My 2nd basket

I made exactly one basket in the early 90s and have been wanting to give it a whirl again. Today was the day.  The first of many, hopefully. 

Alice in Wonderland

I was a guest reader for the fancy library fundraiser tea party. 

I wore the cape I made for Audra when she was Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

And I made myself a new costume for the base layer.

It was a nice change doing something for me! 

Dried flower art

My dear friend Melissa knocked it out of the park with our extension homemakers meeting for March.  She dried all these flowers and let us create with them. Thank you, Melissa! 

More bags

Did a wee bit of stitching at my dad's.  I keep making more natural fiber shopping bags and donating the plastic reusable ones we keep acquiring.  Felt good to get something completed. 

 

Away

 So thankful to have had the chance for a weekend away with some marvelous friends. We laughed a lot, which was good for my soul. 

Boat N Tote

Like a good Mainer, I just love LL Bean's Boat and Tote bags, particularly for grocery shopping. I wanted more, but am cheap. I used some thicker fabric to make some thicker bags, a set of 6. I tried to make them wide, short and sturdy for all the groceries. They're working great! Nice to make something for me.

Pressing flowers

 I didn't expect to host this month's Homemaker's meeting and considered canceling.  But then I thought of my lack of flower pressing the last couple of years. Decided that hosting a flower pressing workshop would guarantee many of us to get a few things pressed.  We had a lovely time. My presses (that my dad made me) are packed now! Thank you, friends! 

Gather

Years ago I was told that Extension Homemakers wasn't something people were interested in, it was a lessening area of extension and starting a new club would likely be a waste of my time. 

I said bologna.  I knew there were other people locally 'like me'.  

Fast forward years ahead, we have marvelous monthly gatherings, learning from one another and supporting one another.  A fine group of women were propagating our hearts out today, and I'm thankful for these friends. 

 

New Bag

This rainy week has given me energy for my sewing machine.  A surprise stitch, as I usually wrap up my sewing hobby in favor of my gardening hobby. I actually made something for ME!  I picked up this vintage sewing machine fabric and blue stripes at the fabric swap.  I love my new over the shoulder reversible bag.

My "Old Fashioned" Dress

 

I love to do 'old fashioned' things, but I've never personally been one to dress 'old fashioned' while doing them.  My girls have been wanting me to dress up with them for ages.  I finally made myself a dress to play old fashioned with them. They are thrilled. Audra made me a pocket and plans on making me a new apron. 

Mini Trees

 

That vintage quilt repurposed again. Sort of want to make oodles of these and have a tree filled with these little ornaments next year.

Up-cycled Stockings

We were gifted a bag of quilts (thank you!).  Some were intended for crafting because of fraying fabric.  I'm all for saving things and repairing if possible, but one of the quilts was too far gone to fully restore.  BUT, there are pockets of non frayed pieces that I made these out of! I love them! 

Christmas gifts

 

Made a few new reusable fabric bags for Christmas wrapping. Pretty much my kids' entire lives, I have used reusable bags for a minimal waste Christmas.   A few years ago, I further simplified things with a Want, Wear, Read and Make bag for each kid. Four gifts tossed into handmade reusable bags.  Leaning into this small area of my life that is organized and planned, since the rest of my brain feels disorganized and chaotic. 

Re-usable paper towels.

 

This post may paint me as being a little weird, but I suppose you know what to expect by now! 

I have a system. Flannel sheets until they aren't so fluffy. Buy new sheets (lately have found like new flannels at the thrift store). Repurpose the old.  I then cut  the old flannels apart to 12.5 inch blocks, double layer, stitch together and they are our reusable papertowels until they fall apart. Haven't bought paper towels in a decade. Every couple of years I make a fresh batch. This set of twin sheets gave me 20 reusable papertowels. It's a great way of being a little bit more self sustainable. 

Pillowcases

 

Been on a burrito pillowcase sewing kick lately. 2/5 of the latest pictured. The spring to do list is long, a brief reprieve at the sewing machine makes no sense in some ways, but makes all the sense in others. Sometimes doing what you love instead of that to do list is just as fulfilling. 

Stitched

 For our wedding (15 years ago!) one of the best gifts we received was a little picnic table in a bag from crate and barrel. After all these years of use, it's not in the best of shape any longer.  I wanted a good travel table for picnics and also a table that can be used for 4-H or our nature co-op if needed.  I bought this little folding table for $30 and I am a fan, because it can either be short or tall. I whipped up a tote for it, so it stays clean enough to eat off of when tossed in the car (aka...keep the dog hair off of the static cling top).  

A sweet surprise

We received such a sweet surprise in the mail .

 

Some drawstring 'bloomers', handmade by dear Sara. This isn't the first round of handmades from Sara, her skilled stitching lasts and her apparel is definitely well used. 

She also stuffed the box with surprises that were perfect for my trio..

Thank you, Sara!

"Peek-a-boo Mama!"

 I was without a camera yesterday when we were adventuring.  I was up too late painting what I remembered instead. Cameras are much more time efficient, yet painting is so therapeutic."Peek-a-boo, Mama!" 

A new vest

 Someone noted he was a wee bit jealous of all the clothes the kids get that are handmade.  He was also expressing how everyone in the house had something warm in wool except him.  I said "If I made you something, you probably wouldn't even wear it."  He assured me he would. He picked out the wool for this vest and wears it all the time around the house. This is the second thing I've made him as of late (pic here). I guess I have someone else I'm stitching for, my self proclaimed 'Trophy husband'. 

Homemade lotion

 

I'm always working on something 'from scratch'.  This year it's been body lotions, lotion bars, body butter.  This time I used some aloe that I grew.

I'm not skilled enough to share recipes or techniques, but have been enjoying the results from my dabbling.
My crew likes the raw ingredient creations. They say they work great.