3.25.11 ... the real way to keep a man

i know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and that's pretty true, i admit. but if you want to know the secret to the ultimate 100% mate for life guarantee, here it is my friends --- become adept {some might say, genius} at salvaging his favorite clothing items.

and, trust me, you got yourself a man. happy friday, dear readers. i do hope you're enjoying this wonderful day. see you over the weekend with something less profound but much more visually satisfying. no doubt.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

2.22.11 ... a sign of peace and a little patch

i finished preparing the four outgoing packages and many times i like to include something extra. it was gloomy today so this is the only set i had the chance to photograph. the button is made from a magazine piece i have had for a long time, the peace hand is one of my recently produced home made stickers and the bookmark was started long ago. i added the heart and loop edge ribbon. i really love how it compliments the swirls in the bookmark photo.

 

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a while later i took a few moments to patch this old kitchen towel. the eggplant embroidered applique is separating from the towel after all these years. i found this little fabric scrap with the flowers in the same shade as the bleached out eggplant. i think it is good to go for quite some time and that patch will bring me a smile because it's from one of scout's toddler tops.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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1.29.11 ... favorite towel obsessive mend

i have a vintage towel that i love and i mend it when i start to fret it is wearing too much. this one has been mended before. but it needed - and still needs - a major fix. so here is a little bit of a stitching journey ...

this photo shows the other worn end of the towel.  this strip was mended long ago before the edge became this frayed.   if you look closely you can see how the stripe section is wearing, too. now here is the end i worked on one day last week and finished today...

first i choose patches and iron them in place with a little bit of bonding tape. you can see one old patch in this row. next, i put two long single pieces on the reverse...

...along with a few extra patches ... it seems unending which is why i can't handle it in one day. the set up project is very time consuming. following are some photos of the completed mending. to me, the towel becomes more beloved with the patches. i chose them carefully. most are pieces of favorite clothing we've worn out or the children - all four in some cases - outgrew. others are pieces given to me by wonderful people who know i love to sew with scraps. every piece has a story no matter where i acquired it. i do this with favorite clothing and sheets, too. we have extremely unique and interesting sheets in our house. those are typically mind numbing projects because of the size & bulk of the fabric and the extreme state of disrepair of the threadbare sheets. my sewing machine is just a simple lightweight model. favorites are revered in our house. i guess.

there are many lines of stitching in order to secure the edges of both the reverse and front pieces. and also i like to sew random patterns. it helps keeps the task enjoyable instead of becoming crazy making monotony.

i would tell you the stories behind some of these pieces but i have no idea if anyone even reads these posts so i'll save those for now. enjoying your weekend? i hope so.

 

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i'll wait another week or so before i tackle that other end and then i will have my towel back. i'll be one happy shower camper.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

1.12.11 ... mending & soup

i was mending and choosing papers for other projects and cooking and mending and so much more. there's no way i could bear to show you my super mend project which is in a state of limbo at the moment. do you ever fix large sheets or tablecloths, that kind of thing? i am working on this old, old and may i add old, mattress pad. it's so groovy because it is all cotton and very worn and soft. the side panels, if they ever had elastic, are no longer so much as curved no less gathered. we started using it as a nighttime film/tv blanket and the poor thing is really losing its everything. so i have patched it many times but now it needs a seriously patched - giant - center section. i mended a greenland sized tear and managed to get one half of one side patch completed. then i worked for what seemed like forever on an even larger piece on the reverse side. i am using old sheets. i have it pinned and ready to sew but there is no way i had the stamina to tackle all that mass of fabric by the time i accomplished that task. i made a new hungarian goulash soup recipe. we added a few touches and it was delicious. it is still FREEZING here. that is crazy talk for austin. but the soup was a perfect warm up.

so my photos today are taken with my iphone. i just didn't have any light, especially by the time these were completed when low light was not even an option. it was dark. i took these knit pants out of the dryer and found a seam split and while i was preparing to zig zag it i had a brilliant idea and placed this piece of scrap underneath. boy, did that ever make things a snap. and now the seam is reinforced better, too. i hope you can get an idea of what i did. if you ever mend knit seams you will understand why this was just plain dreamy.

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this is the reverse side, once trimmed.

and here is my soup.

now it is time for another west wing episode so i leave you with a wish for a warm, toasty evening. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

Scissor Case & TeXaS Applique Mend

Recently I stumbled upon this fabulous handmade work apron. I have been planning to make one for myself. Once again, procrastination pays off. This is beautifully constructed and has been loved and lovingly cared for ~ and all for 1.99. Irresistible. So now I tool around the house with my pony {iphone} in one pocket, my pen and paper in one and my trusty scissors in the center. I don't want the scissors to stress the fabric so I made this little slip case for them. It's made from hand dyed viscose I purchased from my Etsy friend { www.sassalynne.etsy.com } Scout was my model {above}. Today we received a goodie package from our friend, Stacy, in Hawaii. She included that gorgeous bracelet for Scout who is thrilled. It's perfect for her. {Stacy is beautiful and so are her creations found HERE at stacysdesigns88 }

I also did some mending today. This is my favorite. It's our bedspread which is pretty heavy weight and was a real bear to accomplish. Just finished it this evening { I did laundry for 8 hours today. } so I could only grab this picture below the lamp. I adore this fabric and this patch will always remind us of our time here in Austin. Sweet dreams... until tomorrow... It's a great day for America, everybody. Yes it is.

ps. Craig is performing here this weekend. Wish we could see his show. But alas, that is not in the budget. :)

http://www.joonbeam.etsy.com

http://joonwalk.etsy.com

http://www.flyinghousewife.etsy.com

http://joonbeam.blogspot.com

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Posted via email from thing-a-day 2010

New England Tea Cake & Tag Repair

This morning I was looking at an incredible little handmade cookbook I found at the thrift store this week. I want to make one just like it. Maybe I will. I happened upon a recipe for a cake similar to this one that has been in my family for ??? It was interesting to see the two recipes side by side because some of the measurements were the exact same, some were half and some were double --- and I started thinking about just how much leeway we have when we 'follow' a recipe.

We have altered our original a bit. We double the filling/topping mix. I wanted to take a picture before we cut into it. As you can see, no dice. I think you can see how pretty it is, nonetheless. And it tastes even better than it looks.

I also repaired a small hole in Scout's sleeve. She chose the tag from my collection which you can see a tiny bit of in the second photo below. I use clothing tags to repair everything. Some of my favorite shirts, pants, sheets and kitchen towels are peppered with them. I think they make whatever they are added to better than they were in the first place. I love going through the tags because it's like a treasure chest. I forget what's in there. I also love collecting funky tags. This is not too hard for me because I only buy used clothing and I always remove the tags because I have the princess and the pea syndrome. A serious case. These shouldn't be hidden anyway, right?

Until tomorrow... It's a great day for America, everybody. Yes it is.

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Posted via email from just joon