AG Molly’s Lace Tape Nightie

Posted on February 24, 2011 | 4 comments

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Laurel is so excited about her doll’s new nightgowns that she is making Molly dress for bed and take afternoon naps. This model was part of the wardrobe for another Sewing for Dolls school that Mildred Turner and I organized.

If I recall correctly, it was the school on Cape Cod. After class, our dear friend Barbara took us on wild rides in her incorrigible van whose tape player spontaneously broke out in sea shanties. It didn’t bother Barbara who thought the random music added a little excitement to her life. Meanwhile, our delightful  hostess Debbieanne, a Cape Cod tour guide, was guiding us through the history of the area as Cape Cod Girls blasted away.Barbara’s volume control was also broken.So were our ears.

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How well I remember this ditty, a favorite of the phantom cassette player manager. If you would like to ride vicariously with Barbara, close your eyes, stand on one leg and turn the volume up to its loudest setting while you listen to a sample clip on YouTube. .

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, smocking

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Sewing Bag

Posted on February 22, 2011 | 6 comments

Note the shading on the tree trunk.

This is the most incredibly beautiful bag I have ever seen. It was displayed at the fashion show at Sewing at the Beach in Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago.

It was a class project somewhere in the South–I’m sorry I didn’t get the details.But I do know they met weekly for some time and learned a new technique at each class. That technique, then, was applied to a section of the bag. After a number of weeks, the bag was complete.

The design, workmanship and detail are just breathtaking, and more so in person than these woefully inadequate pictures can convey.

The topiary to the right of the front door features a variety of silk ribbon embroidery stitches.The life-like climbing roses over the door and across the front of the house motivated me to feed my climbers this week.

And just look at that basket of flowers! Oh, my! And in each window is a little rabbit, carefully selected and cut from novelty fabric. Benny the Bunny Butler, a button cottontail, sits at the front door, ready to greet guests. Surely a responsible party is monitoring these hares or all the blossoms would be gnawed to the ground.

The details around the tree are intriguing, from the community of bird houses to a garden art angel to a bee hive on the ground.A tiny button bird is perched in the tree, undoubtedly singing a glorious springtime tune.

Just beyond the house on the right side a guest is arriving, most likely for a quilting bee.Beneath a three dimensional straw hat, a her braid swings as she scurries through the butterflies fluttering in the air. The elaborately embroidered and beaded bag over her arm carries a thimble. At her feet rests a large tote, equal to the thimble bag in glorious, meticulous embroidery. It must be heavy with a charm squares to trade and a quilt top ready for her tiny 12-to-the-inch stitches.And probably a bag of chocolates in a zip lock.

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Posted in bags, hand embroidery

Lace Tape : its History and Peggy’s Daygowns

Posted on February 20, 2011 | 4 comments

Lace tape is a fabulous new~old product. Its history is as lengthy and varied as is its uses. While not as widely used and recognized as it should be, lace tape is growing in popularity nonetheless.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this produce, it is a 100% cotton, loosely woven “tape,” approximately 3/8″ wide. Previously available from Wendy Schoen, now the only source that I am aware of is Farmhouse Fabrics. Lace tape has a pull thread on either side just like heirloom lace insertion.

Because lace tape lacks the transparency of lace, it is unnecessary to cut away the foundation fabric beneath the lace tape. Consequently, the integrity of the fabric is not compromised and the garment is sturdier.

Its uses run the gamut from a substitute for lace insertion to shadow applique’ when applied to the underside of sheer fabric to tuck filler for shadowed shark’s teeth and more.

PEGGY’S DAYGOWNS: Evidence of this growing awareness of its charms can be seen in Peggy Dilbone’s precious daygown projects for Martha Pullen’s Sewing for Baby school. Viking educator Peggy always comes up with to-die-for projects and these daygowns are as sweet as anything she has designed.

