Faux Heirloom Sundress

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This is the quintessential modern project for old fashioned Nanas.  I love this easy care/faux heirloom dress.

It may seem early to be thinking about sundresses, but the commercial  pattern companies have already put out their spring and summer pattern books. I’ve had to think about it because Faux Heirloom Sundress is another class I will be teaching in Myrtle Beach at the end of the month.

The beauty of this summer frock is its easy care properties.  It’s no surprise to heirloom loving grandmothers everywhere that ironing organdy and Swiss batiste beauties is a real problem for busy young mothers.  This wash and wear, easy care, easy sew pop-over meets many of the requirements for an heirloom garment.  And still, it comes out of the dryer ready to wear and is as sturdy as Old Navy.

 

 

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The fancyband on the skirt and front yoke are applied, rather than inserted.  Nothing is cut away behind thee bands.  The base fabric is intact under these embellishments, maintaining the structural integrity of the solid fabric. Continue reading

Liberty Turn Tube Pillowcase

Pima cotton, midweight Swiss and Liberty of London tanna lawn turn tube pillowcase. The monogram is from OESD's Dazzle Alphabet.

Pima cotton, midweight Swiss and Liberty of London tanna lawn turn tube pillowcase. The monogram is from OESD’s Dazzle Alphabet.

 

It’s no secret that I love Liberty of London tanna lawn.  On this pillowcase,  the combination of English pima broadcloth, a trim strip of mid-weight Swiss  batiste and the Liberty tanna lawn are simply luxurious.  The silken textures almost guarantee sweet dreams and gentle slumber.

This particular piece of Liberty is very unusual.  Noted in particular for the sharp registration of their prints, Liberty of London has produced this almost watercolor pattern.  I really like it, but somehow it just seems odd– akin to Pizza Hut adding Chinese food to their menu.  Just out of character.

The linen tea  towel featured in an earlier post and this pillowcase are the projects for the Magic Hem Pillowcase class that I will be teaching in Myrtle Beach, SC.  This will be the 18th annual  event, named appropriately, Sewing at the Beach.  After all the delays, which continue, by the way, at least this class is “in the box.”  The kits are all cut and bagged up with the handouts.  Extra pieces/parts, threads, demo pieces and more are all in a well marked  MAGIC HEM box, the first of four such boxes to fill.  Continue reading

Perfectly Pink Christmas X 4

 

4 matching Christmas cousins

4 pink beauties

 

Judy Day never ceases to amaze me with her breathtaking creations and the vast number of projects she designs and completes.  Her grandchildren are so incredibly fortunate.  And it sounds like at the tender ages of 6 and 7,  they have begun to recognize the beauty of the garments Judy makes for them.

Here is Judy’s story about her perfectly pink Christmas: 

These dresses were in my mind years before I ever put needle to fabric.  I saw this dress in the Sept./Oct. 2000 issue of Creative Needle…now that I look at the date, it was before the girls were born!
Kennedy

Kennedy with her matching AG doll

 
When I see a magazine article I really like, it goes on the corner of my cutting table for future ideas.  Continue reading

Blackeyed Susan Tea Towel

Did you ever feel like you were running into barricades as you tried to get something done?  That’s what has been happening to me since Christmas.  I knew it would be a scramble to get the kits and samples done for classes I will be teaching in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Jan. 31-Feb.4.

I expected that my holiday houseful of family and friends would depart Dec. 26 and I would hit the ground with my feet running. Of course, I was delighted when they stayed later and then with extra coming and going, we had various combinations of grandchildren and families until Jan. 3.  It was wonderful and I loved every minute of it.  But, uh……now I realllllly would have to scurry.

Then as I began cutting kits for this black eyed Susan towel, I ran out of linen.  It should have been easy enough to get more, but my supplier changed the product on me.  After multiple phone calls and driving around central Florida to locate a similar fabric, I finally found a suitable substitute for the  last few kits.

In the midst of all this sleuthing for the right linen, my dear, 89 year old aunt was  taken to the hospital in very grave condition.  She is childless so I have primary responsibility for her care and spent hours and hours in  the emergency room with her.  After several days, thank God, she stabilized and was released to her assisted living home.  Now I was really ready to roll. Continue reading

Shopping Girls Jacket

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My friend Betty Ludwig just sent pictures of this to-die-for  jacket.  At one of the MArtha Pullen Schools of Art Fashion in Huntsville, Alabama,  Betty was my assistant when I was teaching  there.  We had such a great time.

