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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Again, back to the sewing room!

Let me see if I can get my mind off hay and think about something else. What I need to do is run my sewing machine wide open...get some things made and ready to sell.

That reminds me...several years ago I was having some dental work done and being nervous and afraid, the dentist agreed to give me laughing gas instead of Novocaine. Well, it worked, it worked perfectly! Never laughed as much in my entire life. The whole time the dentist was drilling, I was dreaming it was mama sewing, and I had never heard her machine sew that fast.  It was cracking me up. How the dentist got the work done is beyond me. I was right embarrassed when the gas wore off. It sure looked to me like the dentist and his assistant were smiling.



Speaking of sewing...pardon those silly glasses. Those were my very first reading glasses...out of style, but my favorite eye glasses to wear when sewing. Finally got two aprons cut out! My little bit of sewing time last night was spent making bias tape. Bias tape is expensive and the pattern I'm using calls for three packs at $1.87 each.



Sometimes I feel totally burned out with sewing.  Gosh I've been making and selling bonnet, aprons, and dolls for about fifteen years now. After retiring in 1999, the excitement of staying home, keeping house, and gardening, well, it was overwhelming! A  dream come true! I am surprised the sheer joy of it all didn't cause my heart to stop.

  
Many a morning I got up at three o'clock...thinking, "wow, I am retired! I don't have to make that long drive to Raleigh this morning, work all day, and then make that long drive home "! I used to leave for work somewhere around 6:30 a.m. and got back home around 6:30 p.m.

Early one morning, sitting in the spare bedroom, wondering what I could do until daylight, I picked up an old fashioned clothespin and tried making a doll. My first clothespin dolls were pretty tacky...but you know what? I made a shoe box full of the tacky little dolls and carried them to my first ever craft bazaar...the dolls were a hit. Wish I had a picture of those first funny little dolls.


At that time, we only had the spare bedroom, no sewing room. That craft bazaar was totally fun!! I wanted to do more...that's when I turned the little bedroom into my teeny tiny sewing room..."my space"!




making clothespin dolls is tedious work, so I decided to make myself a taller bigger clothespin to work with, from a Maple sapling...





I sawed and carved and sanded until the stick looked pretty much like an old fashioned clothespin.



Wish I had kept a count of just how many dolls I have made. Okay, talking about all this has maybe inspired me to cut more doll sticks and get myself busy. There will be no cutting maple saplings today, it is cold outside, and that wind, brutal!! 

Didn't mean to go on and on...I sure get carried away with stuff. Why, if it's not hay, it's the sewing room!

Thank you!

Love,
Henny

51 comments:

  1. Dear Sweet Henny, visiting your blog is like stepping back into a quieter peaceful time. I love that you make your own maple clothes pins for your dolls . . . what is more Americana than that :) And, they are so pretty! You my dear friend are a treasure and the things you make are truly amazing.
    God Bless you!
    Connie :)

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    1. Thank you so much Connie...what a compliment coming from someone who creates many beautiful things! You are amazing!

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  2. You make your own clothespins? You are as crafty as the retired-guy who is making us a mail-box as I type this. haha! I wish I could buy some of those sweet dolls for my grand-daughters. They would love them. :) Hugs to all. Hey, where is that Smokey boy?

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    1. Deb, that is so funny. It's got to be another one of those Virgo things! I've just taken a new picture of that sweet Smokey for my blog. Guess little Rosie has taken up too much of my time. :)

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  3. Oh my goodness you are so crafty! I love your clothespin dolls. Very sweet. Your sewing room looks lovely. I could spend a day just looking at everything!

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    1. Thank you Robin! I need to clean out! Wish you could come spend a day! :)

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    2. Hi Henny, I would love to come visit you!

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  4. Hi,
    What a lovely space for you. :-) I do love how you have the sewing room set up. Your work is beautiful!
    Enjoy your weekend,
    Carla

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    1. Thank you Carla. I do enjoy the little sewing room and having a place to get away from the deer heads and hunting equipment!

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  5. Wow, I love the bigger clothespins that you made. Very creative. Your sewing room is wonderful. Makes me wish I sewed. : )
    Sometimes at the dentist when it is a small filling I don't even get Novocaine. I have had that laughing gas once though and my dentist at the time had the nicest blue eyes and I kept telling him that. : )

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    1. Thank you! That is so funny about your dentist. I bet he was smiling at you too while working on your teeth. :)

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  6. I love all your creations! I have always wanted to make some money from my crafts - a dream of mine which I hope will come true this year. Your dolls are gorgeous, I am just in love with them. It must be wonderful to have a special sewing room. From all the little corners of your house we see in photos, I know I would just adore it - it looks so special.

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    1. Thank you Jayne. I hope you do sell your crafts. You are so talented. I would love to know how to knit and crochet. I was determined to learn how to make "something" when I retired, so I taught myself to make aprons and bonnets...and the dolls.

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  7. Your work is wonderful. It is good to feel this joy while creating.

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  8. I'm such a dentalphobe that my dentist had to give me pill to take before coming to see him that about put me to sleep, even to just have a cleaning. Love your sewing, the maple clothes pins are great. Isn't retirement wonderful. I retired in 2003.

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    1. I had not thought about taking a pill before going to the dentist. Maybe I need to try that! I love retirement! Nothing like it! Thank you.

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  9. I think your craft from scratch with all the wood work then sewing is fantastic . I do like all the things you have made in your sewing room , I have a sewing machine but hardly ever use it I just dont have the knack of sewing like my mum did she loved to sew , knit , crochet and embroider and she was good at it I just wish I took interest in it when I was younger so my mum could show me oh well I hope to try my hand at making aprons one day . Thanks for sharing , Lovely photos and work , have a good day and a Happy Valentines Day !

