Fishing For Fabric : Mixed Media Mail Art
Couch Talk
I sat at my sewing machine for the first time in a month today and it felt great to be sewing. We are supposed to be going to the beach next month and I realized my daughter has no shorts. Today, I cut out and sewed a pair of shorts in muslim to check the fit.
Cleaning out my closet this week, I found lots of dresses to cut up and use for shorts. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Have you been to the fabric stores lately? I went to Walmart this week and the fabric section was wiped clean! Crazy that that many masks are being made and the shelves are not being restocked. Well, thankfully I have a backup stash of fabric, even if it comes by way of my closet.
Baking Class
We are still watching the Great British Baking show and are getting inspired by each of the different challenges. While watching the show this week, I had a light bulb moment and remembered I had several of those recipes in my pastry books. I own two pastry books but have only ever made the cookies and muffins as everything else looked a little too complicated. I am all about the least amount of steps when it comes to food preparation, so I by passed the pretty looking recipes and went straight for the easy ones.
Until this week.
The little chef and I made a Banana Cream Tart from the beautiful book, Miette . It took several days and two pastry crusts but we got it done.
And we even had some leftover ganache to make a Caramel Chocolate Banana Tart. It was exhausting, especially considering they were consumed in 24 hours. Now to plan for the next bake.
Creating the Mail Art
I have been trying to get back into making art so here is a quick piece of mail art that I put together with more table scraps. The background is stenciled and embossed and that lovely Koi is StencilGirl, painted with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints.
Tea Day
I am joining the ladies for Tea Day over at Elizabeth and Bleubeard. My beverage is a White Pineapple Wonder. I can’t have enough of white tea and pineapple.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Love the textural crafting, so lovely. Great idea to sew from old materials. A friend was throwing out a tatty summer skirt, I turned it into a summer blouse and it didn’t cost anything. I am looking forward to wearing it. Have fun sewing for your little girl. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie
You get fabrics here, and by now the queues might´ve shortened, too.
Two weeks ago, or three? I waited for an hour for Hubby who wanted fabrics, yikes, I thought he got lost, LOL.
The card is really cute! White Pineapple Wonder sounds very yummy, a happy T-day to you!
The tarts you have been baking look delicious, I am not surprised that they had all been eaten in such a short time. Compliments to the cooks.
Your art looked so dimensional with the fabrics and detail.
Happy T day wishes.
Yvonne xx
I Love your art mail art Katy, and I am so impressed with all your family baking-baking and cooking is a form of love in my opinion.
I miss the real fabric stores back when I was growing up=these stores were for making clothes not only quilts. even when I was in my 20s and 30s these stores were still around and then for some reason most stopped making clothes I guess My Mother allot of her home-clothes for all of us-even my father’s suits-drapes, curtains and more. so I am glad to read you are making clothes. I must confess though that I haven’t made clothes for the last 40 years-I was never good with the math of making a pattern fit me.
tea looks delicious-Happy T wishes Kathy
I LOVE the Britishing Baking Show and it is really inspiring, isn’t it? Wow, you tarte looks gorgeous. And have you all gained at least 10 pounds? Hopefully not, but that is the one thing that holds me back from baking as much as I want to. This week I am trying that no fuss sourdough from King Arthur. It did rise overnight but isn’t ready to shape yet. Glad you got back to your sewing machine too. Hope you have a super T day Kate. Hugs-Erika
Now there is a fabric shortage? Ugh. Will this nightmare never end? It’s good you were able to repurpose old clothes to use to make shorts for your daughter. The desserts you made look delicious. I love your mail art. Happy T-Day!
love your fabric creations, and the cooking creations make my mouth water … Happy T-day
I love your postcard with that fabulous textile bundle Kate! Gorgeous! Good you have fabric and such enough to make your daughter some shorts for the beach- and warmer weather;). I love watching the British baking shows but would never be able to hold up to the pressure. I have pastry books too, and used to take a lot of time and steps to bake, but not so much any longer. Your tarts look amazing and I’m sure they tasted amazing too. Happy T day!
Yes I love the Great British Bake Off (that’s what it is called in the UK) too. But only the earlier series. When they changed network and changed presenters, I didn’t like it so much. I like Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood as judges. I bake ‘according to Mary Berry’. I have several of her books and all her recipes are fantastic.
It’s great that you are sewing again. Here there are no fabric shops within a 30 mile radius. There are market stalls that sell fabric in the nearest town to us, but the fabric is not half as nice as what I have seen on the net. It’s mainly used for curtains and aprons. I woud dearly love some fabric as the masks have become sooo expensive. I paid 5 dollars for a flimsy paper mask. I got them for 5 dollars because i bought 10, but would have been more otherwise. Ridiculous!
Your koi mail art is beautiful. And the pineapple tea looks really delicious.
Well done for your baking efforts. That pie looks absolutely yum scrummy.
Happy T-Day,
Lisca
We have 3 WalMarts in Wichita and NONE of them sell fabric any more. You have to go to JoAnn’s or Hobby Lobby to get fabric here. Or the expensive specialty fabric shops. I think it’s clever that you took old clothes apart and made shorts for your daughter with them.
LOVED your koi. inspired mail art. I can’t imagine mailing that, though (grin). Thanks for sharing your baking (which is to die for), your mail art, and your tea with us for T this Tuesday, dear Kate.
Your tarts look delicious! I love your koi art! So frilly 🙂 I’ve never had pineapple in tea, but it sounds like something I’d like. Happy T Tuesday!
Sounds like you had fun making those shorts and recycling the fabric was a great idea! I recycled one of my hubby’s shirts to make some masks …lol 😉. Such gorgeous bakes, we always enjoy watching the Bake Off when it’s on too. Your mail art is beautiful, I love the texture from all those fabrics 😊. I’ll happily join you for a cuppa too – Happy T Day! Take care! Hugs, Jo x
Great idea to shop for fabric in your closet, Kate. Of course, there’s a bit of talent required to do that, which not many people have.
Your beautful baked goods have my mouth watering.
Your posts always have lovely surpirses of all sorts.
Happy T-Day! Eileen xx
Looks like you and the Little Chef are this week’s star bakers. Well done! ⭐️ Your mail art looks so fun and the koi reminds me of a koi my young One painted years ago, Thanks for the happy memory. Happy T Dat
I can’t see how mask making could use up all available fabric. A mask takes two pieces that are 6 x 9 inches so a square yard of fabric would make 12 of them (if my mental arithmetic isn’t slipping). I made masks out of an old t-shirt, which has very good filtering capability. I even used the hem of the shirt to make straps to go around the back of my head — I didn’t have any elastic. Maybe more people are sewing because they are locked in the house.
be well… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
OOh your mail art is really wonderful Kate !! Great fish and backgroung you have created. Sure you spent an happy T-day, with those so so delicious cakes.
I wish you a nice afternoon, stay safe and well,
Big hugs, Caty
My Mum used to cut down old dresses and shirts to make us clothes when I was little – for a different reason (not much money) mainly for play clothes, but I do remember a special looking dress that I used to love wearing! Love that fishy mail art. Most impressed with your pastry recipes! Belated Happy Tea Day! Chrisx