Monday Morning Inspiration/Visible Mending

When I was in St. Louis a few weeks back, my husband and I had brunch with a friend at the most delightful restaurant called Tree House. It's a vegetarian restaurant and the food is amazing. If you are ever in St. Louis, by all means, make your way over for a meal. You won't be disappointed.

Our waitress that morning was so delightful, and as it turns out, quite creative. She loves taking old pieces and giving them new life. She was wearing a vintage silk top that had a hole in it when she found it. Rather than pass the piece by, she purchased the top and then did the sweetest little applique over the hole and added an embroidered spider web over the applique. I wish I had taken a picture. 

With that in mind, I decided to check out mending on Pinterest and I found a few inspirational pictures that I thought you might also enjoy. If you're in the mood, just search visible mending. You'll find lots of interesting ideas.

So here's a few that I found,

I love how a hole was turned into a window in the 2 pieces below.

       

Another window idea, but with lace. 

The next 2 pieces are from an amazing artist, Lou Tonkin. She does needle felting over holes. Beautiful work.  

If you think you might like to give needle felting a try and do a little mending, or just add a sweet touch to a garment, check out THIS POST. 

Even just a simple little touch can save a garment and add interest. 

I may be showing my age, but I am not a fan of the ripped up jean look. The Japanese have such a beautiful art form called Boro where garments are pieced and saved, but no holes are left open.

I thought this was rather fun, adding the British flag in a subtle manner.

Rather than discard a garment because the sleeves are worn, a touch of embroidery will make a worn garment so special. 

I loved how this artist took a striped denim and matched the mend with plain denim and white thread.

A beautiful touch of Boro on this pair of jeans. You can find more of this artist's work at Woman With Wings.

Amy Meissner is another textile artist that you might want to check out. Very interesting work.

And finally, for a little peek into my hippy personality ;), a pair of jeans that I actually wear. It all began with a hole that I decided to cover with a patch.....and then I went crazy!  

So now you see, patching no longer needs to be what your mother did to save the life of a pair of pants by ironing a patch over the knees.  

Happy Monday!

Rhonda

Sunday Night Reflections

At birth we boarded the train, met our parents, and we believed they would always travel by our side. However, at some station. our parents stepped down from the train, leaving us on the journey alone.

As time goes by, other people will board the train, and they will be significant, like our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of our life. Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize they vacated their seats. This train will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells.

The mystery to everyone is:
We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way, love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are. Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves. It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty, we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

I wish you a joyful journey. Reap success and give lots of love. More importantly, thank God for your journey.

And lastly, I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train....... 

A Little Something Sweet On Sunday/Easy Apple Tart

After a little absence, I'm back with something sweet and so, so easy to make. If you are in need of an easy dessert that will still impress, this apple tart is a must!  

Easy Apple Tart

1 Sheet puff pastry

3 Granny Smith Apples peeled and sliced

1 12 1/2 oz. can Almond Cake and Pastry Filling

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons butter melted

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Begin with 3 large Granny Smith apples. Peel and slice. Set aside.

Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry to fit a 9" x 13" baking sheet. Make sure that the edges overlap the edge of the baking sheet. Lightly grease pan before laying out pastry.

Take 1 can of almond cake and pastry filling and spread evenly over puff pastry.

Arrange sliced apples over almond filling.

Sprinkle cinnamon over apples.

Sprinkle sugar and slivered almonds over apples and cinnamon.

Crimp edges of the puff pastry inside the baking sheet. This is a rustic tart, so the edges don't need to be perfect.
Brush melted butter over apples and the edges of the puff pastry.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake tart for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the almond filling is bubbling between apples. 

This will yield 8 slices.
Serve as is, or if you like, serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I like it just as it is :) 
Enjoy!
Rhonda

The Amber Trouser Giveaway Winner

A very Happy Monday to you all! Here in America, it's not only Monday, but a national holiday, Independence Day. There will be lots of outdoor grilling, picnics, and fireworks. My Independence Day celebration is a very quiet affair. We will cook out on the grill, but no fireworks for us. My poor dogs are so terrified, so our celebration involves curling up together and watching a movie, and keeping things as quiet as we can. Keeping the house quiet is no small feat as the park that is near us looks like a scene from a war movie. And guess what, fireworks are illegal in the city of Chicago!!! 

So many of you sent such nice compliments on my Amber Trousers. Thanks so much :) I really do like the pants. I have the narrow leg version on my cutting table and pattern hack version as well for the wide leg version. A simple little change that I think will be fun. I'll be sure to post them once they're finished.

