Tea Towel Totes

If you've followed the blog for a while, you may remember the summer bucket list that my husband found in the alley a couple of summers ago. It had been written by a teenage girl. At least the items on her list were things a teenage girl would like to do. The list was fun, and interesting. My husband tried to see if he could find someone and return the list, but no one was to be found, so he brought the list home to me. I was so inspired by her list that it prompted me to create 1 of my own. What really inspired me was the fact that she was so looking forward to summer, with intention, and with goals. As I read through her list, I realized that I allow time to just go by. Yes, I have goals, but the very focused aspect of her list is what inspired me to do 1 of my own.

When I sat down to work on my list, I decided that rather than just write it on paper, I would paint something and make it all the more special. Here is what I did, a bouquet of cone flowers.

               

After I finished the piece, I decided that I would like to see about turning it into fabric. Off to Spoonflower! There I was able to upload my piece and create fabric. I did do a yardage piece that ended up becoming part of a bag;

As well as pillowcases for my bed;

I also had tea towels printed. I took 4 of the tea towels and made them into totes. I've made 2 and I just love how they turned out!  

Forgive the light peeking through the door :) I just love the size. So often when I go to the store and buy a long loaf of bread, I end up carrying it in my hand as it won't stay in the bag. This bag will hold a long loaf of bread without a problem. 

The handles posed a bit of a dilemma, but I had some fabric that worked beautifully.  

I also used the fabric to cover chip board which gives the bag a sturdy bottom. You can purchase chip board from an art supply store. 

I think tea towels make the greatest bags for gifts. You can really tailor something to the likes of the person you are giving the bag to. If you go to Spoonflower, you'll find lots, and lots of tea towel designs. If by chance you like my design, you can find it HERE. I recommend the Linen Cotton Canvas fabric for tea towels and bags.

Now that the bags are made, I can't wait to give them away!!! I know that both recipients are going to love them. Isn't it just the best when you know you're giving something you've made to someone who is going to love it?!!!  

Happy Sewing!

Rhonda

Fun With Tea Towels

Good Morning!!! I am a very happy girl this morning :) I had  a colonoscopy yesterday, and not a polyp was found...WOO HOO! The last time I had one, 4 years ago, a polyp was found, precancerous, so not an issue, but I was concerned going into this one...
There's a history of colon cancer in my family(my grandmother died with colon cancer), one has already been found, I'm older, and, the list goes on. 
No one likes to think, much less talk about getting a colonoscopy, but if you are hesitant about getting one, please, by all means don't put it off. Yes, it's 2 days out of your life, but the 2 days spent could mean that you have more rather than less days here on earth. 

I'm a little late in getting this out, but Spoonflower is having their annual 50% off fat quarter sale. You may remember that I took a stab at designing a piece of fabric this past summer. Here it is below as a fat quarter.

If you might like to have one of your own, HERE is a link to my page and the design. A fat quarter of this piece is just $7.00 during the sale. The piece makes a great tea towel as well as a bag, or an insertion on a jacket, or skirt. So, the sky is the limit!!!

You may remember the super cute woven t-shirt that Becky of Trial Balloons made with my design. We also devoted 1 segment of our summer challenge to tea towels. 

Spoonflower suggests their Linen Cotton Canvas fabric for tea towels.

The sale only runs through Thursday, November 8, 2018, so be sure to hop over quickly if you want to participate in the sale.

I ordered a  few tea towel lengths for myself as well as gifts...

I love just about anything with vegetables. This is the Farmer's Market Tea Towel and you can find it HERE. 

I ordered a pile of these to give to my sewing friends. You can find the sewing machine tea towel calendar HERE.

And finally, I thought this deer calendar would be such a lovely little gift. You can find it HERE.

We are supposed to get snow tomorrow for the first time this season. I can't wait!!! I have no idea as to whether Mr. Berkley has ever seen snow, but I'm sure he will enjoy it. He enjoys everything!!! :)

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda 

Bragging On You!

Another day at the zoo! ;) Night before last, Mr. Berkley woke me up at 1 in the morning, thrashing around in his crate, the horrible cone scraping against the sides. I listened, thinking he would settle down, he did, so I went back to sleep. When I got up at 5, and opened the crate, I saw that this little bugger had managed to pull out some of his stitches. So, another trip to the vet. Now he is wearing a lampshade sized cone on his head, and has brand new staples in his incision. But, I figured out that I could take the cone off of his head when we go for a walk. He and I are so much happier. And, no crate for sleeping, he has found a place beside me. So, I don't know, maybe I would have been the worst mom in the world, or maybe the best ;)

There is nothing I love more than being able to brag on things that you do, especially if I have given you a bit of inspiration.

A few weeks ago, I received a note from Jelena telling me that she had made the Caught In A Wave dress, but in a woven fabric. I asked that if she had time, to send a picture. I am SO very happy that she did!!! Isn't this a lovely dress?!!!

