There has been stitching!

Despite all my complaining about how much time the costume making took up...I still managed to stitch.  Not as much as I might normally... but I skipped my HEAD rotation and just worked on smaller projects.

I did finish the finishing on Lizzie Kate's Boxer Jr:  Summer-licious.

A quick simple yellow check ribbon ruched and held in place with pins.

I propped it up in the china cabinet in my front hall.

I also picked up one of the many projects I kitted up recently.  It's been kind of fun having all those projects ready to go.

Country Cottage Needlework's Christmas Carol.

My small for July is this cute free pattern from The Prairie Grove Peddler.  I tried to find a link but the pattern I have is dated 2008 so maybe it's not available anymore.  My nice large folder of printed freebies is busting at the seams and probably contains many old patterns not available.

I just made a little pillow filled with crushed walnut shells and attached a red checked ribbon.  Again, nothing fancy.

I used a red plaid fabric for the backing. I think I have just enough linen and fabric to make another one using a different free patriotic pattern.  I'll try to get it stitched in the next few days so I can count it for August but there's no guarantee.

I pulled this lovely little kit out of my collection of kits and took it to Florida with me.

Ladybug, Ladybug by Little House Needleworks.  I don't know why it took me so long to stitch this one.  I love geraniums and it was so quick.

In a recent post I hinted at a piece I was working on that wasn't part of the pile I binge-kitted.

Jingle by Shepherd's Bush was another nice quick stitch.  There are supposed to be some flowers across the top but I left them off so I'd have a square piece to finish as an ornament or pinkeep or whatever.

From far away you can see how the folded fabric that came in the kit has discolored at the fold.  I'll have to finish this one close to the stitching to avoid those lines.

Not a bad showing for feeling like I had very little sewing time.

Pam

Where to begin?

I usually find summer to be my most productive time when it comes to sewing and reading.  When the kids were young we were free from all the school schedules and often spent weekends camping.  That combined with hours sitting by the pool meant I could read and stitch for hours.

Now that the kids are grown and almost never home, I can sew and stitch and read the day away. Well, you know.  Between laundry, errands, and whatever else fills a day.  Even my regular charity commitment takes the summer off.  

This year, however, I got in deep with the community theater group and costume making.  My only experience with costume making was when the kids were young or a handful of times when I helped the school drama kids with costumes.  In those cases I'd show up with my machine and someone would hand me the already cut out pieces and I'd sew them together.  

This time around, along with a more experienced co-costume designer from our high school drama booster days, we had to come up with costumes from scratch for Beauty and the Beast.  Oh boy! Neither of us had a clue!  

For 2 solid months we planned, designed, and invented costumes.  

I made the Silly Girls costumes...

My co-designer and I made costumes for Belle, Mrs. Potts, Madam De La Grande Bouche (the wardrobe),

Cogsworth, and Lumiere.

All from scratch...out of our brains.  And, besides their fantasy costumes, everyone needed an everyday costume for when they became human again.

I also spent an entire week, like it was my full time job, altering and adjusting the costumes for the town's people.

A quick shot of the set that my husband and my co-designer's husband made.  Each house spun around so the inside was exposed and rolled on and off stage as needed.

I know my pictures are not a great representation of the set and costumes but I am limited to what I was given by the theater guild's PR person.

Along with being thrilled the whole thing is over I am happy to say that the state's theater association judge awarded my co-designer and myself a meritorious award for the costumes.  The production only won meritorious awards...one to an actor and to the 3 leads for singing.  When I asked the other actors the significance of the judging and awards they explained that they would add credentials for future jobs.  Well, that's nice and all and I'm honored, but I'm ONE AND DONE!

My husband will continue helping the high school with building sets but I am just not interested in that sort of sewing.  It is a good way for him to put his skills to work for the community but I'll stick with the groups I am already involved with.

While I neglected my sewing machine I did manage some cross stitch so I will gather my completed pieces and put together a post as soon as I can.

In the mean time...I must go re-introduce myself to my sewing room.

Pam

Falling Behind.

I have fallen so far behind in blogging and projects that I don't even know where to start.

So, I will start with one of the things I showed as a WIP in my last post.

I was working on this Hinzeit piece called Washday.

While stitching it I remembered this fat quarter with clothes pins in my stash.

With the finished piece and the fabric in hand, I made a project bag.

It is made by creating a bag with the fabric which has been backed with batting.  The bag is made just the slightest bit larger than a regular zipper top project bag you can buy at cross stitch shops.  There was nothing scientific about the layout.  I just created something that was pleasing to look at using what fabric I had and my finished piece.

When making the bag, leave the top unfinished and large enough to fold over.  Hand stitch at the fold line to the zipper.

I ran around the edge on the sewing machine just to give it a finished look.

Easy Peasy.  Just don't forget that you can't iron your finished bag because of the plastic project bag.

Happy Stitching.

Pam