A Thrifty Little Dress

 Last month my mom gave me a blouse she no longer wanted. She had purchased the blouse a couple years ago at a thrift store. The color was a soft lavender and it was 100% rayon, but too big for her.  She hated to just toss the blouse, because it was pretty and comfortable. That was when she had an idea! Mom thought that there might be enough fabric to sew something for Jemimah, and that the color would look  lovely with her blue eyes. Mom was right! : )

I pressed the blouse and then set to work laying out the pattern pieces. It was a lot easier than I thought. The front and back of the blouse were a perfect width and length for the skirt. I cut the ruffle sleeves from the sleeves of the blouse and then with what I had left from the front and back I was able to cut out my front and back pieces of the yoke.

It is a very lovely little summer dress, and the fabric hangs so nicely. Since it is 100% rayon it is also cool and comfortable in the summer weather. I think this dress is my favorite "momma made" garment for Jemimah so far.

One challenge in the construction of this dress came when I discovered a small bleach stain and hole. Thankfully it was just about an inch or so above the hem. I carefully mended the hole and then added trim to cover the mended spot. I was very pleased with the added elegance of the trim, but as I stitched the trim in place I realized the trim almost met in the back! I did not have quite enough trim to overlap my raw edges of trim.

I fiddled with the scraps of fabric, contemplating how a little patch might look.... and then I remembered these sweet little flower appliques I had in a tin! They were a free gift with an order of trim years ago. I sorted through the different color flowers and was satisfied with how the blue looked against my fabric. Now that all is said and done I rather like the little flower "patch" in the back of the dress. It is an added touch of homemade whimsy.

So as you can see this is a very thrifty little dress: an old blouse destined to be tossed, a remnant of trim and some free flower appliques. I think that is one of my favorite things about sewing for a baby, you don't need much to make something sweet and adorable!

Picking Blueberries

 Last week was a blueberry week for me! Each year I look forward to driving out to our favorite blueberry farm and soaking in the beauty of the surrounding countryside and fields of blueberries. As I have mentioned before blueberries are my favorite berries. Each year instead of cake I ask my mom to bake me a blueberry pie for my birthday. There is something extra special about enjoying a taste of summer in January on my birthday.

Jemimah enjoyed her first experience picking blueberries with momma and grammy. She would reach out and grab at the leaves, but mostly she enjoyed watching all of the other people picking berries.

 We picked two quarts of raspberries too, so I could make a batch of jam. It was a perfect day, not too hot with blue cloudless skies. It was certainly a day I will always remember! I love spending time with my mom, and little girl, doing the things we used to do when I was young.

 Adam was quite pleased with the berries I picked, but decided that it would be nice to have even more berries frozen for the winter ahead, so last Saturday Adam, Jemimah and I went to the blueberry farm. Adam had never been, so it was a treat for him.

All in all we picked over 15 pounds of blueberries. I baked a blueberry/blackberry pie and will look forward to enjoying blueberries in oatmeal, muffins, pancakes, cobbler and pies throughout the winter ahead!

Bread Baking Aprons and a Crocheted Rug

 Marilla sighed and then said proudly:
"I'm giving Anne that half dozen braided rugs I have in the garret. I never supposed she'd want them- they're so old-fashioned, and nobody seems to want anything but hooked mats now. But she asked me for them- said she'd rather have them then anything else for her floors. They are pretty. I made them of the nicest rags, and braided them in stripes. It was such company these last few winters."
-Anne's House of Dreams" Lucy Maud Montgomery

Over the summer months, when it is too hot to knit, I enjoy cutting my scrap calicos into strips and then crocheting the strips into rugs. It is a great way to use up extra fabric, which I always seem to have an abundance of! There is something so old-fashioned and homey about a crocheted or braided rag rug.

"Anne's House of Dreams" is my favorite of the "Anne" series. It has been years since I read "Anne's House of Dreams", but I have had the pleasure of listening to the story read aloud while I sew and crochet here.

When I was growing up my mom almost always wore aprons while working about the home. We would refer to her favorite style as her "Bread Baking Apron". It is loose fitting and long; perfect for working about the home and garden. My mom often baked homemade bread, and this apron style allows plenty of freedom to move while kneading bread dough. : )

My sisters and I would sometimes grab one of mom's aprons off of the hook in the kitchen before heading out to the garden. The large pockets are perfect for stashing a of couple fresh tomatoes and the apron length helps protect your skirt from being stained by the plants as you walk between them.

