Say that three times fast. ; ) Or not. But do check out Heather Sims' breathtaking depictions of polish pottery in domestic settings. I just adore her work.
Category Archives: The Prairie Home
all that glitters….
Someone tell me the last thing I should be entertaining is the idea of glitter projects. No, Kim. Glitter is not a friend to a mother of ten. Nor to a mother of Brendan… But, oh, look what Martha can do with clip art and glitter! I was in Walmart looking at her rows of pretty aqua and white Martha boxes and saw the set of glitters. Then thought, hmmm, what does one DO with glitter anyway? While surfing for inspiration for Abbie's birthday cake we found the answer to that question. You go to Martha's and download lovely clip art which you can paint over with a brush and glue and then glitter it over. I'm liking this.
The paper cutouts are lovely as well. Simple and stunning. Makes the package look like a fondant cake…. to which we have given a great deal of thought around here. Go Wilton <g>
treadle adventures
This is the summer of 'give it a try' to be sure. I have had more than a few crazy ideas and most of them have been successful. We have done a good amount of sewing and altering and were just about finished with a skirt for Moira when my Brother sewing machine got stuck in reverse. Sorta. The stitches are trying to go one way and the feed is going the other way and oh, it's just bad. What is worse is that it was a cheapie machine – less than a hundred dollars. The local sewing machine repair places start their tune up and repairs at $30. Hardly worth even fixing it when a cheapie replacement is $79.
I was very motivated to finish that skirt however. Wracking my brain, it occurred to me to look at the sewing machine I had brought home a couple years ago. It was a vintage treadle Kenmore model that I was told was functional. It came housed in a lovely wood cabinet which was doing a tour of duty in my living room under a very nice vintage lamp. <g>
We began to clear off the table and set up the machine and sure enough, it worked! Only catch was that it wasn't threaded. Surfing some time netted directions that went something like, "Pull the thread through the top thing, then bring it down around the circle part and up through the part that goes up and down…" I kid you not. Undaunted and armed with that info I proceeded to wind thread up and over and around the parts 'til something sewed.
Once we got off and running I was amazed. The quality of this machine, all steel and cast iron, far surpasses the plastic disaster running backwards in the craft room. As the owner of Sew Vintage explains, this is because,
"These machines were built to last not years, not decades, but generations. A quality, vintage machine is an heirloom piece to be enjoyed and used well after that new, computerized machine and it’s technology has become outdated and obsolete. You can realistically expect a new machine to provide about 10 to 25 years of service under normal conditions, but when it has died and gone to the landfill, the quality vintage machine will still be sewing along."
I hope so! I figure it's a good sign that it is still running, considering it has lived through eras where home sewing was a daily reality, not a trendy hobby. I can see how much easier it must have been to learn to sew on such a machine. The treadle mechanism gives far greater control over stitch speed than the foot pedal of my newer model – a big perk for budding seamstresses. You can sew at a snail's pace with a treadle if need be but it is capable of humming right along as well.
We finished our project but we are stuck for now until I can locate more bobbins and figure out how to load them. (Unless we only sew things that require black thread.) It is a thoroughly delightful rabbit trail.
mid-century mini
Maybe I could at least get an itty bitty mid-century home.…..
Seriously, The Mid-Century Modernist is eye candy for the mod soul. I will take one of everything, thank you!
ruffled skirt
Tess is pleased as can be with the little green skirt we made and we hope to knock out a couple more yet. Tutorial here. Basically you cut three long rectangles. Find the widest part of the hips/waist. First tier is 1 and 1/2 times the waist. Next is 1 and 1/2 times the first. Third tier is 1 and 1/2 times the second. The length of the rectangles is your total intended length, divided by three, plus an inch per tier for seams and 2 inches more for the top tier to make the foldover waist. That was clear as mud wasn't it? If you want to make one for yourself this tutorial has an automatic calculator to figure your measurements for you.
retro decor gallery
Plan 59 has gathered pages of original home interior illustrations from the 40's through the 60's. Funny how pictures can take you back.
montessori kids’ rooms
I have so enjoyed browsing the entries in Ohdeedoh's smaller cooler kids room contest. What jumped out at me in particular was this room from Sew Liberated (formerly the Montessori by Hand blog). The mom is a Montessori directress and crafter who has just had her first child. The room was created with Montessori and Waldorf ideals in mind. It is simple, peaceful – lovely. Makes you want to chuck more 'stuff' and revel in newfound space I tell you!
no-sew reupholstery & decluttering tutes
Haven of Home has a nice tutorial on how to recover your couch without a sewing machine. Fact is, the cover wears out long before the frame. This is one thrifty skill worth learning!
I have mentioned before if you don't feel up to doing the whole job yourself you can customize ready made slipcovers by buying an extra cover to make pillowcase-like covers to slip over loose cushions.
While you are there you might enjoy following her pictorial de-cluttering.
cobalt blue
Loving these…..
Clean sweep – running the numbers
Re-reading some of my organization books helped me see why we still have some 'hot spots' around the house. Both Peter Walsh and Dawn Noble have said that it should take no longer than five to ten minutes to tidy up a room. That isn't a deep clean, mind you, but rather the time it should take to make it presentable again after use. If it routinely takes longer than that there is likely still too much clutter. Or, it may not be clutter per se but just too much stuff, period.
This seems to be the culprit in our school room/craft room and another purge is in the works. The main rooms have fallen reliably within that 5-10 minute guideline but there are a couple bedrooms and that school room which could use more help. This clean-time goal is a great litmus test to help determine if you have an appropriate amount of 'stuff' for your spaces. We obviously don't. <g>
Some other helpful time estimates from the Noble book:
It takes about this long to clean these areas -
* a closet: 4-8 hrs
* a bedroom: 8-12 hrs
* a kitchen: 10-14 hrs
* a garage: 8-12 hrs
* an office: 16-24hrs (includes file system overhaul)
Having a reasonable time frame in mind when you plan a project goes a long way towards seeing it through. I have grossly underestimated the time it takes to complete a clean sweep in the past. Of course we have to remember these are working hours. They don't include breaks for the myriad crises big and small that tend to crop up in homes like ours such as people needing sippy cup refills, having expected bodily fluid overflows, surprising mom by cutting the dog's hair or finding the Sharpie marker. It is nothing short of astounding how resourceful small children can be when their mother is working…
Figuring in those interruptions could increase one's project time significantly. Unless Dad is home to occupy little people I try to break those big jobs up into sections and just work on one at a time, like one shelf in the pantry or one drawer etc. We recently finished a large binder of our important documents in that way. We gathered all our birth certificates, sacrament documents, insurance paperwork, social security cards, and shot records into page protectors in a three ring binder which is kept in fireproof safe. (Highly advised to make copies of same and store them in a second location like a safety deposit box.) It is handy now in case of emergency. Little by little one goes far….
Starry Sky Journal 