Grandchildren’s Bedroom Redo

 

DSC05400

 

My cup runneth over with grandchildren.  Whew!  It has been non-stop fun here at Nana’s house for the past 10 days. Granddad and I have read stories, said prayers and tucked in one, two, or all three grandchildren every  night before and after some exciting events (Halloween, county fair, Gator football game and more).

That’s why there has been no time for blogging.  Of course, I’d rather spend time with these precious children than blog, but I hope to be more regular from now on.

2 beds

I’ll prattle on and on about these fun happenings in the next post.  For now,  in order to get back on track to the topic of sewing, I will show pictures of the big kids’ bedroom redecorating, though it is not yet done.  Because the room is shared by both Robert and Laurel, it couldn’t be too frilly or too masculine.  Another consideration is that we often use it for guests. Continue reading

So sad and So sweet

My concern and prayers are offered  for all who suffer in the path of destruction left by Hurricane Sandy. So many have lost absolutely all of their worldly possessions, and even worse, many have lost loved ones. At times like this, neighbors pitch in to help.  But Sandy’s swath of destruction is so wide that neighbors able to lend a helping hand are very far from the center of the damage.  It will be a long time until any semblance of normal is restored.

The guest room, quite unfit for guests.

In 2004, our home was badly damaged by Hurricane Charlie.  We were without power for almost a week in August, a brutally hot month in Florida.  We were miserable.  The suffering of Sandy’s victims is exacerbated by the bitter cold weather.  I encourage all readers to do what they can to help, through the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other crisis management organizations.

On a more cheerful note, in the midst of my own personal (but comparatively minimal) bronchial misery, I have started this daygown for our Christmas/New Years girl grandbaby.  So far as I’m concerned, forget about the Robitussin and Contact Cold +Flu Caplets!  Smocking is my best medicinal comfort.   It took a while to rally the energy to prepare this project for smocking but I couldn’t be more pleased with the work-in-progress results. Continue reading

Fabulous Nursery by Kathy Dykstra

I love writing this blog.  Aside from the satisfaction of  recording my sewing projects and learning from readers, I have met so many new sewing friends.   Seeing pictures of your projects and hearing about your sewing makes my heart smile and my face grin.

Kathy Dykstra is one of these treasured new friends.  Her projects are seen frequently in Sew Beautiful  magazine and also have appeared in Australian Smocking & Embroidery which featured her extremely popular and highly sought after pattern, Temily. (If anyone has a copy of this issue with the pattern intact, I would LOVE to buy it from you.)   In fact, the current Sew Beautiful, Vol. 26, #6, features her pattern Wrap it Up! in sizes 4-10.

 

 

 

Her projects are Pinterest  pinned and repinned again and again.

Kathy shared these photos of the absolutely wonderful nursery she and her daughters made for little Olivia.

 

 

 

They began with Plan A, painted the walls bright turquois with lime green for trim.  When it was apparent that this baby was to be feminine little Olivia, Plan B was initiated and pink was added to the color palette. Continue reading

Candy Corn & Halloween Fun

There are sooooo many adorable Halloween applique’ designs for machine embroidery!  For granddaughter Laurel’s outfit, I finally narrowed the field down to this candy corn design, primarily because I had already purchased the spider web/candy corn fabric for fun.  This design just seemed right.  Candy Corn Cutie is from Embroitique.com

The girls A-line jumper in  Applique’, Martha’s Favorites by Martha Pullen’s has always been one of my favorites.  I bemoaned the fact that it went only to size 6 when it occurred to me that I could use the same quick and easy lining technique with any similar pattern.  I found just what I needed with a commercial pattern (on sale at JoAnn’s for $1.99!) and whipped up this piece for Laurel in no time.

It is lined with yellow cotton batiste because 1. I had it on hand and 2. because it is a relatively cool, lightweight fabric.   In Florida, Halloween season can be and usually is very hot.  Top stitching is worked around the hem, neckline and armscyes.  At the them, three rows of ribbon echo the white, yellow, and orange layers on the candy corn.

The leggings with a knit ruffle at the ankle are from Sophie’s Stitches.

