sewing? – Karla's Cottage

Sewing and concrete

By Karla Nathan / May 4, 2025

For a person who dislikes sewing as much as I do, I end up doing quite a few sewing related projects.

Like these hand made pincushions in vintage vessels.

There is even an entire shelf of sewing related goods. Which I do find interesting. I told myself never try to sell anything I don’t like, because you might just get stuck with it.

There is also a display of pet themed items. More up my alley than sewing. But I sure enjoyed making the pincushions I hope they sell so I can craft more of them.

Another thing that needs to go are these birdbaths. Not because I don’t like them, I love them, and all of the cherubs, to pieces. And it might look like I never sell the angels, but actually, I do, I just keeping buying more. I’ve had a steady stream of concrete statues in my booth since Christmas.

Christmas angels, valentines cherubs, garden statues, I love them for many seasons.

The issue is that these concrete pretties are bad for my torn rotator cuff that I’m too stubborn to have repaired. And my husband pointed out that it isn’t exactly fair to ask him to haul the hefty birdbaths around either. So, I see some rock bottom sale prices coming in the future if I still have them in my booth.

Easter bunnies

fairies, Good JuJu, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2025

My friend, Beth, gave me some quilt scraps. I’m not a sewer, but I was still drawn to making some quilted bunnies. Basically, it was as simple as cutting out rabbit shapes and stitching them together and stuffing them. The pretty fabric did all the hard part.

This hare took zero sewing, I got it at an estate sale, cut off the old clothing, and crafted new, lacy duds using glue instead of thread. That’s much more my style than sewing.

There isn’t a before picture, but here is the country style dress she previously had on.

She might have a frowny face, but I think she appreciates the glow up.

The bunny’s dress is a lot like the ones I make for my fairy dolls. Gluing is so much more up my alley than stitching.

Heartfelt

Good JuJu, Hearts, Painting with thread, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / January 22, 2025

January’s sale at Good Juju was cut short due to horrid, terrible, awful, nasty, cold, blizzardy weather.

Surprisingly, we had quite a few customers brave the oncoming storm and shop with us. I was quite pleased and thankful that those guests came to see us.

Still, it wasn’t quite a full crowd.

Typically, holiday goods are sold in advance of the actual month of the celebrations, so January is when most of my Valentine inventory would be on display. Since we didn’t have our regular, larger turnout, I’m using that as an excuse to keep making heart themed crafts and bringing them in, even though the sale is only one week before the holiday.

Honestly, I love making hearts. And in my opinion, they aren’t seasonal. I figure I can keep bowls of velvet and lace hearts out year round. Right now, they look like they are blatantly Valentine’s Day items. But without the candy boxes and other decor around them, I think I can keep on making these to bring in.

But not this one, it is going as a gift to someone special.

RV Life is Better When Things are Pretty

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), redos, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / March 11, 2022

When we first got to Florida, the beach was a little chilly, but since then the weather has been ideal.

And I am so happy that I cozied up the little camper with new linens, paint and curtains.

Dorothy likes it too.

The other dogs like their new bunk bed/kennel that we created for them.

My only issue is in trying to hang the artwork I brought along. Command hooks didn’t support them, even though they are lightweight. I did figure out that a binder clip on the ugly valance will hold a picture over the windows, but I can’t get anything to work on the walls.

I’d also like to get rid of those ugly valances, but that’s another day.

New curtains cover the top bunk, and I ordered cushion covers for the top pillows on the bench. Now, they aren’t exactly my first choice in fabric, but they are what I could get and they are better than just plain dark brown.

This is the door we made to turn the bottom bunk bunk bed into a dog crate. My husband had to do some rebuilding and boosting the opening to make the door fit snugly and securely. I am so glad he did, what a helpful addition to camper life.

One change that was important to me, was covering the inside of the glass doors so that I don’t have to look at all of our stored goods. What a simple fix for something that irritated me every time we used the rv. I cut foam core to fit and wrapped it into the curtain fabric, then attached it to the interior of the windows.

I am much happier without the cluttery view of peanut butter, cracker boxes, and stacks of dishes.

The sea glass blue paint in the bathroom has made a world of difference to me. The previous blah brown wall paper was a downer.

So was the icky brown shower curtain. This one is put together (I wouldn’t call what I do real sewing) from curtains my sister gave to me when she redecorated.

We use the campground bath houses instead of our teensy shower, so I made use of the space by transforming it into a closet. If I do ever need to use it as intended, it’s pretty simple just to move the stuff out again, nothing is permanent.

