About Me

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MS Gulf Coast, United States
I am a Christian wife, mother and grandmother. I love to sew and create new and innovative items to share with my customers. The most popular area of my store is my Walnut Grove section which features clothing reminiscent of "Little House on the Prairie". Please take a moment to visit my store and see my latest creations. www.pattisoriginals.etsy.com

Friday, April 29, 2011

Sweet Smell of Spring

Living in the deep south we don't have too many really gorgeous days, but the last few days have been fantastic. The humidity is low, the sky is clear and blue, the weather is cool and everything is blooming. These are days when we can open the windows and let the fresh air blow through the house.

As I sit in my studio working today I can see the green all over the yard. I can hear the birds having a ball in the trees. But most of all I can smell the ligustrums, also called privet. . .

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Calling All Crocheters

I am always interested in new crochet patterns and today I came across this website that offers free filet crochet instructions and patterns. I have never done filet crochet so I am very anxious to try this.

This site has patterns for clothing, accessories and home decor. Looks very nice!

Monday, April 25, 2011

High Tech Sewing

I have been debating the idea of purchasing a computerized embroidery sewing machine. These machines are so neat but, oh, so expensive. . .

A cartridge is inserted in the machine and you thread it and set it up and it does the embroidery. This would be a way to offer monograms and personalization for customers.

Also available is software that allows you to download images from the computer and embroider them on your fabric. What a great way to add embellishments to all of my creations. I can think of a million uses for this.

The downside is, of course, the price. The machines are over $1,000, the software is $600 and every cartridge must be bought separately.

An alternative I am considering is this Embroidery Machine by Brother.

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This machine has been recommended by several people and it gets very good ratings from users.
My next issue is to find the space for a third sewing machine in my studio. I really need to do some organizing in there so I can make room for it. Then all I need to do is talk my dh into buying it for me!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sunday Phunnies

There were two old guys, Abe and Sol, sitting on a bench in a park feeding pigeons and talking about baseball.

Just like they did every day, Abe turned to Sol and asked, "Do you think there's baseball in heaven?"

Soloman thought about it for a minute and replied, "I dunno, Abe, but let's make a deal:

If I die first, I will come back and tell you -- and if you die first, you come back and tell me --if there is baseball in heaven."

They shook on it. Sadly, a few months later poor Abe passed on.

One day soon afterward, Sol was sitting there feeding the pigeons by himself when he heard a voice whisper, "Sol... Sol...."

Sol responded, "Abe! Is that you?"

"Yes it is Sol," whispered the spirit of Abe.

Sol, still amazed, asked, "So, is there baseball in heaven?"

"Well," Abe said, "I got good news and I got bad news."

"Gimme the good news first," said Sol.

Abe said, "Well... there is baseball in heaven."

Sol said, "That's great! What news could be bad enough to ruin that!?"

Abe sighed and whispered, "You're pitching here on Friday."

Friday, April 22, 2011

Useful Information

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand . . .
 And "lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand. (Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?)


No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".? (Are you doubting this?)

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our noseand ears never stop growing.
The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. (Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right?)

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). (Yep, I knew you were going to "do" this one.)

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. (You're not doubting this, are you?)

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious." (Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u)

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Good thing he did that.)

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

More About Little House

little_house_cast.jpgI have spent this week making more items for my Walnut Grove Collection. I finished 4 pinafores, 3 bonnets, 3 dresses, and a camisole so I definitely had Little House and Laura Ingalls on my mind.

I decided to do a Google search of fun sites relating to this pioneer family. I found some really neat items. . .


First I went to Wikipedia and they give a brief synopsis of Laura, her family and their travels.

Monday, April 18, 2011

A Special Dinner

The church we are attending has dinner on the grounds every week. Each week we are sent an email with the theme for that week and everyone is to bring a meal relating to the theme.

A couple weeks ago the theme was quick-anything you could fix quickly or that could be eaten quickly. I was at a loss so I pulled out the recipes looking for ideas. Nothing looked especially good so I visited one of my favorite recipe sites-Taste of Home.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday Phunnies

Senior Exercises

Not wanting to harm this old body, I've devised the following. . .
MONDAY

Beat around the bush
Jump to conclusions
Climb the walls
Wade through the morning paper

TUESDAY
Drag my heels
Push my luck
Make mountains out of mole hills
Hit the nail on the head



WEDNESDAY
Bend over backwards
Jump on the Band Wagon
Run around in circles

THURSDAY
Advise President Bush on how to run the country..
Toot my own horn..
Pull out all the stops..
Add fuel to the fire..

FRIDAY
Open a can of worms..
Put my foot in my mouth..
Start the ball rolling..
Go over the edge..

