Karla's Cottage

Road Trippin’ with Junkin’ and Craftin’

My friend, Angie, invited Beth and I to visit the old farmhouse her grandma lived in.

She and her mom have been restoring it for years.  

It’s a great mix of original pieces and beloved collections. (Angie had the very old, still functioning fridge stocked with deliciousness for us)

The drive south was as much fun as the staycation itself.  We hit every thrift store between Lawrence and Chanute.

And got photos of the most unique offerings.  

While making some friends along the way.

And eating some of the freshest home cooking you could ever be lucky enough to find at a roadside cafe.

At one stop, there were baskets of $1 packets of old lace. I bought more than my fair share, but couldn’t stop thinking about them so stopped on the way home to buy more.

Beth happened to bring craft supplies too, and shared her 1800s era quilt pieces for us to embellish with some things we found along the way.

Impromptu creations made with just what you have with you can be an inspiring challenge.  We all managed to get a few pretties done.

But mostly we just laughed. And then laughed some more. Then we ate and drank wine and did more laughing.

It was perfect!

 

 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

My birthday is in May and Mom used to say “April showers bring May flowers” to me when I was little.  I loved it, and thought she made it up just for me.  

This year, May will be hard, but I am focusing on why I have always loved this month and will try to get outside and enjoy those flowers and everything else springtime brings.

While visiting Indiana, my sister gave me her curtains since she switched to new ones.  I thought the lovely, rosy pattern on my favorite blue would be just the splash of spring that I needed, so I turned the curtains into slipcovers for my sofa.

Maybe calling them slipcovers is too generous of a term.... they are just pillow cases, no closures, darts, or anything that takes skill.  Simply rectangles sewn together on three sides with couch pillows in them.

But cheerful, right?  Thanks for the curtains and inspiration, Sissy!

 

 

Back to Stitching

This tee shirt was started as a birthday gift for a friend in September.  Then, 16 puppies took over my world and everything else fell to the side.

I loved those babies to pieces, but damn, they were a lot of work!

The fact that I spent any extra time that I had playing, snuggling, and training them didn’t help.  Well, I guess it did, it helped me.  Happy, wriggling puppies wanting to share love are pretty wonderful.  But fleeting, they grow so fast.

I didn’t want to miss a moment of it, so I put everything else on hold.

My friend’s September gift got to her in November instead.  
The flower looks a little bit like a poinsettia, so maybe it was meant to be a holiday gift after all.

 

Stitching my world back together

 

The day Ryan died, I was in the middle of making this flower I had crafted to stitch together a hole in a favorite shirt.

I was waiting for him to come downstairs for our planned walk. As I worked on the shirt,  I texted him a couple of times to ask if he was okay, since he was running so late.

After the shock of finding his body, and dealing with the dozens of emergency personnel that go along with a tragedy like that, I found myself back at the table, numbly stitching away on this flannel.

Over the next few weeks, while I still could not bear to speak to many people, and my chest twisted up into shards of pain with every breath I took, I found myself still stitching.

The creations were an outlet for me, my mind could wander with memories of my boy, as my hands stayed busy.  

I have never been into sewing, but embroidery seems different.  I call it “painting with thread”.  After surgery, early in March, while Covid was amping up, I could be creative while elevating and icing my knee.
So luckily, I was already immersed in the hobby and had a selection of supplies out, when I really needed them.  

Having these shirts to keep me occupied, didn’t take my mind off of Ryan, but sewing them did give me quiet time to think about him and I could feel myself being stitched back together a tiny bit with each flower.

I can’t say that embroidery has brought me peace, because I feel like breathing will always be painful now.

But I think it has helped me along towards peacefulness by the repetitive and simple process of pulling the needle in and out of the fabric and by choosing pretty colors to put together.

Ideally, it is best to be working on these flowers while listening to wind chimes in the gazebo.  And after a long walk on the trails Ryan and I had walked together on over and over.

The walks can be tough, each step reminds me of a laugh or something he said as we passed in that exact spot.  I have learned to never go on a walk without wearing pants with pockets and filling those pockets with tissues.

