For My Girls

Now this is the last dress (the Brown) that I made with re-purposed Tee Shirts.  I had about six Tee Shirts of different colors.  I wanted to re purpose these fabrics.  I had a great deal of fun and I think the girls will like them.
It is a lot of fun to make clothes for girls. 

Lady Gaga of LA

Here is Lady Gaga of LA.  Lucy and I went to see my Darling Niece.  Annie and Lucy are good friends and they love to play.  They were playing Lady Gaga, each one switching off the blonde wig.  I was so amazed by Lucy.  She just fell into the "mode" of being Lady Gaga.  
My Darling Niece took the picture and I finally decided that the world needed to see the new talent.

The Significance of the Word

I always like to make my Christmas gifts to my Granddaughter Lucy and my Great Niece Annie.  So, this year I started out with Annie's, because I needed to mail it and Lucy's came next.  I was going to post when the present arrived.  But life being what it is and Christmas mail always hazardous, Annie's present didn't arrive until yesterday.  I was truly a nervous wreck.  But when I think about it, I must make better choices about what I listen to when I sew.  
With Annie's robe. I listened to Rebel Buddha by Dzogchen Ponlop.  And when I think about it then
it makes a lot of sense that life has it own time stream and it would get there when it was to get there.  When I made Lucy's robe, I listened to Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.   And of course, it was ready and wrapped for Christmas.
Annie's robe is this wonderful Spandex Satin.  A friend gave me about 7 yards of it.  It is only 40 inches wide but the color captures the whole world.  The robe will hit the bottom of her calf.  She won't trip but will still have the long robe style.
Lucy's is a lovely shade of Periwinkle Lavender.  I wanted to try applique and since Lucy is such a lovely bud of a girl, that is the theme of the robe.


Actually, it wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make something for my loved ones and these two girls are very dear!!

The Joys of Childhood

I went to a Halloween Party at my grandchildren's school yesterday.  Lovely frightening fun.  My son and friends' made a Haunted House.  Children ran out screaming (I guess that means it was a success).  My sweet Lucy is the "Dead Zombie Schoolgirl".  Hollis, who did not want his picture taken is a Ninja.  I had the fun of going out with them to find the costumes.  It was really fun.  I listened to them discuss and then decide.  I really had fun!

Time Is Going By So Swiftly

Time seems to be full and going very fast for me. Last Saturday, I was at a play that was the final part of Children's Summer Playhouse in Los Angeles. My grandchildren were occupied by wonderful classes. Classes that I would like to attend! But I am no longer a child, oh well! My Lucy (the one with red hair) is here in center stage, helping to tell an Aztec tale.




Here is Lucy again with a sign over her head saying "Que Linda", which is certainly true. Que Linda translates to How Pretty! I laughed to myself when I saw that.
.
.
.
.
.


Here is Hollis. I had my camera to the last close up focus but it is still fuzzy. Third from the right. Don't you love his hair? It is now cut for school. All the lovely waves and messyness that was so charming, all gone.

I have been so completely busy that I have not had time to post. So many situations that took all my time. I hope that now I have time to reflect and enjoy the coming season.

I am making an apron (big deal, huh?) but what I didn't think about is that aprons do come in all sizes and this one is much to small!
I also have a tapestry purse that is have way finished. This one will be mine! I have some lovely beads that were dug up from a Roman town in Syria. I can hardly wait to get to that part of the project.

Misses Matchie-Match

Right now, I am getting a kick as well as a great deal of pleasure making pajamas and nightgowns for the "little misses" in my life.
These are knee length pajamas that I made for Lucy and Annie. And the background is Big Sur. Since the cabins are situated in very tall and plentiful Redwood trees, the light is toned down. But looking out the window, I could see these darlings right away. The color jumps out to the eye.
The cousins approved!
The pattern is one that works with big as well as small bodies. I am working on a tutorial for it. Also, it is super easy, as well as light on the wallet.

