more cast iron and another dress

I got cast iron pan for the camping box today.  There is a crack in it that has a vveerrryyy slow leak.  Which is perfect for camping.  I do not think I would want a pan in the camp box that I have to worry about.  A bit up is cool.

I also finished another dress.  It is a homespun fabric.  I just love that fabric and I picked up this piece weeks ago when my Beloved got new vinyl for his shop stools.  He helped me pick out the fabric so it is a bit different then if I just picked it myself.  But I really like it.

I thought I would finish it yesterday but I fell asleep after work.  Four hours later I woke.  Then it was time for food and more sleep.  Today may be similar once I finish writing.

medieval to modern

I sew almost every day because it relaxes me.  Which should mean my stash is getting smaller.  It really is not because I am taking things out of the closet and remaking them into other things.  This medieval chemise is a prime example.  I made a medieval dress many years ago for medieval and renaissance fairs.  We like to go in garb.  In the recent years, we have chosen not to go.  We have been downsizing our garb. 

The fabric in this was still good and I liked the color.  My thoughts were that for summer, I could make a dress that would be light weight.  It would be something I would not mind riding my bicycle in or playing with Small Mister.  So I got to cutting and stitching.

I actually got two dresses out of it!

One with sleeves and without sleeves.

I also got quilt squares too.  It went a long way. 

My Beloved told me this morning that he would take me up on my offer of making him a new long sleeve shirt to work in.  I told him I wished I had known that before I cut up this dress.  He said, no it is a Lady blue.  We are going to go to the fabric store and find him some fabric for a shirt.  I have white and beige fabric that would work but both those are highly impractical for his work making knives.

Fabric trip.  I like.

vintage cast iron

It has been a day.  Allergies started it off.  My face itches so badly it hurts.  It hurts so badly that my tear ducts ache.  The small list of tasks I had at work got added to so that the computer is running three tasks right now.  I will continue with the tasks on Monday.  Please notice, I did not say finish.  I am deeply tired.

But then there is a small joy.  My Dad sent us home with their cast iron this trip.  They no longer use it.  They use very high end non-stick type pans.  I have those as well but I still prefer the cast iron and it is what I reach for always.  Mine was just not as nice as theirs because I had bought new.  I had not had the time to hunt down vintage cast iron when I needed it.  It still worked but I feel so blessed with this gift.  I did not even realize how coveted vintage cast iron was.  I understand why but I had no clue.  I do clueless well sometimes.

Then I was on pinterest and saw a very deep cast iron pan being used to bake a sweet roll bread.  I thought the recipe was trying a bit too hard but I liked the pan.  I did some research and found out it was a chicken fryer.  I found this one on ebay.  The lid is actually another pan.  It is the same era as the cast iron pans I had been gifted.  Maybe Small Mister will use them in his own home some day.  Since the ones my Dad gave me were wedding gifts to them, I truly expect this to be the case.

I have one more deep pan coming.  I thought it would be lovely on the mountain or in the camp box. Okay, beside the camp box.  It is not going to have the lid but that is alright.  It will do what I need it to do.

It was lovely thing to come home to today.  My Beloved has been pretty lovely to come home to too.  He got another large order for steak knives and I cannot be more proud.  He makes such pretty useful knives.

for C and H

While I have been a lot of sewing for myself this winter and spring, I have been stitching squares.  I work on squares every time I stitch a straight seam.  As soon as Miss EA's quilt was done, I laid this one out.  It is for C and H.  They married last fall and I decided why not.  They need some hand made goodness.

I am still sewing for myself and more squares are being made.  My stash never seems to go down because I am adding old dresses to it instead of buying new fabric.  In some ways my closet is getting slimmer.  Ever time I sew a straight seam I sew a square.  The first strip on this quilt is almost together and I am hoping to get some time on my machine this weekend.  And I need to spin and be in the garden.  There are never enough hours in the day.

for Miss EA

I finished off this quilt this weekend while watching Call The Midwife.  It is a good stitching television show.

Miss EA's Momma liked this quilt top so I decided why not.  It was really not what I had planned for her but it works. 

Now, here is the hard part, getting it off in the mail!