The tiny figure in the road just in front of our cabin is Alastair, 4, examining a fuzzy caterpillar.
What a delightful week we just spent at our cabin in the North Carolina Mountains. Except for grandson Alastair, it was a girls’ getaway. With my daughter Rebecca,
Rebecca and Alastair
her 9 month old daughter Vivian Rose,
Vivian Rose in her warm bunny jammies, protecting her from the bitter 34 degree weather.
Posted in girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery, Nana fun
At the last minute, I decided to join my darling daughter Rebecca on her trip to our family cabin in the mountains of North Carolina.  We loaded the car with her four year-old Alastair, 9 month old Vivian Rose and the children’s great Auntie Jeannette who is younger-than- springtime even though she is almost my age.  We drove through the night while the children slept.
Amid the glorious fall colors, we are enjoying fabulous fun and quality family time.
When we arrived, I was pleased to see this fall pumpkin pillow nestled on the couch, announcing the season.
I’ve managed to get a little smocking done but will share that project with you later. Meanwhile, I came across this post draft written earlier in the summer and want to share it with you. This shop might have something you’ve been looking for. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After several days of quiet at the cabin, we drove down the mountain and into Boone, about 10 miles away. I always like to stop at the only sewing spot in the area, a great shop called  Sew Original.
Quilting seems to be their main focus, but they also have have lovely heirloom fabrics and smocking supplies. There were racks of new patterns but also some old classics that I rarely see in other stores, like Sarah Hoard Stone’s Basic Yoke in every size. This is one which I have used very frequently, for Rebecca years ago and recently for granddaughter Laurel Cade.
Sew Original also has the optional pattern packages for her second book, French Handsewing for Infants.
I treasure these patterns.
Posted in home dec, machine embroidery, uncategorized
I’m packing for a trip to our cabin in North Carolina for some quality time with daughter Rebecca and her two children, 4 year old Alastair, 9 month old Vivian Rose and Auntie Jeannette (Alastair’s NanNan). We’re looking forward to a week of fall color and relaxation. Actually, I’m not sure any relaxation is possible with two little ones running around all day and Vivian Rose nursing 2-3 time through the night. But with three adults, at least one of us should be relatively free at any given moment.
Post Trip UPDATE: WRONG!!!! It required one adult per child and one to cook meals and prepare Alastair’s non-stop snacks. He must be having a growth spurt.
Our Florida baby girl would need some warm clothes, so I teamed up off-the-rack fleece pants and leggings with a few tops. One, of course, had to have a Halloween theme. Continue reading
Laurel encouraged Alyssa. The girls sewed in their pajamas until long past bedtime.
What a fabulous weekend we had!  Two grandchildren are a bundle of fun, but including a third child added so much to the equation.
Additionally, I had that pleasure of introducing that child to the wonders of sewing!
When my granddaughter learned that her good friend Alyssa had been asking for sewing lessons, Laurel asked if she could invite her to spend the weekend with us. We all had a grand time.
If you would like this Scripture, post your request as a comment. The design will be e-mailed to you.
We started with embroidery because she had a specific project in mind for her pastor father. He recently answered a call to another church and she wanted to embroider one of his favorite Scripture verses to hang in the new office.
Psalm 19:14 was not in my now very extensive collection of Bible verse designs—thank you Designs by JuJu and Sew Bird’s Stitches–so I worked up the text quickly and easily with my Brother PE-Design.  It certainly is appropriate for a preacher. Continue reading
Laurel loves her new denim skirt and so do I. Â My friend Suzanne Sawko recommended this pattern, telling me that it was a favorite of her granddaughter Alee, who is the same age as Laurel.
You can cut out and serge this skirt in less time than it takes to bake a cake and it made Laurel even happier than her favorite–lemon pound cake. It is such a unique pattern. Continue reading
UPDATE: Robert’s spiral bound book, Football Frenzy, is now available.
Robert wrote every word, did the research and even typed this himself. Finished before his 8th birthday, it includes a 7 year old’s experience and appreciation for the game, as well as interesting quotes and statistics along with Robert’s comments. It’s a bargain for $5 + $2 shipping. Get your copy now before Amazon picks it up and raises the price!!
First time tailGators, Laurel in a new shirt and Robert in one of his VBS tie shirts.
What a great time we had Saturday at the Florida/Arkansas football game in Gainesville! Robert and Laurel’s first tailgating experience was just about perfect. A good win for our beloved Gators, good food, good family time, and good weather. Okay, so it was a sunny 90 degrees, but there was a nice breeze and it didn’t rain. In Florida, that’s considered good weather, but not great.
