Sew Close

The Mission's Dinner was Friday but alas, I was unable to complete my muumuu in time.  I am having a wee bit of trouble with the yoke.  I have either had to reposition it, cut it down or just flat out re-sew it 7 times now.  Ai yi yi!  I think I might finally have it fitted properly and pinned in the proper place.  I basted it and tried it on and it seems fine.  I even got it sewn in place but then horror or horrors, I had gotten it all bunched up under the presser foot and sewn together so out came the seam rippers once again.  That's when I gave up trying to complete it for the Dinner and went on to plan B for my Hawaiian Luau attire.

I've had the most difficult time just getting the yoke in the proper position.  My fabric looks the same on the wrong side and I think that has a lot to do with my confusion.  I'd get it pinned in place only to realize the shoulder seam would face the wrong way so I would pull out all the pins and re position it.  I even basted it down once only to realize I had positioned it on the wrong side of the dress.  Talk about frustrating!  But it's in the correct position now and basted down and tried on and everything looks right as rain so if I sew it very carefully in place, I might be able to move on to the next step. 

I had always planned on using this as a summer dress so even though I missed the Dinner, I still plan on completing it.  I'll post the finished masterpiece when it's ready.

I was also very pleased to remember as much as I did about sewing clothes.  My 7th grade Home Ec class was quite long ago but I had only forgotten a few items which I had to look up on the internet.  Just like with all new activities I think the more I sew the easier it will be to sew.

This was the dessert I made for the Dessert Auction.  Apart from being a bit lopsided in this picture, I was quite please with how it came out.  I found two of these cake stands at a local thrift and bought both.  I used one to take to the auction and am keeping the other.  My inspiration for this cake can be found here.

I did so enjoy your visit to Prairie Cairn Cottage today, I hope you come back soon.

Audrey     
 
  

Letting the Cat out of the Bag

 

Last night I walked past the dining table only to discover Mr. Tabby had crawled into one of my work tote bags.  With a picture like this I think I was obliged to label this post as I have.

What I want to let out of the bag however, is that I have been seriously bitten by the sewing bug!  It all began with the Christmas stockings I made for Mr. Tabby and Little Black Brindle.  Then I started a new bed quilt which got interrupted by the pillow cases I made My Ever So Handy Husband for Valentine's Day.  That was followed by a table runner and another quilt (a local Block of the Month).  I've shared with you the stockings and pillow cases which so far are the only completed projects and will post more about the other projects later on.

We are having a Missions Dinner at Church in a few weeks.  The theme this year is a Hawaiian Luau complete with a pig roast.  The participants are encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts for men and muumuus for women.  You may be asking yourself what this has to do with this post?  Well, fear not!  The explanation is as follows:  Not owning a muumuu myself I was trying to decided what to do when that pesky sewing bug bit me again! 

Here is the fabric for the muumuu I plan on making for the church dinner and a picture of the dress.  Being the proverbial optimist, I just know this dress is going to go together in a snap.  And since warmer days are just around the corner (and I fell in love with the blue flower fabric) I thought I just might as well make two!  Mind you, I have not successfully sewn an article of clothing for myself since 1971 but I just know this is going to be a piece of cake!

 

 If that were not enough unfinished projects, I also signed up to make some baby blankets for a ministry at Church.  Wouldn't you know it, when I was at the fabric store I found these darling flannels.  I think this will make a good start to the number of blankets I volunteered to make.

So two dresses, three blankets, two quilts and a table runner.  Hmmm...looks like my trusty Elna will be getting a workout soon. 

I think sewing for oneself and for our cottages is the newest resurrected craft.  I certainly have seen a lot of blog posts about sewing projects of all kinds.  Are you starting to sew more for yourself?  I'd love to hear what kind of projects you've got on your sewing table.

Thanks for coming to visit us at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  I hope you come back and bring your sewing machine so you can sew with me.

Audrey

Happy 60th Sister!

My sister is celebrating her 60th birthday today.  She's the cute little girl 2nd from the left.  We were visiting my cousins in Utah in this picture.  I'm the geeky darling one in the plaid cropped pants, actually I think she is wearing cropped pants and mine are just too short.  

My big sister is a very talented woman and has a knack for interior decorating like you wouldn't believe.  She wound up with the lions share of the artistic talent and makes beautiful jewelry;  I'm the lucky recipient of several pieces.

Happy Birthday Sis!  I miss you and wish I could celebrate with you. 

The Dirt Itch

I am anxious to start gardening.  Judging by these pictures it looks like it will be awhile before that can be accomplished.  That is the garden as seen though the top of the garden gate, I don't believe I'll even be getting inside the garden for several months weeks.  The free-cycle patio set is anxiously waiting for snow melt so it can get a good sanding and painting and then finally it can enjoy it's first meal at the Cottage.  The lawn tractor is buried in snow but, alas, it will not be needed any time soon.

So what's a girl to do?  Start her seeds indoors that's what!  Later today I'll be setting up a table with some flats that I can start some cabbages and cauliflower in.  Then in a couple of weeks I'll be starting some broccoli and brussels sprouts.  Before I know it, I'll be able to get into that garden and plant some peas and greens.  Sigh, spring is just around the corner out here on the prairie, I just know it is even if all I see right now is white.

Snowed In

The poor dears!  I went to unlock the coop this morning and found a foot of snow surrounding the coop.  I was able to get their door open but they took one step out onto the ramp and turned around and went right back in.

We didn't get all that much snow yesterday and last night but the ever present blowing winds of Wyoming dumped what little we got all around the coop.  Well, needless to say we stayed home ourselves and had church right in our living room thanks to modern technology.  If you are ever in need of some church on Sunday morning at 9:00 mountain time tune into this website and click on the "Watch Live".

