The Cottage on the Hill

(The picture didn't seem blurry when I first took it!) Mr. Moose arrived in our lives adorning a cute pair of infant pajamas that even had antlers on its feet. Once my babies grew out of the moose pajamas, I removed the moose patch and put it on a size 3T t-shirt for my 3rd child.  It was his favorite shirt.  Unfortunately, as children do, he grew out of it and it was set aside. Recently, his favorite pair of jeans developed a hole in the knee. Lo and Behold! Mr. Moose fit over the hole perfectly! Hopefully he'll survive the jeans until my boy grows out of the jeans and Mr. Moose can be moved to another garment.

I saw this sweater skirt in the Junior's department at my local Target.  I loved it, wanted it, but couldn't justify the price, especially when I knew I could do this: I bought this unflattering-on-me sweater at Goodwill for $5.00. I cut it across the underbust, inserted some on-hand elastic, turned over the edge, straight stitched it and 5 minutes later: Voila!

I want this pattern.

Lately, I've been interested in the budding movement called "Slow Clothing" or "Slow Fashion." Wikipedia describes it as: "The term "Slow Fashion" was coined by Kate Fletcher in 2007 (Centre for Sustainable Fashion, UK). [ 10 ] "Slow fashion is not a seasonal trend that comes and goes like animal print, but a sustainable fashion movement that is gaining momentum." [ 11 ] The Slow Fashion Movement is based on the same principals of the Slow Food Movement, as the alternative to mass produced clothing (AKA “ Fast-Fashion ”). Initially, The Slow Clothing Movement was intended to reject all mass produced clothing referring only to clothing made by hand, [ 12 ] but has broadened to include many interpretations and is practiced in various ways. [ 13 ] Some examples of slow fashion practices include: Opposing and boycotting mass produced fashion (AKA " Fast-Fashion " or "McFashion"). Choosing artisan products to support s...

Didn't cost me one red cent. I found an old pair of jeans in a rag heap. I found the toile fabric in my stash. Bing bang boom, an 8 gored denim and toile skirt! For the waistline, I cut the waistband off the jeans and reattached it to the skirt! The fly is simply snapped closed. Voila! I thought of selling it on etsy, but I like it for myself and the jeans I used were well worn jeans, so there are a couple of light stains.

Tasha Tudor and Family has just released their line of A is for Annabelle fabrics! They are beautiful! My mind is racing with ideas for them for my own little girl, who isn't really quite that feminine herself (more of a horse girl than an antique dolly girl). I was thinking of getting the book for my niece for her birthday. Now, I wonder if I can make something to go with it! I better hurry. Her birthday is very soon!

My best pair of maternity jeans succumbed to the pressures of my being on my knees a lot. As a mother of a preschooler and toddler, I am constantly down on my knees playing with them or tending to their needs. I really didn't want to just discard the pants. Nor was I keen on patching up the knee. So, I decided to have a go at turning them into a denim skirt. I figured if it was a bust, I'd just toss them out. It turned out pretty well. I trimmed the bottom with the cute ribbon I used in a project I'll share next. Here's the skirt, and a belly shot! I cut the legs right at the hole and used the cut off parts to form the inserts. I made the inserts as wide as possible so I didn't end up with a pencil skirt. Though you can't really see it in the picture, the back is slightly longer and scoops into a sweet little train. Not only is it a neat addition, but it allows for a little more modesty when I bend over to tend to a child. And here is my craft project...

My sweet little girl was "cleaning" the house for me this morning using a doggy toy! She went all around wiping walls, frames, chairs, doors and cabinets with the plush toy, so proud of her housekeeping skills. I love these gloves/mittens. They're fingerless gloves with mitten covers. With much use the began to fray and wear thin in spots. After all, they are my work gloves for shoveling snow and loading the outdoor boiler with wood. I tried replacing them but couldn't find any! So, a trip to one of my scrap fabric bins to find a bit of gray wool solved my problem. I now have sturdy patches and can continue with my favorite work gloves. In this day and age I find that a lot of people look down upon mending. They'd rather just toss it out and buy new. I'm guilty of this, too in many circumstances. This is one of the reasons why whenever I start a mending business I'm lucky to get 2 or 3 customers a year and they're usually farmers or laborers ...