 Both aprons and the rug are now available to purchase in my Etsy shop!

Hope you all are enjoying these beautiful summer days! The warmth and sunshine are such a blessing!

"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

                                         And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

1 Chronicles 16:31

Smocked Dress

 This past week my sister and her husband welcomed a sweet baby girl into their family! In honor of her arrival I made my niece a little smocked dress.

It had been quite a while since I smocked anything, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with this soft lavender calico! The delicate print and color made me think of English lavender, which is perfect for this little lady. Her middle name is Bronte. : )

Once the fabric is pleated it is quite relaxing to sit back and work on the smocking. I love how such simple stitching can give a dress a beautifully detailed look.

For the back of the dress I used tiny white heart buttons. They have been in my button box for a while and I thought they were the perfect finishing touch.

Baking with Rhubarb

Over the years I had never really eaten much rhubarb. I had vague memories of my mom once baking a rhubarb crisp, but with a couple picky eaters in the house it wasn't a big hit. However this spring, while at a church dinner, Adam and I purchased a strawberry rhubarb pie. It was delicious, and definitely sparked an interest for rhubarb in us both.

While purchasing plants for our garden last month we found some rhubarb plants; hopefully next year we will have some home grown of our own. : ) This year we purchased some rhubarb and tried two recipes I found on Pinterest.

The first was a rhubarb pie with crumb top. We both agreed that it was one of the tastiest pies we had ever eaten.

Rhubarb Pie:

Filling:

6cups diced, unpeeled rhubarb

2cups sugar (I used one cup white and one cup brown)

6tablespoons all-purpose flour

1tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Topping:

1/4cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1/4cup sugar

1/2cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. To prepare filling, combine rhubarb with sugar and flour. Spoon into piecrust. Dot with butter.
3. To prepare the topping, mix butter, sugar and flour with a pastry blender or your hands until crumbly. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture.
4. Bake 1 hour or until filling is bubbling and topping is browned.

The following week I decided to give another recipe a try, this time rhubarb bars. The were lovely! The perfect addition to afternoon tea.

Rhubarb Bars:  (recipe found here)

For the crust

• 1 and ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup cold butter, cubed
• ¼ cup powdered sugar

For the filling

• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 cups rhubarb, diced

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and powdered sugar. Using a pastry blender cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Pat the crumbs into a well greased 9 x 13 in baking pan. Bake the crust at 350 F for 10-12 min or until lightly browned.
3. While the crust is in the oven, mix together eggs, sugar, flour and salt.
4. Gently stir in the diced rhubarb. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the hot crust. Return bars to the hot oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F and bake for 30-35 min or until the filling is set.
5. Cool and cut into bars.
6.  

We also planted strawberries this spring, so I am hoping that the plants might produce this year. It is such a blessing,and treat, to enjoy the fresh produce season by season!

Clothes Pin Bags

Spring is in full bloom where I live. We have been enjoying this beautiful season of flowers, gardening, birds and sunshine! One of my favorite things about spring is being able to hang my laundry outside on the clothes line. This year I finally made myself a clothes pin bag. It is extremely handy and cute. I sewed my bag from "calico" cat fabric. It seemed fitting since we have so many cats in our area.

It was such fun to sew that I decided to sew up a couple for my Etsy shop. You can check them out here.

                                                I also added some new aprons.

Also, several of the books in the shop are marked down 50% for a limited time.

Hope you all are enjoying this delightful season! I plan to be back soon with a post of our recent projects. May you have a blessed day!

My Favorite Coleslaw Recipe

One of my contributions to the Easter meal at mom's house was coleslaw. Over the years coleslaw has become an essential addition to each holiday meal. This recipe has been a favorite in my family for years. It is so easy (I use my food processor to shred all of the vegetables) and it is delicious! Unlike most coleslaw recipes this one does not call for mayonnaise, which means it lasts longer. We also like to add this coleslaw to sandwiches and burgers.

Coleslaw-

1 med. Head cabbage
1 lg. carrot
1 med. Onion
1 green pepper
2/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery seed

Shred cabbage, carrot and onion. Chop green pepper. Combine vinegar, sugar, oil, salt and celery seed. Pour over vegetables. Chill.