Projects Galore: "Caleb" Overalls

Not my photo, property of the movie company

For years I have admired the costuming in the Glenn Close "Sarah; Plain and Tall" series. And now that I have a son I have especially drooled over the little boy "Caleb's" style. There was just something about the big "Blousy" Overalls that cried to be re-created.

Not my photo, found on pinterest

So I took to the internet.

Sadly, the amount of boys patterns, especially ones from the period, are extremely limited.

 This meant that I had to step out of my comfort zone into the world of drafting... 

I found THIS pattern in my stash, that I had used for E-bug a couple times, took some measurements, and set to work.

I used a beige linen blend that I had in stash, originally for a set of 1920's beach pajama pants that never got made,  and some white cotton as a lining.

I fully lined them for two reasons, we had had a bit of cool weather, so I was worried about warmth, and this linen was a tad rough, so I figured the cotton would be softer on toddler skin. (It ended up being rather opposite weather... but E-bug seemed to stay quite cool in these anyways)

Sadly I don't have any progress photos... But I ended up making them way too big, they looked like he could have fit several clowns and a set of bowling pins in them...

Back upstairs I went and brought them in on the back and the sides. And there we had it!

Overalls to match Caleb's... at least in style, and room to grow as there are at least two inches of strap left to move the buttons and a good inch and a half of hem to let down.

We wore them to an antiques sale at a local history Museum and all our outfits were very well received! (Especially Edmund and his wicker pram, which he absolutely loves!) 

Do pleas comment and let me know what you think!

Megan

Projects Galore: Austrian Curtains

My next project has, once again, to do with the bedroom.

I have often watched period films set in Elegant homes and seen, what I believe are called "Austrian" Curtains, or "Balloon" curtains, including, though I cannot find a screenshot right now, Lucy Honeychurch's Room in the Pensione in the 1985 "A Room With a View."(Helena Bonham Carter.)

Photos are not mine, they are from Pinterest. click the pictures for the link.

I have long admired their elegance, and been searching for a way to incorporate them into our room. First off, they cannot be bought for less than a kidney, as they are rare and so have to be custom made usually out of silk tulle.

Sadly, this young family cannot afford $200+ a panel... So I turned to my sewing room.

Also, Since our new bed doesn't have a headboard, the clanging of the ancient Venetian blinds that were on there was seriously annoying!!

But how to do it? I long debated buying a bolt of some material or other, to have enough fabric to do it. I threw around the idea of linen, then went down to muslin, dabbled with satin or tulle, but all those options involved a lot of work and still $100+ in materials.

Then brilliance hit...

I bought four more cheap sheer panel curtains like we had "Draped" the room in.

I flat felled two of them together length-wise, and ironed a crease along the center.

Then came my handy dandy Ruffler foot that came with my Treadle.

I call these photos simply "Froth" Haha!

This process cut out all measuring, cutting, hemming, and well, most of the grunt work, and turned several days worth of trouble into just a few hours!

And voile!

The final result!

Eventually I can hand sew small rings on the back at intervals and turn them into shades that will raise, but right now I am seriously loving the color of the light that comes through them!

I will however be getting a matching set of red panels to go along the sides and hid the mild wonky-ness of them.

What do you think? leave me a comment and let me know!

Projects Galore: A Bit of Color

As I said in my last post, there's just something about cooler weather that's simply inspiring on all fronts. As the temperature dropped I decided to take care of something that had been bothering me.

I forgot to take my Christmas wreath off my front door when we packed things away last year... and there it stayed... until now!

I took to Pinterest looking for inspiration, ( You can see some of my thoughts HERE, if you dig a bit)

It was then to Hobby Lobby that I went. I decided I liked the simple grapevine wreath, and something with a touch of fall color, but wasn't overly screaming "Maple Leaves and Pumpkins!!"

I came out with a handful of things, made double, as My mom kept E-bug while I shopped, so I decided to make one for her as well.

It's hard to explain my creative process when it comes to flower arranging. It just sort of happens... A little of this here, some of that there, a pop of pizazz and Voile!

The final result!

I'm rather pleased if I do say so myself! 

And below is the only photo of the not quite duplicate I made for my mom.

I also just got commissioned to do another, so stay tuned!!

Projects Galore: Seabiscuit

There's just something about cooler weather that makes me come alive again. I jump back into the sewing room and creativity flies from my fingers!

So over the next few days I'll be posting a few things all about the new projects I'm working on, and completed.

For today's project meet Seabiscuit. So christened several years ago by my mother, just after I found him. I Purchased Seabiscuit at and antique sale for the great price of $15 intending for her to be used by a friend's daughter when she came to play. He saw several happy hours of play back then and has been gathering dust since.

I pulled him out of the moth balls when my son came along, and he was seen in several of E-bug's "Monthly" baby photos.

6 Months

11 months

But then one day I realized something. Just after bug started walking he grabbed hold of the seat and red paint flakes came away on his hands... And mama's danger warning went off! No more playing with Seabiscuit!

I recently decided to do something about it. I could put the little friend away, never to be used again, or I could paint it. And I suddenly hear antique collectors everywhere gasp in horror! I thought the same thing. Wouldn't it be sacrilege to cover up the original finish? Perhaps... but if it was only worth $15 to someone who knew what they were doing, then it was worth more to me to have my children able to play with it. So to Lowes I went.

Yesterday I took it out in the sun and set to work. And here's what he looks like now!

 

The face was made with a, now tattered, decal, so I painted the more faded side, and left the other mostly untouched. I'm not worried about lead paint with the decal so I'll leave it alone for now and someday, go in with smaller brushes to re-work the details. Until then, I simply used a sharpie to brighten the details.

And now for a few action shots of a boy and his pony! Be sure to check out Our New Facebook Page for a couple videos of E-bug's first few rides!!