Beach Sewing

Enjoying the last of summer has kept me from blogging, but, boy did we have  a wonderful time at our favorite beach house!  

Sunset Kayaking at my favorite place in the whole world!

We had two houses and the whole extended family.  The weather was perfect!  We filled our days (and I mean filled our days) with beach going and kayaking and ghost crab chasing and feasting and toasting the sunset each night!  It was sooo hard to come home! 

 Even with all the competing activity, I did manage to get a bit of embroidery done.  I worked on the tea towel from one of my Stitchin' Charleston trips. 

This is the start of Rainbow Row in Charleston

The houses are linen squares that are pin stitched onto the towel.  

The next step was to add the house details.  Here I have started the windows and doors.

A little more done...

Almost done!  Just needs a wash and press

Here I have added all the details:  Wrapped chain stitch palms, crepe myrtles, and even little flower boxes under the windows.  

Laura Jenkins Thompson, the designer and teacher of Stitch' Charleston Style is the most creative person!  Her designs are full of adorable details.

I'm loving it in my coral bathroom!

 Well...I didn't get nearly the sewing done this summer that I wanted to, but at least I got one UFO done!  

Enjoy the last few days of summer!!!

Pattern File Cabinet Re-do

As I have mentioned in this post my mother-in-law and I shared our love of sewing.  She was a talented sewist and worked in several sewing shops teaching lessons and selling Bernina machines.  Over the years she collected many cool sewing gadgets and other items all of which I inherited when she passed away. It has been years now and I am still in the process of discovering all the nifty things she had.

One of the pieces that I inherited was a pattern file cabinet that she snatched up when one of the stores that she taught at remodeled. It was half-painted the requisite "almond" color of the '80's.  The rest was the gold color that you see toward the back of the cabinet:

"Almond" pattern file getting ready for an update.  
That's my handsome and helpful son in the background helping 
with the set up and heavy lifting.

My plan was always to repaint it in a vibrant blue color so that it would really stand out in the sewing room. But the years go by and...you know how that goes!

This week, with the help of my strong and generous son, it got a new look. 

TaDa!  The new "Brilliant Blue" file cabinet!

By the time we finished spray painting, we both got a new look too!  The fine little particles of paint landed on us and we both ended up looking a bit like zombies or some character from Avatar!

Photo from Avatar the movie

I added pretty patterned paper inserts where the pattern numbers would normally go.  A different coordinating paper for each drawer.  

The shiny cabinet and the shiny plastic covering on the handle made it really hard to get a good picture, but I think you get the idea, right?




But there are treasures still to be discovered!

Vintage patterns anyone?

The pattern file was stuffed full of...wait for it...patterns!  There are many absolutely awesome vintage patterns from the late 40's, 50's and 60's - with my Mother-in-Law's handwritten notes about the pattern included!  So cool!

There are a few from the 70's, but a ton of patterns from the 80's.  I have my own collection of Flashdance favs from the 80's so I am not that interested in keeping those. Many of them are new, never been opened in the envelope.  I  remember wearing those styles what seems like not so long ago, but I doubt I could ever sew them now. Is there a market for "vintage" 80's patterns? Should I just donate them?

One of the drawers was packed with vintage trim, ricrac, zippers, belt buckles and on and on.  My daughter and I have been having a blast going through all these goodies.  

Needless-to-say, not much sewing getting done with all this chaos in the sewing room, but so much fun to find all these treasures from Shirley!

I'm still working on the muslin for the stretch lace dress.  Like all my sewing...it is going slowly!  

So...Anyone interested in a batch of 80's patterns?  Let me know.  I would love to have them go to a loving home.  :-)

Happy August!

Pam