Friday, July 11, 2008

Success Sunday

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"Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not the be picked in strangers' gardens"
--Douglas Jerrold
"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection." --Michelangelo
"I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be content" -- Phil. 4:11


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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Drawing for "A Squash and a Squeeze" Book


Remember the post about the children's book A Squash and a Squeeze last week? The underwhelming response was sorta ungratifying since only three responses came in. But my husband did the honors of drawing a name from the fishbowl, and the winner of the book is Rita. Please let me know your mailing address, Rita, and I will send you this sweet book. Thanks!

Sewing a Woman's Shirt from a Man's Shirt

That good old Pfaff sewing machine has been working with vintage tablecloths and napkins to help me create a woman's work shirt that takes on some feminine aspects. There was a work shirt application about painted and appliqued men's shirts previously posted, and this is another way to work with men's shirts.

A blue plaid size L man's shirt was newly purchased at a discount store. The white and blue pieces of fabric with embroidered flowers were cut from a vintage tablecloth and added to the plaid to perk up its appearance.









The shirt cuffs have an extended triangular piece of cut work taken from a vintage tablecloth (mirror images on left and right cuff). That fabric was then appliqued over the sleeves and down to the cuff from a 5" length triangular swatch.
When folded upwards, the cuffs show the pretty cut work.

Likewise, the back and front yokes of the shirt were similarly appliqued. Above is the back neck and below is the front of the woMAN's shirt:

I like to wear long sleeved shirts year-round to hide a bit of my compression bandage, and finding cool summer fabrics in long sleeved shirts is a bit of a challenge, except when shopping in the men's section of department stores.

Purchasing a man's 100% cotton shirt and then feminizing it with sewing techniques makes it somewhat more of woman's apparel and solves the problem of looking for shirts with long sleeves that are less available in women's clothing. Wear it over a t-shirt and it creates a sort of easy-wear jacket that hides a multitudes of figure problems.