SATURDAY
Pick up the pieces..

SUNDAY
Kneel in prayer..
Bow my head in thanksgiving..
Uplift my hands in praise..
Hug someone and encourage them.
What a Workout!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Tatting

For many years I was interested in learning how to tat. Tatting is a form of lace making that dates back to the early 19th century. It is done using a tool called a shuttle.

I had no idea how to do it, so I bought a book and followed the instructions and occasionally I would get it right but for the most part all I succeeded in doing was getting the thread knotted. Tatting is not difficult but there is one step that kept giving me trouble-dropping your fingers...

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Aprons Again

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was so good I just had to share.

A trip down memory lane…

Remember making an apron in Home Ec? 



The History of  'APRONS'


I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.



From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..

And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, spent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.



From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.  After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. 

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

People would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
 
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

                                                                             
 

 

 

Monday, April 11, 2011

What is a Lexophile?

HUMOR FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS):
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
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Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
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Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
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The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
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The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
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To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
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When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
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The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
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A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
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A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
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Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
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We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
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When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.
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The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.
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The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
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The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
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If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.
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A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail.
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A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.
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A will, is a dead giveaway.
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Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
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A backward poet writes inverse.
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In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your Count that votes.
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A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
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If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
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With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
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Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
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When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
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The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
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A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France , resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.
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You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
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Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.
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He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
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A calendar's days are numbered.
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A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.
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A boiled egg is hard to beat.
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He had a photographic memory which was never developed.
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A plateau, is a high form of flattery.
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Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
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When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
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If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine .
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When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday Phunnies

Car ThiefA LOCKED CAR DOOR:A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car.She didn't know what to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened. The baby sitter told her that her the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful. . .
He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"

The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?"

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Ready for Easter

Our little ladies certainly love to dress up and be prissy. Easter and spring are perfect times for them to shine in all their finery-and the finery starts with their unmentionables.

I can remember, as a child, every Easter and Christmas getting a completely new outfit from the inside out, everything was new.

It seems this tradition is being carried on today because I sell more 'unmentionables' for little ladies at this time of year than any other time. . .

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Everything Amigurumi

Amigurumi pronounced (ah-mee-guh-roo-mee) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and imaginative creatures. A few months ago a group I belong to had a sale's promotion called 'Kawaii'. Kawaii means cute in Japanese and since these little amigurumi creations are very cute, they were included in the promotion.

I have been getting many inquiries about amigurumi ever since I first posted about it. So I decided to try my hand at creating some of these little guys. . .

Monday, April 4, 2011

Our Jewelry

Most of my blog entries are about my sewing adventures and I seldom take the time to mention the other member of Patti's Originals. So today I want to share a bit about my jewelry designer, my husband. . .

Larry decided a few years ago that he would like to learn to make jewelry for our granddaughters and they were certainly glad he did. As he got better at creating he branched out and started making gifts for me!

In the last few months he has started creating women's jewelry for my store. His designs lend themselves to a classic style and he avoids the flashy look that is so prevalent today.

I thought I would share a few of his creations.

This first set is made from Russian jade and he calls it From Russia With Love. The deep green of this jade is absolutely beautiful.  This was the first of his jewelry pieces to sell and it was a real encouragement to him.

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This one is a unakite and silver bracelet and earring set.  The natural look of these stones is so pretty.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunday Phunnies

Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, living in Florida, are all excited about their decision to get married.

They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in.

Jacob addresses the man behind the counter: 'Are you the owner?' The pharmacist answers, 'Yes.'

Jacob: 'We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?' Pharmacist: 'Of course.

Jacob: 'Medicine for rheumatism and scoliosis?' Pharmacist: 'Definitely.'

Jacob: 'How about Viagra?' Pharmacist: 'Of course.'

Jacob: 'Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, jaundice?' Pharmacist: 'Yes, a large variety. The works.'

Jacob: 'What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?' Pharmacist: 'Absolutely.'

Jacob: 'You sell wheelchairs and walkers?' Pharmacist: 'All speeds and sizes.'

Jacob: 'We'd like to use this store as our Bridal Registry.'

Friday, April 1, 2011

Our Newest Collection

We have recently added a new collection to our Etsy Store, The Bonnets and Bottoms Collection.  This collection will include sun bonnets and/or mop caps and short bloomers for babies. 

I have really enjoyed shopping for fabric for these little outfits and designing the trims to make them so special.

The first outfit I created used Hello Kitty fabric in pastel colors.



When I saw this next fabric I got a bit adventurous.  I could not resist the bright green fabric covered with lady bugs, it is so cute!


Then I really let my imagination get away