Dropping in to share a quick ScrapHappy project for my neighbour, a link over to Kate’s ScrapHappy post, and share another project just restarted for the umpteenth time.
Several weeks ago I was about to start downstairs in my building, when I saw my neighbour trying to manage 2 crutches, a booted foot, and some small packages before coming up the stairs.
.
We decided I’m come down first. On the way down I realised she needed a shoulder bag to put small bags in, and I had the very bag with me. A solution! I showed her what I had in mind and watched her easily and very adroitly balance herself upstairs.
Being a non-sewist, she had no idea how easy it was for me to make her a bag of her own… but a bit of thinking and we reasoned that a cross-body bag would be even better.
So that’s what she’s got, and it works a real treat. Mission accomplished! (Now I want one, too…. hehee! 🤣)
Over the weekend I had the urge to crochet, but I didn’t want to continue the project that’d been sitting untouched for weeks. What to do . . .
I ripped that forlorn-looking project down to zero and started over. And am happy to report it’s going great guns. At last I think I’ve found a good way to use this lovely yarn. Another little yippee!
My current slow-sewing-’cause-I’m-slammed project is a cross-body bag for my upstairs neighbor. She’s on crutches & currently has another cloth bag of mine, but it’s a shoulder version and can slip, messing with balance.
I know, ’cause I sometimes have the same problem when I’m carting heavy trash downstairs in my shoulder version!
I mean, can you imagine?! Up & down two looong flights of stairs on 2 crutches. AGHHHH!!!!!!!!
Better get these attached to something… catch ya later!
I used this same photo in 2015, when we had an early Memorial Day weekend, and the fabric was still a tablecloth. Have a click here to see that post, and read a bit more about this U.S. holiday’s history.
This year the tablecloth fabric’s become a blouse. Well, sort of.
At the moment it’s just 2 pieces sewn together with an elastic-gathered top & slits at the sides. But I’m thinking of adding some straps, because I found some extra fabric the last time I went through my scrap drawer.
Ain’t it amazing what can come to mind whilst rootling around in a bunch of scraps!
Managed to do something with fabrics last week besides moving it from pile to pile, or tabletop to box. Wonder of wonders! So thought I’d drop by and show you what I’ve been up to.
Colours aren’t too true here.
This shirt’s been languishing in my Autumn/Winte/Spring selection of tops for years. YEARS! And I like both the colours and the high quality smooth cotton fabric.
A bit of history — At one point I put tucks in at the shoulders to give it a more fitted look. And didn’t wear it. It felt cumbersome and never sat well on my shoulders — too much fabric in too small a space.
Last Friday afternoon/evening, with storms raging outside & local telly’s severe-weather team live streaming numbers of lightening strikes per city & and projecting tornado paths, I decided to get on with the changes.
Taking off the collar but leaving the collar stand.
Yes, that’s my newest, and therefore sharpest, Clover seam ripper you see in action. I know Leslie S kindly suggested she’d used her sharpest & smallest scissors on a similar reno, but I don’t have any.
If you’re inclined to read labels, you might recognize this as a very nice men’s shirt-maker. I grabbed it soon as I saw it at a local thrift store because I know fabric & workmanship are quality. It’s only been aging for . .. . . . uh . . several years. 🙈
I sliced off one layer at a time, exposing the wonderfully soft interfacing they’d used.
Six inches more got lopped off the sleeve length, some thread tidying up, and I’m ready to take another look and those underarm seams. We’ve another potential series of storms tonight, so it might get revisited then . . . . . . Oops! Editing’s taking too long, thunder’s arriving hours earlier, so I’m uploading & signing off!
Hello! It’s been a bit since my last post, but lots of things are developing around here, and that’s taken away most blogging time (and all IG time). Mostly interesting stuff, but can’t discuss yet.
What I can offer today is a suggestion to try a tasty citrus fruit next time you see some at your grocers.
Called Blood Oranges over here, because of their colour. I discovered, after reading the Wiki article about them, that the one I ate, and did not like at all, just wasn’t ripe.
Seems they’re sort of tangerine-like, and not like regular oranges at all!
They sort of remind me of persimmons, which can look lovely, bright and shiney orange. You’d think they were ripe & ready to eat, but YUCK if you try. You have to wait until they start getting black and gelatinous and quite rotten-looking. Then they are sooooooo good!
In my very limited experience, blood oranges won’t appear that yucky, but might seem slightly shrunken, like a citrus that’s drying out. The outer skin might start showing red streaks.
If what you buy doesn’t look ripe, leave them to ripen! Mine have been aging in the bottom of my fridge in a drawer. Which reminds me . . .
Time to get another out and enjoy . . . . . . . Do tell if you’ve tried them!
Post Script!
PS/Thought I’d just add that today’s blood orange tasted quite orangey. Guess it’s like a chocolate box – you never quite know what you’ll get!
Hope everyone has had a lovely Holiday this year. Mine has been quiet and relaxing, even if the weather is increasingly warm , with mid-70’s by Wednesday.
