I was at my friend's house recently when she needed help in a hard time and I came across a potholder in her kitchen drawer that I had made long long ago. It was a funny blast from the past, but it also made me laugh out loud because her dog had clearly tasted a corner of the hotpad.
Thrift at Home
A Record of What I Make
Thursday, March 16, 2023
When the Dog Bites. . .
Monday, March 6, 2023
Two Patchwork Pillows
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Low-waste Tee Shirt Rug
Thursday, September 15, 2022
The Vegetable Dress
This dress turned out so differently from my vision. I'm still not sure I like it or will keep it. . . my vision was for a summer dress that was easy to wear, an everyday dress.
I thought by way of decoration that the skirt lining could peek out with a bit of eyelet lace, but I've gotten well-meaning shocked comments that my slip was sticking out. Overall, I think the dress is just a bit too sweet for me.
Funnily enough, I was at the optometrist one week, wearing the dress. The receptionist was so tickled to see there were vegetables on my dress. Then, when I brought Phoebe for her appointment next week, she remembered me (I was surprised - it's a big practice) for wearing the vegetable dress previously!
Fortunately the side pockets I added are successful. And the blue and white is such a refreshing cool vision on the eyes in the deep sticky stink of a city in summer.
I found the bodice very tedious to fit. I needed to take in the top and let out the bottom, but since the dratted thing is lined and a multi-piece princess style, I had to rip out and the reconfigure twice the number of seams.
All the photos on this post are by Phoebe! She did a fabulous job.
This dress caused me to think more carefully about my wishes for summer dresses. I did some research on pattern styles, and thought of the clothes I have that I like the most for comfort and personal style. Then, I purged my sewing patterns and carefully bought some different ones. Stay tuned - I fit in some successful sewing in my busy summer!
Monday, June 20, 2022
Raspberry Nightie
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Walking the Estate on a June Evening
Come view my plants with me! I'll tell you some tidbits about my plants and what's going on.
I put some houseplants out for a bit of fresh summer air. Some of you advised me to put my spiderwort outside to get rid of its brown faded leaves. We'll see.
Another houseplant, the big spider from the dining room. I like to think it gives the hummingbirds a little cover at the feeder. The pink geranium is Phoebe's from 3 years ago! The red geranium is mine from last year. They cover up the sugar drips from the feeder quite prettily.
The rhubarb on the left is still going strong. The little swamp white oak grows steadily in the middle and the red raspberries on the right are exploding. I am hoping to make red raspberry jam this year. There's apple mint (meadow tea, the locals say) mixed in there, too.
This is my rain garden full of native plants, and I adore it. I am reading about native plants and having a real epiphany about their importance to the birds and bees and, you know, people. Because we are all connected and nature needs us to do our part to fix the damage.
My tomato plants were nibbled early on, but not recently. I suspect a rabbit family took up residence under the red raspberries and we have tried to make them feel unwelcome with bobcat pee and stern lectures. The plants are heavily mulched with grass clippings from my dad.
Black raspberries coming on!
The main raised bed has Phoebe's zinnias that she planted from seed, pepper plants, okra seedlings that I started from seed, and cucumbers and green beans just coming up. The okra seedlings were also being nibbled, but I suspected slugs or snails. I ringed each seedling with crushed egg shells and diatomaceous earth. The damage slowed down, so I guess it helped?
In the back is my new composter gotten free from a neighbor via freecycle. My old composter sat on the ground and the mice made themselves free with it. I mean, I still got plenty of great compost but it annoyed me to feed mice so close to our house when they take any opportunity to come inside in cold weather. Behind the composter are some junk trees growing in the fences there. Their roots are not on our property but their branches sure are. One tree I have been cutting back for years. I don't want to use chemicals on them, but they look so ridiculous and they're not situated for anything useful.
Here is Phoebe's pepper plant and my new herb bed my husband made me. I am having a hard time thinning the basil seedlings. I love the transformation of seed to seedling to food so much that I can barely stand to take any of the seedlings away. I know, I know, they need the space. . . I actually transplanted some in my front porch pot to help my mental state!
My front porch flowers make me so happy. Just happy. Life is zipping by, my children are at a hectic age, but we walked the estate here and I'm grateful.
Friday, May 13, 2022
An Easy Calico Dress
I made Genevieve a first-day-of-preschool green calico dress and then lengthened it as she grew taller and then saved it for the little sister who wore it to literal shreds.
Mending fabric that is shredding due to age or heavy wear is like bailing a leaky boat. I've become a savvy mender by inspecting items carefully to make sure I can truly extend their life with mending. Here the fabric was giving out at the bottom of each tuck and I had already mended a three-corner rip that had torn open again.That is an easy fix!
I planned to use the same dress pattern as the green calico, but apparently I had gotten rid of it at some point. I used a Style pattern a neighbor gave me when she cleaned out her sewing stuff. I added some rick rack and juicy red buttons and that is a very smart summer dress.
Phoebe has been helping me set up garden beds and plantings all week long as she quarantines for COVID reasons. She has a pepper plant named Rosalind now. She gets to read books with her pasta and pesto and watercress lunch. A good week to be at home wearing an easy breezy calico dress!