Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Fabric Things

 

 

The cloth strawberries above were made using online instructions. There are several styles of patterns, and this one is a little less than a half circle and a little wider than a triangle. I stuffed it with fiberfill from a pillow, and sprayed the stuffing with a perfume called Cotton Candy. Cotton candy is the same as fairy floss in Australia. I gave these to a neighbor for taking me so many places in her car, and she keeps them on the dashboard.

The last few days have been filled with a number of normal things like going to the grocery store, doctor visits for my mother, meal preparation, laundry, housekeeping, visiting, walks in the sunshine and church. I love everyone at the llittle church of Christ, and the preacher's wife' who is English, has been supplying me with different brands of tea to make my staying here a happy and relaxing time.

This is a dress made from the lawn fabric I bought when I first came here. I only brought one pattern with me and have not had a chance to buy another one, so I was stuck with the style. I was not sure how long it would be before I could get more patterns so I sewed the dress right away.
The scarf was made from a ladies cotton knit tee shirt, and the instructions can be found by typing in "things to make from t-shirts." This is a no-sew project.

It is interesting to twist scraps of fabric and see what can be made, such as a belt for the dress, embellished with a folded fabric rose, above.

Here is another no-sew decor idea: fringed shelf edging made by clipping white fabric. Note the fluffy little gala feather on the shelf next to the pink tin. Mother found it for me on one of her walks.

To make quick ruffled borders which hide unsightly ledges, frames and edges, I have been ripping strips of cotton fabric and then sewing a line of stitching down the middle, pushing and gathering the fabric through the presser foot as I stitch.
This old mirror that is attached in several places to the wall of the caravan, had a rather unlovely frame around it, so I hung one of those gathered garlands around it.
For a soft cushy rug I folded an old towel in half and machine stitched freely in circles from the center, finally zig-zagging the outer edges. This is such a comfortable rug, I hate to leave it here. The towelling gopt softer after sewing the layers together.
Note that my no-sew refurbishing includes sheets and towels for the couch coverings and borders that cover the legs of the furniture.
 
 
There was an unsightly hook that could not be removed, so I covered it with a fabric rose. You can see how fabric roses are made by typing in "How to make fabric roses." Youtube has some good demonstrations.
Though not very clear photos, this shows a little more progress in one room of the caravan.
 
A very patient neighbor has been taking me around in her car so that I can get pictures of fences, which for some reason I have taken a fancy to. In the area I live in the US there are not often fences between properties or houses, so I have not seen such a variety. On some streets there are fences from several different eras in history, from wrought iron to wire to stick and brush to picket.

 

 
 
 
 
There are also mailboxes that I want to photograph, because they are so unusual and even amusing out here in the country. People use old paint cans, butter churners, barrels, boxes, and anything that will hold mail.
I am hoping to go to Dandenong for tea at a tea room called Miss Marples.
 
 

 

11 comments:

sunnyskiesandsweettea said...

I love the dress. It turned out very pretty. As is the caravan.

Blessings,
Amy Jo

Anonymous said...

You are making yourself right at home Lydia :) The dress is lovely and so is the homey feeling of the interior of the caravan.

Fences are necessary here in this little town. If not, well, we would be having all kinds of visitors walking through our yards :)

Have a blessed day... m.

Katrinka said...

Lydia, what a cheerful wonderful blessing you are to your mother! She isn't going to want to let you come home and you have fallen in love with double cream and who knows what might happen with that combination. :)

I am astounded at your energy and creativity displayed during your visit. I'm afraid I would spend a lot of time sleeping.

However, I am thinking how wonderful it would have been to have been the age I am now and be able to spend an extended visit with my mother, just the two of us, and I can understand your enthusiasm and delight in the things you're doing. It must be a wonderful feeling to help and bless your mother this way. My mother's been gone for over 20 years.

God bless you and am hoping you continue to enjoy this wonderful time!

Katrinka said...

Lydia, what a cheerful wonderful blessing you are to your mother! She isn't going to want to let you come home and you have fallen in love with double cream and who knows what might happen with that combination. :)

I am astounded at your energy and creativity displayed during your visit. I'm afraid I would spend a lot of time sleeping.

However, I am thinking how wonderful it would have been to have been the age I am now and be able to spend an extended visit with my mother, just the two of us, and I can understand your enthusiasm and delight in the things you're doing. It must be a wonderful feeling to help and bless your mother this way. My mother's been gone for over 20 years.

God bless you and am hoping you continue to enjoy this wonderful time!

Christine said...

I think it is such a blessing to add all those feminine touches in the caravan. It has been transformed!
What a gift for your mother.

Anonymous said...

Miss Marples is in Sassafras, which is in the Dandenong Ranges (quite a distance from the suburb of Dandenong)

Lydia said...

Using an ipad, the only way to blog is with an application called Blogsy, which des not always cooperate, so I cannot correct my punctuation unless Lily Beth does it from home. Also I want to insert that the rug was made from an old bath towel. Once it was sewn, it felt much, much softer and I really like it and wil make these when I return home.

Today I will attempt a few more cloth things but not guaranteeing anything since I have no patterns. The web is a great resource for making things .

Lydia said...

Since I am unable to find anyone interested in going that far to afternoon tea I will try the Tyabb Devonshire Tea that opens when the antique stores open on Thursday - Sunday. It is in a red train box car and is very close to where I am living. I will be taking a couple of ladies from here and treating them to tea in exchange for the transportation.

Sharlene said...

I am not very good at decorating, but your simple touches to your mother's caravan are an inspiration. The towel rug sounds very nice.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lydia, it appears you are making quite a lovely change for your mom. I'm sure she appreciates every moment of your stay.

I had tea with my mom today and thought of you.

Your dress is lovely and looks very comfortable as well and cheery. Love the scarf and rose too. Nice touch!

I haven't been online for a while so missed your last post about the double cream. Have heard that you can mix a bit of plain yogurt with sweet dairy butter and get a similar taste to the dbl cream. I would suggest using Greek yogurt as it is thicker and much richer.

Have fun with your mom and know we are praying for you all.
Blessings, Mrs. J.

Lydia said...

Someone who lives here told me they even use old refrigerators for mail boxes. I saw an old microwave oven as a mail box out in the country