The Hope Chest Inspired Shower, Part 4: Bowl Covers!

Reversible Bowl Covers:  useful and attractive coverings to be used instead of (or over) plastic wrap.  They are great for taking to pot lucks and picnics!

This set was a small and quickly made gift addition to the 'Hope Chest' shower gift basket for my niece, Kelly's, Tea Party wedding shower.  (See HERE for details of the shower, an explanation of the 'Hope Chest' gift project, and the first set of gifts.  See Here and  Here for Parts 2 & 3.)

They were made with coordinating cotton print fruit fabrics from my fat quarter stash and narrow elastic in the casing made between the two fabrics.  Although I made them to go over three different sized glass bowls in my kitchen, they will fit over many sizes.  I simply traced around the bowl tops onto brown paper and added a couple of inches for overlap and seams.

This was actually the third set I have made of these covers.  I have given each set away as gifts and each time the recipient has to be told what they are!!!  The first thing they do is put them on their heads!  They think they are shower caps!  We all had a great laugh over them at the shower.  I will have to enclose a picture on a gift tag next time.  (Maybe not...  I love the surprise when they are told they are Bowl Covers!)

A little thought to ponder:  "It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth---and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up---that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."  
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Hope Chest Inspired Shower, Part 3: The Spring Kitchen Set

 

From A Light in the Attic  by Shel Silverstein

 

I think that everyone likes to see and to use things in the kitchen that make them smile... something to lift their spirits when performing the routine tasks of keeping an orderly and clean kitchen.  I wanted Kelly to have some little home-made love that would make her smile as she went about her new life.  This set started with pinterest pins of denim aprons.  They have always made me think of Kelly. She has always loved a good jeans outfit.  One of her favorites was a fancy denim skirt, blouse and jacket set we bought her when she was about six years old.  It was very fancy with ruffles and laces and she wore it all the time.  

While I was trying to come up with a jeans apron that reminded me of that little denim outfit, I was in Home Goods and picked up the pink towels you see in the picture above.  I was inspired by Kathleen of Miss Abigail's Hope Chest to try a little crochet edging.  I have several crochet books and know the basics but reading the patterns for specific edgings is a skill I am still acquiring.  Sooo...I made one up!  I had to use an awl to pierce the fabric over the thick hem to get my thinest crochet hook through at regular intervals and then did a a single crochet into each hole.  From there I did a row of double crochet and then chain stitched lacy loops that were attached with a slip stitch at regular intervals again.  I think it came out pretty but I really would like to learn to do some of the edgings in my books! I appliqued the butterfly from some scraps of fabric that coordinated and then added a band of the same fabric and some ribbon to the other towel.

 

The apron was made without a pattern.  I just used the backside of a pair of old jeans and bound the side edges in a blue and white lace.  The bottom has a ruffle of pink lace and two fabrics. 

Several of my pinterest denim pins were of totes/bags made of recycled jeans and they got me thinking of a reusable 'gift wrap' for this set for the Hope Chest Shower.  I took another pair of old jeans and just cut off the legs and sewed up the seam.  I added some little charms, tiny  bits of hand embroidery, more of the blue and white lace and some handles.  Done!

Kathleen, of Miss Abigail's Hope Chest has posted lovely crocheted dish cloths several times on her blog.  She even has tutorials for them and when I get a little help with reading the directions, I will be making some of those beautiful sets.  In the meantime, I was inspired by her to make a set of very simple pink dish cloths using single crochet and cotton yarn.  The border edging was just made up of chain stiches and slip stitches.

The cloths are straight and not wobbly, I promise.  I just had them tied up with the ribbon and they became creased.
 

Thank God for dirty dishes;

They have a story to tell.

While others may go hungry

We're eating very well.

 

With Home, Health, and Happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss;

By the stack of evidence,

God's been very good to us.

Author Unknown

The Hope Chest Inspired Shower, Part 2: The Nightgown

An Heirloom Nightgown for Kelly

Goodnight Poem

 by Mykaela Maxino:

Touch your heart,

Close your eyes.

Make a wish,

Say goodnight.

Sky so wide,

Stars so bright,

Off the lights,

Sleep so tight.