NANA FUN—Our daughter, Rebecca, came for a few days with her husband and 3 year-old Alastair.  We had so much Halloween fun with the little guy.  Every year Granddad (Bob) decorates his shed which is the background for the bonfires the children love so much.   Often, they pause from running around or eating s’mores to climb up on his John Deer tractor housed in the shed, or pretend to drive the golf cart which also resides in this man cave.

It was late, so Alastair was in his jammies.

Sadly, cousins Robert and Laurel were tied up with football practice, piano lessons and Girl Scouts so they couldn’t make it over while Alastair was here.  But 4 year-old Alysha, our goddaughter’s child,  came for the bonfire and a day of fun. Continue reading

Daygown~Lessons Learned

Liberty daygown

 

LESSON:  Haste makes waste…or dissatisfaction with a rushed project.

After my idle hospital stay, I was desperate to stitch.  But I was restricted for another week from driving or using my sewing machine, specifically from using the foot pedal.   As soon as I was home, I grabbed up the supplies for the daygown that I had planned while hospitalized and rushed to cut it out and begin smocking.

 

daygown goods

 

Pleater use was allowed, but I could not sew up the shoulder seams.  Ah, but I had heard about seamless pleating.  That should work. Continue reading

Back to Halloween

Getting back from the hospital didn’t mean getting back to sewing.  Until two days ago, I was restricted from even press the foot pedal on my sewing machine!  But now I’m really back to my sewing room which features stacks of projects in various stages of readiness.

Halloween is just around the corner so these tee shirts were embroidered for the grandsons, one orange, one black.  The cute design is from JuJu Designs #444  Jumbo Halloween Sampler.  (Wow!  I just checked and this collection and all of her others are now on sale for $6!)  It was very interesting to stitch out, as the sequence, to my surprise, included a reverse applique’ sort of technique midstream.  I had to study the design in BuzzEdit to get a grip on what and why. Continue reading

She’s Baaaaack!!!

Well, I’m home with my Honey and I couldn’t be happier.  All is well and, as my dear husband Bob declared some time ago, I have a good heart.

And it is a happy heart.  This experience has been both uplifting and annoying, as I am easily annoyed when my hands are idle.  But the overwhelming emotion is gratitude.  I am so thankful for the clean bill of health and for all those dedicated doctors, nurses, and health care workers who work around the clock to care for us. Continue reading

Minor Medical Emergency

Dear Friends,
There will be no real sewing posts for the next few days. I’ve had a minor medical emergency and have been in then hospital since just before the sermon Sunday morning. It was just a little chest pain so we went to the ER. I’ve been here since then WITH NO HANDWORK!!!! They won’t let me go home for a few minutes to cut out a day gown! And they wonder why my blood pressure is up!!!

I hope to be home by Thursday and will get back with you then.

Gayle and Sue, I will get your orders out ASAP then. Lynette, before this little incident, I wrote to you twice but there must be an error in your address. Is it really @iafrica? Please write again

When this heart catheterization is wrapped up and I get back to my computer I hope to have lots of comments telling me about the wonderful things you are making.

Happy sewing!

Janice

Making a Scene~Bassinette Skirt and “Francesco”

Side 1 is almost finished. A pretty bow will be made from the wad of ribbon sitting above the pleat.  A 3-dimensional bell will be hung from a silk ribbon and tied around the neck of the plain sheep on the far right.

Though it is not yet finished, this bassinette skirt has been such fun to embroider.  It is for our daughter who is expecting her second child and first little girl.  When she bought the bassinette, she saw the blank, unadorned side panel skirts as blank canvases. Continue reading

Pink Antique Lace Daygown

ant pink lace daygown all2

 

I love antique laces.  I love the extra detail in the pattern, the unusual colors, the history of previous owners and previous uses about which I speculate while I am sewing.

I love this daygown.  I love the materials, the techniques, the details that I so enjoyed adding and the daydreams I entertained while fantasizing about grandchildren in my future.  Can you tell I love heirloom sewing?

Yet again, this is not a modern project for an old fashioned Nana.  I needed grandchildren before I realized the importance of easy care.

Through the years, I have sniffed out some incredible finds.  This lace was one of them.  At the end of this post, I will tell you about how I became the final owner of this unused, antique lace. Continue reading