Work-in-Progress

My daughter got this package in a large box of craft projects that she bid on at an auction. The package is stamped Vogart Crafts. I tried to look this up on the Internet, but the only thing I found was EBay listings for vintage crafts. I have no idea how old it is, but apparently they are not made anymore.

It is a set of four napkins that are supposed to be cross-stitched on large gingham check. Well, no offence to people who like that, I think that large of cross-stitch is ugly, so I decided to applique the floral design instead.

So far, I have one done. When I finish all four I will probably put them together with sashing and make either a baby quilt, or maybe a table runner.

Whats For Supper

On the menu for tonight is Fried Chicken, Black-Eye Peas, Collard Greens, Rice,

and Corn Muffins.

I don't have a secret recipe with eleven herbs and spices, I use only four. They are Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I have only two secrets to making good fried chicken,

1.) Dry the chicken and sprinkle on the seasonings and then roll in flour and let it stand for about 10 minutes before putting it in the frying pan.

2.) Use a cast iron skillet, and get the oil up to a medium hot temperature before putting the chicken in. I don't know why cast iron makes a difference but it does.

When my garden starts producing I will have fresh black-eye peas, but these came frozen from Birds Eye. I cooked them with ham hocks, and salt. I also put pepper sauce on them once they are on the plate.

The collard greens, I am sad to admit, came out of a can from Glory foods. They taste better than the ones I have tried to make from scratch. It bruises my ego a little, but I will keep looking for that recipe that will make mine the best.

The rice is just plain white rice cooked in my rice pot.

The muffins are a Jiffy mix. I can get the box for 38 cents, and it makes 6 large muffins, which is a very good deal. My husband likes his cornbread sweet.

Applique on Recycled Jeans Skirt

The skirt was made from a pair of size 6 children's jeans that my granddaughter got too tall for.
I cut them off at the knees and opened up the inside leg seam, and both side seams below the pocket. I used the bottom portion of the legs that I cut off to cut four triangles (two large for front and back and two smaller ones for the sides). The crotch area on the front and back has to be cut back to form a relatively straight line from the waist band to the bottom of the leg. Insert the triangles. Put a ruffle on the bottom of the skirt.

Then I appliqued flowers to look like they were coming out of the pocket on the left side, and across the front.

I put a butterfly on the right side just below the pocket.

I put a bow with long streamers on the back between the pockets. When I insert the triangles, because of the thick seams on jeans, the top of the triangles are not always perfect, so I put the appliques in these locations to hide any imperfections.

Brown bagging in style

Everyone is trying to save money these days and taking a lunch from home is one way to do that. This is a lunch bag that I made totally out of scrap upholstery fabric and left over pieces of fabric that I made some curtains out of.
I used the upholstery scraps and made two log cabin blocks set on point for the front and back. The sides and bottom are corduroy. The inside is lined with green plaid, and I used the same fabric to make two matching napkins. I crocheted around the edge of the napkins to make it look nice. I made the bag large enough to hold two Glad sandwich containers and two drinks.
Since it was made with scraps, it didn't cost me anything to make and no one will ever pick up my lunch by mistake.

Cupboard Wall Hanging

I saw a picture of a cupboard wall hanging in a magazine one time that looked so nice I had to look twice at it to see that it was a picture rather than the real thing.

This is my version of it. I chose blue to make the dishes because my dishes are blue and I wanted it to look like it fit in with the rest of the things in my kitchen.

For the hutch, I chose shades of brown. I gave it dimension by mitering the corners of the shelves and side pieces, and set some of the dishes forward on the shelf and some of them I set back. All the applique was done with the needle turn method. The quilting is done by hand. I quilted around the dishes, then for the hutch I quilted 1/2" apart in the direction I thought the grain of the wood would go (if it were wood). The back of the hutch I did in 1" square set on point to distinguish it from the sides and bottom of the shelves.

The backing I cut about 1" larger than the front all the way around, and used it to make the binding. Finally, I put a sleeve across the top of the back to run a dowel rod thru for hanging.

Pretty dresses for a little Angel

I made these dresses out of quilt scraps. I just went through my scrap bag and picked out colors that went together. On this first dress, I made the skirt by cutting out wedges of fabric that measure 2 1/2 inches across the top, and 7 1/2 inches across the bottom. The diameter of the bottom of the bodice is 20 inches so I used 5 panels for the front and 5 for the back.

I did french fold bindings around the neck and arm holes, and with my tube turner, I made tubes and appliqued them in a design around the neck for added decoration. The belt and bow are attached in the front, and I crocheted loops for belt carriers on both sides. The bottom is the wagon wheel crochet pattern in white with sage green on the outer edge.

Here is my little angel wearing it.

This is another summer play dress done in two colors. I had enough to make the gathered skirt without piecing like the one before. The bodice has french fold bindings on the neck and armholes. The bow I set to one side instead of centering. The edging on the bottom is two rows of single crochet, and two rows of shell with rose colored embroidery floss woven thru the second row of single crochet to add color.

Rooster Wall Hanging

The pattern for this rooster is from FIBER MOSAICS. the patterns name is COOK-A-DOODLE. I got mine from Jo-Anne Fabrics, but they can be purchased at www.fibermosaics.com for $8.00. The pattern suggest that you use fusible web to do the applique, but I always hand quilt, and it is very difficult to quilt thru fusible web so I use butcher paper.

First, I drew all the pattern pieces on the butcher paper and cut them out. Then I decided which colors to use for each piece from my scrap bag. Iron the pattern pieces with the waxy side down to the wrong side of the fabric scraps, leaving at least 1/4 inch seam allowance around each piece (I also numbered the feathers on the butcher paper so I would know what order to place them on the bird). Cut them out always remembering the seam allowance, also, there are a lot of curvy edges, don't try to go in and out, just cut in a line below the bottom of the points and clip in to the curve. That last sentence will make more since to you when you actually start doing it.

The background square is approximately 17". Use the diagram from the pattern to place the pieces on the background square one at a time with butcher paper down and right side facing up. Put a few pins in to hold it in position and use the needle turn method to applique. Turn it over and cut the background fabric away on the inside of the piece you just attached. Pull the butcher paper off, and go to the next piece. After you get the hang of it, it doesn't take very long. I did the whole Rooster in one evening watching TV. Sew on borders mitering the corners. Layer with backing facing down, batting, and Rooster facing up.

I use safety pins to hold all the pieces together. The rule of thumb is to place the safety pins close enough together that you cant put your hand on it without touching at least two pins. To me this means about 3 inches apart. Then start quilting. I hand quilt, but you could use a sewing machine if you prefer. I quilted around every piece and both sides of the inside border. I didn't do any quilting on the background because this is just a wall hanging. If it were to be a quilt, quilting should be about 2 inches apart. More latter on making the binding and hanger.