The pink daygown features shaped lace tape bows and machine embroidery. Gentle gathers offer enough fullness for comfort but not so much as to make the lace tape bows disappear in the fabric folds. What mother would not love this for her baby girl? It would be as much fun to make this puff sleeved pink confection as it would be to dress a little darling in it. Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, lace tape, machine embroidery

Sewing Friends

Posted on February 18, 2011 | 2 comments

The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you’ve had.  ~Author Unknown

Judy lunching in the potting shed

Hmmmm……I am blessed with fabulous friends, friends with whom I have had some of my very best conversations. But silence was never a part of those dialogues. I’m not sure we could ever sit on a porch without saying a word. My friends are pretty chatty and so am I. Have you noticed?

One of my dearest friends, Judy Day, flew in from Missouri to spend a few days with me. I doubt there was a moment when we were not talking, mostly about sewing. Just ask my dear, understanding husband.

While Judy was here, our chatter was nonstop until the lights were out.

What a delight it was to hear about her projects, to tell her about mine, to discuss new sewing tools and techniques as well as the joy and satisfaction of sewing for our grandchildren.

Judy brought me the sweetest gift–a sachet with my monogram inside a heart outlined with some of her grandmother’s tatting. Judy hoards this stuff like the crown jewels as she  metes it out, striving to make it last through special garments for her own three grandchildren. So not only is the tatting lovely, it is part of a very loving gift.

I gave her one of my favorite books, The Love of Lace by Cynthia Hart and Catherine Calvert. That was appropriate because we both are intrigued by the beauty, variety and history of this delicate adornment and because we spent a good bit of time studying examples from my collection of laces, both antique and contemporary. In my stash we were able to find just the right lace for her granddaughter’s first communion dress. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, button machine, linen blanks, machine embroidery, uncategorized

Knight Alastair

Posted on February 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Names are funny.  From generation to generation, they wax and wane in popularity.  When we named our son Ryan, I knew of only one other child by that name;  my sorority sister’s son was 6 years old on the other side of the country.  Now, “Ryan”  is as common as John used to be.  Alastair, however, seems never to have achieved a high ranking in the past 100 years.

Which is why my daughter and her husband, Harvey, chose it.  Every name that they considered was first checked against a list of the 100 most popular names in the past 100 years.  “Alastair” was clearly absent from each.  So that’s the name they chose.

Shortly after my grandson’s birth, a friend of Harvey’s commented, “With a name like Alastair, it’s knighthood or failure.” Thus, the choice of this embroidery design for his Valentine’s Day shirt.

 

 

After choosing the knight from Planet Applique www.planetapplique.com , I decided on the text, “Soon I’ll be your knight in shining armor.”  But a senior moment denied me access to the proper spelling and I typed in “amor.”  Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, clothing, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery

LOVE for Laurel

Posted on February 14, 2011 | 2 comments

Every year for Valentine’s Day, I plan to follow James Taylor’s advice to “Shower the People You Love with Love.”  If you are unfamiliar with this sweet ballad,  I suggest that you treat yourself to a few minutes of his wise counsel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkAhQBbK-oM

The good news is that I am blessed with so many people whom I love.  The bad news is that  I was unable to get a full blown love shower up by Feb. 14.  This year, it is more like a drizzle. 

I’ve started with my precious grandchildren and gotten not much further.  You’ve already seen the Egyptophile shirt I made for Robert.  The next post will show the shirt I made for Alastair and which he wore home after spending the weekend with us.  This LOVE outfit is for my sweetheart and only granddaughter, Laurel Cade.

When I found this red sale-rack pettiskirt I knew it was the perfect start for her Valentine’s Day party ensemble. I wish I had a big poufy hair bow to go with it.  My dear friend Judy Day is coming for a visit at the end of the week and will teach me to make the fabulous bows she makes for her granddaughters.  

NOTE: Have you seen the darling design for boys that says “I like girls with big hair bows.”  Next year I’ll make that for Alastair whose prissy playmates don these flirty hair accessories.

