Vintage Sheet to Adorable Dress

 Last month I found a lovely vintage sheet and knew I had to make something out of it. This one was in fabulous condition and I imagine it to have lived on some adorable old lady's guest bed. The colors are fun and cheery: pink and orange, tempered with white flowers and green leaves. It was such soft fabric with a fluid drape, and I knew it would make a great circle skirt.

 I lined it with some coral pink/red fabric I got at the same sale. It came to me as the most horribly sewn curtains I have ever seen. Seriously. I couldn't even figure out what they were trying to accomplish, but the fabric was in great shape.

 Instead of a fabric flower, I switched this one up a little and added a bow. I am so happy with how it turned out! I kind of wish I had made it in my size. Think there's enough fabric left? ;)

Of course, I added the heart cut-out in the back and finished it off with a vintage pink button. Hopefully this dress will find its way to a little girl who likes to twirl!

Crazy Quilts and an Interesting Way to Fill a Large Wall

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm terrified of quilting.  All those little pieces and the precision that is required would make me lose my mind. I do love crazy quilts though and appreciate the effort and diligence that goes into making one. This particular style makes me swoon and think of my grandma who had an especially beautiful one that resided in her living room all during my childhood.  

A couple of weeks ago I was in downtown San Antonio for a race and had the opportunity to visit the Riverwalk Vista Inn. It's an historic hotel right off the river, near the Alamo and within walking distance to a lot of other notable SA experiences. When I was inside the building I had the fun of wandering the hallways to look at the antique quilts that lined the walls. They had an impressive collection and I thought I'd share a few pictures as inspiration for any aspiring quilters out there (myself included)! 

Check out the website for more info on the Inn. If you're ever in SA, it's worth a stay.

http://riverwalkvista.com

The amount of hand stitching is extraordinary.

Look at all this blanket stitching and unique edging! 

Now onto the other very cool wall idea...

If you look rrreeeeaaallllyyy closely, you'll notice that these are all vintage matchbooks.

You can't tell by the picture, but each frame was quite large and housed hundreds of matchbooks. The frames were hung in a series of three and made an interesting compliment to the quilts that were on the walls nearby.

I love this idea so much in fact that I'm going to start collecting matchbooks from wherever I go to make a smaller scale version of this. It will probably take me 12.5 years to collect enough but that's half the fun!

Pants!

I realize I have made about a zillion pairs of pants from the Willow Wayfarers pattern, but why mess with a good thing? The pattern is perfect for my tall, skinny kids. My preferred method is to cut apart a pair of adult pants at the inner leg seam, and refashion them into kid pants. I embellished this pair with a vintage doily that came from a lady in Australia. I appliqued the butterfly and pockets with some fabric scraps. The plan is for these pants to have room for her to grow into...but at the rate she is going she'll probably outgrow them in two months!

More Christmas Presents: A (Not-So) Riveting Tale of Planning Way Ahead

Long ago, in a land far away (California to be exact) I was a teenage girl who couldn't get enough of sewing. I would spend hours in my room churning out all sorts of sewing projects. Back then, my siblings (won't mention any names..........) used to tease me mercilessly about sewing. They thought I was such a dork for my sewing habit. My, how things have changed. (Again, won't mention any names...;) So back then I would practice on anything I could get my hands on. I sewed a lot of doll clothes because they didn't use much fabric and I figured I could save them for 'someday.' Also, I think I was trying to fill some sort of American Girl Doll sized hole in my heart. Well, the doll of my dreams still hasn't shown up on my doorstep, so I went to the craft store and bought a cheaper knock-off for Katie for Christmas. I have resurected the doll clothes of my youth, and plan to add outfits between now and Christmas. The lavender skirt is one I made recently. The lace part is the edging from a set of linens. The doll dresses of yore are made from various vintage fabrics I happily inherited from a really sweet old lady from our church, Daisey Harrel. Like the vintage labels? I used to cut them out of vintage clothes and sew them into my stuff because I liked the way they looked. I would have never guessed way back them that someday I would be wrapping up those dresses and giving them to a sweet little blond daughter for Christmas. I hope she likes them.

Vintage Hankie Makeover

I may have just a wee bit of an obsession with vintage linens, primarily hankies. I love the colors, designs and handwork that has gone into making them. When I found this tutorial, I was thrilled to find a way to use at least one hankie from my collection. It is very simple to make, and I am quite impressed that it is possible to make a bonnet out of a 15" square handkerchief. I will be sending it to my friend from high school who had a baby girl recently.