Category Archives: Holiday Projects

Free ME Fil Tire’ Heart Design

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Janice| 54 Comments

To receive the free machine embroidered heart design, state your request as a comment at the end of this post. The .pes design will be e-mailed to you.

fil tire' hearts on Swiss flannel baby shawl

The previous post which showed Judy Day’s Valentine outfits for her granddaughters reminds me that this celebration of affection is just around the corner.

For Laurel, my 7 year-old granddaughter, I am smocking a pink bishop nightgown with a matching one for her AG doll.  But I have left a small section at the center front with no pleats.  Machine embroidered in this area is the fil tire’ heart.

 

I’ve used this design several times for Laurel, most recently on last year’s Easter dress.

My overly ambitious plan was to have these nighties finished by now, feature them in this post and offer the design free to readers.  I thought this might give you enough time to use it on some Valentine project.

This is just a very small token of my gratitude for those of you who read this blog, those who have made purchases to help me in my de-stashing efforts, and those who have offered your friendship.  I do so appreciate each one of you.

Well, neither gown is done but ….tick*tock*tick*tock…time passes by.  So I am re-running this  Pink Diamond Baby Pillow post and a photo above from the Heart Swag Baby Shawl post to show you what the heart looks like.  It also includes detailed instructions for stitching it out.

fil tire' heart in winter colors, 1.56" x 1.92"

So, Dear Readers, happy Valentine sewing to you.  Just leave a comment requesting the design and I will e-mail it to you in .pes format. Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, techniques

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Valentine Pettiskirt Ensemble

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Janice| 3 Comments

Judy Day made these darling Valentine outfits for her granddaughters. As my granddaughter, Laurel, would say, these are “cool!” Judy has a knack for seeing one thing and envisioning another. The Valentine ensembles clearly demonstrate that ability.  Here are the details from Judy.~~~~~~

I typically don’t make Valentine specific outfits, as I want my granddaughters to wear the things I sew for them longer than this short season.

Purchased “blank” items can be transformed into personal outfits with just a little embellishment here and there, as these outfits attest. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, hairbows, Holiday Projects, Judy Day's creations, machine embroidery

Christmas ’11~First Celebration

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Janice| 1 Comment

I hope you all had a happy, merry Christmas day, filled with family, friends and love.  We’ve just had another joyous celebration with our daughter, Rebecca, Harvey and 2-1/2 year old Alastair.    Regrettably,  I took very few pictures the entire two days.

Christmas Eve was spent with Harvey’s family, who seem like our very own.  At Carol and Alan’s absolutely gorgeous, huge, decorated-to-the-nines country home, we enjoyed a delicious supper of gumbo, homemade slaw, special bakery bread, fresh strawberry pie and bread pudding.  Our son-in-law Harvey grew up just outside New Orleans so it’s no surprise that his mother has significant expertise in Cajun cuisine, not to mention everything else edible.  The company was as good as the food.

Alastair wore his Christmas suit and was, of course, the star of the evening, shining for his adoring grandparents,  89 year-old great-grandmother Ruby, aunts and uncles.   Why didn’t I snap a shot of him charming Ruby or showing everyone how high he can jump?  Why didn’t I take a picture of him alone in the music room playing (well, hitting the keys) on his grandmother’s baby grand piano? Or pulling back the curtains to examine the electric candles and the outdoor lights?  I missed so many photo ops. Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, embroidery blanks, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

Last Minute Flights and Late Night Projects

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Janice| 5 Comments

UPDATE: Alastair was precious in his Christmas suit and loved the design! None my fears were realized.   I shouldn’t have worried about him not liking it.

burgundy velveteen shorts, ivory linen shirt

I knew I was cutting it very close this year.  One thing and another kept coming up, thwarting my plans to finish up Christmas gifts.  Yesterday, I had the entire day free to finish up.  But then…

 

My pilot son invited us to join him on a shake down flight on his new jet.  Well, it’s not his to own, but his as the captain to fly and schedule. So we were off to Ft. Lauderdale for lunch, except that there were some technical glitches and we had a late supper there.  It really was delightful, but the whole day was used up.

my handsome pilot son and his family

Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, embroidery blanks, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, linen blanks, machine embroidery

Christmas Dress Upgrade

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Janice| 4 Comments

Laurel before church with lace added to sleeves. That collar is just too big.

DGD Laurel’s Christmas dress just fell short of my expectations for a variety of reasons.   Originally, the sleeves were simply bound, but it just seemed too plain so I have added gathered lace which helps.

plain, bound sleeves

unadorned sleeve binding

It also fell short of the desired length.   After we attended the Stetson Christmas concert, the dress returned to the sewing room so the generous hem could be dropped.  Several holiday dresses ago, I learned that asking a non-sewing mother to measure a child for length was risky–also ridiculously unnecessary since I see Laurel 2-3 times a week!   But I had not taken the measurement so I took the precaution of adding several inches to the turned up hem.  Whew!   Three more inches added to the length gave a more pleasing fit. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, uncategorized

Gingerbread Christmas

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Janice| 3 Comments

I’m scrambling here, working on the grandsons’ Christmas outfits and preparing for tomorrow’s arrival of 2-1/2 year old Alastair.  He will be with us for a few days and will have my undivided attention.  So there is no time for a new blog post. I hope you will enjoy this re-run.

The children’s ages and Christmas garments are not current.  But the upcoming gingerbread house decorating activities will be just as described below–except that Robert may have a little more restraint with the candy.  Then again, he is a little more experienced and might get away with even more this year.