And to never waste tissues on tears.  Tears can drop on my feet, or on the sidewalk, but snot really shouldn’t.  And I am a snotty cryer.

I save the tissues for nose blowing and let the tears go wherever they want.

Maybe I will be able to do some artwork in the studio soon.  I have cleaned it top to bottom and rearranged it a bit too.  I am easing myself back into my old life, making myself ready to be artistic again.

For now, I’ll keep stitching, and trying to hold myself together as much as I can.

Sewing wins and losses

Remember the “squishies” I was making in animal shapes from memory foam?  Sugarwings got into cutting them up too.  But she would take a 10” piece of foam to make a 1” critter.  She was really into the snipping part of the craft.

So, I saved all of her trimmings, and thought I would make a dog pillow with it.  There weren’t quite enough, but I had another pillow that seen better days that I took apart too.  This is about half memory foam, and all of the dogs love it, and want to claim it for their own.  


And the dog’s floor pillow matches the other pillows in the room now, it is much prettier than the other dog beds.  I might just make some slipcover type pillow cases to dress up the rest of the dog beds.

With five dogs in the house, we have beds strewn from one end of the house to the other.  And most are hideous.

Although, sewing isn’t my strong suit- here is my first attempt at making a face mask.

Of course, I am too stubborn to use a pattern, I thought I could just wing it.

uhm, no

After trying it on, and seeing how bad the fit was, I cut it down a bit.

A lot.

It seemed okay.

But it was not.

I couldn’t breathe through it, and felt light headed after a quick trip to the store.  So, I ordered some professionally made ones and decided that I would go back to using my sewing machine only for straight lines like making crepe paper ruffles for projects, or easy peasy pillow cases for dogs.

The masks I ordered have arrived and they aren’t even in the same species as the ones I tried to make.

These are silk, and light as a feather on my face.  But not tickle-y like a feather would be.

I got five silk masks from Johnny Was for $25, free shipping.  For each set they sell, they donate another five to healthcare workers. You don’t get to choose the fabric, and some of the five are prettier than others, but all fit and feel wonderful.  The ones I don’t care for are not ugly, just not my style, more Asian than rosy.  But still pretty.

And I got a lot of compliments on it at the doctor’s office and even at Costco.  Those places are big highlights in my social life now, and I actually put on make up to go to them, it feels like such a special occasion to be out and about!

Makeup isn’t something that gets much use around here, and I don’t mind at all.  Will lipstick become a thing of the past now that masks are where it is at?  Will we have every day masks and special occasion ones? If so, maybe I should save my silky ones for dress up and wear paper for daily activities?  

Funny to admit, but I did feel a little dressed up in my fancy mask.  After giving myself a home haircut, It does seem silly to care, huh? But a stylin type mask was kinda nice.

Making the Most of Unexpected and Enforced Isolation

The minor knee surgery I had went well, no complications, but was harder for me to handle than I had expected.  I spent the first part of the week elevating, icing, and dozing.

As the pain ebbed, I got busy on disassembling an ancient, patchwork lace table cloth for use in the Bluebird’s Song workshop.  As I felt better, I moved on to embroidery for a shirt that was going to be used in the Beauty in Blue workshop. 


While snipping and stitching, Netflix and my iPad were my constant companions.   

As the week went by, and I felt like I might have hit the end of Netflix offerings, the information I was reading on my iPad was becoming more and more disturbing so I deserted Netflix for news channels.

My lazy, half awake days had made me feel distanced from what was happening with the Corona virus, but that dream-like state didn’t last.  
I soon realized that this possible nightmare was for real.

Cancellations started pouring in. Personal ones that at first were sad for me, then larger, national things that put my own smaller issues into perspective.

I hope you and your loved ones are safely taking precautions and will find ways to make you social distancing enjoyable.  

My week of solitude has eased me into the habit of quiet, alone time.

This last week of recuperating and not leaving my house didn’t seem too lonely.  Talking on the phone, and in emails to loved ones helped a lot. So did keeping busy, with these small projects. 