Because in a 19’ trailer with four dogs, you need to make use of every inch!

The pups can fill the space quickly.

But mostly we are out doors as much as we can be.

Going for walks or running on the beach.

The dogs love the beach as much as I do.

Road Trippin’ with Junkin’ and Craftin’

antiques/junking, friends, sewing?, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 4, 2021

My friend, Angie, invited Beth and I to visit the old farmhouse her grandma lived in.

She and her mom have been restoring it for years.

It’s a great mix of original pieces and beloved collections. (Angie had the very old, still functioning fridge stocked with deliciousness for us)

The drive south was as much fun as the staycation itself. We hit every thrift store between Lawrence and Chanute.

And got photos of the most unique offerings.

While making some friends along the way.

And eating some of the freshest home cooking you could ever be lucky enough to find at a roadside cafe.

At one stop, there were baskets of $1 packets of old lace. I bought more than my fair share, but couldn’t stop thinking about them so stopped on the way home to buy more.

Beth happened to bring craft supplies too, and shared her 1800s era quilt pieces for us to embellish with some things we found along the way.

Impromptu creations made with just what you have with you can be an inspiring challenge. We all managed to get a few pretties done.

But mostly we just laughed. And then laughed some more. Then we ate and drank wine and did more laughing.

It was perfect!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

cottage, flowers, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / May 1, 2021

My birthday is in May and Mom used to say “April showers bring May flowers” to me when I was little. I loved it, and thought she made it up just for me.

This year, May will be hard, but I am focusing on why I have always loved this month and will try to get outside and enjoy those flowers and everything else springtime brings.

While visiting Indiana, my sister gave me her curtains since she switched to new ones. I thought the lovely, rosy pattern on my favorite blue would be just the splash of spring that I needed, so I turned the curtains into slipcovers for my sofa.

Maybe calling them slipcovers is too generous of a term…. they are just pillow cases, no closures, darts, or anything that takes skill. Simply rectangles sewn together on three sides with couch pillows in them.

But cheerful, right? Thanks for the curtains and inspiration, Sissy!

Back to Stitching

Painting with thread, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / December 2, 2020

This tee shirt was started as a birthday gift for a friend in September. Then, 16 puppies took over my world and everything else fell to the side.

I loved those babies to pieces, but damn, they were a lot of work!

The fact that I spent any extra time that I had playing, snuggling, and training them didn’t help. Well, I guess it did, it helped me. Happy, wriggling puppies wanting to share love are pretty wonderful. But fleeting, they grow so fast.

I didn’t want to miss a moment of it, so I put everything else on hold.

My friend’s September gift got to her in November instead.
The flower looks a little bit like a poinsettia, so maybe it was meant to be a holiday gift after all.

Stitching my world back together

Corona virus, flowers, Ryan, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / August 1, 2020

The day Ryan died, I was in the middle of making this flower I had crafted to stitch together a hole in a favorite shirt.

I was waiting for him to come downstairs for our planned walk. As I worked on the shirt, I texted him a couple of times to ask if he was okay, since he was running so late.

After the shock of finding his body, and dealing with the dozens of emergency personnel that go along with a tragedy like that, I found myself back at the table, numbly stitching away on this flannel.

Over the next few weeks, while I still could not bear to speak to many people, and my chest twisted up into shards of pain with every breath I took, I found myself still stitching.

The creations were an outlet for me, my mind could wander with memories of my boy, as my hands stayed busy.

I have never been into sewing, but embroidery seems different. I call it “painting with thread”. After surgery, early in March, while Covid was amping up, I could be creative while elevating and icing my knee.
So luckily, I was already immersed in the hobby and had a selection of supplies out, when I really needed them.

Having these shirts to keep me occupied, didn’t take my mind off of Ryan, but sewing them did give me quiet time to think about him and I could feel myself being stitched back together a tiny bit with each flower.

I can’t say that embroidery has brought me peace, because I feel like breathing will always be painful now.

But I think it has helped me along towards peacefulness by the repetitive and simple process of pulling the needle in and out of the fabric and by choosing pretty colors to put together.

Ideally, it is best to be working on these flowers while listening to wind chimes in the gazebo. And after a long walk on the trails Ryan and I had walked together on over and over.

The walks can be tough, each step reminds me of a laugh or something he said as we passed in that exact spot. I have learned to never go on a walk without wearing pants with pockets and filling those pockets with tissues.

