Jumper: Complete

I brought my jumper along to Nashville so that I could finish it up during the 4 hour drive.  I was able to hem the skirt and finish the bodice lining in the car with no issues.  If I had brought a blouse with me, I would have worn this to the exhibit (which was wonderful and lovely and inspiring, by the way).  

I think it turned out pretty adorable!

I decided to expose the metal zipper I used rather than lapping it as the pattern directed.  

Gracious the kitty (aka Leroy) wanted her picture taken, too.

Pocket lining.  Oh yeah.  

Next project: a fall dress for Jennifer.  

~Bess

Graphs and Logarithms

It is 3:35am and I am sitting up working on graphs.  Perhaps I should feel depressed, but I don't.  I can comprehend logarithms for the first time in my life, and that has totally made my weekend.  Yay for math class!

I am writing this from a hotel in Nashville, TN.  I came up to meet some fellow vintage-fashion-loving bloggers and view an incredible exhibit--The Golden Age of Couture!  I am so ready to be inspired, and plan to take lots of pictures, if I can.  Mom drove up with me, and I'm so glad she did.  I think we both needed a mini-road trip.  Nothing like a road trip to clear the head and soothe the soul. 

I need soul-soothing right now.  Lot's of inner-turmoil going on, and I don't like it.  I don't want to be in turmoil, I want to be in peace.  

I think it all comes down to me, really--I'm having a tough time trusting in the goodness and greatness of God's plan for my life.  Wait, I take that back--I do trust that His will is best for me, and that it always prevails.  What I don't trust (or believe) right now is that He will really fulfill the desires of my heart.  But then I think, perhaps I need to lay down my dreams and be ok with never reaching them.  Perhaps they have become too important, and I need to re-evaluate my priorities and focus.  Perhaps...I dunno.  Blah.

Sorry, rambling...

Well I am going to be super tired tomorrow, so I'd better get to sleep.   Have a lovely and restful weekend!

~Bessie

Babies and Ice Cream

I've come to the conclusion that babies and ice cream are all that really matter in life. 

Just kidding.  Well, kinda. 

~Bess

Whoop! Corduroy.

So apparently I am a bit of a nincompoop at taking pictures of myself.  Thus you will have to bear with me for this sneak-peak of my corduroy jumper.  I bought the fabric for this project last year and never made it.  Why?  I have no idea.  I definitely missed out on a very cute jumper last year.  Ah well!

The jumper is nearly finished--just needs to be hemmed (I have it pinned in the pictures).  Once it is done, I will have one of my sisters take some good pictures. ;)  Until then...

Here are some close-ups of the front pocket/pleat details and the back exposed metal zipper. Sorry about the wonky colors!  The jumper is black, if you can't tell (har har).  I had to way under-expose the pics to get the color right. 

 I had to sew a really fun lining into the pockets, but unfortunately I could not get a good picture of it. Alas!

I really like how this has turned out, and can't wait to wear it this fall.  :)  

~Bessie

Lunacy

Have I mentioned I love G.K. Chesterton?  He is so logically illogical.

"But the transcendentalism by which all men live has primarily much the position of the sun in the sky.  We are conscious of it as of a kind of splendid confusion; it is something both shining and shapeless, at once a blaze and a blur.  But the circle of the moon is as clear and unmistakable, as recurrent and inevitable, as the circle of Euclid on the blackboard.  For the moon is utterly reasonable; and the moon is the mother of lunatics and has given to them all her name." 

~G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Oh yeah, BTW

Posted a few new patterns on Etsy.  I will be posting new patterns at least once a week, so be sure to check out the shop!

~Bessie

Old Shirt to New Dress/Tunic (and goat stuff too)

I've decided that this fall I'd really like to focus on finishing current projects (I have way too many going--some from last year!) and re-fashioning old clothing.  I don't plan to purchase new fabric for anything.  This will be very difficult for me, but I think it will be a good character building exercise.  ;)

So today I whipped out this cute dress/tunic for the fall!  I found a really big man shirt at Goodwill, cut it down a bit in the side and shoulder seams, sliced it in half, and sewed in a thick elastic belt.  Ta-da!  I really love it.  It will look great with jeans, tights, or leggings once the weather turns cooler.  For now I can wear it with shorts.  Or without.

Also, I don't think I ever posted about my hand-made hay feeder.  I am very proud of this hay feeder.  Sure, it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it works great and it turned out just like I wanted it to.  When I was preparing for my goats and looking around at different feeders, someone recommended that I build my own using 2"x4" wire fencing.  Goats tend to jerk big mouthfuls of hay out, dropping about 75% of it on the ground, and wire with smaller gaps helps to prevent massive hay-waste.

As a last aside, little Truitt is doing very well and he and Dean are becoming fast friends.  Truitt follows Dean everywhere.  It's really cute.  

Next project: Black Corduroy Jumper!  Whoop!

Be blessed,

Bessie

An incredible likeness, really...

John drew me a picture of Truitt.

I love it!

~Bessie

Our Kitchen Table

Of all the furniture in our home, I think our kitchen table is my very favorite.  It doesn't look too fancy--it's not polished and shiny, it is full of chips and dings, and has had lots of love-wear through the decades.  But like anything else that is worn-in, the wear simply makes it cozy and comfortable and easy.