Every bride needs a feminine, romantic nightgown, right?  

I made this gown as part of my niece, Kelly's 'hope chest' gifts (see previous post).  The nightie was made using a delicate pink Imperial batiste (a fine polycotton blended fabric) and pretty cotton lace from my stash.  I used a pattern from an old Sew Beautiful magazine and added a section of smocking below the high yoke.  I made it in the smallest size, but it was still very large on her petite frame.  I think that it would be perfect for mama/baby photos someday.  

The lace used on the front yoke was purchased from an estate sale along with a large box of other laces and trims.  What a find!  I did my best to match up the pattern and joined the strips of lace with a zig-zag stitch.  The lace around the neckline and armholes was from the same box of laces.  The cluny lace on the hem was purchased some time ago from Martha Pullen Co.

I apologize for the photos.  They were taken in the living room amidst all the commotion of the wood flooring being installed, and I didn't realize how out of focus they were until I had already given Kelly the gown.  The smocking was adapted from a smocked dress in another Sew Beautiful magazine.

Psalm 42:8:   But each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life.

The "Hope Chest" Inspired Shower

Tea Party Shower for Kelly

Kelly's 'Hope Chest' Part 1

                                                                          

I found this silver plated teapot at a yard sale.  It didn't have a lid and was all tarnished, but I knew that it would make a beautiful centerpiece for Kelly's Tea Party Shower.  It went with us, filled with deeper pink roses, to the Tea Rose Cottage to decorate the gift table.

My original plan was to have my niece, Kelly's, wedding shower at my house.  I had fun planning the menu and even had a couple of small tea parties for friends to try out some new recipes.  All, of course, did not go according to plan.  Our home renovations were held up for several weeks and the house was a disaster with floors unfinished and furnishings everywhere but where they should be.  I had to go to Plan B...which turned out 'brilliantly', as my 21 year old daughter would say!

We had the Tea Party Shower at the Tea Rose Cottage in Ybor City (Tampa) and it was perfect!  The cottage itself is adorable, and the ambiance was perfect.  I booked the largest room and had ample space for the 18 guests.  The food was truly delicious and the service was wonderful.  Although I  was sorry that I couldn't host the party at my home, hosting it there was the next best thing and it couldn't have been better.

My beautiful sister, Kathleen, and her gorgeous daughter, Kelly, at the Tea Rose Cottage.

With Kathleen's daughter-in-law, Christie, her best friend, and my daughter.

I almost forgot to take photos of the delicious food but remembered soon after we started eating.

Kelly is my only sister's only daughter.  (Kathleen has two sons, too.)  She has delighted the family with her sweet and funny personality and her kind and caring nature all her life.  I wanted to show her just how much I love her with the shower and with my gift.  I have been reading a special blog over the past couple of years that greatly influenced my choice of a gift:  Miss Abigail's Hope Chest (click here to check it out).  Abigail's mother has been blogging about the things that she is making and putting into her young daughter's hope chest since 2010.  She has wonderful tutorials for all kinds of useful and lovely kitchen and household items.

A hope chest was traditionally what a young woman and her family would ready with all the things her household would need for at least a year after she was married.  Dishes, pots and pans, linens, heirloom garden seeds, photo albums, clothing, etc. would all find a place in the chest.  Recipes, sewing kits, bible, books, and family mementos were important to include.  As her family helped her prepare for her coming marriage, the young girl gained all the skills (cooking, cleaning, nursing, sewing, child-care, etc.) she would need in her new life.  

A great resource book about Hope Chests and what goes in them.

Kelly has a masters degree in counseling, has been a missionary in Africa, and has been living away from home for several years.  She is a modern girl and didn't even know what a hope chest was, much less have one.  (I am the very old-fashioned auntie in the family.  In fact, that is what my sister's children call me:  "Auntie"!)  Now, Kelly didn't have a hope chest, but she did have some things that would be considered essential parts of a hope chest:  notably, my father and my step-mother's wedding china and silverplate flatware and her father's mother's chocolate china service.  I determined to make my gift representative of the things typically found in a hope chest of yesteryear (updated, of course).  I wrapped all my 'bits and pieces' and added special tags explaining everything and placed them in a large white laundry basket.  When I gave Kelly a brief history of hope chests and explained why I wanted her to have one, she was very touched and nearly cried.  She loved it all:  the concept, the gifts, the thoughts behind each one.