After church and a little lunch I decided to venture back out to the coop.  Before heading out the door Little Black Brindle wisely put on the ranch coat he got for Christmas.  Off to the coop we trudged.  Twice as much snow greeted us and one poor hen was stuck on the roof of the coop!  This beautiful girl had gone into molt several weeks back and since then the other biddies have not been nice to her.  I'm sure she ventured out in search of food and water and her mean sisters wouldn't let her back in.  Poor thing had ice crystals on her feathers and blowing snow on her little chicken butt.

I then did what any good chicken mom would do, I went back to the house and got the snow shovel and began to dig them out.  I also brushed the snow off of the roof and put some food up there for her as well as on the ground for the only other brave hen.  Little Black Brindle helped himself to the dried meal worms I put down. 

The winds are still whipping around the Cottage so I will have to go back out in a few hours and make sure all is well with the girls.  But we are blessed to still have power and a nice warm cottage with plenty of food and water and a day in which we can rest.  The winds are supposed to lighten up tomorrow so perhaps then we can venture out and see if the roads are passable.

Audrey

a Little Taste of Summer

I am sitting here at the Cottage waiting for a Peach Pie to bake.  The smell is divine!  The peaches came from a farm stand last fall and if I remember, they were some Palisade Peaches, a much prized Colorado delicacy.  We are having a potluck at church tonight  and this is the dish I'll bring so I'll have to wait to get a taste.  Pure torture!

To help pass the seemingly endless winter on the Prairie I have pulled out my trusty Elna sewing machine and have been working of various projects.  I had friends over a few weeks ago and we made pillow cases.  If you haven't made any you should, they were super easy and fun.  I made these for my Ever So Handy Husband and he was thrilled!  I'm making another set soon just for me. 

The sunsets and sunrises still thrill me no end out here on the Prairie.  This sunset was taken just the other day and the following morning the sunrise was just as spectacular!

 

On Monday, we celebrated Little Black Brindles' one year anniversary of coming to live at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  He may be the "rescue" dog but he truly came to rescue me.  I look back at how despondent I was over losing our little Wheaten Cairn and I realize how much my new little Cairn has helped me these past 365 days.  Good Boy!  Smart Boy!  Brave Boy!

Tabby has taken to sleeping in the sun coming in the patio doors in the Morning Room.  I swear he is 6 feet long when he stretches out.  You KNOW a cat is relaxed when he exposes his belly while sleeping.  He makes me laugh when he sleeps this way!

And lest you think the chicks have flown the coop, here is a recent shot of them practicing being free range birds.  My Ever So Handy Husband has not been able to finish the coop he started late last fall, which is just as well since we decided it was way too small anyway.  So the poor dear birds are still in their temporary, just for the summer coop!  I've been a bit worried about them and have done a lot of internet searching about winter care.  One person wrote in and asked if she needed to put in some supplemental heat in her coop and two people from Alaska both wrote her back and said they don't have any type of heat in their coop and they get very, very cold there.  That made me feel a bit better but when I went out to open their coop for the day and the thermometer said it was minus 15 degrees I was a bit apprehensive until they strolled out as if it were a nice day in July!  It was just as the Alaska chicken keepers said, they don't need extra heat as long as they get acclimated to the cold, remember they are wearing down coats!

 

Such are the mid winter days at Prairie Cairn Cottage.  A little sewing, a little baking, a lot of warming ourselves in the sun coming in the cottage windows.  Thank you for visiting with us today and come back soon!

 

Audrey

 

 

  

Now that I have a better understanding of how this new computer works and finding the program I needed for my camera, I can finally share a few pictures from our Christmas.

 

 

What do you do when it's Christmas time and you have two new critters in the household?  Make stockings for them of course!  I took a tracing on freezer paper from another stocking that we had and got the basic shape I was looking for.  For Little Black Brindle's stocking I found the cutest terrier fabric and lined it with a basic red.  Having never sewn a stocking before, let alone a lined anything, I was very pleased with the way both stockings came out.  Tabby's stocking was a cute collage of different breeds of cat.  Both stockings served their purpose very well and if I get ambitious I may embroider their names on the cuff (probably not!).  If you're wondering, the chicks didn't get stockings.  Before you get upset, they did get Christmas presents of dried meal worms and a suet block, just no stockings. 

 

As you can see from the top picture of Little Black Brindle we had let him get a tad unkempt.  He was shouting, "Don't take my picture!  My hair looks awful!" So New Year's weekend we gave him a grooming session, mainly around his face, tail and skirt.  After his date at the spa and he was dried off; we were relaxing in front of the TV when he drags my camera off the sofa and hands it to My Ever So Handy Husband.  MESHH picked the camera up and Little Black Brindle stood in front of him and posed for this picture (I kid you not!).  He said to tell you he feels much better about his looks now that he's back to looking like a proper Cairn.  He also wanted everyone to see his favorite Christmas present.

 

Tabby wanted to let everyone know he spends his days in a nice warm bed positioned just right to catch the warm rays from the winter sun.  Santa Cat brought him some Christmas toys but his favorite present was an even nicer bed than the one in this picture.  No longer having to hunt for his dinner he is becoming one very spoiled cat but he has taken on the jobs of keeping mice out of Prairie Cairn Cottage (and is doing an outstanding job of that) and keeping Little Black Brindle in line.

 

Life at Prairie Cairn Cottage has taken on a soft, relaxing pace.  We are spending our days inside out of the bitter Wyoming winds and taking in the beautiful landscape that God has placed all around us.   We hope you are also finding peace, warmth and beauty in your surroundings.

 

Audrey