Lucy's Want List

1. See Roderick's Rules
2. Get more Barbies
3. Liberty coming to our house
4. Going to Paris
5. eating Mcdonald's pancakes
6. Have a Jumpy Water House on my birthday
7. Kasey coming to our house or going to there house tomorrow
8. Invite Liberty to movie night and maybe a sleepover
9. You getting that beautiful house on the way to school
10. See Annie!

I don't remember being able to define what I would want at eight years. I hope that Lucy gets everything good. She is a darling!

Annie is Coming!

Annie is coming at the end of the week. Lucy thinks the world of Annie. I thought it would be fun to make "matching" pajamas. I made Lucy's first and she got hers when she was here this last weekend. he didn't want to take it off!
Now Annie is coming and they will both be "twins".
The fabric was purchased at FIDM. It is the same fabric as "wife beater" undershirts. It is very light and both girls have a very high thermostat and keeping them covered at night is difficult. With this fabric, they will be comfortable.
I did have immense amount of pleasure sewing the pajamas. It is wonderful to have two little girls to sew for!
The pattern for the top was from one my Darling Niece had come up with and the bottoms are from a suggestion that I saw here.
I like to decorate my darling Chester if he decides that he has to sleep on my cutting table.
Now, my next project is for my nephew's daughter. I have something very special planned. And best of all, it should fun for me .

Hollis and the Main Librarian

This is Hollis. He is missing his two front teeth. He has an adorable lisp. All that aside, he is very inquisitive. He is the type of child that you might want to put a leash on just to keep your sanity.
Saturday they came to my house and we were going to have "quality" time together. Among the other places we went to, we went to the library to collect videos that they would watch. Just as you walk into the library there is a large table with used books to buy. We all stopped to look and see if we could find treasures. Lucy and I were going through every book and my attention had a glitch and dropped out for a second. I looked up and I could not see Hollis. This is not that big of a library, so I started to panic. I asked Lucy if she knew where Hollis was. No!.
Now I really had to go into action mode.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the main Librarian walking toward her information desk. She had a Major scowl on her face. I could not see behind her desk because she has two (2) computers there. In not so quiet of a voice she said "Where is your mother?" I rushed over there and lo! and behold! there was Hollis trying to get on the Lego site to play a game. I apologize and pulled Hollis away. Gave him and urgent talking to and then he went to give her a mumbled an apology. Me, poking him in the back, "Louder"!. " I'm sorry". Then the main Librarian became friendly and asked if this was my grandson? "Yes, he really likes computers", I mumbled.
What is it about Libraries and head Librarians that make me feel humble. Is it all the late books that I returned as a child? Or is it the head Librarians telling my mother and grandmother that I had late books still out?
Oh, my guilty conscious!

As the Days Pass

I have been very busy with "people" clothes lately. But it seems that just when I finish, I have to deliver them. Lucy, my granddaughter received two skirts. I did post those because I had the time. But my Darling Niece's daughter had a Birthday Party. My grandchildren and I were supposed to go to Bakersfield to the In-Laws house were the party was going to occur. Since I would have to travel over the Angeles Mountains and snow was forecasted, the trip was cancel. I had to hurry to finish the pajamas and then mail them to Bakersfield. I did not have time to photograph. This photo was taken at the party. I heard how Annie immediately ran into her bedroom to change into the pajamas. I was so happy. It seems that I don't always understand what children Really want and when I hit it right, I am delighted.

Since I had made two skirts for Lucy, I did not want Hollis to feel unloved. I puzzled over this and Hollis is a child that has specific desires and to just make something, any old thing, would not do. Then a couple of nights later, last week, I knew exactly what I would make. I would make a robe and it would look just like a Jedi Knight Warrior robe. I made it out of brown fleece. I finished it 5 minutes before I had to leave for my breakfast at Hollis' house. He was really tickled. In fact, when he saw it, he laughed and laughed. Then I knew he liked it. I don't have a photo of Hollis and can't show how happy he was.

