Halloween Bedtime

Posted on October 2, 2015 by | 3 comments
The Ninja pumpkin design is from XXXand the witch -costumed koala is from an old Amazing Designs collection, Seasonal Daisy Kingdom.

Alastair’s pillowcase design is Embroidery Boutique’s Ninja Pumpkin design. Vivian Rose’s little witch -costumed koala is from an old Amazing Designs collection, Seasonal Daisy Kingdom.  The moon and stars were added.

 

Soooo busy!  I thought my “golden years” were supposed to be leisurely!  But they are not and I am not complaining about my full, rich, active life.  Still, a little leisure would be nice.

I know I have promised Part 2 of my post on lace tape, but that has been pushed to the back burner, due to new family demands and responsibilities.  I’m sorry about that but it will be posted as soon as I can get to it.

Aside from all the must-do’s I managed to squeeze out these Halloween pillowcases for my two younger grandchildren.   6 yo Alastair who is a big time Ninja fan, and Vivian Rose, 2.5 yo is delighted with anything.

The really fun feature of her pillowcase is the moon and stars, in the sky and on the witch robe.  After the success of her firefly dress with glow-in-the dark lightning bugs, I invested in several spools of glowing thread. It offers so many creative opportunities!!!! Continue reading →

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

All About Lace Tape~Part 1

Posted on September 23, 2015 by | 5 comments

Lately, there have been considerable discussions and questions about lace tape, its origin and uses.  The history is quite interesting, as its development involved a salvage warehouse and an unraveled sweater for my Rebecca and midnight transatlantic phone calls. That was in 1987 when I first brought this product to the heirloom sewing public.

Most of this history is detailed in this post. Because lace tape is one of my favorite sewing products, I’d like to share some applications and techniques. For many years I taught a 6-hour class around the country. So there is a lot of material on the subject, too much for one post. Lace tape can be used for shadow applique’, colored entredeux, colored shark’s teeth, tiny piping and so much more. So stay turned for details.  A few future posts will feature projects with detailed directions.

ABOUT LACE TAPE

Approximately 3/8″ wide and available in a rainbow of colors, lace tape is a loosely woven 100% cotton trim. It has a gathering thread on each side and is wonderful for lace shaping.  It also can add a bit of color to an heirloom project.

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Now there are two varieties of lace tape:  Japanese and Swiss. The lace tape shown above and used on each of the items pictured below is Japanese.

USES

1. for lace insertion substitute joined to lace edging or other insertion

MollyLTgownsmockingxx

Peach lace tape was joined to lace edging and then stitched to flat bishop before smocking. See Molly’s Lace Tape Nightie for more pictures and information.

preparation: Like heirloom trims, lace tape is easier to work with after being starched and pressed, unless it is being shaped. Use the finest thread, preferably 80/2 Madeira Cotona,and the smallest needle appropriate to the thread size.

technique:Butt lace tape to lace. Zig zag the two pieces together with an approximate stitch setting of W 1.5-2.0, depending on width of lace header, L .8-1.0 edging. NOTE: An edge joining foot makes this much easier.

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Lace tape joined to Aesop’s Fables Binche lace.

Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, doll clothing and accessories, girls, heirloom sewing, lace tape, machine embroidery, smocking, techniques, uncategorized

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Fan Team Gear

Posted on September 15, 2015 by | 4 comments

 

Creative Needle, June, 2005

Creative Needle, June, 2005

 

Hurrah, football season is here! Like families around the country, we look forward to kickoff.  As huge Florida Gator fans, every Saturday in the fall we hunker down for a full day of football, in front of the tv or at the stadium.

 

FL gator sign

 

Tradition dictates that everyone wear their “colors” on Game Day. The grandchildren keep outgrowing their team gear, so,  like  many of you, I’m trying to get them suited up for kickoff.

 

1-L first gator

Laurel was just 3 weeks old when we attended the annual Gator Nation gathering at the Daytona Speedway. She wore this cool, Swiss cotton pique top with pima check bloomers.

Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery, smocking, sporting gear

Coming Home Daygown and Bonnet

Posted on September 5, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Busy, busy, busy! So this post is a re-run featuring Laurel Cade, our first grandchild and her homecoming outfit. I think the topic is still timely.~~~~~~~

my handsome son (newborn at 9 lb.1oz) and his 10 lb.daughter

my handsome son (who was a 9 lb.1oz newborn) and his 10 lb.daughter

My babies each weighed exactly 9 lbs. 1 ounce and were 22″ long. My husband said my uterus had a 9 lb. 1 oz. capacity, just like a gallon milk jug will hold just one gallon. He declared that if we had a dozen children they would all be the same size. After our second child, I chose not to test his hypothesis.

At any rate, neither of our babies wore newborn clothes for more than a few weeks.

When our dearly loved, petite daughter-in-law Shelly was pregnant with our first grandchild, the whole family thought this precious baby would be a tiny little thing, like her mama. After all, Shelly’s own mother is just 4’11” so we expected a small baby. With this in mind, I used a preemie daygown pattern for Laurel’s coming home outfit.

Imagine our shock when this “small” baby girl was born via C-section weighing an even 10 lbs! I had other regular size daygowns smocked and ready to go, so I took those to the hospital the day they were to be released. But they were all too big.

We were surprised that the preemie daygown fit her perfectly. Of course, she was only able to wear it for a short time, but I was glad that she had something that fit so well for that important trip home. Now, whenever I make a coming home daygown for a special baby, I make a preemie size.

coming home gown L

The daygown and bonnet are pale yellow Imperial batiste, smocked in shades of yellow and periwinkle blue. Entredeux and tatted edging trim the angel sleeves bishop and either side of the front. Blue floss is woven into the holes of the entredeux.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Basic no-embroidery Machine Projects, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, smocking

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Cool Tool Case

Posted on August 28, 2015 by | 7 comments

bag closed empty

 

As a self proclaimed Old Fashioned Nana, cool isn’t a style I embrace.  But this lime green and silver  sewing machine tool bag really is cool.  It looks almost futuristic, like something that should be a space shuttle carry on.

Of course, if I were to fly to the moon in that big, scary bird I would take my Dream Machine along.  And of course, I would need my accessories packed in this cool tool bag.

 

Notice the pleat at the bottom of each screening bag. The free edge has been zig zagged with lime green thread to secure the crease and to add another touch of lime. color.

Notice the 1″ pleat at the bottom of each vinyl mesh compartment.  That allows the bag to expand in order to accommodate bulky  accessories like the walking foot.

 

This project was designed and taught by teacher extraodinaire Lyn Powers at my home-sweet-home sewing store,  The Sewing Studio , just outside of Orlando.  I am so fortunate to live near enough to shop and learn there.  The all-day class was one of a series of 8 for owners of Brother’s Dream Machine and Babylock’s Destiny. NOTE:  If you have an extra minute, you might enjoy the little story at the end of this post.

The bag is so useful!  It holds those miscellaneous, fabulous tools that go with today’s sewing machine.  Many of these do not fit in the machines’ accessory cases and many require careful handling.  They really shouldn’t just rattle around loose in a drawer by the machine.  The batting offers protection to these valuable accessories.

 

bag loaded open xx

Currently it is loaded with my walking foot, embroidery foot, and sensor pen with more to come.

 

The silvery cotton fabric was quilted with a serpentine stitch and a 6.0/100 twin needle.   Alternate diamonds were stippled in the hoop with lime green thread.  Have you ever seen lime green velcro????  It was imported from France just for this class– made me feel pretty important! Continue reading →

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Posted in bags, machine embroidery

Free Happy Face Pencil Toppers Design and Tutorial

Posted on August 21, 2015 by | 312 comments

8 finished

With the new school year about to begin, it seems appropriate to run this post again. These quick and easy pencil toppers will give your favorite students happy  encouragement.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the things I love most about sewing is that it can be a useful tool when applied to almost any situation. It can solve so many problems–and I’m not just talking about a ripped out hem, or torn seam. This past week, the problem was my Sunday School lesson and the solution was these pencil toppers and an embroidery design.

The teacher instructions were to print out the memory verse on an index card for each child to use in class and take home. Even on colored cards this would be BO—RRRINNNNG. Instead, I pulled up the .pdf file from one of my favorite collections, Designs by JuJu’s  Heavenly Inspirations 2 , which includes this scripture. Won’t that get more attention than a hand written index card?