A white shirt was pulled from my size 5-6 bag of blank shirts.  I added some ribbon roses at the neckline and applique’d LOVE with letters from www.planetapplique.com, Planet Applique’s Gobble Alphabet.  The gobblers were removed in BuzzEdit2.  Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, girls, machine embroidery

The Boy King

Posted on February 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

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NEWS FLASH: IT’S HERE!!!!  SEE THE MUSIC VIDEO FEATURING PHARAOH ROBERT, HIS PYRAMID AND HIS EGYPTIAN WALKING SISTER, LAUREL CADE, AT THE END OF THIS POST.  BE PATIENT WITH THE BEGINNING.  ROBERT INTENDED THIS TO BE ABOUT HIS PYRAMID BUT HIS FATHER TRIED TO MAKE IT ABOUT ROBERT THE RELUCTANT.
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What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars’ worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret  
I get at least that much pleasure from mine.  Lately, 5 year-old Robert has been generating pleasure and entertainment at an alarming rate.
His fascination with Egypt seems endless.  He got over Max and Ruby, The Wiggles, Transformers and even Spiderman in less time than he has spent pursuing his interest in this ancient country and its culture.

Last week, he wrote a short story as part of a school assignment.  Of course, his chose for his subjects Egypt and a pharaoh.

Later, he enlarged this (very brief) story into a play (one act) whose star role was played, of course,  by none other than Robert Charles, Himself.

He and his mother made his costume, a tunic ( read: pillowcase) with a wide circular paper collar, tie sash belt and wristlets .

Pharaoh Robert chose to pose for this playbill in front of the stairs that go to his homeschool classroom.  The staircase is reminiscent of the pyramids he saw last week at Epcot, though, he was quick to point out,  this sort of pyramid with stairs would be Aztec, not Egyptian. Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, clothing, embroidery blanks, machine embroidery, Nana fun

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Encore Collar

Posted on February 10, 2011 | 8 comments

Encore:  a reappearance or additional performance demanded by an audience (definition from Merriam-Webster dictionary)

 

EncoreShadoworkCollardress

There was no real demand and I’m certainly not a real audience, but this collar has definitely made a welcome reappearance.

Worn first by my daughter 27 years ago when she was 5, it turned up at the bottom of a box of old samples I unpacked to take to Sewing at the Beach.  Now, it will be worn by my granddaughter Laurel, who is 6.

Laurel’s  black velveteen Christmas dress (2010)  featured an heirloom sewn pinafore bib,  machine embroidered with the seasonal Sugar Plum Fairy.  The encore shadow work collar refreshes the garment for a Valentine’s Day party.

 

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Swiss batiste and tatting work well with the hand stitched surface embroidery and red shadow work bows.   Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, girls, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing

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Part II Goodbye SATB2011

Posted on February 8, 2011 | 2 comments

I hope you are not yet tired of the details of Sewing at the Beach 2011 because I am still enjoying the fresh memories of a great school.

The young man in the handsome blazer was a doll and a great escort for the cutie pie in the smocked dress. She had been well-coached to smile at people. But the minute her eyes turned away from a member of the audience, her dazzling smile warped into bored fatigue. It was late for little ones.

As a wrap up, I would like to share with you a few photos of the students projects, fashion show and banquet table party favors.

Then I want to introduce you to living proof that sewing is, indeed, a bona fide Elixir of Youth.   Continue reading →

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Posted in boys, clothing, doll clothing and accessories, girls, home dec, ladies, machine embroidery, quilts, smocking, turn tube hem, uncategorized

Goodbye Sewing at the Beach 2011

Posted on February 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

This incredible week of fun, friendship and sewing classes is over. And what a memorable time we have had!

I was privileged to be part of the faculty which included  Connie Palmer, Jan Kerton of Australia, Kathy Farmer, Jane Briscoe, Margaret Fain and my wonderful, talented, wild and crazy roommate, Terri Click.

Their classes included Jan’s exquisite handwork projects, most notably her underwater landscape quilt, Kathy’s camisole and celtic heart, Jane’s faggotted romper and elegant etui, Margaret’s vintage sachets and mug mania, and Terri’s tee shirt pattern drafting and kumihimo bag handles.

The variety of projects amazed me.  There was truly something for everyone, though everyone seemed to want everything.

Each day, mid-morning and afternoon, students trekked to the hospitality suite.   Stocked with homemade goodies,  fresh fruits and vegetables, the suite was a comfortable and welcoming place to visit with old and new friends.  And talk about sewing.

On the 16th floor, lunch was served in a private dining room that overlooked the ocean.  Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, embroidery blanks, girls, uncategorized