The first gift was the tea set below, complete with infuser and special tea measuring spoon.  Victoria-Rose gave her several tins of good loose tea as part of her gift.  Recipes were collected from all present (and sent by those who couldn't come) and one of mine was how to brew a good pot of tea from loose tea leaves.  Every home needs a teapot, etc. for relaxation and the proffering of hospitality and friendship, right?

Teapot, sugar bowl, and creamer purchased at Home Goods.  The infuser, medal, and spoon were purchased at another great tea room, Milk 'N' Honey, in Tampa.

I included the medal with the little angel charm for Kelly to tie onto the handle of the pot if she desired.

The next gift set in the 'hope chest' (basket) was all about eggs.  For thousands of years, eggs have symbolized new beginnings, making this set a perfect addition to the hope chest of a new bride.  And our entire family LOVES deviled eggs and has them at almost every gathering.  I found the vintage gold-edged milk glass egg platter at our local Hospice Resale Shoppe.  It must never have been used as the gold edging was just perfect.  (The picture doesn't do the platter justice.)  The jello egg jiggler mold is another tradition in our families.  There are always a platter of 'jelly eggs' at every Easter gathering at our homes.  You can purchase them at the Jello website.  The shipping cost more than the molds!  (While I was at it, I purchased a mold for Victoria-Rose's hope chest and one for her friend, Lyda's.)

Auntie (me) & Kelly

Stay tuned for the next installment of Kelly's Hope Chest:  an heirloom nightgown.

Edited:  January 19, 2014 and linked to Tea Time Tuesday  HERE:

New Year's Aspirations for 2015

"The Principal Business of Life is to Enjoy It."

Samuel Butler

I find, as I get older, that I have spent so much time being mature, responsible, grown-up, and adult that I sometimes forget to just have fun!  Yes, life is serious, but joyous, too, and  we are meant to savor it.  Just gaze at the look of euphoria on little Chloe's face last Easter when she was finding eggs on our front lawn.  We should find little things everyday that make us feel like that!

I prefer to set forth my Aspirations rather than the formal Resolutions typical of this time of year.  They are the steps to take for the dreams, hopes, desires, and wishes I hold for 2015.

My daughter, Victoria-Rose, and I had a fun but rather hot time in Downtown Disney this past July.

Aspirations for 2015

(Not in any special order.)

1. Write in my Gratitude Journal more often.  (I wish I could say 'daily but I know that I would be setting myself up for failure!)   
2. Daily Devotions/Reading in the morning to begin the day.
3. Make time for physical pampering weekly.  
4. Go to sleep (or at least be in bed) before midnight...every night (or at least most nights).
5. Remember to find the five best parts of my day and give thanks as I go to sleep.
6. Become ESOL certified.  (I need 60 more continuing education hours in this area before June!)
7. Write one 'snail mail' letter a month.
8. Make time and PLAN for fun!  (Weekly dates with Tim and/or the children?)  
9. Walk more!  Move more!  Dance?!
10. Make a photo book on a site like Shutterfly.
11. Blog more than last year.  (This should be easy.  I only blogged eleven times last year!)   Maybe once a week (or more).
12. Complete three or more UFO's in the sewing room.
13. Complete holiday/birthday or 'deadline' sewing at least a week in advance.  (This would relieve stress!)
14. Use at least two of the vintage patterns in my collection in 2015.
15. Use at least two of the Oliver + S patterns in my collection.

Planned Fun:  Lukas Nursery in Sanford, Florida

We spent a lovely but very hot day at Lukas Nursery in Seminole County last July.  What an amazing place!  A huge selection of gorgeous plants and a Butterfly Encounter with 'flying flowers', quail, and finches.  The encounter is one of the 25 largest tourist attractions in Central Florida and admission is only $6!

Sweet husband Tim and me each with a butterfly feeding on nectar on our fingers.

"Remember that some of the secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by inventing some imaginary letters along the way."  Douglas Pagels

Happy New Year!

