Spoo Kee, perhaps like most cats, assumes that everything his humans do, they do for him.  For example, laying out quilt pieces on the ground.  Naturally, Spoo Kee made a beeline for the colorful squares (for my nephew’s little sea-inspired quilt I mentioned before) as soon as he saw them, spread out in front of the big window in the living room.  I don’t know, maybe he’s just telling me what a perfect little picnic quilt this will be.

There’s this other funny thing Spoo Kee does.  (Ok, at least my husband and I think it’s funny.)  Spoo Kee, like most cats, is rather lazy and finds it difficult to leave his basket; there must be good reason.  But he is also - yes, once again, like most cats - very curious.   Sometimes my husband and I will be talking in the hall, between our offices, and I’ll look over and see Spoo Kee peering at us from his basket:

Curious and wondering, and yet not quite ready to leave his nest; he’s just not sure it’s worth the fuss.

Well, maybe it is.  Perhaps the front paws can venture out from the bed.

Sometimes this is as far as he gets.

Blue fabric from my stash.  Perfect for a bevy of blue dresses (some of my favorite things!).  The top and second from the bottom are vintage.  Don’t you love that lace in the middle?  I can see it made up into a 30’s style dress or blouse.

For Poppytalk’s Spring Color Week.

I couldn’t wait to post these, I just had to show someone!  I’ve been collecting vintage hankies for years, not entirely sure what I was going to do with them (curtains?  quilt?  aprons?) and feeling quite the hoarder.  Last year I put “hankie dress” on my never-ending to do list and I finally got around to playing with the idea this past weekend.  I haven’t seen a dress like this before (I’ve seen little baby dresses made from hankies but not grown-up girl ones) and I’m pretty happy with the results so far.

I was going for something sweet and not too patchwork-y or hippy.  I used all the same colorway (for this one aqua and yellow/mustard hankies) to help pull the dress together.  I did very little to alter the hankies as I wanted to preserve the look of them.  I also wanted to avoid having to make a pattern.  I recently finished a sundress from a 1950s pattern that looks ok but I spent forever trying to get the fit right (and it still isn’t quite right, dang) and I’m just kind of over patterns right now.  (That’ll be short-lived, I’m sure!)

Basically this dress is just a tube of strategically placed hankies of varying size.  The fanciest part is the ruffle on the front made from a wee hankie that has been one of my favorites.  I’m not 100% sure I’m done yet but I’m very close!

Happy Monday!

I’m now the proud owner of a dickie.  I never thought I’d say that so feel free to laugh with me.  But this is not a silly polyester/cotton blend faux turtleneck sweater.   I don’t know how old this one is but it’s so pretty and, despite how delicate it is, it’s in such good condition.  I particularly love the bow/ruffle at the neck.  I’m either going to leave it as a dickie or somehow incorporate it in to a dress, perhaps as a bib.  Wouldn’t that be lovely?

I’m also adding to my collection of millinery flowers and rayon fabric.  Everything has a purpose; not that I’ve necessarily figured out the future lives of these treasure but I will - someday!

Last weekend a friend and I went to the Vintage Clothing & Textile Show in  Burbank.  It was a relatively small gathering of vendors but there were a ton of people there, so much so I felt a little overwhelmed at times.  Nonetheless I found some pretty things.  Some of the fabric I picked up is cute but kind of malodorous.  (Something I did not realize until I got home, of course.)  I spent some time searching online for remedies because, assuming the fabric in question was 60+ year old rayon, I wasn’t confident I could handwash it without suffering terrible consequences.

I posted a question in Etsy forums and lo and behold, answers!   The black fabric is now non-smelly and ready to be made into a little dress thanks to 1 part cheap vodka to 1 part water in a spray bottle.  But I have to tell you, the vodka/water solution I used on both pieces did not work out so well for the nutmeg-colored one.  Initially it toned down the funk but after several sessions the stench simply evolved into another smell, which reminded me of old crayons.  Pungent old crayons.  That led me to wonder if 1. The smell will ever leave, and 2. Is this even rayon?  Because, does rayon smell like smelly old crayons?  I’m no textile expert so I really don’t know.  But the smell was annoying enough that I took a chance and washed it.  First, I hand-washed it.  Now, it’s in the washing machine.  Yup, in the machine.  I mean, if it’s going to smell then it’s useless to me and I’m not going to pay a fortune at a fancy dry cleaner.  I’m just not.   (We’ll see what happens!)

UPDATE:  After washing the rayon in the machine, using the delicate cycle (which included a good, long soak in OxyClean and Arm & Hammer detergent) and tossing it in the dryer on low, the fabric has come out smelling good and not worse for wear!  Yay!

I also started two sewing projects this weekend: a 50s sundress in a kitschy Hawaiian print and a pair of shorts.  Shorts!  I’m excited about making a pair of shorts.  (I only have one pair, from the Gap Kids clearance section.)  I even made a muslin since fitting pants can be tricky.

Oh, and I’m working on the 2 Hour Sweater. So far I’ve logged WAY more than 2 hours for this project but it has been a breeze so far.

Stay tuned and Happy Week to you!