A Farmgirl Sews

Farmgirls are strong, hardworking, fun-loving, friendly, and creative. We are passionate, compassionate, and we have an intensely romantic side. Whether we wear overalls and a cotton shirt, or long skirts with pantaloons, there is romance in how we live and all we do and how we live our lives.

Recently I came across a bounty of old sewing patterns and I had so much fun sorting through the bags and bags of envelopes while deciding how I would use them.

Many ended up as tissue paper to wrap treasures purchased at our Cottage Sale this past weekend, and the instruction pages were pulled to use for craft paper and fun gift wrap paper. Empty envelopes were saved for scrapbooking and tag making.

However, nearly two dozen spoke to my Farmgirl heart. Patterns of jumpers, shirts, dresses, overalls, and even nightwear - all from decades past and present - ended up in a pile that I just couldn’t bear to take apart. There are long and short skirted, jumpers that can be adapted in length or embellished, a variety of dress styles, blouses and more. There is even a fabulous Wedding dress pattern that you can just surely envision a Farmgirl Bride marrying the man of her dreams and celebrating in the best barn party ever!

Here are some of the favorites, and you’ll find them all ready for you to purchase at www.farmgirlsisters.com at our on-line Cottage store.

One or two I will keep so that I can make them up and sell the finished products for you buy and wear! I only wish I could copy the patterns so more and more of you could enjoy them, however, remember Farmgirl Sisters respect copyright laws! But I promise to search them out where ever I go, and will keep adding them to our store.

To see them all, visit our website at www.farmgirlsisters.com, they will all be posted in our on-line Cottage Store over the next few days.

Happy sewing…………..

Bumble Bees and Pecans

It's Spring and our Spring Cottage Sale is in full swing, and here I am at 12:25 a.m. making bumble garland to put out for tomorrow's sale.  Still going strong Friday and Saturday, hundreds of great Spring and Easter Decorations, gift items, collectibles, antiques and so much more, but that's for another blog.....

I haven't ever posted about one of my craft projects before, but I think this garland is quite clever, and takes a little time, but is fairly easy.

What you'll need:
Pecans
Black Spray Paint
Yellow craft paint
Cordless drill and small drill bit
16 gauge black wire
Window screen
Heavy duty scissors
Glue gun
Needle nose pliers

Drill holes through pecans either end to end or through the middle depending on how you prefer to hang your bees; spray them all black;

Using bright yellow craft paint - I used Daffodil - add your bumble bee stripes;

Using heavy duty work scissors, cut modified heart shapes for your wings from the window screen;

With a drop of hot glue add your wings to the top center of your bee. If you have drilled the holes through the middle for vertical hanging,be sure to not glue your wing over the hole. I simply cut a deeper v into my heart shape so the wings go "around" the pre-drilled hole.


I like to leave my wire on the spool until I have completed my garland because I kind of "free hand" my curls and spirals, so I never know how much wire I will actually use. For garland, feed the horizontal drilled "bees" onto the wire.

Curl the cut end of the wire into a loop for hanging, the add a few spirals. Move a bee that you previously fed onto the wire up to the spiral, and add another spiral, move the next bee up the wire, and continue for length of garland you wish. I use about 7 "bees" per strand. Once you've completed getting the "bees" into place and your final spiral, leave a length of wire, and clip the garland from the spool, with your needle nose pliers, curl the end into a loop for hanging.

I like to use a wooden spoon to wrap my wire around for my spirals.

I like to make vertical "bees" to hang from pots or garden hooks. Use the same technique above, but use the bees you drilled through the middle.







and there you have a garden of bumble bee garland from pecans...........buzz! I think I shall try some Lady Bugs from walnuts next!

Ghost words on a page

Yates Center Kansas
January 28, 1891


Dear Miss Ridgeway,


Remember me and bear in mind a
True young friend is hard to find
But if you find one good and true
Change not the old one for the new.

Your true and every loving friend
Montie Cannady

A most recent eBay treasure is a most fabulous autograph book from 1891. Only a small portion of the pages are signed, but each with the loving and painfully perfect script of young writers to what appears to be to their departing teacher, who seems to be leaving perhaps to marry. Reading them - like ghost words on a page - bring back the memories of a long ago time, an era of refinement, when with pen in hand you put your thoughts to page.  Each page of this aging record of thoughts and wishes, contains young prose and a marvelous Victorian scrap piece pasted to the page with great care and show of fondness.

I sit here looking out the window at the empty winter branches of the trees that surround my home, thinking of Spring to come, knowing that I still have a bit of wait. I’m anxious for Spring this year. I think I need the signs of new life. I feel bleak today, like the branch with one hanging leaf clinging on although the life from it is long gone.

I play many roles in my life, an Army Mom of a son, who will deploy on his fourth mission in the coming week; a caregiver for an aging parent as well as a chronically ill partner; one of millions struggling in today’s economy –

and then I remind myself, I have other roles as well – an incredibly proud and blessed Mom to a marvelous son, Aunt to a nephew and niece expecting their second miracle baby, sister to the best sister ever, best friend, and good friend to my circle of farmgirl sisters.

So today I will run my errands, be sure Mom is doing better, and go up to the craft studio and work on my organizing opportunity (if you saw my before pictures, you know it's more than just an opportunity HA!), craft a bit, and in the solace of my workspace, remind myself of my many, many blessings.

So look for the beauty today my farmgirl friends, look for the beauty and have a marvelous day!
 
'til next time,
Stormy