Blessings!  Peace and Joy to All!

                                          "I heard the bells on Christmas Day
                                           Their old, familiar carols play,
                                           And wild and sweet
                                           The words repeat
                                           Of peace on earth, good will to men!"
                                                                         Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
                                                                                                            "Christmas Bells"

The Santa in the center was on my Mother-in-law's tree the year she was born over 90 years ago!  The Mrs. Claus over his head to the left was made by my godmother for me back in 1976.  The crocheted snowflake in the upper right is part of a set made as a wedding gift by my husband's aunt.

It has been much too long since I last posted.  I  could give lots of reasons for the absence but the biggest is... once you stop, it is hard to make the time to start again.  We have been richly blessed and we are all doing well.  In fact, 2014 has been the first calendar year that my husband didn't spend time in the hospital in a long time!  Thank you, Holy Spirit!

We did lots of renovations to our home that has kept us topsy-turvy.  We now have no carpet at all in our home, only tile and hardwood floors.  All the rooms have been repainted and I have new window treatments in my bedroom!  Yay!  The fence has been replaced in the backyard and new sod laid there.

Both my children are doing well in college (full-time students) and both work.  Victoria-Rose teaches piano and voice and Logan works with a contracting friend of ours remodeling, painting, etc.  I have loved having more time with them over the past couple of weeks.  We will be back to school on Monday.  I am in my 27th year of teaching kindergarten at the same school I helped open in 1988. (I have been teaching a lot longer than that, though!) 

I have been busy sewing, cooking, and creating and have lots of projects to share.  Some I will wait to share at the appropriate times of the year.  Here is a little taste of things to come:

As Sarah Ban Breathnach says at the beginning of her book Simple Abundance,  "January, the month of new beginnings and cherished memories, beckons....    This is the month to dream, to look forward to the year ahead and the journey within."  I look forward to dreaming, creating, and sharing with you!  Come back this week for a peek at what I put in my niece, Kelly's, 'hope chest' shower gifts and for my 2015 New Year's Aspirations!

"S" is for Soft & Pretty Slips, School & Showers

I confess that I have neglected this blog to immerse myself in other things... lots of happy, lovely things.  I am having the most wonderful time with my kindergarten class.  It is so much fun to watch them grow academically, socially, and behaviorally.  It is a joy to go to work everyday!  I am so blessed!

My big news is that my sweet niece Kelly got engaged to a lovely young man on Valentine's Day and will be married this August.  I have the delightful privilege of hosting her Florida bridal shower in the first week of July!  It will be a Tea Party Shower and I am having such fun planning the menu, gifts, etc.

I believe Kelly met Josh at their church and they are just perfect for each other!  He is doing graduate work on his Master's in Divinity while managing a restaurant.  Kelly will finish her Master's in Counseling this May.  She has spent the years between her BA in psychology and her current studies in counseling in the mission field, most notably with extended stays in different parts of Africa.  She is petite, caring, kind, compassionate, loving, gracious, and beautiful both inside and out.  I am beyond happy for her!

Well, I've discussed School and the Shower, now for Slips!

Dresses and skirts always hang better over an appropriate slip, whether you are 2 or 92!  I have made so many slips that I couldn't even begin to tell you how many.  The first one pictured is one of my favorites to make:  Martha Pullen's Fancy Slip and Pant*ies.  It is easy to make and comfortable to wear and the embellishments make the slip special.  My Victoria-Rose had many of these slips. One favorite one was in soft pink Imperial batiste to match a pink French sewn Easter dress.   I have seen small size versions of this slip used as a little sundress over fancy pant*ies.  This one was made a couple of years ago for the little girl of a young woman I had taught to smock.

This half slip is very quick and easy to sew.  The fullness is perfect for under the full gathered skirt of a basic yoke dress.

Here is another half full slip.  This one was made for Cassidy several years ago to wear under the lavender floral dress I smocked for her.  She loved it so much and her mommy thought it was so fancy that she wore it as a skirt!!  She rarely wore the slip under the dress as intended.

 Here is Cassidy in the lavender smocked dress.

A blessing for you:

May your life be like a 

wildflower,

growing freely in the 

beauty

and joy of each day.

Native American Proverb