for my beach house!

Bringing The Outside In

I wanted my beach house staircase to have an outdoor look. Like the wooden pilings you might see on a boardwalk at the beach.

I added more posts going up the stairs. Then I realized that the two outside posts were too tall, so I shortened them.

Here's how the living room looks now. It's finally time to accessorize! :D

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Have You Seen This?

I'm trying to clean house today but I keep being sucked back to my computer. I do have laundry going, have changed my bed and started putting STUFF away. Would you believe I still have Christmas things on my dining room table?!

I saw this on another blog and thought I would tempt you. It is a flip scan mobile scanner.

This cool little thing would be perfect for scanning photos, labels, art, magazines or anything else you would like to print in miniature!

I'm tempted myself, but I have a new sewing machine to pay for first. Come on Uncle Sam, send me my refund! $$$

When I've finished cleaning I think I'll get back to work on my mini sewing cabinet. What are you doing today?

Trying to Knit and Crochet

I got off work early today. Ice and snow and more ice. The road up the hill to my house was closed so I had to go the long way home. When I finally got here, I thought I would try something new.

First I tried some crochet. I have done this before. Why none of it came back to me I don't know? All I accomplished was a long chain of irregular stitches.

I did find a video on YouTube for left handed people, like me. Unfortunately it goes so fast that I had to keep pausing and restarting to see what she was doing. Not much help.






That being tried, I decided to see if I could teach myself to knit left handed. This went a little better. At least I was able to cast on some stitches that don't look too bad. I have never knitted before. I think I might like it.

The next steps are confusing to me. All I want to do is make a simple little scarf. The pattern calls for casting on 6 stitches and then doing a "garter stitch" until you have the length you want. I don't know what a garter stitch is or how to do it?

I'll keep trying. I applaud anyone who can knit or crochet! If you are left handed, I applaud you even more!

Small Homes Big Appeal

Look what I found at MSN.com this morning! If you click on the link, you'll see a great slide show of real life miniature homes!

Photo courtesy of MSN.com

by Marilyn Lewis at MSN Real Estate

Thanks MSN! This is a perfect article for dollhouse lovers!

Rough Draft

I'm learning as I go along building my mini sewing cabinet. I've decided that this one will be just a rough draft of the final project.

First of all, I'm going to get some REAL maple wood. The vinegar stain didn't work as well as I thought. It saturated the wood and made it soft.

Although I do like the color, I think real maple will make a much prettier cabinet. Here are the ideas for the interior. I tried to copy the original cabinet as much as possible.

I drilled holes in the top shelf for my scissors and made the storage box below. On the right you can see how I'm trying to make the little drawers that swing out. I'll need to drill through them and insert a pin so that they will move.

I like the plan so far. I'm just not happy with the finish. I will take this apart when I get my REAL maple wood and use the pieces as patterns for the next one.

So while I'm waiting for my little hinges to arrive, I'm off to look for real maple!

Hope you have a great day!

D C Hardy

My grandfather signed most of the things that he built. I think he made a rubber stamp of his signature. These are two really heavy slices of wood that he made into book ends.

I found his signature inside my sewing cabinet when I was dusting it. This makes it even more precious to me.

Here are all of the little parts of my sewing cabinet. I have to weigh them down until they dry and then I can start glueing the pieces together.

Do you sign your work? I think I might just order a little rubber stamp with my signature?

I think it would be fun and who knows? Maybe someday my grandchildren will appreciate my little signature?

Thanks Grandpa for your love, your great big hugs and your inspiration!

Homemade Wood Stain

I really didn't want to go to Home Depot today and spend $8 on a pint of maple stain. I found a "recipe" at eHow.com. It uses plain ole vinegar and watercolor paint. That's it.

I just used the Crayola paints I had. If you have tubes of watercolors it would be easier. I used brown, black, a bit of red and just mixed them up in some vinegar.

I tried my mixture on several different kinds of wood to see how it would look.

Then I dry brushed some black paint over the first coat of stain. The piece on the left below is closest to the color I want. It's still a little light but I'm thinking one more coat and it will be perfect?

I found that a sponge brush works best for applying the stain. I'm hoping that the wood won't warp. I'll let you know how it goes.

So far, so good.

It's kind of like dyeing Easter eggs! :D

Mini Sewing Cabinet?

I just have to try. I measured my real sewing cabinet, used the Art of Miniatures Calculator and then cut some wood. I'm using basswood and StarBuck's coffee stirrers.

I'm wondering if I should stain the pieces before I glue them together? I want the cabinet to have a maple finish like the real one.


Once I get the frame made, I'll try to make the shelves and drawers inside.

I'll also need some tiny hinges to put it all together.

I bought a new sewing machine yesterday. :)

It was going to cost $88 to fix my old one so I traded it in on a new Janome portable machine. I am very blessed to have a store near me that only sells/repairs sewing machines. They have been in business for >35 years!

The owner was very helpful and informative. I had to put my new machine on lay-a-way. I might as well make some minis until there is enough money in the bank to pick it up.

I hope I can do this. It sure will be cute if it turns out.

Finds and Project Ideas

I stopped by my favorite thrift store yesterday after work. I always find something I "need" there. Like these three books. Price for all three? One dollar and fifty cents.

IF I ever learn to knit, I would love to make a little vest or sweater for one of my dolls. This book has mostly bear patterns but there are also patterns for knitted clothes. It can't be all that difficult, can it?

The dress pattern below is in one of the counted cross stitch books. I didn't even see this until I got the book home. I think it is adorable! The skirt is stitched on 32ct linen. There are lots of little motifs to stitch too. Perfect for pillows or wall hangings in miniature!

I recently purchased an Ott Lite with a magnifier. I got it at Michaels, 50% off and I used my Christmas gift cards. NOW I should be able to see to stitch! No more excuses, right?

I saw this little step stool on Ebay a long time ago. The listing expired for the green one while I was hesitating about buying it. Then all I could find were red ones. I wanted GREEN!

Well, guess what? The green one came up again and I snatched it right away! It's perfect for my kitchen. :D

I'm still thinking about what kind of tile I want to make for the floor and walls. The whole color scheme may change if I find something I like better. I may try to modern up the appliances a bit too? Not sure how I would do that. I may try some stainless steel paint on something and see if I like that? I'll need to build some cabinets and shelves too.

My first project today is taking Birgit's gifts to the post office. Congratulations again Birgit and thanks to everyone else who entered my give-a-way!

Hope you have a beautiful Saturday!