My son just sent me a photo of Hollis, yeah!!

Getting the Hang of "Funk"

I have thought a lot about that skirt that I made for Lucy and have not been pleased with the memory. So, I gave myself permission to make another. And this is the result. I am much happier with this one. I imposed the same parameters on myself as the last one. I had to have all the parts in my stores. I now think that the first skirt was just practice.

Shabby Chic and Little Terror

A few weeks ago I was told that Lucy, my grand daughter, wanted a funky skirt. Since I don't know what "funky" is to an eight year old, I just went my merry way. I think this would be more of "shabby chic" but it was definitely fun to make. The fabric is what I had in my stores. The print is what I found on one of my dog walks. I especially like the fabric and then the other fabric I think I have had for 10 years or more. If you look closely, you can see that there are color changes. That is why I used this fabric. Do the color changes qualify as "Funky"?
I also put on sequins. I had never done that before and it is tedious and time consuming. But for my Grand daughter, of course it was nothing, I did it cheerfully.
This is the back and you can see the fading better. I do hope that she like it and it won't go to the back of the closet.
This is my little Terror, Chester, sitting among my WIP. He is a very beguiling cat. However, he likes his treats. At night, if I don't make sure that the cupboard in securely closed, he gets up on the counter and works on the door till it opens. Then he pulls out his bag of treats and drags it into the living room. There he chews and tears the bag open and eats every morsel. All of the bag is there or on the rug, so he doesn't swallow any of the plastic.
Oh, I do love my little Terror.

Two Down,One More to Go

These are for my little girls. These two are competitive and I must do the same for each one, other wise hard feelings occur. But each is such a dear that I never have a problem making something special for them. The next stocking is for my grandson and his is going to be harder. He is crazy about Legos but his father wants his son's stocking to transcend time and he will still use it when he becomes an adult. My sister had a stocking made for my son when he was two. And every year he uses it. He wants the same for his son. So, I am still working out the design of it. But I still have a few more days.

I'm Getting Started....Finally

This is the start of my Christmas stocking offering to my granddaughter. It isn't finished but it only needs more decoration. This is the fabric that I found on one of my dog walks. And my Granddaughter also likes a lot of glitz. So, I need to go out and get more bling. There is a lot of silk and cording and both sides of the boot are different. It is fun to just follow one's nose. It measures 16" long and 14" wide. This is big enough to put in anything that takes Santa Claus' fancy!!

My New Purse

This is my new purse. You are looking at the different parts which will soon be a purse. My Darling Niece asked me, when I told her about my new project, "Where are you at with the purse?" That made me stop and try to analyze how I make a purse.
1. I go into the tapioca pudding of my imagination. I find some thread, I follow it ans see where it takes me.
2. If nothing occurs in my imagination (tapioca=imagination), I will pull fabric out and various handles, decorations and see if I go anywhere with that.
3. If I can't get any answer, I wait.
4. This time I waited and a few days after I finished my grandson's Halloween outfit*, my eye fell on these leftover pieces of tapestry that were lying on my cutting table. I had my fun with the large piece and thought that I was done. But the thrifty part of me said not to throw anything away. So, there on my cutting table the pieces lay, wait to trip me up.
5. When I saw the pieces of tapestry, everything came together and I starting hauling bits and pieces out and it all came out to a "whole".
6. Now, I began and how I began in a back a forth procedure. I accomplished the end before I picked up a scissors. I do the end first and then do the structure. A purse needs a structure, otherwise it is only a loose bag.
I, in my next post, will detail my building of a "purse".

* Mr Hollis, my sweet grandson, changed his mind for Halloween. I was almost done with Anakin Skywalker and I received an emergency phone call. "Hollis now wants to be Harry Potter". So, off I go to Joann's and bought the fabric for H.Potter's cloak. I made it a real as the photos on Utube. And he love it. My son was here the day I finished it and took it before I remembered I hadn't photographed it.

