V and Co: visits home ec in iowa city

 the other week i was invited to hang out with a few wonderful people. we went to a great shop down in iowa city, iowa. it was a pretty crazy weekend as there was a hawkeye game (and not just any game THE game against the cyclones. heaven help me i don't even follow football and know all the details) anyways that wasn't the only thing going on that weekend, there was also the president coming into town, and some festival...which i can't remember right now but i have a feeling it had to do with corn? don't quote me on that.

 anyways, as part of our get together we got to come in and hang out in codi's shop called home ec. it's really cute and homey and wonderful.

 every corner was filled with thread, yarn, notions, and fabric choices that are jut wonderful.

 she had knits, and echino, melody miller, coated fabrics and japanese fabrics. that's not all she had, she had a lot more...but those are the ones i was drooling over and so i didn't get to take pictures of the other stuff.

 the atmosphere was laid back, and yummy. in the front you had the sewing machines and some fabrics and notions...as you moved back...

 you were surrounded by wonderful yarn (wish i knew how to use it!) and a place to sit relax and work on a project while you ate your yummy pastry from the bakery she has in the store.

 she has classes on how to make this beautiful shirt (that most people have either heard of or have made one or want to make one) the tova which is the talented jenny gordy's very popular pattern. she teaches this class at home ec.
i will be teaching a class there soon. i'll let you know when it comes closer to the time. :)

 here is jenny and greta looking all smug and cheeky. kidding they were a hoot and we had a blast. here     greta is showing jenny her new fabric lines with marcus.

 so if you are in the iowa city area make sure you look up home ec and tell codi V and Co sent you.
:)
on our little trip linzee wanted to show me some of the awesome thrifting that goes on in this cute college town.

 i didn't walk away with too much stuff i was trying to be good. :)

 but i did find this lamp that is going in my eldest noisemaker's room. it looks great in his "map" room.

 speaking of the eldest noisemaker...apparently i'm rubbing off onto him because he came home from scout camp with that bowling pin. when the husband saw him with it he said "what in the? where did you get that and what are you going to do with that?"
noisemaker answers "i found it! isn't it cool? i'm going to use it as decoration in my room."
as the husband hangs and shakes his head in disgust, you pan to my face and i'm beaming with pride. :) first off it was free and it serves the purpose of nothing other than a cool fixture for decoration. job well done son. now you and i both can confuse the your father. :)
 i found a vintage quilt that instantly had to make it come home with me. when linzee asked what i was going to do with it i answered "hide it from my husband." seriously. it has no purpose except looking pretty. kidding the husband saw it and again i get the look of "WHERE IS THAT GOING?"

it's made me pick up my double wedding quilt, and i'm excited to keep going on it because i want it to be a vintage quilt someday as well, hopefully one that will stay in the family. 

have a lovely and productive day. :) i'm hoping for one!!!!

second hand re-creation

while in my cleaning organizing fit, i've been able to move things around and re-create with some second hand stuff that wouldn't normally go together.
i took my thrift store find silver basket, and my thrift store find glass candle stick holder (total cost $1.00)

and created my new center piece for my dining room table.
simple.
cheap.
and in my eyes
perfect.

well almost...i'm in search of a short metal candle stick so i can crazy glue it together. you know because of the high population of male noisemakers in my home...glass not good.

ps tutorial for my doll quilt will be up soon probably tomorrow. and i'm still working on some new stuff for my shop. we've been hit with the flu so things have been pushed back. currently i'm under a mountain of folded laundry.

oh and there's a sponsored giveaway on monday.
yeah, we'll talk soon.





v and co loves her sponsors check out maddy sunshine

mini tutorial: vintage looking signs

first off, i just have to say you have entertained me for the past few days with your comments! everything from laughing and agreeing with my sentiments about the tree, to stories about how much more crazy you are than me, to touching stories of memories of when your mother finally gave in to the ugly tree, or your memories of how awesome your mom was to let you have your stuff on the tree.
whatever the case... thanks
my family and i had a blast reading your comments! :)

ready to see ONE of the things i've been working on? (yes i'm working on seasonal projects too and will show those later on next week possibly.)
okay.
so i like "vintage" looking things. if i can get my hands on the real thing it's like christmas no matter what time of the year it is... but too often that doesn't happen, and if i do come across something, it's too expensive for me to feel good about it.
so i decide to make my own.
you've seen my country sign tutorial where i take a stencil and draw and paint on each letter.
well here's an alternative, with design and picture possibilities. both signs shown in this post were created the same way.
what you need first:
wood. old barn wood if you have it. with chipped paint even better.

