Sheba of Gardena

She always takes all the credit!

The Hoodie

The last time that my grandchildren were here, I made a nightgown for Lucy. I had a lot of fun doing it and the reception of it was terrific. Lucy loved it. It was at this time, I realized that I hadn't made anything for Hollis in a long time. And I certainly didn't want him to think I played favorites.
The clue for me was he was wearing a jacket of Lucy's. I asked him if he wanted me to make him his own jacket. And of course, he said yes.
When I went to FIDM last weekend I found this really wonderful corduroy. It was very soft and supple. but it wouldn't be warm enough for winter. I needed to insulate it for him.
When I make anything I like to challenge myself, so I will have fun making it. This time I said to myself "See if you can make this jacket without buying anything". The lining for the "hoodie" is a beige fabric from years ago, which is like velvet but an acrylic. I am making the insulated lining with a Snuggley that was given to me and the pumpkin lining fabric was in my "stores". I am quilting the two together. The separating zipper is from "stores".
I had the pattern from when I made Lucy a jacket.
If I didn't do the quilting for the lining, the project would be a lot shorter in time.

But I wouldn't have enjoyed myself as much as I am now!

How About "SonwBlind" ?

This is Sweetie Pie "Penelope". She was crashing a photo session. She Always gets her way.

The Magical Kingdom -

This is a brass sculpture, one of a grouping of foxes at play in the park that is in the enclosure at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. There are many sculptures and works of art that inspire the students and the families that come to the park.
I couldn't get a better grouping of the "Fox Family at Play" (my title). The ground has little hills in order to segregate the areas.
The College works with the fashion industry. This includes donations of last years fabrics and of course interns. The college also has a scholarship store for the students who subsidized their tuition. Students work in the store and also get a better price for whatever they buy. That is how it should be. I have seen students come into the store to get fabrics for their projects and stop and pick up some piece of clothing as well.
The funny part for me (when I am talking with these students that work in the store) is remembering how I was once a design student in San Francisco.
This is the clothing side of the store. Many years ago the store was just one long room with the fabric in the back of the store. Sometimes, I think that it was more exciting that way. The workers would haul out boxes of fabric and before it could reach the tables or racks, people would be grabbing the good stuff. But now the students of the merchandising part of the school get a hand in how the store is run.
Now, this is what I go to the store for, rolls and rolls of fabric. 60" wide, $ 1.00 a yard. Yes, I did say $ 1.00 a yard. Yeah! ! If you want to try a idea out and it doesn't work out as you would have wanted, no big deal. Throw it away. You only lost maybe $ 3.00. And you had the wonderful experience of working out an idea. Profit both ways.
I don't always find anything that starts my heart to sing but that is also part of the treasure hunt feeling that carries me down there. There are times that I want to drown myself in the beauty that I bring home. But there are other times when it is just so so.
These are the notions. In order not to miss anything that will be useful now or at a later date, every card has to be appraised.
Now this is one of the tricks. Always wear a watch. Time has a habit of escaping notice. The parking meters go for $3.00 and hour. And they only take quarters or smaller. If your wallet carries 12 quarters it weighs a ton. I have never had that much foresight to have that many quarters and there isn't a place around to make change. Be prepared to dash in with all your clear thinking and be able to run when the meter goes off. They ticket on Saturdays. I can testify to that.
But, what fun!

These will soon be on my table. I can't believe that I will have tomatoes. What with dogs and birds, I gave up trying to have home grown tomatoes. This year, I had a friend make a raise bed. I filled it with dirt and mulch, just to see if I could have some tomatoes. I plead with the Garden God, Please! And this year it looks good. Now, I have plans for doing it better next year. I think a soaker hose will be in order. And I will investigate a better drop cloth to cut down on the weeds. I have been feeding the plants but I should actually put the plan on a calendar and not go by my gut.
I am so excited!

The New Clutch

This little clutch is silk in a out. The pocket is a blend of the inside fabric and the outside. I found that I could do the hand sewing by pulling threads from the remnant pieces. That way it would match the exact color of the fabric. With each clutch I try to expand my experimentation. I enjoyed using the thread from the fabric.
This little gem measure 12" W x 6 1/2" H.

Hippie Bag Completed

Well, and taking a deep breath, I say I finished this "Hippie Bag". Deep sigh. It took me a long time with a lot of other ideas and jobs getting in the way. Hand sewing is not the fun that it looks like on someone else. I tend to get impatient and think ahead to much. There is very little machine sewing on this bag. I had to make sure that the stitches were small and uniform and to use thread that had polyester in it, so in later years the thread wouldn't deteriorate. I listened to books on tape while I sewed. That helped to take my mind off my impatience and was fun as well.
This purse is all silk scrapes from other purses that I have made. I do not throw usable pieces of silk away. After all, a small piece of silk could be a very nice accent for something in the future. Then, time passes and I had a small box of "scrapes", hence the "Hippie Bag". When I got to the finish line, I realized that since it was a "Hippie Bag", I needed a small bag for important things. That is why I made the "stash bag". At this point, it will have to be for cosmetics.
Both sides have a pocket for sunglasses and cell phone. Plus there are three pockets on the inside of the bag. That way, keys will come immediately to hand.
I found in my boxes all the little extra beads and butterflies to adorn my purse. There are bone butterflies, Amber and small Coral beads.
I had the most fun at the very end by sewing on the beads. It always seems so satisfying to put the finishing touches on a major effort such as this.