And to never waste tissues on tears. Tears can drop on my feet, or on the sidewalk, but snot really shouldn’t. And I am a snotty cryer.

I save the tissues for nose blowing and let the tears go wherever they want.

Maybe I will be able to do some artwork in the studio soon. I have cleaned it top to bottom and rearranged it a bit too. I am easing myself back into my old life, making myself ready to be artistic again.

For now, I’ll keep stitching, and trying to hold myself together as much as I can.

Sewing wins and losses

Corona virus, dogs, sewing?

By Karla Nathan / May 15, 2020

Remember the “squishies” I was making in animal shapes from memory foam? Sugarwings got into cutting them up too. But she would take a 10” piece of foam to make a 1” critter. She was really into the snipping part of the craft.

So, I saved all of her trimmings, and thought I would make a dog pillow with it. There weren’t quite enough, but I had another pillow that seen better days that I took apart too. This is about half memory foam, and all of the dogs love it, and want to claim it for their own.

And the dog’s floor pillow matches the other pillows in the room now, it is much prettier than the other dog beds. I might just make some slipcover type pillow cases to dress up the rest of the dog beds.

With five dogs in the house, we have beds strewn from one end of the house to the other. And most are hideous.

Although, sewing isn’t my strong suit- here is my first attempt at making a face mask.

Of course, I am too stubborn to use a pattern, I thought I could just wing it.

uhm, no

After trying it on, and seeing how bad the fit was, I cut it down a bit.

A lot.

It seemed okay.

But it was not.

I couldn’t breathe through it, and felt light headed after a quick trip to the store. So, I ordered some professionally made ones and decided that I would go back to using my sewing machine only for straight lines like making crepe paper ruffles for projects, or easy peasy pillow cases for dogs.

The masks I ordered have arrived and they aren’t even in the same species as the ones I tried to make.

These are silk, and light as a feather on my face. But not tickle-y like a feather would be.

I got five silk masks from Johnny Was for $25, free shipping. For each set they sell, they donate another five to healthcare workers. You don’t get to choose the fabric, and some of the five are prettier than others, but all fit and feel wonderful. The ones I don’t care for are not ugly, just not my style, more Asian than rosy. But still pretty.

And I got a lot of compliments on it at the doctor’s office and even at Costco. Those places are big highlights in my social life now, and I actually put on make up to go to them, it feels like such a special occasion to be out and about!

Makeup isn’t something that gets much use around here, and I don’t mind at all. Will lipstick become a thing of the past now that masks are where it is at? Will we have every day masks and special occasion ones? If so, maybe I should save my silky ones for dress up and wear paper for daily activities?

Funny to admit, but I did feel a little dressed up in my fancy mask. After giving myself a home haircut, It does seem silly to care, huh? But a stylin type mask was kinda nice.

Making the Most of Unexpected and Enforced Isolation

sewing?

By Karla Nathan / March 15, 2020

The minor knee surgery I had went well, no complications, but was harder for me to handle than I had expected. I spent the first part of the week elevating, icing, and dozing.

As the pain ebbed, I got busy on disassembling an ancient, patchwork lace table cloth for use in the Bluebird’s Song workshop. As I felt better, I moved on to embroidery for a shirt that was going to be used in the Beauty in Blue workshop.

While snipping and stitching, Netflix and my iPad were my constant companions.

As the week went by, and I felt like I might have hit the end of Netflix offerings, the information I was reading on my iPad was becoming more and more disturbing so I deserted Netflix for news channels.

My lazy, half awake days had made me feel distanced from what was happening with the Corona virus, but that dream-like state didn’t last.
I soon realized that this possible nightmare was for real.

Cancellations started pouring in. Personal ones that at first were sad for me, then larger, national things that put my own smaller issues into perspective.

I hope you and your loved ones are safely taking precautions and will find ways to make you social distancing enjoyable.

My week of solitude has eased me into the habit of quiet, alone time.

This last week of recuperating and not leaving my house didn’t seem too lonely. Talking on the phone, and in emails to loved ones helped a lot. So did keeping busy, with these small projects.

I find that being productive, even in little ways helps me not fret as much. And being creative? As I tell the grand fairies, only boring people get bored. There is always something to do, make, plan, or dream about.

So, let’s cross our fingers that soon, we will all be done with quarantines, people and the economy are recovering, and we have all used this period to have some reflective time to reconnect with ourselves, make something, day dream, or have long talks on the phone with people we care for.

Stay Safe!