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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Just click on the buttons!

A Beach House in the Country....?

Okay....I know you're thinking "What's up with THAT? How can you have a beach house in the country? What planet is she from, anyway?" Well, I am a beach-baby through and through. It runs through my veins, I swear. I grew up spending idyllic summers in my grandparent's big old cottage on Lake Michigan. Spending day after day making sandcastles on the beach, learning how to swim in the cold, clear water, collecting ladybugs in Coke bottles, and running down Mt. Baldy - the biggest, baddest dune there ever was - trying not to fall head over heels with a mouthful of sand before I hit the bottom. At day's end, I would be tucked into a big brass bed covered with grandma's homemade quilts and be lulled to sleep by the comforting sound of the waves rolling onto shore. You couldn't ask for more perfect summers...

When I married my hubby, we lived on a inland lake for 25 years. Boating, swimming, and fishing the summers away, and cozily huddled up in our cottage during the winter months - anxiously waiting for spring's return so he could put the pontoon back in the water and I could begin working in the extensive flower gardens that circled the house and shed.
Well.....we somehow found ourselves this grand old 1895 farmhouse in the middle of 12 acres of land a few years ago. I think we needed someplace we could spread our wings a little and were just ready for a change. We were seeking privacy and a little more peace and quiet, I think. When we woke in our farmhouse the first morning after the big move, hubby looked around the bedroom and stated, "I feel like I'm waking up in a Bed & Breakfast Inn." After that, we decided that we certainly needed to name this grand old dame.

A beautiful watercolor painting, created by a friend of ours on the lake (who, by the way, could be Kenny Roger's twin!), was given to me by my hubby one Christmas years ago and we hung it in our kitchen. It showed a winter scene of all of our dogs - past and present - walking along a snowy creek surrounded by pines. Two figures (hubby and I) can be seen walking behind them all in the distance. He had named it "Heaven's Walk". Needless to say, when I opened that up that Christmas morning....well, we won't talk about what a blubbering fool I became.....

That painting became the inspiration for our beach house in the country.

Ok. I know you're still wondering about the 'beach house' part. Seriously, I am getting to it.....

Before moving in to this house, I painted. Feverishly. Everything HAD to be the creamy white that I had grown to love over the years. I quickly slapped it over the burgandy walls in the living room. Next it went over the wallpaper in the study (yup - right over that wallpaper). And a lemon yellow bedroom became a soft white walk-in closet. (Yes, I own waaay too many clothes, but that's another story.)

After living with a 'shabby vintage flea market' style for a couple years, I found myself really missing the beachy feel we had in our lake house. One day, as I opened the second story windows to let in the fresh morning breeze, I found myself looking through the treetops to the nearby lake. It sparkled in the sunshine; shimmering in the breeze. It looked so close! Just like I was at the beach! (Well, almost....)
Yup. I had a revelation. Why couldn't I incorporate my beach theme into this house? We lived 3 minutes away from 4 different lakes! Hubby thought I was nuts, but I didn't care. I was obsessed.

And needless to say, my decorating bug took hold....and "Heaven's Walk" was born.

Now that I've told you a little more of who I am and what a dork I can be, I'd love to share with you the journey this house took me on during her transformation. She is a work in progress.....but aren't we all? :)

Blessings on a great day!

~Laurie