Whatever.  We will have a grand time decorating.  I hope you have a chance to do this with a child.  It is messy, yes, but sooooooo much fun.

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“And I had but one penny in the world, Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.”  William Shakespeare, Love’s Labours Lost

Laurel and Robert, wearing the gingerbread John-John now worn by his little cousin Alastair

Unlike the character in Shakespeare’s play, I’m not sure that I would spend my last penny on gingerbread. I’d probably go for a scrap of fabric or lace, or a needle …..but I digress. This is about gingerbread and Christmas outfits for my grandchildren.

The marshmallow snowman had a short life. And he did not melt, did he, Robert?

If you have read more than two or three posts on this blog, you will know that gingerbread plays a huge role in our Christmas festivities. Robert and Laurel, at ages 2 and 3, seemed ready to be introduced to this family tradition. They made their first gingerbread houses, received gingerbread ornaments for their personal collection, added a charming book, Gingerbread Land, to their library in Nana’s nursery, and wore smocked gingerbread outfits for various holiday activities and on Christmas day. Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, brother-sister, girls, Holiday Projects, ready-to-smock, smocking

Christmas Dress~Sleeve Tip

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Janice| 3 Comments

Having just returned from North Carolina last night, I’ve hardly unpacked.  But the exquisite Stetson Christmas Candlelight Concert was this afternoon, so that took priority over properly settling in at home.  Last night I pulled a long session in the sewing room finishing up Laurel’s dress so she could wear it for this, the first Christmas-dress-worthy event of the holiday season.

She looked as sweet as any Christmas treat, though I am not completely happy with the dress.  For a rather small 7 year-old, her Sarah Howard Stone collar is rather large, even though I reduced the size considerably.  After putting the dress, collar and sash all together, I really think I need to put lace on the sleeves.  There just wasn’t time before we left for the concert but I’ll tend to that this week.

The ivory ribbon sash is an especially lovely 1-1/2″ wide antique silk which my friend Suzanne Sawko shared with me.  It is not as stiff as grosgrain and has no apparent “grain,” though it doesn’t roll at the waist.  It almost reminds me of a heavy organdy.

The dress was made from Ginger Snaps’ Lace Dress pattern.  It is a slightly raised (1-1/2″ above waist) yoke dress with several collar options and skirt variations.  Though I had never used it, I foolishly thought my years of experience made it unnecessary to read the directions. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, girls, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, uncategorized

Shadow Work Christmas Collar

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Janice| 13 Comments

Good grief!!!!  Less than a month until Christmas and I am just now getting the grandchildren’s holiday outfits together!  I’m sewing in the fast lane now.

The collar for 7-year old Laurel’s burgundy velveteen dress is finished.  Swiss cotton organdy has been tinted with coffee.  The collar pattern is from Sarah Howard Stone’s Basic Yoke Dress.

The collar is lined so that the embroidery stitches will not show and also so that  the effect of the strong burgundy color shadowing through the ivory organdy is diminished.  The lining covers only the spokes, not the insertion.  The contrast of the lace spokes against the dark velveteen is very pleasing.

The machine embroidered shadow work designs are from Suzanne Hinshaw’s Charming Embellishments collection.  Though the set was marketed for placemats and linens,  the designs are appropriate for many other purposes.

I really choked using metallic thread to outline the holly leaves.  But I thought Laurel would love it and I’m trying to mix a little contemporary in with my old fashioned Nana style.

Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, techniques

Thanksgiving and Sewing

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Janice| 4 Comments

Does anyone actually sew up the turkey today?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day.  Just as last year, we joined  our 2-1/2 year old grandson Alastair and his parents at the home of his paternal grandparents.  Though none of the six cooks at our dinner were decked out with starched white aprons,  the food at our harvest feast was gourmet quality.  Each contributed some of their best dishes.

The guest list included Alastair’s 90 year old great-grandmother, Ruby, who baked two divine pecan pies (and drove herself and those dessert delights to dinner!),  both sets of grandparents and a host of aunts and uncles.

I love family gatherings that include all ages, from babies to the elderly.  Two year old Alastair was the only little one and he entertained us as only energetic little boys can.  At the other end of the generation rainbow was Ruby, like the proverbial pot of gold.  Not only is she an excellent cook, but she is witty and entertaining—a joy to engage in conversation.

Even though the day is all about thankfulness and food, as usual, sewing projects were evident amid all the festivities.  Still, no one sewed up the turkey. Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, girls, Holiday Projects, home dec, machine embroidery

Thanksgiving Hostess Gift

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Janice| 3 Comments

Once again, we’ve been invited to share Thanksgiving dinner with our daughter’s in-laws.    Alastair’s paternal grandmother, “Oma,” will host a huge gathering of family at her beautiful country home.  Seated at the table, amidst 20 month-old baby Alastair and 89 year-old Great Grandmother Ruby, will be teenage cousins, young marrieds, middle-aged aunts, uncles and four reluctantly “senior” grandparents.  The dinner  table will look like a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover.

design from Dakota Collectibles~Holidays and Seasons

This dish towel is a  tiny token of our appreciation for being included in this warm family celebration of Thanksgiving.  My mother always taught me to never go empty handed.  This dishtowel will last longer than the pumpkin and mincemeat pies I will bring along as my contribution to the dinner.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Holiday Projects, home dec, machine embroidery, Nana fun, serger