Maybe I should cut out another, lighter weight knit and leave off the lower sleeve, which would make a short-sleeve version. Maybe that’d be wearable until the humidity kicks in. Hmmm. What lighter weight knits do I have in stash . . . . .
Have you ever seen…
… a little Christmas turtle? I’ve had this little 3-inch ornament for ages, bought at a pottery collective up in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. In this photo it’s sitting on a scrap of that gold fleece. Hinting?
Friday noonish and I’m remembering Agatha Raisin‘s deep freezer that housed (houses?) her frozen ready meals (Americans say tv dinners), along with casseroles from Mrs. Bloxby & assorted offerings from other Carsely friends.
Considering the small (by American standards) size of U.K. fridge/freezers, do they still have deep freezers?
Remembering my own experience here across the pond, there was a time when folk could purchase half a side of beef and get a freezer to put it in — cut up and portioned into neat freezer-paper wrapped packages, of course! In some places — I’d guess cattle country — you probably still can.
What looks like chaos is actually order. Floppy bags don’t help. 😖
Over here most everyone has a combo fridge/freezer, with no room for half a side of beef. We apartment dwellers are on a stricter regime: See mine at left. Of course, there are plenty of old fridges in house basements, chock full of extras, both frozen and un-.
So why the pretty pear picture? I ordered a bag of organic pears from Aldi’s, and when it arrived they were all green. I was in a bit of a quandary: What to do with green pears?
Time to do a little searching on the ol’ web… where I discovered that pears are shipped unripened. They’ll hold in that condition in a fridge for some weeks.
If left sitting on a counter, they’ll ripen in company with other pears, as they all exude the same gas-whose-name-I-don’t-recall.
Or you can put an apple or a banana in with ’em to hasten ripening. (They exude the same gas). Plus — you can also let them ripen in a brown bag on the kitchen counter. With or without the extra fruit.
Living in a southern section of the country where bugs are rampant year-round, I wasn’t about to leave anything aroundthat might attract ‘visitors.’ 😱
I used the brown bag method, and yesterday and today have enjoyed a lovely, ripe pear, with two more ripe ones in the fridge for the weekend.
Unripe pears-in-waiting
Another four green ones are being cosseted in the fridge ~ Autumn’s on it’s way.
Hope whatever your next season is, it’s a good one!
It’s been a while since our last catch-up. What can I say? The weather’s been rotten triple digit heat & humidity . . . typing took too much effort . . . so did thinking . . . 🥵 . . . blehhhhhhh.
But September is almost here. We’re being promised lower temps on Thursday. On the strength of that, and despite the horrid effects of Ida, I decided to pen a quick update.
Now, of all times, why did I start tea-dyeing fabric? I’m pleading insanity. A luscious pair of cotton lawn shorts-turned top wasn’t getting worn. WHAAAA??? Then it hit me: I could fix the starkers white background my subconscious hates. Justdo it. I did. (The undyed is on the left, the tea-dyed is below, on right.)
Coincidentally, Sis#2 was doing a batch of eco-dyeing. We compared notes. She suggested I try coffee for dyeing. Enter The Next Project.
I’ve been needing new night gowns, going back-and-forth trying to decide what pattern to use. I finally decided to stick with my TNT pattern – an OOP NewLook 6871. (Check etsy.com if you want one.)
am already planning how to use this pattern, view b first!
For the gown, I always cut a couple sizes larger & longer, and use the sleeveless version. This time I decided to reeeally widen the front and back pattern pieces as well as lengthen them.
The fabric? A blue & white floral cotton bought at a going-out-of-business sale. Did you catch it — the starkers white I don’t like?
(Please ignore the pattern photo’s caption. Despite all the “improvements,” WP hasn’t learned how to separate captions from photos used in previous posts. This one’s at least 6 years previous!)
When I discovered an old jar of instant coffee on a back shelf I decided it was Fate. Time to test again.
Check out the photos below. What do you think? Can you see any difference? Have you done any coffee-dyeing?
Note: Click any pic to enlarge all of them. The ONLY coffee-dyed piece is the one labeled “Coffee.” All the rest are either tea-dyed or plain. The bottom photo shows all 3 – plain, tea-dyed, and coffee-dyed.
None are dyed.
Right now I’m leaning towards using the coffee, but that could change. Will sew up the fabric, then dye it in the kitchen sink with really hot water and half the jar of instant coffee. Or umpteen tea bags.
A quick update on Agatha Raisin, Season 3: This time the episodes are about 90 minutes each, and there are 4 on 2 disks. (There’s a whole 3rd disk of various cast members answering questions from fans. If that sounds boring, you’re right, except when Ms. Chesney is there. She’s great!)
Given current horrendous world events I’m reading escapist lit at the mo’. . . Got one of the newer Louise Penny audiobooks from my local library (via Libby app) and enjoyed catching up with the Quebec characters, especially Ruth.
Also decided to finish up the Agatha books I hadn’t read. Beating About the Bush (2019) and Hot to Trot (2020) are good, light reads. Judging by M.C. Beaton’s Introduction to the 2020 volume, we might not have heard the last of Ms. Agatha . . . . . .
Curls n Skirls 
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