I find that being productive, even in little ways helps me not fret as much.  And being creative? As I tell the grand fairies, only boring people get bored.  There is always something to do, make, plan, or dream about.  

So, let’s cross our fingers that soon, we will all be done with quarantines, people and the economy are recovering, and we have all used this period to have some reflective time to reconnect with ourselves, make something, day dream, or have long talks on the phone with people we care for.  

Stay Safe!

 

 

More sewing?? Yep, another shirt!

Some long time friends, and Birdsong Peeps, suggested that we do a "boho" clothing workshop.

I am NOT a sewer, but was ready to tackle the shirt project that Lorrie Scott had featured in the Gilded Journey

But, it turns out, I didn't have to. Sweet Nora loves to sew, and happily did about 90% of the job for me.  What a nice surprise!!

I had cut up two of my husband's old shirts and was going to sew them together as the directions layed out, but Nora went a step further and custom fitted the pieces to me so that the duster was exactly my size.

I made some pockets and had vintage lace ready to add.

But she did all of the hard parts.

Tami had brought some sewing to do too, she was adding doilies to a runner.

A lot of the day was spent in me looking for the pile of mother of pearl buttons that I had set aside to add to the shirt. I swear, sometimes my studio is a black hole. I set something down and -poof!- gone.

Finally, I gave up and dug out more buttons to use instead.  I added them to the duster and felt like I had made a major accomplishment, since I am not a thread and needle person. Thanks to Nora, I only did the minor jobs on the piece, she whipped it up and made it wonderful!

What a nice day.

If you'd like to turn two, old shirts into one amazing duster, you can find the instructions in this beautiful book. Oh, and by the way? I have a chapter in the book too.  My story is about crafting a travel journal. The book is just lovely, and I hope to make many more of the projects inside.

Painting with thread

Happy 4th of July weekend!  I thought I’d post a little bit of red, white, and blue for the holiday.

I seriously dislike sewing, but have been attracted to anything embroidered lately and wanted to try some myself.

So, I called it "painting with thread", to ease the pain I feel when I mess around with a needle and thread.

I had a favorite shirt, washed so much it was soft and faded, comfy and cozy.  It is perfect to throw over a tee shirt with jeans. But I had worn it so much, it was stained in multiple places, like it had been splashed with coffee at some point.

The speckles of stain dictated where I drew the design.  

Apparently, I'd splashed myself pretty good, because there were dribbles all down the front.

The vines were drawn with a kid's washable marker.  I didn't worry about covering it completely, knowing it would disappear when I washed it.  The drawing was just a guideline.

My main worry is that the thread will go away when I wash the shirt too.

The back looks pretty awful, and while there are many, many knots, I doubt if any of them are secure in the right places.

One thing I figured out about embroidery, is that it doesn't go quickly.  I worked on this piece here and there for over a month, it isn't like zipping through something by gluing it down and moving on.

When the stains were covered, I added mother of pearl buttons and I thought I was done.

But then, I decided that I'd like to try to do a rose.

Well, none of it is perfect, and it all seems bumpy to me, but I still like it and will wear this until the threads probably come out when I wash it...

I  hate to admit this but I kind of enjoyed the work.  Maybe I will have another to keep by my TV watching chair to piddle around with during evenings while watching shows.

Sewing (yep, I was SEWING!!) a duster from two shirts

If I can do this, anyone can.  I am not a patient, or even very good seamstress. But sometimes I need something and that do-it-yourselfer attitude kicks in, or I simply see a piece and feel like I have to give it a try. Like this duster.  The design is one of the many, pretty projects featured in the Gilded Journey book that I was honored to have my travel journal tutorial in too.  

Here is the photo from the book of Lorri Scott's duster.  Hers was so inspiring, that I was compelled to see if I could replicate it, and her instructions were very easy, even for a novice sewer like me.

   Beth wanted to make one too, and offered up a stack of white dress shirts that her husband no longer needed due to a job change.

The shirts in the photo look like they are linen, and we were going with a cotton/poly blend, so I knew ours would be a bit different.  But we figured that anything you added a ton of lace to would have to look good, right?

