Vintage Handkerchief Buntings

Let me start off by saying

I am NOT a seamstress.

Not by any means or margin.

In fact, the last time I ever sewed anything on a real live sewing machine

was way back in junior high school.

Yeah....THAT long ago.

But when I saw some of these charming vintage handkerchief buntings on Etsy,

I thought that maybe...

just maybe

a simple project like this could be my reintroduction into Sewing 101. 

 ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

 

Let's begin, shall we?

Assignment #1: Read the sewing machine handbook. This is an important step since you haven't a clue as to what you're doing.There are nice big pictures and very few words in it, so if you're in Pre-K Reading class, this will be a cake-walk.

Assignment #2:  Familiarize yourself with the machine. Talk to it and ask for it to play nice.

Assignment #3: Plug it in. This is the easiest part of this whole assignment.

Assignment #4:  Learn how to thread the needle. Have your Reader glasses ready.  That hole in the needle seems to be extremely small for some odd reason...

Assignment #5:  Go back to Assignment #4 and change it to "Learn how to wind the bobbin first".

Assignment #6:  Learn how to thread the needle (through that teeny weeny hole).

Assignment #7:  Practice, practice, practice on a piece of old fabric first because when you try to do it on the project you're making,

the machine suddenly makes a weird sound and stops working.

Assignment #8: Go back to Assignments #4 & 5 and change to "Learn how to wind the bobbin AND install it correctly".

Assignment #9:  Rip out tangled mess on back of project.

Assignment #10:  Proceed merrily - but cautiously - on your way.

** ♥ **

Ok ~ so for this project you're going to need:

1 package of double-wide seam binding,

some dressmaker pins,

and   

4 or 5 vintage handkerchiefs

Ready?

Cut each hankie in half on the diagonal.

No need to be really neat about it,

but try to cut in a straight line.

(Remember ~ this IS Sewing 101.)

Open up the binding and lay the cut edge of the hankie in the center of it.

Fold it over the hankie and pin.

Yup.  Just like this ~

all the way down the binding,

pinning whatever colored and patterned hankies that tickle your fancy in place

end to end (point to point).

With the 3 yards of binding that comes in a package,

I could get about 5 hankie halves pinned in a row

leaving about 3" at each end for ties.
(This will all depend on the size of your hankies.)

Now, here comes the scary part.

Sit down at your machine, 

say a short prayer

(this is a very important step),

lay your binding beneath the foot of the machine,

clamp it down,

(say another short prayer)

and 

s l o w l y

press your foot on the "gas pedal".

(You're not driving a dragster here, ya know...

That comes with Sewing 901.)

Sew along the edge of the binding

plucking out the pins as you go
because you don't want to break the needle with the teeny weeny hole.

Now...

 I know that some of you Sewing 901 brainiac students are thinking,

"Why didn't she iron the binding down?"

Well, I didn't think of that until I got going.

Besides, my palms were too clammy.

Anyway, keep sewing right to the end of the binding.

I actually reversed the sewing at the end

to make sure the stitches were good and secure

with a little doohicky-switch-thingy above the needle.

(You read how to do that in Assignment #1...remember?)

Next,

say a thank you prayer that all went well

and that the bobbin didn't choke up and spit out knots of thread

(Failure to do Assignment #4 & 5)

even though you had to fill the tiny little bobbin a minimum of four different times which meant that you really learned to do it correctly

and probably won't need to read the handbook ever again in your life.

Drape your pretty vintage bunting on your frantel,

stand across the kitchen from it

and try to reach in back of you to pat yourself on the back.

Congratulations.

You have now graduated to 

Sewing 201.

(Insert music to "Pomp & Circumstance" here)

These sweet vintage buntings will be for sale at the Allegan Antique Market this spring!

[ Blessings ]

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A Wintry Gift

Before I say anything,
I just wanted to thank all of you for leaving such kind comments every week.
I read each one,
try to reply to each one,
and treasure each one. ♥
A special welcome and warm hug to all my new friends who are following Heaven's Walk, too!

*  *  *  *  *

Quite a few of you asked to see more photos of the property here at Heaven's Walk...especially in the snow.

I think most of the requests came from you lucky birds living in warm, sunny climates. :)

We've been having such a mild winter so far, I wasn't sure when that would be.

But we just had our third big snowfall of the season the other day.

Six inches of the white fluffy stuff fell softly and quietly overnight 

to dress houses, trees, and fields in a layer of

pure white.

So, after Hubby and I finished plowing and shoveling our driveway and the neighbor's driveway that morning,

I took a walk with my camera.

Consider this a wintry gift from Heaven's Walk. 

* * ♥ * *

Our view across the road where deer peek out from the brush.

View from the neighbor's.

Yes, I'm standing in the middle of the road at 9am...

Standing in the side yard.

The arbor is wrapped in burlap to protect my 'Zephirine Drouhin' climbing roses, 

and a piece of plastic covers the vintage cement birdbath purchased at the antique market this summer.  I'm looking forward to planting 'Walker's Low' catmint around it in the spring.

The pond is bubbling merrily away.

It was the only sound outside this morning beside the chugging of Hubby's vintage tractor
and the clinking of the chains on the old tires.

Hubby was just finishing up plowing.  This kind-hearted man actually plows a path for the visiting deer who traverse through Apple Meadow behind our barn and pass through our property.
They actually showed up on the path right after we closed up the barn 

to devour the corn Hubby spreads out for them.

This is the view up the path into our woods.  

It's "party central" for the deer, turkeys, and fox.

I turned and looked down into Apple Meadow where the apple and cherry trees grow.
The deer love to bed down here because they feel so safe.

It's a sanctuary of peace and quiet for them.

I turned again to look back toward Heaven's Walk  ~

framed by the old mulberry tree
that creaks and groans in the winter winds.

Making my way back toward the house,

the deep red of the barn stood out in sharp contrast against the white world around me.

The sturdy old building was built even before our house was -

way back in the mid-1800's.

Once I made it to the barn, I turned around and looked back toward Apple Meadow.

When I reached the house,

I could see Maizie watching me from the window.

I opened the door and called to her to come outside and play.

She came skidding around the corner into the kitchen

nearly wiping out on the tile floor.

My little girl loves the snow!

Have you ever seen a happier face....?

{Almost reminds me of that commercial with the little pig on the zip line
that goes flying by with an ecstatic look on his face yelling,
"Weeeeeeee! Pure.....adrenaline!"}

I think this little bathing beauty was pretty happy, too...
in a quiet sort of way.

You know....

as I was creating this post, I kept looking back over the photos I took. 

My heart overflowed with the love I have for this old farmhouse,
my Hubby, and my furbabies... 

and I realized 

how very, very 

blessed 

I really am...

[ Warm Blessings ]

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