Sewing always seems to play a role in all the major occasions of my life. I’m sure it’s the same for you, whether it’s party favors or decorations or gifts. Continue reading
Posted in boys, girls, machine embroidery, recipes, serger, sporting gear
Tagged Football Frenzy, Gator football, Gator shirts, tailgating
“I believe in signs….what we need to learn is always there before us, we just have to look around us with respect & attention to discover where God is leading us and which step we should take….”
― Paulo Coelho, The Zahir
There are all kinds of signs–signs of spring, signs of aging, signs of indigestion.  I especially like real, tangible signs that give directions, advice, entertainment or important information. It’s funny how sermons, a box in the garage, and free embroidery designs set me off on a binge of sign-making for our church.
Within two weeks, I (1) heard our pastor preach on the importance of daily scripture reading, ( 2) found a box of picture frames in the garage, and (3) discovered more than 40 FREE scriptural machine embroidery designs at Designs by JuJu . Hmm…..
Always eager to make my husband happy by using up and moving out stuff stored in the garage, I downloaded the free verses from JuJu, gathered up the frames, matched them size-wise to the designs I had in mind, and pulled out neutral colored fabric scraps. I was on a mission. Continue reading
NOTE:Â Several antique baby dresses and other items will be posted for sale Wednesday morning.Â
“Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.†Leviticus 19:32
All set up and waiting for the 11:00 service to be over (faces obscured because I for got to ask permission to post). Gold table toppers and table numbers were left over from our daughter’s wedding.
Today at our church there was a gala luncheon celebration for members of our congregation who are over 90 years old. Sponsored by the deacons, this was an especially lovely event! Twenty-two of the 46 eligible members were in attendance with their family and friends as guests. Almost 125 dinners were served.
Bob and I were both busy serving, so this is the only photo that we took.  After our church photographer posts photos, I will include more. Fellowship Hall really did look very festive. The theme was “fall,” though I thought for an event with so many elderly guests, “Don’t fall” would have been a better choice.
As each honoree entered Fellowship Hall, a boutonniere or corsage was pinned on and a photo taken.
The lady on the left, above, decided the honorees should have a goody bag as a sort of party favor. On her own and with the help of her 11 yo granddaughter, she filled gaily wrapped bags with a word search booklet, a Bible scripture bookmark, a picture frame for the photo that was taken today, some hard candy, and a daily devotional booklet. Each honoree was also give a souvenir booklet with a bio of each of the over 90 members.
I was in charge of decorations and was pleased to be able to reuse many things made for our daughter’s wedding and– much to my dear husband’s dismay– still stored in our garage.  Twenty gold table toppers, some sheer and some tapestry weight, were placed over the green cloths and the embroidered table numbers were once again put into use.
at Rebecca’s wedding— same tapestry table cloth, same gold chargers, same embroidered table numbers, same linen napkins
When the table numbers were made, I knew it was a lot of time spent on a small detail, but Rebecca and I both liked the idea. Since the wedding, these same numbers were used for four Mother’s Day teas at the church of my daughter’s mother-in-law and then for the wedding of a sweet family friend. And in the next year, they will be used again for the wedding of another family friend. So the numbers have been put to good use. Continue reading
Sept./Oct. 1985: Interview with Elizabeth Travis Johnson, Teaching Children to Smock (by yours truly, Janice) with smocked barrette project, Children’s Coats, Teddy Bear smock plate by Gwen Milner, Handkerchief Collars, Sewing for Dolls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Continue reading
Posted in uncategorized
NOTE: Some readers have requested advance warning of an upcoming Nursery Closet Sale, so here it is. Coming soon, probably Monday morning, Nursery Closet Sale #8 which includes a linen shadow work burp cloth, pique hand embroidered sunsuit, pink bubble smocked with Scotties, sweet flannel wide brimmed bonnet, and more.~~~
Recently, a reader of this blog sent a heartwarming e-mail which is posted below. It details the thoughtful efforts of Jennifer, a foster mother, and her husband who have opened their home to foster children. This couple goes far beyond providing food, clothing and shelter and Jennifer’s sewing contributes mightily to the children’s loving care.
“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” -Forest E. Witcraft
Charity sewing is not a new topic and many of you readers are actively involved in a multitude of worthy, meaningful causes. But Jennifer takes an entirely different approach than I have ever read or heard about. She stitches love into garments and goes even further to make permanent photo memories for the children in her temporary care. Her expression of love for foster children has been a powerful inspiration to me.
“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” ~ Matthew 18:5 Continue reading
Posted in uncategorized
Tagged foster children, foster mother, heirloom sewing, sewing for foster