I love how it drapes. Check out those fabulous shoes! 
The dress was worn to a Tango Festival. She said that it moved beautifully, and that she received tons of compliments, and she should have, it is gorgeous. Jelena was a little concerned about the dress staying in place with it being such a slinky satin, but it did. Thanks so much for sharing your lovely creation! 
   

You can find the original post and how tos on the Caught In A Wave Dress HERE.

I also received a note from Penny. I did not inspire this make, but since I posted something on working with tea towels, she thought she would share these pics of her daughter. It was actually her daughter's inspiration that brought about these lovely tees. She was shopping at Ikea, found the towels, and thought they would make great summer tops. Had her mom put them together for her. 

I especially like the top below with the embroidery along the hem. Who would ever think that these were initially intended for the kitchen?!!

Thanks so much for sharing your lovely makes. This is where my inspiration originates :)

Rhonda

Tea and Tea Towels/ A Challenge

Well, I am getting a taste of what it's like to be a mother today. Little Berkley went in to be neutered yesterday, and has had a few issues with the medication. Add to it that he does not want to leave my side. And then I have Gracie, who is terribly afraid of the rain. Between fast trips outside, if you know what I mean :/, and 2 dogs that are wanting lots of attention, I've had a difficult time getting anything accomplished. But the rain will come to an end, and Berkley will heal, in the meantime, I'm just enjoying the fact that they look to me for comfort :)

Today is the first day of woven t-shirt challenge that Becky of Trail Balloons and I are doing as a collaboration. The fun part about it is that we have a specified challenge each week, but we have no idea what the other will be doing.

This week, the challenge was to work with tea towels. Becky picked up a lovely towel while on vacation and used it as the basis of her design. You can see her post HERE. It really turned out to be the perfect 'throw it on and go' top as well as an airy, 'stay cool through the summer' piece. For anyone who loves good tea, she offers a wonderful idea for making your own tea bags. 

I have a box full of vintage linens and tea towels that I have collected over the years. When Becky suggested using tea towels, I thought of a pile that I had found, all new/old stock, so, old but never used. And, all the same. They were especially wide, so maybe not really tea towels, but they would work for this project. 

I decided to use the free raglan tee pattern that I used in THIS post. The pattern plus my pile of towels resulted in this!      

I was able to turn the pattern so that I could use the finished edge of the towel for the hem of the top. There's a faint black accent line woven into the fabric, so I decided to use a piece of vintage black gingham as an accent. One corner was cut, turned on the bias, and then laid on top of the gingham to create the pocket. 

For the back, I used another corner to cover up an issue. While the towels had never been used, there were some age spots that I could not work around. For fun, I added a piece of the gingham to the back and topped it with some embroidered initials from another tea towel.

A lovely time when towels were monogrammed :) 

Below is the age spot that the back overlay covers up. I also used the black gingham to bind the neckline.

I felt that the sleeves needed a little interest, so I added a stripe of the gingham. Just stitched it over 1 of the stripes in the towel.

Not quite sure what I will wear the top with, maybe a pair of linen pants. 

And now for my recipe...

Like Becky, I love tea, and I have quite the collection. During the summer, I especially like a glass of lavender iced tea. While the tea is great to drink, it's also great to cook with! Believe it or not, it's the secret ingredient in my lemon bars. 

I begin with a box of lemon cookie thins that I get from Trader Joe's. If you don't live near a Trader Joe's, I'm sure you can find something comparable in your grocery store.

The cookies are crushed to make a  cookie crust.

Mashed into a foil lined pan and baked until golden brown.

All of the ingredients for the lemon/lavender filling are combined in a blender, and then poured over the baked crust.

The result is a lemon bar that is sinfully good!

Lemon Lavender Bars

Crust Ingredients;

8 oz. butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 cups crushed lemon cookie thins

Filling Ingredients;

8 large eggs

1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 3/4 cups lavender sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup flour

To Prepare Crust

Crush cookie thins. Add vanilla extract and melted butter. Mix well. Foil line a 9"' x 13" pan. Spray or grease the foil. Pour cookie mixture into pan and press out smoothly. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

Filling;

While the crust is cooking, place eggs in blender and blend until frothy smooth. Add lemon juice, and continue blending. Add lemon sugar and flour and blend until smooth. Finish with the lemon zest. 

Once the crust is golden brown, pour the filling over the crust and place in oven, reducing the heat to 325 degrees. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

Remove from oven and allow the bars to cool. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. The bars will store well in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Lavender sugar can be purchased, but you can also make your own. I used the lavender tea to make mine. Use 2 tablespoons of crushed lavender to 3 cups of sugar. This is a very nice sugar to keep on hand. Use it in cookie recipes, as well as pancakes.

Enjoy!

Rhonda

And the Winners Are...

