it is by magic

and my sewing........
another collection of vintage fabric trees.......
last year the set of 12 sold out within 2 days of listing and displaying in the store.....

the trunks are old wood spools of thread........this another project I designed....from the pattern....(ha) a triangle and the base, to thinking of the vintage spool as a tree trunk....oh sure.........someone else may have thought of it.....but I  haven't seen this anywhere else ..yet!
Just listed in my thatyountvillegirl etsy shop........

this set...I think I can get about 2 dozen floral evergreen trees from this bit of very old printed muslin.....The next sets will be of similar barkcloth, and other fabrics and other shapes......so they will all be listed in the next few days...before Thanksgiving day. The goal is to try to make about  4 dozen

Yard of fabric to sew...

The garden is done for...all that remains..is the remains.
unless you a lucky type that has the winter greens sewn already....the daffodils and crocus already buried...

The kind of sewing I've been doing the last day or so is gardening in the workroom....we can sew seeds and I can sew a gardening brooch. I think I can get about 30 in this series...then no more !

I have a yard or so (sew) of fabric with old-fashioned gardening motifs...they look like they came from an old gardening implement catalog....it's printed in black on ecru linen.
Yard.Sew.I can't stop.

These are in my etsy shop
That Yountville Girl

a few have a bit of green embroidered stitches...weeds and grasses.....everyone can grow that!
this one has a watering can...it sprinkles...

there's pitchforks for pitching hay....clippers, gardening forks for forking the weeds...and wheelbarrows for moving the manure.

I love the rustic punky feel....fun and simple.

Handmade...
with embroidered green grassy weeds.

It has a pin with a clasp on the back, that's covered. The grass-weeds are hand embroidered with green rayon embroidery thread.

It's both hand sewn and machine sewn with black thread.
each are about 2" x 3".

Some have felt backing ...some have wool tweed....all are perfect for the cold times of the year...when we really wish for the sun on our shoulders....the feel of warm soil...and a spray of water on a freshly turned bed...

Each brooch comes with a tiny fabric bag, randomly chosen, that rather matches the pin's color scheme.
Ready to give as a gift for someone special...or for yourself!

here's a sample I made to try the technique...another thing I designed. I was looking for something good for gift giving, stocking-stuffing...and fine for a guy or a gal. Well, I'm working on a more masculine pin...something with rust and leather, perhaps.

Handmade goods......

I make things....and sell vintage stuff and I've have always blended them into one big funkoma soup...yummmmy.
But, recently ....I sent the handmades to their own shop on etsy...
that yountville girl
...is the name of the things ...like I say at my etsy shop......
"It's made by hand, designed by me in my workroom. All things..that yountville girl..are cute & quirky, tough & sturdy, and created by me..Cashmere knit lingerie & armwarmer mitts...are coming real soon!"
What do you make? Well, thanks for asking...I make clothes, fabric bags, small totes, assemblage jewelry, tiny sculptures, pesky art in a frame or at least glue things in a very provocative and adorable manner....sometimes I call it...
home decor ....like this ---

handmade trees made of vintage barkcloth....my tree shapes, and buttons and spools.

fabric apples....of vintage calico.....from my imaginary fabric farm....

This assemblage pin was featured on papercakes blog.. wow, that blog is so pretty....

 this that yountville girl  --->> Baby Columbia kitschy horror pin is Chelsea Ling's  Halloween pick.....Spooky!

and well...click and take a look!

Other people have a drug problem....others a gambling problem....I have a Crafty problem......Except !
It isn't a problem!
I love making stuff...I really love the challenge of coming up with my own ideas and patterns.
My limited collection of purses and tiny totes...all my collections and projects are limited because I have small amounts of calicos, barkcloth, burlap, lace, vintage textiles and practical fabrics, pretty laces, vintage buttons,metal loops, & what ever....that inspire me to make something that will look Fabulous ! with just the right mix of uh, what ever inspires me...etc.

frinstance------
I had this vintage sheet with a road trip vacation theme.....It reminded me of all the fun family vacations I took with my kids over their growing up years..

It also made me think of ...traveling as a philosophy.....moving on as we move through life.....

These bags, my own pattern and idea,have a convertible strap! Go from a cross-body messenger style bag to a handbag tote simply by buttoning and unbuttoning some big vintage buttons.
yeah.

They have a lot of pockets, they button closed and they're made of a mix of vintage fabrics.....calico, mattress stripes, osnaburg, lace, old jeans, crochet doilies....oh my.

See, re-button the strap shorter....and now it's a sturdy tote or shoulder bag.
I made 4 bags and they'll all be added to the new shop. I made 8 small totes, and they're on their way....to thatyountvillegirl

And the tiny totes....I like to be organized, or like to appear to be organized ! what ever ....
So the makeup and lip gloss and hankie go in one....some pens and change and business cards in another.  Or you modern people....it can hold an ipod or a cell phone and still have room for a kleenex or 2.

Tulsa Time, Mojave Desert....

Next collection?


I'm full on into fall

 .....expect wool, and burlap with hardware.......and lots more vintage buttons to make the convertible bags....
Cute As a Button....
yeah.....

handmade ....Fruit Farm in Fabric

Handmade....I'm working on more...
tomato...
grapes...
more apples...
here's some listed handmade fruit....here at the beginning of the fruit growing season......

Baby Boo pumpkins...


Black Calico...




Purple Calico...


vintage floral print...

wood stem and a wired fabric leaf.....

Apples and Pumpkins and Leaves Oh My!

Yeek! My vintage fabric apple is featured on etsy here !

This was vintage fabric I made into curtains for my apartment above my old shop on E 26th St. I love the autumn colors...orange, gold, moldy green, and yes, metallic gold. You know I have soft spot for Bright, Shiny, Sparkle!

I love also, the impressionist modern 50s floral ...it looks so Calder...so Matisse..



...since I'm an October Baby...you can imagine that I love all things Autumn....I even love that autumn is spelled a*U*t*u*m*n...
which has an N follwing an M...
but has the words AUT
& TUM...
& 2 U's,
since it's always about You.
Words to live by.



Here's the Baby Boo pumpkins I made from a tweedy vintage fabric. yup, moss green corduroy leaves and curly green wire.



I made the pattern for these apples and these pumpkins....some are in my shop, some are at etsy....If you'd like a free pattern and some handwritten instructions, just email me and I'll send you a letter (by snail mail) with that stuff...

mmm... Black Apple...