Once again I apologize for the poor quality photographs. I'm still waiting on that new digital camera. Despite, I hope you enjoy the bits of pink around my house. This is my mom's Amy doll dressed in a sweet pink dress with white sheer apron. Some of my collection of Victoria February Magazine back issues. I couldn't pass up this pink tissue box! I'm just glad I had a coupon for it. What belongs more in pink than a little girl? Here's my daughter dressed in a flannel nightgown I made her recently. Pink flowers were a must for me. This winter has been so bleak with it's khakis and whites. The local grocery store had African Violets on sale. I wanted ones that were strictly pink, but all they had left were white ones, except for this lone one with pink ruffles around it's white center. I browsed ebay looking for vintage pink linen toweling fabric, but I really didn't want to spend the money. I remembered that I had some pink linen stashed away. I ...

Yes, I am pregnant, and thanks for all the prayers and congrats! I'm not sure what the Lord has in store for this pregnancy. I just take comfort in knowing that it is in His hands, whatever the outcome. Those who know me and know of my past miscarriages have offered me cautious or delayed congratulations. I say don't delay! A life has still been created! Even if I miscarry, I still have a child! That child will be waiting for me in the arms of Christ Jesus. That alone is enough for congratulations. :) I don't necessarily ask that you pray that I don't miscarry. I believe God has already made His decision whether or not I keep this wee one. I pray for the health of my womb and that if I do miscarry, I won't need another D&C. I'm through with politics. I no longer wish to considered a Conservative (or Republican, or Independant, or Constitutionalist, or Libertarian, or whatever other camp is out there that I might fit into). I am first and foremos...

Looks like I'm back in the sewing business. I'll be making a King's 8th Regimental Coat (like the one shown above...I made this one several years ago) and waistcoat for a fellow re-enactor. I'm going to take this slowly. Perhaps one order at a time will be best. I don't want to get bogged down and totally stressed out. My life is busy enough caring for family and home. I am excited to make another regimental coat. I haven't made one in quite some time. I gotta say, I love Target. In their one dollar section they've been having such great workbooks, posters and things suitable for homeschooling young 'uns. I was even able to pick up a lesson plan book and a grading book. They'll be great for "unofficial" homeschooling which I plan to start this September.

I love hand-sewing. It's relaxing, peaceful, simple and an easy task to do while watching the children. I love how the garments turn out when finished by hand. There's just something old-fashioned and beautiful about hand-sewn items. Right now, I'm hand-sewing a ribbon collar onto my daughter's Resurrection Sunday dress.

In my vintage Betty Crocker Cookbook, I found a recipe for "Quick Buttermilk Bread." It only needs to rise once for about an hour. I used their variation and added sharp cheddar cheese to the batter. I can't wait to try it! Here it is risen and ready to pop in the oven. 30 minutes later, it's baked and looks scrumptious! I also baked oatmeal coconut raisin cookies. Bubby helped me with the cookies and made his own pizza for dinner. Here he is enjoying the fruits of his labor. He's a very good helper and loves working in the kitchen beside me. I finished the fabric doll house for my daughter's birthday. Here is the front. Here is the back. It closes by looping the tag around a big button that says I love you. Now, all I have to do is make some furniture and a doll or two for it. Sorry for the blurry pictures. I took them with my cell phone.

Here are some pictures of what I've got done so far on the fabric doll house I'm making for my daughter's birthday.

March is National Craft Month. Do you have any crafts planned? My main plan for March is to spring clean, but I still hope to get many crafts and sewing projects done. Despite facing a possible move in the near future, I'm still going to work on our little cottage. Hubby has no problem with it so long as it isn't too costly. Any little improvement will boost either the selling price or sell-ability.

Here is the dress I made for my daughter out of scrap pieces of fabric I'm using in her fabric doll house.

I had to do some grocery shopping at Walmart today. While there, I decided to take advantage of their fabric department and get the fabric I needed for my daughter's fabric doll house and for my dad's breeches. I could have gone crazy! I saw so many fabrics I just wanted to toss into my cart and take home. My son was busy picking out Thomas the Tank Engine fabrics. The upholstery fabrics were fantastic! The problem with all this is my brain is going in circles with creative ideas and thoughts. That leads to insomnia. To help combat that, I had a nice mug of chamomile tea with local honey.