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    1. Thank you! I sure wish I had learned more when I was young too. I can make bonnets and aprons, but that's about it.

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  10. The little dolls look so pretty, and the sewing room is warm and cozy. Just right for this cold spell!

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    1. Thank you. It is a warm little room...sometimes hot when the sun shines in. :)

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  11. That was interesting! Makes me think of the crafty things I used to make to sell. Maybe will do a post on it sometime:) Your dolls are cute! If you count your time and the fabric, I'm sure that it takes much more that $1.87 to make a length of bias tape. The fabric stores here often have half price sales, so that is when I stock up on notions especially. Most of my fabric these days seems to be coming from thrift stores.

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    1. Hey Karen. I would love to find bias tape on sale. Of course, we have no fabric shops close by...only Walmart! I find a lot of fabric at the thrift shop too. In fact, that bias tape was made from fabric I paid twenty five cents for. Making bias tape is a job! I would love to see the craft things that you've made. Hope you will do a post on them. Than you Karen.

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  12. That was interesting! Makes me think of the crafty things I used to make to sell. Maybe will do a post on it sometime:) Your dolls are cute! If you count your time and the fabric, I'm sure that it takes much more that $1.87 to make a length of bias tape. The fabric stores here often have half price sales, so that is when I stock up on notions especially. Most of my fabric these days seems to be coming from thrift stores.

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  13. Your sewing is absolutely beautiful! The bonnets are adorable, I love the style of the apron and I need two of those dolls! Seriously! Thanks so much for doing a post to show your work.

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    1. Thank you Dianna! I need to make more dolls. I've started five small clothespin dolls, but need to cut more sticks to make the larger dolls. Which do you like better? You can email me at hennypennylane@gmail.com I've got to get busy. :) Thank you.

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  14. I am totally in awe of those who can make lovely crafts. I think you have to have been born with talent. Which I was not. Oh well, I can thrift shop and find what others have made and discarded.

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    1. Oh my, I have no talent, seriously. I was determined to learn how to sew "something" when I retired...then got started on the little dolls. It just kind of happened. I wish I could bake like you and decorate like you! Thank you! :)

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  15. My goodness, how clever of you to make your own clothespins for the dolls. I can see how that would make the sewing of the clothes etc. so much easier. Wow! So creative.

    It's so nice to have a room of your own so that when you are in the middle of making things you don't feel you have to unpack all the bits and pieces and then put them away when finished for the time being only to turn around and do it all again when you decide to have another go at it.

    I bet you though do straighten everything up every time!

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    1. Thank you Vic. Well It's not exactly a real clothespin, but close enough to use for a doll. It really is nice to have that sewing room, especially since the rest of the house like a hunting lodge.

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  16. Girl, you are one talented lady! Good job!

    Grace & Peace

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    1. Thank you. I am really not talented. It was a job learning to sew an apron and especially a bonnet. :) But fun!

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  17. So fun to hear about your early days making the dolls and aprons and bonnets. You're a talented one, that's for sure. You never go on too long about anything...I always greatly enjoy your blog Henny! Keep up the good work!

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    1. Thank you so much Diane! You are always so encouraging!

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  18. I think your clothes pin dolls are so cute. Aren't you clever making your own clothespins! You are a lady of many talents it seems!! Nancy

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    1. Oh my, I don't know about that, Nancy! But thank you very much!

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  19. Your work is so lovely. I hope you are still enjoying it as much as when you first retired. I have done very little sewing in the last two years, after doing a lot the first eight years after retiring. I really should find some fun projects to sew.

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    1. Thank you Linda. I have kind of fizzled out the last few years. I really need to find something new to make.

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  20. Your sewing room looks like a wonderful place to spend time on a bitter cold day like today - it's so cozy in there! I can't sew a lick, I'm useless at that, and I truly admire those of you that have this incredible talent!

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    1. Thank you. I really am not talented! Seriously! I do enjoy my little sewing room though! :)

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  21. Your dolls are so cute! I love that you carved your own clothes pins too! Everything is so colorful in your sewing room:)

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    1. Thank you! I'm afraid my carvings will never be like yours. It's pretty easy to carve a knob on top of a stick.

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  22. The stick dolls are so neat! Sorry it is so cold there...I forget where you are, but here in the south it is about 55, with no sign of winter except for an occasional day of brutal cold wind. I am worried we will go straight into stormy spring..which I am not looking forward to at all.
    Happy valentine's Day!

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    1. Well I am in the south too. North Carolina. It sure has felt cold to me. :) and windy. Thank you!

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  23. Being a pretty inept seamstress, I never tire of seeing your sewing projects. All the lovely colored fabric. In my head, I'd love to put lovely colors together in a quilt. But then I come down to reality. Nope.

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    1. Janet, I am the same! I picture these quilts in my mind and have all these scraps of fabric...guess I am just not a quilt maker. Thank you for visiting.

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  24. Don't apologize...I loved reading this. It helps keep me going when I read stuff like this.

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  25. ahhhhh, you reminded me of how great it was to retire and spend the whole day doing what I wanted. I had forgotten and I'm afraid of taken it for granted. Really need to appreciate it, especially on cold, rainy days.

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    1. Thank you Sharon. It is easy to forget how hard it was getting up and going in to work every day...then having supper to cook, and all the housework too!

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  26. Our youngest is getting married and moving out. I am just dreaming of the day I get to make her room my sewing room. I know I will miss her, but I will enjoy that room!

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