Once mine was all put together and I had plenty of lace sewn over my hideous seams ( I really am a poor seamstress), I decided to dye it. The poly blend fabric wasn't going to grab the color very well, but I'd hoped that it would take well enough to take the edge off of the harsh white and tone the shirt down to go better with the vintage lace. And I think it did just that.  

This photo is from before I dyed the piece, and I don't think you can really tell the difference in the pictures, but in person, it is just enough of a change.  The lace itself took the dye better than the shirt did, yet, some more than others. I'd expected that, different fabrics soak up dye in various ways.  I could've waited to sew the trims on after I dyed the shirt, but I like that mismatched dyed look. 

Here is an in progress shot, you can see the glaring white a little better in it. And tell that the laces were a bit more creamy to start with.

The trim was all vintage to start with, but the dye ages them even more.

All of the buttons were replaced with an assortment of mother of pearl ones.

Ahhh, you can't go wrong with vintage lace, can you?    Although, I wish I'd fitted the shirt to myself a little better. Basically, it is a one size fits all type piece, but I'm a little short, and this was stitched from a couple of men's shirts, so it is a bit voluminous on me.  Which is okay, but if I make another, I will find shirts that fit me a little better to start with.

And I'll try to slow down and pay more attention to what I'm doing.  (Did I mention the bad seamstress skills?)

I kind of sewed the sleeves on inside out.... Since they are way too long for me, as most sleeves are, I will wear them rolled up anyway.  The original dress shirt's seams are double stitched, so it doesn't show that the fabric is inside out, unless you try to button the cuffs, which I won't be.

Thanks, Beth, for the shirts and lace collars to play with! And thank you, Lorri, for such a lovely project to try to emulate. 

If anyone wants to try one themselves, I highly recommend the book.

Beautiful grand fairies and beautiful cloaks

My sister-in-law, Terry is a talented person who is happy to share her skills.  When I was admiring her work on the dozen or so costumes that she had whipped up for the Grand Masked Ball that she hosted on Halloween, she offered to make cloaks for all of my girls.

At the holidays, when you know how swamped everyone is.

So, the big girls and I, plus Sugarwings and Dewdrop spent some time finding just the right fabrics.  That led to nice days out together and good bonding time.  I was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer volume and weight of the fabrics (7-1/2 yards each of exterior and lining!!) for the teenager's capes and couldn't imagine trying to make them myself.  But Terry is a pro and spent many happy hours creating costumes for her kids' high school plays (all the parts, not just her own children) and is an expert in this type of sewing.

The cloaks arrived in time for Christmas and were as pretty as can be. 

They were the hit of the night when the boxes were opened on Christmas Eve.

Plus, they are plain old, ideal for swirling and twirling in. 


And when you put one on, you feel mysterious and beautiful.

 

But what could I do as a thank you? I decided to do a Sugarplum Fairy painting of a sprite in a cape, and use Terry's own granddaughter as a model.  That little one has hauntingly beautiful eyes!

Terry is a major art collector, she owns paintings from artists who hang in the National Gallery.  

Yes, intimidating!

So, I kept it simple and turned my whimsical, little piece into an ornament.  I had a vintage picture with a domed glass and thought that would work well to turn into something to hang on a tree.

I did a small painting, cut it out, glued it onto chipboard covered in gold paper with a glittered snowflake added to the background for dimension.  Then, I frosted the "fur" with mica flakes, and the wings with fine, crystal glitter.  With the domed glass, I had space to add a nice, sparkling rhinestone to the magic wand.

The same gold paper is on the back, and the edges are glued shut and sealed with glitter velvet ribbon. The same ribbon is looped as a hanger and secured with a bit of flocked gold paper. (the glue is still wet and showing in this picture, oops!)

Before putting the original painting in the frame, I scanned it to make a few Christmas cards, and this piece for my own tree.

For now, it is tucked into a feather wreath that is hanging on the mirror.

I know that Christmas is over and I should be dismantling all of the decor.... but I'm just not ready to let go yet, are you?