Baby Quilt

Well, I'm finally posting about the baby quilt I made in May.
Yeah, I know. I'm a bit behind. Better late than never, right?




I do not pretend to be an expert sewer (um, eww, how about sewing hobbiest?), and I certainly don't pretend to be an expert quilter,
but I'm really happy with how the quilt turned out. This quilt is not perfect, but is was made with a lot of love. I thought of that sweet baby with every stitch
and every seam ripped and re-sewed ;-)

I just love the carrot fabric. I don't even know why- orange is not one of my favorite colors. But I was smitten with that fabric as soon as I saw it. I came across eleven yards of this fabric at my favorite thrift store. No, that is not a typo.
I bought eleven yards. The quilt is backed with carrots, too.
The green swirly fabric came from a dress I bought that didn't fit.
Thrifting and repurposing are two of my favorite things.

Vintage sewing machines are another one of my favorite things.
This was sewn on two of my vintage machines. It was pieced on my Atlas Deluxe.

Yes, I did have it threaded properly to sew, just not to photograph.

I quilted it on my 1973 model Kenmore that was given to me by my mother-in-law.


The pattern is a very simple diagonal which is great for
my short periods of time when I can sew.
Anything more complicated and it might take years for me to finish!



My favorite machines were made in the 1950's in beautiful colors.
I also have a nice old treadle that I enjoy using.

Anyone else out there have an obsession, I mean um, fondness, for vintage sewing machines?

Hope you all are having a nice weekend!

-Susan

Fisher Price Little People

Fisher Price Little People


Lately, I have been reliving my childhood. My mother, a.k.a. Nana, found many of my old Fisher Price Play Family sets. (Okay, they belong equally to my sister and me.) Stinkerbaby seems to think they are the coolest toys ever. I tend to agree.


This re-discovery of old toys began a couple of weeks ago at a yard sale. Stinkerbaby and I found the Fisher Price castle. Many of you in your thirties likely remember this toy well. Having spent hours playing with the secret room and drawbridge, it was gratifying to see Stinkerbaby interested. It was not it pristine condition, but I wanted it to play with, um, I mean I wanted it for my daughter to play with, so the condition wasn't an issue. There was no price, but I figured it wouldn't be more than $5. But when I paid, it was only $1! That was the best deal of the day by far! Well, after cleaning it up a bit under Stinkerbaby's "supervision" it has become her new favorite toy. So, I asked Nana if she could find some of my old little people or any other sets. The next day, she bought the following Fisher Price play sets:

the house the ferris wheel

the children's hospital

the village

the parking garage

the carousel (unfortunately, this is broken)

the farm the Sesame Street Clubhouse

the Sesame Street apartment building

and this is not Little People, but cool anyway, the Weebles Haunted House.


She also brought about 30 people and cars. Stinkerbaby could hardly wait for me to clean each item! And they were DIRTY! But, what do you expect, they had been in storage in Nana's garage for almost thirty years! I haven't cleaned some of them yet. But I'm sure I will soon. Nana didn't ever find my castle. Some days, I'm really glad Nana's a packrat.

What was your favorite toy? How about your favorite Little People playset?

Introduction

Well, I suppose I have gotten the cart before the horse, so to speak.

So, let me introduce myself. I'm Susan, a stay-at-home mother of two wonderful, exhausting children, Stinkerbaby and Bonus. I have an awesome husband who is my tech support guy.

My interests are many:
family activities

cooking, especially baking
real food and traditional eating
natural, attachment parenting
babywearing
cloth diapering
breastfeeding
vintage sewing machines
repurposing, primarily clothing
sewing in general
taking pictures of kids and things in the natural world
being outdoors
gardening
thrift shopping
music

That is a partial list, of course. It's difficult to describe myself. If I've missed something, ask. I'll probably even answer!

-Susan