REJOICE

With my wonderful, free, photo editing program Picasa, a frame was added and the verse was printed on card stock.  On the back, other information was printed–the “bottom line,” and “basic truth” they could take from the story. The children went away with a shortened version of Cliff Notes for their lesson that day.

Thank you, JuJu, thank you Sewing!

Next the teacher’s guide suggested draping the room in Christmas lights as an indication of rejoicing.  Continue reading →

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Posted in church projects, machine embroidery, Tutorials

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CC Lucy at the Beach

Posted on August 15, 2015 by | 2 comments
Children's Corner Lucy with CC Parker's Pants shorts

Children’s Corner Lucy with CC Parker’s Pants shorts

 

It’s been so long since a new post has appeared.   Faithful readers may have assumed that I had run away to relax at the beach!   But NOT!  It’s just been a very, very busy time, so busy that it has taken me almost a month to finish this simple outfit for 2 yo granddaughter Vivian Rose.  But I am pleased with it.

 

 

1-embroidery

Embroidery is from Babies Beach Fun by Bit of Stitch. The sun and sea gulls were extracted from other designs in my library and added.

Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, machine embroidery, serger

Inside Out Tanks

Posted on August 4, 2015 by | 6 comments
Bingbon, a favorite character

Bingbong, a favorite Pixar Inside Out character

 

Have you seen the new Pixar movie, Inside Out?    It offers some insight if you are trying to figure out just what children are feeling.

 

Joy is a happy gal.

Joy is the happy gal on the flip side of Bingbong.

 

The shirt embroideries are Brother’s  Inside Out designs.  It was June Mellinger’s creative idea to embroider two off-the-rack tanks and stitch them together .  This makes one embroidered tank top,  making it reversible— or wearable “inside out.”   With this inspiration I embroidered 6 tanks and ended up with 3 reversible tops. Continue reading →

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Posted in Disney, Disney projects, embroidery blanks, machine embroidery, techniques

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Heidi’s Sewing Room

Posted on July 28, 2015 by | 2 comments

Heidi’s sewing room is neat, orderly and clearly the sewing space of a serious stitcher.  There are so many interesting and useful things to see here.  Thanks, Heidi, for sharing–and welcome back to the smocking and sewing sisterhood!

This is what she had to say:

I have to preface these pictures before you look at them. I’m 3 years retired and got back to sewing and joined a smocking guild when I retired. I hadn’t smocked for 25+ years while work consumed my life. Now retired, I sew, smock and craft for fun only.  ( Ed. note:  HURRAH!!!)

 

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So this is where Heidi sews.

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It looks like a serger sits on that gorgeous antique Singer cabinet.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Sewing Rooms

Technique & Summer Fun Bishop

Posted on July 24, 2015 by | 4 comments

1-dress

 NOTE:  I’ve since shortened the dress by 5″ and it fits so much better.

In my humble opinion, bishops are a near perfect garment for little girls.  They are comfortable, long wearing and easy to construct.  Would anyone rather construct than smock?  Not me.

 

These "Smockables" used to be readily available from Martha Pullen Company. They are no longer for sale there.

These “Smockables” are no longer for sale from Martha Pullen Company.

 

Ready-to-smock garments from Martha Pullen Company were my go-to “bring-along” project for trips.  When they were readily available, I laid in a supply.  But I have run out.  The white bishop shown above is the last one that will fit any of my grandchildren.  The few remaining Smockables are for sale here.

Starting with a ready-to-smock bishop is the quickest way to get one finished.  I soon grew tired of the basic style offered and have had fun modifying it.

A few weeks ago, I was packing for our trip to North Carolina.  We were headed to the mountains with our two younger grandchildren and their parents.  I knew I had to have some handwork for those few (VERY few) quiet moments after 2 yo tornado Vivian Rose was asleep next to her easy-going brother, Alastair.  I grabbed this last white bishop and couldn’t help but think “ho-hum.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love a geometrically smocked white bishop.  But I was in  the mood for something a little different.  Then, due to the less-than-tidy condition of my sewing room, I spotted this scrap red border given to me by my friend, Suzanne Sawko.  Hmmmm…

 

border scrap FI Continue reading →

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Posted in Basic no-embroidery Machine Projects, ready-to-smock finished projects, smocking, techniques