Think Spring

It took hours this weekend to figure out how to make a clipping mask template in my ancient Photoshop Elements program for grouping photos. I think I finally have it. It was snowing again and I needed something bright to remind me that spring will be here. Eventually.

What's what:

• Top photo is a sweet tote I made for my granddaughter out of a dress she'd outgrown. Such a fun madras plaid. See the cute pockets on the sides? Even though the dress was a child's size, it was gathered--too wide for a bag, unless I wanted to remove and re-stitch those pockets. Perfect time to incorporate Mexican pleating, a technique I discovered years ago. I seriously want to use it on more items!
• Middle left is interior of the tote, with a pocket and four pencil slips. So exciting to take a scrap of fabric to the store and find the perfect coordinate. If you're a seamstress, you know the feeling. Since it's a busy little print, I added a slice of lime to the pocket top so Miss Lydi could find it more easily.
• Middle right is a flower I made from organza and glitter netting using the singe technique. Have you tried those? Amazing fun. (BTW, netting doesn't singe. Trust me on this.) Love, love that vintage button I was auditioning in the center, but ended up using Swarovski crystals instead, because I wanted to see how they'd work on sheers. Gave the flower to my daughter, who loves green. Her neck of the woods is experiencing yet another blizzard today, so I'm thinkin' she--along with much of the country--needs this booster shot stat.
• Bottom left--another for granddaughter, who shares my love for ballcaps and bling. I made this a couple of years ago by combining two clipart images to create an iron-on sheet with Swarovski crystals. As I say in my Thread West shop: They wink at the cowboys so much better than imitations. ;-) Miss Lydi still wears the cap and totes the tote. I never thought about the colors in the bag and the bling matching till I put this photo collage together. Will ask the girl if she's worn them at the same time....
• Bottom right. In keeping with Spring and butterflies, a Mother's Day card I made for my daughter a few years ago. It got lost in the mail between MI and MO, finally arrived a month later. I'd like to know where those butterflies flitted to in between....

Stay safe and warm....

Remembering Toots...

Today would've been my mother-in-law's 93rd birthday. After being called "Mom" for much of her life, she asked when I married her son that I call her by her nickname, "Toots." Her mother usually called her "Tootsie." Toots passed in 2002, having lived an amazing, adventurous life before health issues forced her to slow down.

To give you an idea:

• Among her babysitters were Al Capone's croupiers in Chicago (Her earliest memory was looking up and seeing a man pacing a balcony, holding a tommygun.)
• She was one of the youngest spectators--if not the youngest--at the Dempsey-Willard fight in Toledo in 1919. Nobody thought Dempsey could win, but Toots's parents had a hunch. They hocked everything--including their baby girl's toys--and bet it on Dempsey. They lived for a year off the winnings.
• She dated a member of The Purple Gang
• She won the lottery (not an obscene amount, but enough that she felt comfortable buying steaks once a week for the family)

She didn't like to have her photo taken, and I had hoped to scan a snap from her younger days, but my scanner is on the fritz. When that issue's addressed, I post a nice photo of her...

When she married Leauvett (nickname: Lutz, pronounced "Loots") Estleman during WWII, they bought an 1867 farmhouse. It didn't have electricity or plumbing, and materials for such things weren't to be had during the war. She made do, and after a young life of being hauled all over the map by a gypsy mother, she stayed put in that farmhouse for the rest of her days.

Toots enjoyed crafts and sewing, and while I was talking to Mr. E. a few days ago about this being National Sewing Month and how his mom would've loved that, he revealed that her toy sewing machine was still around somewhere. Would I like it? (Trust me, he knew the answer to that one.)

It's the little red Sew Master, parked in front of my treadle machine. Both need TLC, and I'm currently researching the proper cleaning materials to use before I tackle them. (Use the wrong stuff, and you ruin the decals.) It's still hers, really; I'm simply the caretaker. But, I know she would approve, and that means everything.

She was resourceful, and fun, and tough. She's missed every single day.