Upside-Down Pillowcase Day

I sewed today! I made three of these pillowcase grocery bags from a set of matching thrifted pillowcases I bought yesterday. I made them using this outstandingly wonderful tutorial by Creative Kismet: pillowcase tote. I made no modifications to the pattern; her instructions are excellent and she was very, very kind to take the time to write her fabulous tutorials.

The more visually discerning viewer may notice that the bows flowing off the flower bouquets are defying gravity, fluttering upwards in a freak updraft. The floral swags seem a little confused too--perhaps they're aspiring to be floral arches. I guess I should've looked at the fabric more closely before I made all three like this, but...oh well, no one will notice.

I can't wait to go grocery shopping with them! They are doubled fabric, so they are much sturdier than they look. They also have a nice box pleat bottom, so they are plenty roomy. Plus, they're soft and they smell like my own laundry and I love them. As Happy Zombie Monica puts it, "I feel 10 feet tall when I walk into my Safeway armed with my own bags!" I understand completely. I feel like I grew a couple of inches already!

A Fifi update. As you recall in my last post, I was concerned about my tiny ceramic poodle, Fifi. He lost his partner in a thrift store mishap, and I asked for your assistance in trying to discover what/who his lost partner could be. Alas, no one had any ideas, so I looked through my own personal box of knick knacks (I have only one box of knick knacks--I told you I was a minimalist...) and came up with a temporary substitute:

Fifi is not pleased.

Yes, it's a teeny-tiny 1953 General Electric "Swivel-Top-Cleaner" vacuum cleaner. It's the only knick-knack I own that is small enough to go with Fifi; everything else dwarfs him. Unfortunately, Fifi does not look overjoyed by this substitution for his beloved jug. I can't imagine why, since I totally adore vacuum cleaners! I really do--I own five of them. Next to the sewing machine, I think vacuum cleaners are one of the best household inventions ever. (Last year, we bought this bad boy: The Dyson Animal. Whoa. What a man. Unbelieveable. But I digress. Back to Fifi.)

Perhaps Fifi would be happier with the vacuum cleaner if he took a closer look!

Fifi is intrigued...

Ah ha! What's this?? A teeny-tiny sewing kit...IN the vacuum cleaner???

Yes! It's a vacuum cleaner sewing kit, complete with sewing threads of various colors for repairs, a thimble, and a couple of rusty vintage 1953 needles. Oh...and an advertisement extolling the virtues of the REAL vacuum cleaner, which does not have any thread in it at all until you vacuum your sewing room.

Alas, poor Fifi. A thread-filled vacuum cleaner is no substitute for a mate, I always say. Although...since I own five full-sized thread-filled vacuum cleaners, I'm not sure my husband believes me.

There is someone in my household that doesn't like vacuum cleaners very much at all: Mr. Bigglesworth, who slept through the whole upside down pillowcase adventures of the day. Good night, sweet kitty.