GeorgiaPeachez

I Did It!

I love needlework, always have.  It was so popular to embroider your jeans and workshirts when I was a teenager in the 1970's.  I did a lot of that.

I picked up this book at a thrift store quite a while back.

 I've been planning (I make a lot of plans) to start a project ever since.  I've recently become quite enamored of bargello patterns.  Yesterday I finally put the supplies together and started a piece.  

I'm already addicted and it's only row 4 so far.

I decided to incorporate my first piece into a purse.  It's pretty slow going, but I'm motivated.  This is a pattern from the "easy" section.  I've already got my eye on a pattern in the "challenge"  though :->

The Sewing Machine Whisperer

I'm going to share something really big with you today.  His name is Steve and he is The Sewing Machine Whisperer.

Steve and his magical workshop of sewing machine wonders is headquartered in Portsmouth, VA.  Portsmouth is part of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia where I live.  Lucky me.

But now, lucky you because I am going to share.  Steve receives and ships sewing machines all over the world.  He is the master of sewing machines gone past.  Gone past, meaning sewing machines made back when metal was king, not Made in China plastic.

Steve repairs, refurbishes and restores vintage sewing machines.

His house and workshop is a wonderland of vintage sewing machine goodness.

You can send Steve a machine or purchase one from his inventory.

Did you know Visetti's were made by Toyota?  Yes, that Toyota.  Steve loves to restore Visetti's.

Can you say "restoration with custom colors"?  Steve can.

Find all the info you need about Sewing Machine Steve here

or follow him on Facebook.

A New Shape

New Year, new sewing projects.

A new purse shape that I am test driving.  So far so good.

 

Still in Love

It's been a year and a half since I moved my studio from a windowless room in my house to the light filled space it occupies now.

I blogged about that move here and here and here.

Without a doubt the favorite thing in my studio is my cutting/storage table.

These cubbies used to be a wall in my old studio.

I just took these same cubbies and converted them to the table configuration.  Quite easy and I did a post with more details about the construction here.

Big thanks to Where Women Create for featuring my cutting table today.

 

It Just Makes Sense

I've been interesting in sewing since I was old enough to thread a needle.  No doubt this creative spark was initiated by my mother.   MamaPeach always made my dresses when I was little.  It was a yearly ritual to go to the fabric store and pick out our pattern and fabric for the Easter dress for myself and my two sisters.  

MamaPeach always told me that if I learned to sew she would provide all the patterns and fabric that I wanted.

Santa brought my first chain stitch sewing machine when I was 8 years old.  I've loved sewing all my life really.

I am fortunate now to have space for my own creative studio.  Sewing is not my only passion, but it remains a primary focus.

As I look around my studio I can see my pin cushion collection tucked into every corner.  This fabulous estate sale find treasure box holds my collection of tiny porcelain pin cushions from this Japanese artist, Alleluja.

This shelf holds a collection of vintage pin cushions and custom pin cushions made just for me by my fabulous BFF, Beth.

I have pin cushions everywhere.  I couldn't get pictures of them all today, it's rainy and dark outside so half my pictures had to be trashed.

So, it just makes sense that I would have a ton of pin cushions, right? 

Jewels for a Cat

Poor Max!  Somehow Max escaped his home only to return dragging his shattered leg and crying in pain.

The emergency vets set his leg in a cast and gave him pain meds.  But Max needs surgery to survive and his cat momma needs financial help.

My dear and generous friend Kelly (cat whisperer) has stepped in to help out Max in a big way.  Kelly is going to donate 100% of the sales of her jewelry between now and January 11 to help Max get his surgery.

Now, Kelly doesn't make just any old jewelry.  Kelly makes extrordinary jewelry.

Check out Kelly's beautiful baubles here.

Please help out Max by treating yourself to some gorgeous jewelry for the New Year :->

 

 

 

Happy Holidays

Estate Sale Happiness

I found some very happy looking vintage cookware in a little house in Newport News today.

 

This was the estate of a woman who was German.  She met an American GI in her hometown, married him and moved to Virginia.  The house was crammed full of so much German goodness.  These heavy enamel pots just had to come home with me.  The mid century vase came too.  Merry Xmas to me :->

Paying it Forward

I attended an estate sale on Saturday in the Foxhill section of Hampton.  Foxhill is an old section of town near Grandview beach.

The sale was run by the woman that grew up in this little house.  Her parents were both now passed and she was finally ready to let their belongings go and move forward.

She said her momma saved everything and included in the sale were a bunch of sweet little girls dresses.  Dresses that had belonged to this woman.

I was really smitten with the little dresses, the fabrics were just adorable.  I also acquired a huge stack of 6 barkcloth curtain panels.  The woman said they hung in the house in the 50's and she was thrilled that I was going to take all these things and repurpose them.  Something about this woman really struck a cord with me.

So I took my treasures home and started getting them washed and freshened up.  I jumped right in and created a tote bag from the barkcloth.

I lined the bag with the fabric from one of the little dresses.

So on Sunday afternoon I headed back over to the house.  I asked the woman if she remembered me from the day before, I was the one that bought the curtains and dresses to reuse.  She remembered and I showed her the tote that I created and told her it was a gift from me for her.   She adored it and then when she looked inside and saw her little dress fabric she cried.   It was a great weekend :->

Letters from Ground Zero IV | Women's Media Center

Letters from Ground Zero IV | Women's Media Center.