Category Archives: embroidery blanks

Nana Fun~Halloween Gingerbread and Kiddie Aprons

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It’s long been a family tradition to make a gingerbread house at Christmas. When my children were little, it was an enormous 3 day undertaking that began with making up a huge batch of gingerbread dough, refrigerating it overnight, then baking the pieces in the morning, constructing the house after the pieces cooled in the afternoon, letting it sit overnight for the frosting to set up and then finally, decorating.

 

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Now, Wilton has kits, like prefab houses, with prebaked gingerbread pieces, frosting mix and even basic decorating pieces. With my grandchildren, we build the quick and easy Wilton way.

I have been looking forward to this year’s Christmas gingerbread decorating party since August, when 4 year old Robert began asking when we could do it again.  So I was absolutely delighted last week when I came across the new Wilton Halloween Haunted Mansion kits at Michael’s Craft store.

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Monogrammed Strasburg Overall

With three beautiful grandchildren to dress, I find myself looking for ways to make more clothes in less time. Increasingly, I rely on 1. ready-to-smock garments, 2. machine embroidery on quick and easy patterns, and now, 3. machine embroidery on ready-to-wear apparel.

Alastair wears a beautiful blue herringbone overall, part of a two piece set from Strasburg Children. All of their garments are beautifully constructed and made of quality fabrics.  I loved this outfit when I bought it, but I wanted just a little more punch.  In my humble opinion, almost anything is enhanced by the addition of a monogram.

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Linen Bib

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When my daughter was pregnant with her first child, Alastair, I mailed her a package every Monday with something I had made for the baby.  This bib was undoubtedly the quickest and easiest of all the projects and yet it is one of her favorites.

When it comes to practicality, the dressy double linen bib is good for drool but not much else.  For church or a formal occasion, it will keep a teething baby’s clothing relatively dry while looking so much nicer than a lime green  “I love Barney” bib.  But it’s not much good for a meal of Spaghettios.

An elegant machine embroidered monogram reaffirms that Baby is dressed for An Occasion.  OESD’s Dazzle Alphabet is the source of this design.

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Spiderman Birthday

Robert standing in front of his birthday tree which we planted when he was born.

For his fourth birthday party, our grandson Robert decided on two themes, Autobots and Spiderman. It was just too hard for him to chose one over the other, so it was a duo-theme celebration. For this special occasion, I would so love to have made him a button on suit with an heirloom style lace edged collar.

But Robert is a Huckleberry Finn kind of kid– no fuss, no shoes and, if he thinks he can get away with it, no clothes.   He prefers to wear what he calls “short sleeve pants” and loves nothing better than a new Spiderman or transformer shirt. The hugs he gives me when I deliver his “character”  duds make it all worth while.

For his birthday, I made Robert two Autobot and  two Spiderman shirts.   On party day, he grinned from ear to ear as he got dressed in  one of the Spiderman shirts. But he was awestruck when Spiderman himself showed up at the front door.

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Ballet Bag

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Little girls and ballet lessons go together like little boys and superheroes. For each little girl who plies at the barre, there is a mother scrambling to keep up with the slippers, tights, leotard, tutu, hair brush, elastic and bows to costume her little ballerina in the mandated uniform. A ballet or dance bag is almost required.

When four year-old Laurel began what looks to be a long journey toward grace and poise, she carried this bag to the dance studio. Purchased as a durable, washable tote, it has been transformed from perfectly plain pink to pleasingly prissy. It has weathered that first year of lessons as well as several launderings. Laurel has just begun her second year and the bag still carries her gear.

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Team Gear for Little Fans

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Football fans love to dress their children in team apparel.  These tiny, expensive togs come in such a limited variety that most fans are likely to see their child’s same duds being worn by the majority of the tots at the game.

Customized ready-to-wear provides your little one with unique, affordable garb that sets him apart from the other junior fans.  You just need the visionary eye of a bargain shopper, an eye which can spot team colors an aisle away.

This 100% cotton (VERY important for Florida infantwear) orange and blue Ralph Lauren Polo baby suit, originally priced at $70, was marked down to $17 on the clearance rack.  There were others in different colors, many of which I recognized as being suitable for other teams.  But hey, I only do Gator gear so they were still hanging when I was done shopping.

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Strasburg Sailboats

This Strasburg Children ivory linen suit was a beauty, but as plain as Quaker oats, with absolutely no embellishment. It was pristine and charming in its own right.  Nonetheless,  I thought this size 3-month outfit could be made even more wonderful for unborn Alastair.

In anticipation of grandchildren, I had purchased some exquisite  hand shadow work booties from Farmhouse Fabrics. As soon as I had the Strasburg suit in hand, I knew the sailboat pair would be a perfect match.

NOTE: The photos have been edited for greater contrast. In so doing, the color is distorted. After the photo was taken, I replaced the white ribbon with 3/8″ ivory antique silk grosgrain. It was more tailored and more suited to the quality of the booties.

 

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Tailgating

This is our set-up. We try to be at the same spot every game day.

Ah, game day at The Swamp.  Kickoff might be at 7 p.m. but if you want your regular tailgating spot at Norman Field, you’d better be there by 9 a.m.

sleepy tailGator–one year later he became our son-in-law

Since it’s a 2 hour drive to  Gainesville, that makes for an early start to a very long day.    And a lot of food–three full meals for as many as 75 hungry Gator fans.

We pass the day visiting with neighboring tailGators, watching football coverage on a  tv that plugs into a special connection in the car and just getting ready for the game.

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Grandma Bag

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When an unexpected opportunity to “take the baby” arises,  I like to be ready.  So rather than make the routine diaper bag transfer from Mama to Nana, I keep my own Grandma bag at the ready.

In my humble opinion, this home made cheerful carryall beats the plain Army green or khaki canvas so popular today.  Where’s the fun in plain olive drab?

Some might argue that it is the contents of the bag that are important, not the bag itself.  Well, hear me now and believe me later, this bag carries all the basics and more.  But if you are challenged to amuse a baby for 25 minutes in the doctor’s waiting room, I’ll betcha dollars to donuts that this bag will keep that little one quieter longer than the Army bag.

And my, oh my, the contents!  There are miracle products that make today’s grandmothers green with if-only-I had-had-this-when-you-were-a-baby  envy.  More on new (to me) amazing baby products later.

 

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College Football

While I am willing to accept the fact that most rabid sewists are not rabid college football fans, many are.  Including me.  But if you are not glued to the tv or to your seat at the stadium every fall Sat. please don’t give up on this post.  I do have some good sewing ideas and tips to share.

In the South and many other areas of the country, the countdown to the first game of the next season starts just after the national championship game in January.  That would be the very game won by our Florida Gators for two of the past three years.  But I digress.

We’ve been attending the Gator football games since 1997, the year our daughter was a freshman there.  My wonderful husband went to graduate school there a lonnnnnnng time ago so our ties to UF are strong.  Football season always means a new crop of family memories and a variety of new Gator-sewn items.

 

But this is a sewing blog, not my son’s football blog, www.orangeandbluehue.com Check it out.  Now let’s talk sewing. Continue reading