The best thing about our table is that it has essentially become a large, usable piece of art over the years.  Every kid in our family has drawn and/or painted on this table, from me (who used to get down and draw underneath the table so mom wouldn't know) down to little Cael (who was using a blue chalk pastel to color in every single knothole the other night.  We have scribbles, dragons, wobbly family portraits, signatures, polka dots, and more.  Heck, we've even decorated the bench!

As an aside, we also have a lot of great art on the walls.  No, I do not mean in frames.  Who needs frames?  Or paper, for that matter?

Every once in awhile mom will say something to the tune of, "We have got to refinish that table.  It looks terrible!"  To which I reply, "Aw, can't we keep the pictures there and just put a coat of polyurethane on top?"   I think if anyone ever wanted to refinish that table, I'd prostrate myself over the top of it and tell them that they'll have to refinish me, too.  ;)  I love it how it is.  It is delightful.  It fits our family so nicely, and really, we've had some of the top artists contribute to its decoration.

Do you have anything like that in your home or your life?  Something that, in its state of worn-out imperfection has been a source of joy and comfort to you and yours?  I think we need to treasure these things more.  Well, perhaps not the things so much as the time and memories and people that they represent.  It's so easy to fall into the trap of wanting things to look perfect and beautiful and new, but new doesn't come with any memories, and it takes so long to break in! ;)

Have a fantastic day,

Bessie

Truitt

Picked up my new little buddy today!  I took one look at him and knew that he was definitely not a Harvey.  He was a Truitt.

Isn't he beautiful?

Truitt is a lot like Dean was when I first brought him home--slightly skittish, and not sure what to think about all of the children and puppies and kitties at the Barger homestead.  I brought him home in a crate, and he did not want to come out when we arrived.  I opened the crate to try and coax him to the door, and before I knew it he had bolted out of the crate and was running around the yard, "baaa-ing"!  I had let Dean out to welcome him, and I could tell that Dean was a little exasperated.  I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "Geez--kids these days."   After all, Dean is six months old and quite grown up and wise in the ways of the world. 

It took awhile, but Dean and I finally managed to get Truitt into the pen.  We tried bribing him with some feed, calling him, dancing for him (well, Dean did), and even chasing him before eventually placing a bowl of feed inside the pen and waiting very nonchalantly inside. Truitt stood outside the pen and stared at us for the longest time, but eventually curiosity got the best of him and he wandered through the gate.  That must have been nearly thirty minutes after he had bolted out of his crate.  Silly goat.  

Dean and Truitt have been getting along very well, except for the fact that Truitt seems to think Dean is a lady goat.  This has been a bit frustrating for Dean, and I had to separate them for a little while this afternoon just to give Dean a break.  I'm sure Truitt will figure things out soon, and then they will be the best of buddies.

Even though he has a new friend, Dean still misses Jerry and stands by the gate a lot.  This will pass, I am sure.  It's good to experience your grief.  Maybe he'll write some good songs about it. ;)

~Bess  

R.I.P. Little Jerry

Yesterday was a very sad day.  Dear little Jerry passed away.  He somehow managed to get his head stuck in  between the gatepost and gate of the goat pen, and strangled.  I found him like that when I went to feed them yesterday morning.  His body was still warm, and I hope that means that it had just happened and that he did not suffer for long.

I was so upset, and cried for about 75% of the day.  Mom said that this is just part of farm life.  She remembers her relatives (who were all farmers) telling all sorts of horrific stories about fluke deaths and injuries on the farm--of both people and animals.  I know these things happen, but it doesn't make it any less tragic.  It also doesn't deter me from wanting to keep goats.  I'm going to look at it as a live and learn experience, and see what I can do to prevent anything like that from happening again.

Dean has been quite pitiful.  He stands by the gate, looking melancholy, and crying all day.  He misses his buddy.  I am blessed to have a goat-breeder friend who has kindly offered to give me one of his little bucks as a new companion for Dean.  What generosity--I am floored!  I'm going to go pick the little guy up tomorrow afternoon.  He is a purebred Nigerian Dwarf, white and roan with blue eyes, just weaned.  I'm thinking of naming him Harvey, in honor of Jerry.  

Jerry was a dear, sweet little goat, and I will miss him dreadfully.  I'm thankful that I was able to take care of him for a little while, and to enjoy his friendly, feisty personality.  Rest in peace, little buddy!

~Bess

New Patterns on Etsy: The Infamous 1970's

So I went to organize my storage unit yesterday (yes, I have a storage unit full of wonderful vintage household goods) and found a huge box full of patterns that I had forgotten about.  Most of them date back to the late 60's-early 70's.  I think perhaps I was going on an anti-70's fling around the time when I stored them away--I just didn't want to deal with them at the time.

Anywho, last night I sat down and went through the box, and found some really adorable patterns--most of which for fall/winter attire!  I was so pleasantly surprised, that I even felt a bit of warmth toward the hideous less-adorable 70's patterns.  I mean, they are very original.

All of that to say, I will be listing many of these fun finds in my Etsy shop over the next few weeks!  There are a few summer pieces, and many, many great fall/winter tops, skirts, jackets, dresses, and yes, even an occasional jumpsuit ("for stretch knits only")!  Here is a sampling:

Hope to see you at the shop!
~Bessie

For Uncle Bob

Last year Ben, Sarah and I had a wonderful visit with our great-aunt and uncle in Texas.  Uncle Bob sent us home with a special gift for Skylar (our resident gardener): a sampling of lovely plants from his own garden.  One year later, they are still thriving!  

Thanks, Uncle Bob and Aunt Jean!