You may have noticed that the title says winners, plural :)

Last Monday, I shared my new tea towel/fabric design I made from a watercolor piece that I did,

As I said last week, so may wonderful things have happened recently, and I always enjoy sharing a bit of joy, so I decided to give away 1 of my fat quarter/tea towels. Well...I was able to take advantage of a fabulous sale, and then Spoonflower gives me a discount since I am the designer of the piece, so all the more affordable. Rather than giving away 1 piece, I decided to give away 3! So yes, there are 3 lucky winners :)

And the winners are(since my handwriting is basically illegible!)...

Laura Tyre Phillips

Cynthiacc

And Sew Forth

Congratulations ladies!!!

Be sure to email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing address so I can get the fabric out to you.  

Have a fabulous week!

Rhonda

P.S.

If anyone is interested, I will have the fabric ready to sell on the Spoonflower site later this week. I'll let you know when it is up and ready to go! 

A Little Something Unexpected

Just a quick post this morning :) 

Whenever any of us begin something new, it can be scary and intimidating. Not everyone will like what you're doing, and some will criticize. 

But then...there are those who will support, and cheer you on, regardless of whether they feel it's a good idea or not. That's what so many of you are for me :), and I cannot begin to express my true gratitude. 

You may remember the Spoonflower tea towels that I purchased last November,

They are such a simple little gift, but everyone seems to love receiving them. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that it's an unexpected gift.

Well...I have one of the sewing tea towels left, and rather than keep it for myself, I thought I would choose a name from the list of all of you who left a message on Monday's post. Your thoughts and messages gave me the encouragement that I needed!

So, I drew names, and the winner of the towel is...

Tomasa!!!

A little unexpected gift :) Email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com with your mailing info and I will pop it in the mail.

While I wish I had a towel for each of you, I am working on a little something that I hope many of you will enjoy, so stay tuned!

Have a wonderful day! I hope something wonderful and unexpected happens for each and everyone of you today :)
Rhonda

Tea Towels For Christmas

For those of us who enjoy giving a gift not only from our hearts, but from our hands, I think we can all relate to this... 

All too often, my desires have been much larger than my capability :)

I especially enjoy giving a little gift to someone who really doesn't expect anything. Last year, I ordered a bunch of tea towels from Spoonflower and had the best time giving them to friends. 

I just received an email from Spoonflower announcing that their Tea Towels, actually all of their fat quarters are on sale!!!, a 2 for 1 sale.

That means you can give a very thoughtful gift for only $7.00. I think that $7.00 for a smile is a great bargain :) 

I just combed through all 48 pages, and here's a few that I purchased.

For my sewing friends. You can find the towels HERE

I especially love vegetables and any type of fun vegetable print. You can find the beets HERE

The turnips HERE

This may end up staying in my kitchen as I absolutely love this print. You can find it HERE

For a friend who has a French country kitchen and loves roosters. You can find this towel HERE.

For a friend who lives in the mountains. You can find it HERE

The cardinals were available last year as a 2016 calendar. I was happy to see them bring it back for 2017. This one will brighten up the kitchen of a friend who has had an especially difficult year. 

I bought a few more, but these were my favorites. 

The sale will run from today through November 9, 2016, so don't delay!!!

Happy Holiday Sewing!

Rhonda

Priceless

Finding a great tea towel on Spoonflower...

Fun

Making an all purpose bag out of the tea towel...

Creative

Surprising a friend who has been through a rough time and seeing her smile...

Priceless!!!

A Little Gift That Makes Everyone Smile

I've gone back and forth about posting this as it's such a simple little thing...tea towels from Spoonflower. In fact, when I've given them away, I don't feel that I can actually say that I've made them since all I did was stitch around the edges. But everyone, and I mean everyone has been so delightfully surprised when I present them with a simple tea towel. Since there's nothing better than making someone smile, I thought I would go ahead and share a few links, as you might like to be able to give a simple little gift that is sure to please.
Most of the tea towels that I purchased are calendar towels. You can purchase the tea towels as a fat quarter, or by the yard. If you buy them by the yard, you will receive 4 towels. Be aware that the towels are quite a bit cheaper per towel if you buy them by the yard. 
Below is a sampling of what I purchased. 

Cardinals as I feel that cardinals bring good luck :) You can find them here, http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/4653097

This towel does not have a calendar, but a friend of mine has a lovely French country kitchen and I thought this would be perfect.

For a friend who loves music. Here's a link, http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1504583

What a perfect gift for anyone who sews! These towels were met with especially big smiles :)

I looked for links to the other towels, and just about went blind looking. So, here's a link where you can find more towels than you ever thought might exist.
I purchased one more,

I thought the fox was adorable and then the background is my favorite color. Rather than finishing the edges, I'm making a bag(that I plan to keep!). I'll be sure to share it once it's finished. Here's a link, http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1909492#
If you do decide to purchase a few towels as gifts, I hope that the recipients are as happy as mine have been. It really makes giving a little gift so much fun!