Grandma Duties

Do you see that tantalizing light on the right? That is inspiration calling to me. I was reading Blue Sky Dream and Maryann was writing of how life gets in the way of pursuing her artistic dreams. It seems that I am duplicating her path in life. I put aside my other pursuits again to make my grandchildren's Halloween outfits. Last year I got volunteered so late in the month, so this year I asked early. I always put an effort out when it is possible. This year my Lucy wants to be Michael Jackson in the Zombie Thriller. I chose not to make that outfit. It requires a very complex jacket that I did not want to make just for one night. And Amazon had a very nice offering that was well within budget. Hollis decided that he wanted to be Anakin Skywalker. Now I walked into his derision by saying "Oh, you mean Darth Vader". First of all, I am not a follower of the Sky War sagas, so I was in the dark about the ins and the outs. Hollis is still five and he put his little fists on his hips and tell me "No, Anakin Skywalker". Silly me. Thankfully there is such a thing as the Internet. After looking around the different sites, Hollis and I came to an agreement of what he wants his outfit to look like and now that is what I am working on. The shirt is almost done and the next is the vest. My son assures me that they both will remember far into the future that I made their Halloween outfits.
P.S. I had to recover the small ironing board that I use. Actually, doing that helped me to recover my sanity as well.

Drama Camp

The Los Angeles City Parks and Recreation offer a Drama Camp. Lucy was only able to attend the last week of this very special summer camp. This camp has the children singing, dancing, body movement classes and expressive drama exercises. It is not a well known offering by the Parks & Rec but by next year I am sure that children will be vying for the open places. Even though Lucy was there for just a week, the director fitted her in so that Lucy felt that she really was part of the whole.
The children are singing "Doe a Dear, a Female Dear". All the children were wonderful and expressive. There were many hams in the group. Lucy is the second one in from the left, her friend Isabela is sitting on the far left.
The lady on the right is the drama director. The lady on the left is an intern. She spent all summer volunteering and she has now left for her college back east. The funny fellow in the middle isn't Charlie Chaplin, he only looks like him. He was the comic relief and we enjoyed him and he enjoyed it as well. Later he played Emilio Zapata to very great comic effect.

The ages of the children was from about 5 to 13. The older children worked on writing the skits that the other children perform. This one is about early Los Angeles.
A supervisor worked hard to re-open this amphitheater that had been closed for 40 years. It is situated in a very lovely park right next to Dodger's Stadium. How it was overlooked and unused is very hard to understand.
The day was lovely and warm. Afterward we relaxed and had a picnic on the lawn that is surrounded by the native Oaks. A perfect Los Angeles day and perfect for the end of Summer.
Happy Labor Day.

A Blouse for Lucy

I am going to send Hollis' jacket to him. But remembering when I was a child, I couldn't send something to Hollis without sending something to Lucy.
This little blouse is made from scraps. I was given a lot of fabric that I still have not re-cycled to someone else. This Blouse is a composite of three fabrics. The pieces were all to small for any purpose. I measured it all out and found that twisting this way and that, I could come up with a whole blouse. The Geraniums were cut from a small piece but the colors were so harmonious that I had to include them. I wasn't sure that Lucy could pull this over her head, so I put in a short zipper.
I sure hope that she will like it.

Hollis is Ready for Fall

I could tell that Hollis felt a twinge when I made a nightgown for Lucy. I asked him if he wanted me to make him another jacket. Rather begrudgingly said yes. I got the point. When I went to FIDM, I found this very soft corduroy. I wanted to use my resources, rather than buy quilting for the lining. So I quilted the lining with a Snuggley that I had never used. It was a fun challenge.

It worked out fine.
The lining of the "hoodie" was from my stash. It was a fuzzy fabric that I had made an outfit for my Mother. That makes that fabric about 20 years old. I did purchase the "hoodie" string.

Now it is ready to be presented to Hollis.

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!