Rain, Rain Go Away!

Happy Fourth of July! I only wish it was not so wet. We had rain for the last two days and expect it for another three. Our plans to go to the beach (it is raining at the beach) have gone awry. It is no fun sailing in the rain. My girls are about to go stir crazy so we may make a mad dash down the the beach and hope it stops raining for an hour. My plans to have an outdoor meal to celebrate the 4th is out the door as well. We may still get fireworks if the weather improves a bit.

I do love sewing on rainy days though. Nothing takes away the rainy blues like a new project. Especially if the fabric is bright. My friend, Rene, found a cute, red blouse at Ross and purchased it for a low price. However, when she got it home she found a rip along the button placket. She tried to exchange it, but there were no more in her size. She brought it to me and asked if there was anyway to repair the rip and it was an easy fix.

The fabric is a sheer polyester. I used a piece of cut way stabilizer (organza would work as well) and placed it on wrong side of the seam. Using matching thread, I stitched the smallest width zig zag stitch close to the placket seam.

For repairing her shirt, she made me the best rack of baby back ribs for the Fourth! I love sewing!

Candy Isle at Target

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I had planned a night of sewing and blogging and instead, spent the evening with my two year old daughter walking up the candy isle at Target. The evening started out well. I picked the girls up after work with the intention of sewing after dinner. My wonderful husband made dinner and we were off to a good start. Dishes were clean and we were ready to settle for the evening. I innocently asked Jane (my two year old) how was her day and she began to tell me how no one received a treat today because they were out of candy. Let me just add, I am a dental hygienist and preach against candy everyday but, I am also a candy lover. There are only a few types of candies I will not eat. Feeling sad that my daughter was sad and knowing the the wonderful ladies that watch over her everyday and potty trained her missed the treats as well, I decided we would run to the store and buy treats for the treat jar. Target at 7:30 p.m. was not that busy so I thought we would be done in five minutes and back on track. Well, it took longer to pick a treat out than I had planned. I had hoped for a xylitol candy but could not find any. Anything with nuts was off the list due to possible allergies in her class. I hate Tootsie roll suckers and so we finally decided on dum-dum suckers and a bag of smarties. The smarties were really for me but I told Jane she could have a few to take to her class. I have to admit that I felt like a hypocrite  buying candy for little children. However, I do remember being a child and my older sister walking us to the 7-11 and us picking out all kinds of goodies, so why take a pleasure of childhood away? Besides, I have never had a cavity and hope that my girls inherit my teeth. I did feel like I was getting the stink eye from people, not for the candy but at 8:00 I guess they thought Jane should have been in bed. To that I say it is the Summer and rules of bedtime are meant to the broken. The moral of this story is never make plans, they will change and always brush your teeth before you go to bed, especially, if you eat a lot to candy.

Easy Recycled Drink Coasters

Summer is here. I can't complain about the heat just yet. We have had a nice June temperature wise. Nothing is better than sitting outside under the shade of a tree listening to the great outdoors. A large glass of sweet tea or lemonade and a current issue of Sew News or Sew World makes for a wonderful afternoon. In order to enjoy the drink and not leave a ring on the table a coaster is always helpful. I was in my sewing studio and did not want to leave a wet ring on my sewing table and I realized I had everything to make an easy coaster and keep my drink from leaving a ring. I had some left over scraps of chevron canvas and some terry cloth baby bibs. My girls are now two and four, so we have several bibs from their baby days that are just a little too stained to give away but still too nice just to throw away. Why not use them as the batting of the coasters? All you will need for your own coasters are some scrap fabric and a few used baby bibs. I used a lid from a jar as my pattern and cut from the fabric two circles. I cut from the baby bib one circle, then I layered the bib fabric between the two fabric circles. I did use temporary spray adhesive to keep the layers from shifting while sewing. I used one of my machine's decorative stitches to complete the project.

Fabric Chevron Canvass

Recycled terrycloth baby bib

Finished coasters

Have fun with the decorative stitches and thread color. I may even do a few with a monogram. Make several for your Fourth of July table. 

Check out Half Baked blog for a Fourth of July giveaway. http://half-bakedbaker.blogspot.com/

Summer is Going By Fast

Where did May go?

June is going by as fast as May. It seems just yesterday I was on Jekyll Island at the Southern C Conference, (which was great by the way.) and now Memorial Day is over. It has been a productive month at Beatrice & Lulu. Working on the web page. The Farmer's Trail started the first weekend in June and we have working our table at Waterberry Farm. Exciting times. With the month on May over and June zooming by, it is time to start working on Fourth of July items. My next blog will be "Putting a little green in the Fourth of July." Plans to make fabric bowel covers (no plastic) which will cover the food outside on the table and cover the leftovers in the refrigerator. Also, some pretty, festive place mats and table runners. Not to mention a dress or two.

On another note, since I have a passion for teeth and good oral hygiene. My family recently went to the Birmingham Zoo and encountered the largest tooth I ever seen. Can you guess which animal?

Well, here goes my first blog. It might take me a few posting before I get the hang of this. A little bit about myself first. I am a dental hygienist by day and a sewer by night. I am married (18 years) and mother of a four year old and a two year old. Both girls. My blog will primarily be about fabrics, patterns and creating with needle and thread. However, I my girls play a part in my sewing, so you will get glimpses of them as well. Not to mention a fun fact about teeth every now and then.  You will also meet my identical twin in a few post, since we have a few projects that we are collaborating on this summer.