Dress a Girl Around The World Sewing Day

 We met at church today and made dresses for a program called Dress a Girl Around the World.  Most of the dresses were made by Ruby and Kay before today, I only got two made today.  I brought two more home to work on, this will be a continuing project for our Shining Light ministry at church.
We made a total of fifty-seven dresses to send!

 I had a chance to pull out my serger and put it to work.  I really like my serger.

 This was my work station, I had my serger and my sewing machine set up next to each other.

 Miss Norma spent the day sewing all of those labels on the dresses.  The labels on the dresses help to keep predators away from the young girls by giving them an organization they belong to.

Miss Ruby cut out many dresses for us to sew on today.  She has been sewing for a long time.

 She shared this special seam ripper with me.  She got it when she took her first sewing class in 1959.  It is a light weight aluminum type of seam ripper.

 Her husband made this thread holder for her.  I need to get my husband to make one for me!

 She also brought this neat tube turner set with her.  It had many different sizes.

 I also have to show you her pin cushion that looks like a chair, it is made out of a tuna can.

We had a pretty productive day of sewing, it was a lot fun!

Missy

Felines, Fall Foliage, Follies, Fridays

I have made some progress on my maple leaf table runner.  The outside is quilted, I started the inside of the leaves, but I don't like it.  I am unpicking it now.  Any suggestions?  I did a stipple on the outside and quilted around each leaf.

 Today, I kicked a chair and tried to break my toe.  I think it is just a very bad sprain, my toe is swollen and badly bruised.  Oh well, it gave me a chance to watch the Great British Sewing Bee on YouTube.

 I am surprised I still have roses growing in my garden!  I love my roses and hope to have a beautiful rose garden one day.

"The Rose is without an explanation; She blooms, because She blooms."  Angelus Silesius

 Pippi loves this rocking chair in my sewing room and would sleep in it at all times if I kept the sewing room door open.

 Last Friday, we went on a hayride with our church.  We had a great time!

 "For humans, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.

For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."

Edwin Way Teale

 We have been leash training Pippi.  She blends in so nicely with the leaves, it is quite obvious why she is called a camo calico.

Tomorrow, Friday, I will spend the day at church helping to sew dresses for little girls around the world.  I think it is going to be a lot of fun!
Do you have any suggestions for taking care of my roses over the winter?  I've put mulch and straw on the beds to take care of the roots, any other hints?
Have a great weekend!
Missy

Leaves and Living Rooms

Our Queen Bee this month wanted a maple leaf block and when I saw it I knew it would be perfect for a table runner.  So far I have it basted and have quilted around one leaf.  I still need to finish quilting it.  My last yellow leaf disappears into the background in the picture.

 This is the background fabric, Tiger was helping me.

 I pulled out my feather weight machine and decided to use her.  She's a smooth little baby.

 I put my Singer 99 hand crank down in my classroom.  Every once in a while, while my student is working on schoolwork, I can get in some sewing.  Of course Cupcake had to see what I was doing.

 Meanwhile, we have been busy pulling the carpet up in the living room and dining room.  We found some gorgeous oak flooring underneath.  Of course, the cats love playing with it as it was pulled up, but we worried about them getting hurt on all of the staples and nails.

 Then we had a huge mess to clean up.

All of the work is being done in the evenings after work, sorry about the dark pictures.  I love the new arrangement in my living room, it makes it so much more open.  I think I need a big, square ottoman in that corner though.  The one there looks funny.

 This is the other side of the living room.  I know the cat tree is ugly, but the cats love it.
 I need to reupholster that red chair, but I'm not quite sure how to do it yet.

We still need to sand the floor and then put a top coat on.  Any suggestions on how to get up black spots off the floor?  When we do the next stage, all the furniture will need to be moved to other rooms, I'm not looking forward to that part.  We'll also have to lock the cats in the basement while the polyurethane dries.

Thanks for visiting my small part of the world!
Missy

Cheesecakes, Cats, and Classic Quilting

I made my favorite cheesecake for Bible study this morning.  This is the recipe I used.  Yesterday afternoon, I got home from my homemaker's club at 4:00 and quilt guild was at 6:30.  The cheesecake should have been done right before I left, however it needed ten more minutes.  I turned the oven off, set the timer, and asked my husband to take the cheesecake out in ten minutes.  I came home two hours later and guess what?  It was still in the oven, good thing I had turned off the oven!  It still tasted good, thankfully.

 Bible study is at 8:15 on the second and fourth Fridays of the month.  The cats did not want to get up with me this morning.

Custard

Muffin

Pippi

 I pulled my featherweight out this week and gave her a workout.  I was working on some maple leaf blocks.

 I wanted to get my blocks done this week, so I pulled out my Singer 99 handcrank sewing machine and set her up in my classroom.  My student is fascinated with her.  She sews so smoothly!

Cupcake

I got my last cake block this week.  Amy from A Quilting Sheep sent me this block.

I've enjoyed being able to get some quilting done again, there is not much, but a little at a time adds up!

