Happy September, Dear Readers! The air is feeling crisp and it’s beginning to feel like Fall, but before the season completely changes, it’s about time I shared this dress-turned-skirt I made back in June. I don’t know why I forgot to take photos of if (I’ve been wearing it quite a lot!) but it actually turned out well leaving it until now to take photos, because look how nicely it matches the front flower garden. Cosmos, petunias, evening scented stocks and sunflowers. This flower bed used to have two giant peonies in it, but this Spring the bed had to be completely excavated for plumbing issues, and the pink peony didn’t end up back up in this flower bed. (It’s been planted elsewhere now…)
So yes, this halter dress came up on our church’s free group last year and I hesitated to claim it since I was thinking of altering it, so I let it go to someone else. And then a year later it came back up for grabs and I didn’t hesitate to claim it then! And I am so happy that I did because I love how it turned out. As far as refashioning projects go, this was one of the simplest and it only took a few hours to complete.
Paired with my navy tie front blouse (or a navy t-shirt some days) it has been perfect for summer.
I’ve been really into tying scarves onto handbags lately. I don’t always like wearing scarves because I find them too hot, but they add such a nice touch to a bag.
I’ve been wearing my dainty heart pearl pendant on repeat lately. It pairs well with a more casual outfit to elevate it, but it’s also not overwhelming with a more dressed up outfit.
It’s definitely starting to feel like September. I hope we get a nice warm Fall this year. I never thought I would say it, but I’m sad Summer is almost over. It’s never been my favourite season (re: heat), but this year we didn’t get much sun, so I would love a little bit more!
How is your September so far? Are you ready for Fall, or still holding onto the vestiges of Summer? And how does your garden grow?
Hello Dear Readers! I can’t believe we’re already into the second half of August; where has the summer gone? Lately I have been…
Reading:
I’m halfway through my goal of re-reading Jane Austen’s books this year! I’ve finished Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice and Emma, have started Sense & Sensibility, and only have Northanger Abbey left! (I read Mansfield Park a couple of years ago, so I’m not going to re-read it this year.)
I am really enjoying it. Especially when I sit outside on the swing on a peaceful, sunny afternoon to read a few chapters in between watching the birds and the clouds go by.
Loving:
Vibrant yellow canola fields and going for walks. Especially when a storm is coming up and the sky is starting to get that greenish look to it that means it is time to head home!
Making:
So many cute baby things lately for new babies in my church.Bibs for little boys and a polka dot dress and bloomers for a little girl.
Finding:
Letters from friends in the mailbox. Always a cheerful surprise!
Working on:
The family history photo project. I’ve created a family tree of one side of the family and have printed a whole bunch of the photos, finally, but then some of them were printed incorrectly, so I have to do a re-print of some of them. I got the majority printed on 4×6 papers and trimmed them to size, keeping the white margins so they look “old”. I have them stored in this pretty box until I’m ready to assemble the albums.
Eating:
Fresh vegetables from the garden! So many cucumbers in particular. Yum!
And I am not eating these pretty evening scented stocks my mom planted, above, but I am enjoying their lovely blooms and delicate scent.
Watching:
These two videos about two very different dresses were a treat to watch.
–Marilyn Monroe’s pink “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is one of the most famous dresses in cinema (superseded only by the Little Black Dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and it’s on display right now in an exhibit called Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon.
And that’s all for this week!
What has your August been like? What have you been reading, making, finding, eating, and watching?
Hello Dear Readers. What have you been up to during these late, end of summer days? Lately I have been…
Eating:
All the produce that is fresh from my mom’s garden… carrots, zucchini, beans, peas, kale… so many delicious foods. And then we went berry picking and got saskatoons, nanking cherries, chokecherries and raspberries. We froze the saskatoons and raspberries to eat later as pies or other desserts, and then juiced the nanking and chokecherries to make syrup. Yum!