first things first, make sure you sand down wood and get rid of some of the chipping paint.
clean off with a wet rag.
next, take your barn wood and spray paint it with the color you want as your lettering and picture. (with the mom's pie sign i spray painted red first)
next get vinyl lettering. i got mine here. (the gal is super nice and is willing to do custom orders for whatever you want your sign to say.) or you can buy these ones featured here as well.
after your base paint has completely dried, place your vinyl lettering on top of your wood board.
make sure you press it down really well. you don't want paint seeping under.
next get your top coat paint. this will be the main color of your sign. i used spray paint that i had sitting in my garage from past projects.
once you are satisfied that your board is completely covered in the top coat. let it sit for a while so it completely dries.
next you are going to peel off your vinyl letters.
slowly peel it off. some chipping paint will come off with it as well. that's okay you want it too look old right?
next take a power sander and sand over the top of your board till you get the look you want.
and you are done.
kind of easy and a good fast gift for someone, or to keep for yourself.

hope you have a good weekend.
mine should be rather laid back.

i've done all my christmas shopping online this year so YAY to being done with that!
i'm trying to get back into quilting mode.
hope to get something accomplished here on that soon.
we'll see how i do!
see you monday.
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best second hand find (in my eyes)

i got to go this past week to the second hand store.
when i got there. i instantly spotted this little wood hutch.
i think i pooped my pants when i saw it.
not really, but i was that excited.
we brought it home after i paid the $25 that they asked for it.

i immediately started to play with re-arrange her kitchen and set it up. i then made this cute little banner with the vintage sheets i have in my collection. this is how i made it.

all i need now is cute pink glass knobs and i think i'll be in heaven.
*****
i'm trying to update my shop sometime next week. i'll let you know when. expect kits for these mini-banners and some new down loadable patterns!
*****
have a great labor day weekend!!!

see you next week!

ps i just uploaded some great green fat quarter bundles, or some fabric perfect for fall and some more here and here
yes i have a problem i have too much fabric for my own good

tutorial: dress made from a skirt

here's a tutorial on how to make a romantic inspired dress out of a woman's skirt.

what you will need:

one woman's size skirt. (large with a zipper is most recommended.)

this skirt having a zipper in the back made fitting this much easier. so i suggest you get a skirt with a zipper.

first i took the skirt (inside out) and placed it on my daughter. making sure the top was right under her arm pits. i pinned in (taking from both sides) under her arms where it would fit snug enough but not too snug. unzip and and take off the skirt.

i eyeballed it but if you want to measure, measure about 1/2 in out of where you are going to sew your seam

before i cut half inch seam allowance i placed pins all the way down the skirt where i was going to sew my seam. (i sort of did an A-line so that the dress would be fuller at the bottom.

the tube of your dress is now done.

since you cut off from the sides of your skirt you will have two strips left over. mine were a little on the skinny side so i figured out that my sleeve had to be at least 7 inches in width to make a little bit of a cap sleeve. (and yes i totally misspelled sleeve in the picture!) i then put on the dress tube on my daughter again and measured from the front to the back how much i needed in length. hers was 7 inches to make it over the shoulder so i added one inch and that way i had 1/2 inch to drop down past the top to sew it together. at this point i put a little pin marking where the middle of the sleeve would go on either side of the tube dress.

with wrong sides together sew down the two sides

once your two sides are sewn sew a diagonal curve and this will give you a more rounded look.

(error in the picture is says three sides but the third side is your fold)

turn inside out and top stitch around the three sides (you will have the last side still with raw edges)

once that is top stitched, fold over your raw edge a small amount and press with the iron, fold over one more time and then top stitch on top of your two folds.

remember the pin you put on to tell you where the middle of the strap would be? pin on your sleeve where the pin marks you to. make sure your rounded edge faces out away from the zipper. and make sure you do not sew in your rounded edge.
sew close to the edge of your top.

this is what the back should look like.

and now you have a perfectly cute dress for your little one!
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