Have a great weekend ya'll!
Missy

Dress a Girl Around the World

Ruby made this dress as an example of one of the patterns from the webite.

Our church is making dresses for "Dress a Girl Around the World".  You can check out there website here:
http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/

They supply dresses for little girls around the world.  These are the only dresses some of these girls will ever own.  They are taking donations of cotton dresses, no pillowcase dresses.  There are several patterns at the website above.  They ask for cotton because their dresses are usually washed at the river and need to be able to hold up against vigorous washing.  Please make sure the fabric is not sheer either.

Some ladies at our church is meeting on October 28, to make dresses.  My church is Bethany Baptist Church in Ava, MO and I would like to invite anyone who lives close to come and help us make cotton dresses for these little girls.  We'll meet from 10-2, bring a sack lunch for lunch time.

You can check out the Facebook page of the Missouri representative here:
https://www.facebook.com/DAGMissouri/?fref=ts

She also takes cash donations to cover the shipping of the dresses to Africa.

If you would like to donate a dress, you are welcome to send them to me, just message me and I will give you my address.  If you are not sure if you are a no-reply blogger, please give me your email address, because I cannot reply otherwise.
One of the ladies at my church made all of these dresses from scraps.  She did a super job!

You can make t-shirt dresses, slip dresses, dresses from patterns, or use one of the patterns on the website.  The little girls will appreciate anything you can donate!

Thank you!
Missy

Macrame Bracelets

 Our local art guild has free classes once a month.  This was actually my first class to go to.  It helps to know the classes are the second Saturday of the month, I'll put them on my calendar now!  My friend, Darlene, and I had a lot of fun today making bracelets.

 We learned how to make macrame bracelets with pony beads.  In typical fashion, I had to do mine a little different.  When I saw the button, I had to put it on my bracelet.

Wanda Nava was our teacher.  She used to make macrame baskets back in the seventies.  Isn't she a lovely person?  I love her necklace!  

She does not look old enough to have been in college in the seventies!

 She was demonstrating how to make a bracelet in this picture.  My friend, Darlene, laughed at me when I asked Wanda if it would work using a button.  Most of my "question" was in hand signals and  half sentences, and did not make any sense to my "practical" friend Darlene, but Wanda understood perfectly!  She is a kindred spirit (in the words of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables).

 Rita, a sweet lady from England, used a button to close her bracelet with a loop.

Here she is working on her bracelet.

 I asked Darlene to take a picture of my bracelet while I was working on it, instead she took a picture of me laughing.  It is probably hard to get a picture of me when I am not either laughing or talking!  Please excuse the hair and lack of makeup, it is Saturday after all!

It helps to tape the bracelet down while tying the macrame knots.  I remember as a teenager, friendship bracelets were all the rage.  I would safety pin the bracelet to my pants' leg to keep it in place.

 Darlene finished hers super fast, but she did not add any beads to hers.  I wish I had taken more pictures of some of the other bracelets made.

Next month, they are making ornaments out of polymer clay.  I'll enjoy that, it will be like working with fondant and play-do.

For a small town, we sure do have a lot going on!  We are a town of 3,000 and have an art guild, quilt guild, historical society, betterment committee, and more.

Have you ever done macrame before?  It is fun once you get the hang of it!

Missy

Macrame Bracelets

 Our local art guild has free classes once a month.  This was actually my first class to go to.  It helps to know the classes are the second Saturday of the month, I'll put them on my calendar now!  My friend, Darlene, and I had a lot of fun today making bracelets.

 We learned how to make macrame bracelets with pony beads.  In typical fashion, I had to do mine a little different.  When I saw the button, I had to put it on my bracelet.

Wanda Nava was our teacher.  She used to make macrame baskets back in the seventies.  Isn't she a lovely person?  I love her necklace!  

She does not look old enough to have been in college in the seventies!

 She was demonstrating how to make a bracelet in this picture.  My friend, Darlene, laughed at me when I asked Wanda if it would work using a button.  Most of my "question" was in hand signals and  half sentences, and did not make any sense to my "practical" friend Darlene, but Wanda understood perfectly!  She is a kindred spirit (in the words of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables).

 This lady used a button to close her bracelet with a loop.

 I asked Darlene to take a picture of my bracelet while I was working on it, instead she took a picture of me laughing.  It is probably hard to get a picture of me when I am not either laughing or talking!  Please excuse the hair and lack of makeup, it is Saturday after all!

It helps to tape the bracelet down while tying the macrame knots.  I remember as a teenager, friendship bracelets were all the rage.  I would safety pin the bracelet to my pants' leg to keep it in place.

 Darlene finished hers super fast, but she did not add any beads to hers.  I wish I had taken more pictures of some of the other bracelets made.

Next month, they are making ornaments out of polymer clay.  I'll enjoy that, it will be like working with fondant and play-do.

For a small town, we sure do have a lot going on!  We are a town of 3,000 and have an art guild, quilt guild, historical society, betterment committee, and more.

Have you ever done macrame before?  It is fun once you get the hang of it!

Missy