Hanky panky
Today is my grandmother’s birthday. Since a lady doesn’t discuss her age, I won’t presume to blab it to everyone here on her behalf. Let’s just say, she’s one year away from a big number which is one decade away from a huge number. And that’s all I’ll say about that.
What I can talk freely about is the gift I made her: five handkerchiefs in a little basket. I like the idea of handkerchiefs as a Granny gift, and last month when I laid eyes on the rose prints from the Heather Bailey Pop Garden layer cake, well, I knew I had the perfect fabric for them. At 10 inches square, layer cake pieces are a really good size for a project like this: no pesky cutting or measuring required.
I was lucky enough to find this little blue basket at a rummage sale a few weeks ago, and realized it would be the perfect size to hold the handkerchiefs. It’s always nice to have a special container for your gift, and it’s a great bonus when it only costs you ten cents!
I made these the same way I make napkins – press a double-folded hem all the way around, and stitch it. The only difference is that I tried to make the hem about half the size, a little more than a quarter inch. With so little real estate on the fabric to start with, I didn’t want to waste too much of it in the folds.
Now I think I’d like to make a few for myself. We’re all out of tissues in this house, and for some reason, I’d rather spend an hour at the sewing machine making hankies for the family than making a 15-minute run to the supermarket. But then, I guess that’s pretty typical of me…
This day in blog history:
- Knitty gritty - 2008
- Life's a beach - 2007
- I was almost buried in boxes this week! - 2006
This topic in blog history:
- A stroll through the (Pop) Garden - October 2008
- The ants go marching - August 2009
- From Grandma’s table to my hips - August 2009
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Lovely handkerchiefs!
Lovely!
See what celia has been blogging about: Bags day
Thank you!
Happy birthday to your Grandma! Mine just turned a year older than yours, but we bought her pearls rather than hankies. =)
I love that Heather Bailey fabric too! In fact, I am going to have to buy a bunch of the pale pink and the pale blue for more spring skirts!
See what Laura has been blogging about: Vibrant necklace – karmabeads
Ooh, they do seem like nice skirt patterns. I’m seeing pillowcases, myself… My poor husband, LOL!
Mmmm, pearls.
I’ve been holding off buying *yet more skirt fabric* considering how much I’ve got to work with that I haven’t touched yet! My poor husband…LOL =) I’ve taken over the dining room as my own sewing room, too.
Hmm, yep, I can see pillowcases too; or a nice summer quilt, even? You have to have *some* girlie stuff around…
Pearls just seems like such a Grandma gift though, too, doesn’t it?
See what Laura has been blogging about: Vibrant necklace – karmabeads
I love the idea of making hankies! Brings back such lovely nostalgia that women used to carry around. Great fabrics for hankies too, and such an easy project to whip up.
See what Terriaw has been blogging about: My Pattern Review – Published Today!
I liked this idea so much, I linked to it here:
http://cannedlaffs.com/wfmw-in-defense-of-handkerchiefs/
See what Joie at Canned Laughter has been blogging about: WFMW-In Defense of Handkerchiefs
Those are really cute. And they go perfectly with the basket. I hope she likes them.
See what Dallas has been blogging about: Just the Facts, Ma’am