Loving:
Everything is in bloom and I have been saving and pressing a bunch of flowers and leaves for use later in crafts. I’ve gathered pansies, violas, potentilla and hydrangeas so far. I used to have a flower press, but got rid of it, so I have been doing it the way I used to as a kid: blooms between tissues layered between pieces of boxboard with books stacked on top. I used to press them between the pages of the books, but I didn’t want the “juices” to ruin the pages.
So in that vein, I have been working on a couple of zippered pouches which I have also been running into many problems with, but they are finally done.
The first one is this beaded one, above. I saved the beaded fabric off of a pouch, which had been made in the cheapest satin and was completely snagged and ruined. I had previously made a new pouch for it, but didn’t end up liking the fabric I had chosen for the back, so I had the grand idea to take it apart and remake it into a new one. It took forever, and I ended up having to do some creative stitching and beading to fill in some gaps, but I am satisfied with how it turned out.
The second one is this embroidered bicycle, which I have been working on since last year. I started the embroidery in January of 2024, and pulled it out every time I had a ladies “crafternoon”. I finished it last August, set it aside and have finally sewed the pouch now. I had actually made an embroidered bicycle several years ago, but the dye from one of the orange embroidery threads bled and stained the canvas! So, this project was also a remake. The embroidery on this one turned out a bit better, though, so it was worth the hassle in the end.
Finding:
Speaking of sewing, I have found a clever way to store patterns; in a binder! I am beginning to think that all of my storage solutions will end up being just binders. Files, embellishments, patterns…what else?
I saw this idea in one of Frieda Lepold’s videos and it is such a good one for pdf printed patterns, self drafted patterns and oversized Vogue patterns. Some I put into envelopes, some into page protectors, and some I just punched the pages and filed them. It’s neat and tidy, as well as easy to store and find the patterns.
Reading:
The Chronicles of Narnia again since it’s been years since I read them. I have been interspersing with other books so I don’t get tired of them. Reading them as an adult, it’s much easier to pick out the analogies and themes such as temptation, obedience, the sovereignty of God etc. which is quite enjoyable.
I’ve also been reading some Mary Higgins Clark novels (I’ve Got You Under My Skin) as well as some Elisabeth Elliot (The Path of Loneliness and Let Me Be a Woman) to round it out.
On that note I recently created a Goodreads account! I figured since I write reviews for my favourite books here, I might as well share them there, as well as maybe finding some other good recommendations.
Listening to:
I haven’t been listening to anything at the moment, but I am still planning to listen to an audiobook for my reading challenge this year. I haven’t settled on which one, but am thinking of a Charles Dickens story. Do you have a favourite you’d recommend?
Working on…
One additional project: rescuing this mouldy book, or at least trying to. I was reading this vintage copy of Heidi a while ago, and turned the page only to discover that it was mouldy! Very mouldy! I thought that the mould looked dead, since it was powdery, but of course I stopped reading it right away and got a different copy to read. I remembered hearing something about rescuing mouldy books before, so I decided to try it.
I placed the book in a sealed bag in the freezer for 1 week, and when I took it out discovered that the mould perhaps hadn’t been all dead, because it had been slightly teal coloured before and was grey when I took it out. (It wasn’t damp at all though.) Then, outside and wearing a respirator (!!!), I brushed each page with a toothbrush to remove the powdery mould. The mould was only on a tiny section of the book- about 20 pages or so. Then, I spritzed each page with rubbing alcohol to saturate it and let it dry in the sun. The alcohol kills the mould.
You can see that the alcohol curled the pages a bit, but it doesn’t look too bad. I will wait and see in a few weeks what the inside of the book looks like, to determine whether it worked, or whether this book is still destined for the bin. There is a lot of controversy on whether you should do this. This method is used by archivists, so I feel OK with it, but each person can decide for themselves whether it’s worth it or not. At the end of the day, it’s just paper, but if I can save it, it’s worth a try as I do like vintage books.
I restyled my book/ display shelves too, mainly with my vintage books, teapots and pitchers. I put some of my big fashion books on the dresser underneath.
Well, what have you been up to lately? How is it already nearing the end of August? Where did the summer go? I suppose it’s time to buckle down and really get through all of those “summer projects” I had on my list!