Now for the winner...

It's d*art!!!

Congratulations d*art! Please be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com ASAP. Lisa of Paparika Patterns will be forwarding the pattern on to you. 

In the meantime, for those of you who sadly didn't win, the Amber Trousers are part of the Monthly Stitch Pattern Bundle.

The bundle is quite a nice deal, all 6 patterns for only $33.00! 

There's a 3 pattern pack for $21.00 as well, but the 6 pattern pack is a much better deal.

But if all you would like is the Amber Trouser, you can always pop over to Paprika Patterns and pick up the pattern. 

If you like the patterns that are included in the bundle, don't delay as the offer will expire on July 6, 2016.

Make The Pants That EVERYONE Is Wearing This Summer!

Well, at least everyone I see here in Chicago. 
A little over a month ago, Lisa of Paprika Patterns asked if I would test her new pant pattern. Testing patterns for Sew News over the last 3 years has been a delight and I always enjoy giving a new pattern a try. The pattern is the Amber Trousers, and it offers 2 options, a wide leg pant which I made, or a narrow leg. Both feature a yoke with a soft center front "v"

After I made up the pants, no joke, everywhere I went, I saw someone wearing a version of this pant. 
As I said, the pants feature a front and back yoke. 

There are front pleats, 

Side pockets,

and a side seam zipper. 

The pattern calls for an invisible zipper. I didn't have a navy invisible zipper on hand, so I used the metal zipper and made it an accent piece. 

The pants are so comfortable to wear.

 And they look great from the back too! 

  I ran out of fabric, so I lined the yoke in a print. Why not?!! 

The pants I'm wearing are from the test version of the pattern. Not bad at all for a test run. The only issue I had with the pattern was the length of the pants. I'm 5'6" tall and there was not enough length in the leg for a hem. No problem, I just made a facing and all was good. If you do make up the pants, just be sure to check the length of the pant leg to be sure that you'll have enough for the length that you desire.

Now for the good news!!!!

Lisa has given me a pattern to give away, YEA!!!

If you would like a chance to win a free pattern and make your own pair of Amber pants...and be in the "in crowd" here in Chicago :), then leave a message on this post. I'll announce the winner on Monday, July 4, 2016. 

Good Luck!

Rhonda 

The Suit That Made Me Cry

A late Wednesday check in. Hope you've had a lovely day. I found out that I have to get a urine sample from my dog first thing tomorrow morning. I made the comment to the vet that it will make for a great start to the day. He said, "look at it this way, the day can only get better!" Let's hope :)

So, the suit that made me cry and want to throw my sewing machine off the side of a mountain is now complete...and I love it!

My final post for the Papercut Patterns Soma Swimsuit is up on the Sew News blog and you can find it HERE.

I took A LOT of liberties with the pattern. With all of the sew alongs that I've done for Sew News, I always try and think about the sewist who doesn't have a store near by, and if they do, maybe one that's rather lacking in supplies. The pattern calls for the bodice of the swimsuit to be finished with foldover elastic. I used foldover elastic for the suit that I made for the magazine, but one issue is what if you can't find elastic that will match your fabric, like in the case of the metallic fabric that I used for this suit. 

The pattern also calls for a special ring for the straps. Here again, this may not be readily available and if you don't want to order your supplies, what can you do? I used a ring I found at the hardware store for the first suit that I made and for this suit, I was especially lucky and found this great hook that perfectly matched my fabric. I was ready to give up, but while I was in line at my chain fabric store, I just happened to notice these little flashlights with the hook attached. Score!!! 

I look at it this way, it's a swimsuit, so why not take a few liberties?!!

Pictures of me in the suit are coming up this Friday, along with a coverup. You may....or may not!!! want to pop back for that :) Actually, I REALLY like the suit and it looks fabulous on. Can't wait to actually jump in the water.

Be sure to pop over to Papercut Patterns as they have a number of new patterns up on their site that really look like winners.
I especially like the Bowline Sweater. 

With whatever project you are working on, just remember, just because the pattern recommends a certain product, it doesn't mean that you can't think outside the box and come up with an alternative. Sometimes the alternative is a whole lot more fun! 

Sunday Night Reflections

At age 20,  we worry about what others think of us.  At 40,  we don't care what they think of us.  At 60,  we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all.  Ann Landers

Thoughts to ponder;

Why Dressing Up Is The Secret To Happiness