On "The Girl who Married a Lion": A Book Review

Title: The Girl Who Married a Lion and Other Tales from Africa
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Genre: Short stories, folklore

About the book… 
A collection of folklore retold from Zimbabwe and Botswana, this is an expanded version of an earlier McCall Smith book called Children of Wax. 

What I think… 
This was a thoroughly enjoyable book from start to finish. When I was in elementary school I used to love reading African folklore, but as I got older most of my folklore and fairy tale readings tended to shift more toward Europe, in part because my library had more of that than anything else, so I was delighted to come across this book!

As expected the tales are simply written, but are engaging and beautifully told. Many of the stories involve animals and all involve an ending with a moral or some sort of value to be gained. Some stories were stranger than than others in the best way possible, with my favorite of the collection being either "Children of Wax," about a group of children who could not go into the sun without melting, or "Milk Bird," about a magical bird who could produce milk.      

To sum it all up... 
A fantastic collection of tales from Africa that can be dipped into for a special treat or read all in one go! ♥️

On Using the "Lazy Suzy" Cooky Cutter

Today I finally got to use my Wear-Ever "Lazy Suzy" Cooky Cutter, which I mentioned in February, and try out the sugar cookie recipe that came with its box.

While I'm certainly not going to eschew using regular cookie cutters, I have to admit that I had a lot of fun using this one once I got the hang of making sure I was spacing the rows enough not to cut into the already cut out shapes. 

It was easy to use and I loved being able to just roll it out and end up with a handful of shapes without thinking about where the next one would fit best in order to avoid overworking the dough by rolling it out too many times. I also like the variation in the shapes. 

To finish them off I did some frosting (one batch was rolled out too thin, so I started with the burnt ones) and ended up with some very pretty cookies!

♥ ♥ ♥

On Turning My Jeans into Bell-Bottoms

Usually I am quite happy to let my jeans develop holes in the knees, but on a rare occasion I decide that I would much rather alter my jeans (this once resulted in monster faces on the knees, but I promise today's post is much more normal). 

This particular pair was in fairly good shape, with the exception of one knee, and as these jeans actually fit me, I really wanted to find some way to freshen them up. My solution was to replace the leg section that fell below the knee and make them into bell-bottoms. 

Front

Back

While originally I choose a floral, when I saw this fabric I knew that I'd regret it if I didn't buy it instead and while it might not really match the prints you'd see on 60's and 70's jeans, it still definitely looks dated.   

There's not much to say about the construction of these as everything was pretty basic. I cut out the pieces making sure the back piece was cut slightly wider, sewed them together at the side seams, top-stitched them on the inside seam to match the top-stitching on the jeans, and then turned them inside out to attach it to the upper leg of the jeans. I also lined them with what has to be the softest quilting cotton I've ever bought. 

 As a final touch with the leftover fabric I made a matching hair scarf, which is just barely visible in the photo!  

♥️ ♥️ ♥️  

 

On Some Felt Pins: A Photo Post

Last weekend I wore my overalls made from the Wearing History pattern, which reminded me I wanted to make a V for victory pin for myself. Because I was indecisive, I ended up with several color variations and can happily say I've filled this tiny gap in my accessories. As an added plus a few of the sewing projects I'm thinking of starting are 40's patterns with fabrics that red, white, and blue, so they'll go well with them too!

After making a couple I also decided that I wanted to make some dress pins and more pea pods (no idea why on the later), then got bored with them and made more victory pins. Now because I'm tired of working with tiny felt pieces they will reside in the pencil case with other pieces that need to be sewn or need pin backings until .

 

♥️ ♥️ ♥️

On An Owl Cardigan

I'm a pretty big fan of owls, but up to this point other than this dress most of the owl related thing I have are jewelry in the form of a handful of necklaces (several here) and what I refer to as my pin parliament. 

Recently, I decided to see if I could find either a vintage or vintage style owl sweater or cardigan and was very pleased to find this one. While I think it's actually 80's, it has enough of a vintage feel to it for me and I really like that the style veers away from being overly cutesy or tacky and instead looks much more collegiate than a lot of the other owl adorned clothing items out there. Also, it has large buttons!

♥️ ♥️ ♥️