Betty regularly assists at Martha’s licensing and is quite an expert with her serger.  And, obviously, she is an expert on the sewing machine as well.   These are her comments about the jacket.

“I’m sending you a couple of pix of a jacket I made.   It is Missy Billingsley’s
jacket tutorial using Evy Hawkins designs
Shopping Girls. 

 

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Any jacket pattern will do but I used the one Missy recommended, Nancy’s Notions  “As you wish Jacket” pattern, but I hope to make a silk one and use the Heirloom Girl’s from Evy. She has a whole
set of the different girls that look great on lots of things.   I like sewing
for myself so  I knew I wanted to make a jacket using them.  I’m going to change the neckline with the silk one…”

There are so many details to admire and study.  The embroidery designs speak to the shopper in each of us while the girlie pink and blue fabrics are fun and contemporary.  I especially like the inclusion of the black and white designer dress print which adds a little sophistication to pattern.

 

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The combination of quilt piecing and machine embroidery not only enhances  each feature, but is so well balanced that neither overwhelms the other.

What a great job you have done, Betty! Your jacket is full of inspiration for sewing in the new year! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Fleece Ponchos for two American Girls

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Central Florida has just endured one of the coldest Decembers in history, with more than 5 nights of  freezing temperatures and more likely to come.

Because of this bitter weather, Laurel called me with the most pitiful request.  It seems she is almost overcome with 6 year old maternal love for her new doll, Molly.  So my little granddaughter began by detailing all the chores she has been doing at home in order to earn money to buy Molly a coat. Her mother has wisely seized this opportunity for Laurel to learn the value of money, hard work and goal setting.

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“But  her coat costs $25!  I have earned $1.25 so far but Molly is cold NOW, Nana. Can you please make her a poncho?”  How could I deny this heartfelt plea?

As excited as Laurel was with their matching Christmas dresses, it seemed only right to make matching ponchos.   So I pulled out some red polar fleece from my stash and whipped these up in no time at all.

Continue reading

Quilted Cherry Tea Set

My Puerto Rican friend Haydee made this cheery set for her kitchen.  The set hangs on the wall, adding color and warmth to the decor.  Meanwhile, it is ready in an instant for coffee or tea with a drop-in friend.

The centerpiece is thick enough to protect her table from a hot tea pot and the button-on coasters are always handy.

As mentioned in earlier posts, Haydee is relatively new to sewing and machine embroidery.  Applique’ seems to be her passion.

She has an innate sense of color and balance.  I especially appreciate her attention to detail, as evidenced by her placement of the red coaster border at the upper edge of the top coasters and the lower edge of those on the bottom. Continue reading

Dance Bag

One of Laurel’s Christmas gifts was this new dance bag.  Almost three years ago, I embroidered a sweet pink bag with pastel ballerinas.  Dirty and stained, it apparently has long since passed its expiration date.

Laurel’s 6 year old taste has gone over to the wild side, likely the result of glitzy marketing that targets her age group.  Though I prefer the look and mood of the old bag,  I have to remind myself  that I am sewing for Laurel.

The shiny, new, waterproof, black bag  should be impervious to stains, like the huge red blotch brought on by a leaking bottle of  Gatorade that she planned to finish after dance class.

Continue reading

Christmas 2010

Our Nutcracker Sweets. Robert’s black pants got left behind at home when they packed to come to our house. He doesn’t match, but he still looks handsome.

What a fabulous Christmas celebration we had!  Both of our children and their families were here Christmas Eve day, as well as another special young family who joined us with their 3-month old baby and 3 year old. With 8 adults and 5 children, it was glorious mayhem.

I bought this leather strap of 4 antique sleigh bells (2 hang on the back of the wreath) at our church bazaar in 1972, when Bob and I were newly weds. They had been donated by a family who removed them from the old family barn before they moved to Glenwood 25 years before that. At the time, I never dreamed that hanging them on our front door every Christmas would be a family tradition. Nor could I have known that they would become a family treasure.

Our son-in-law, Super Chef Harvey, brought two enormous to-die-for lasagnas for dinner.  Even Robert, the pickiest eater in the world, ate two servings.  With hot-from-the-oven gingerbread and whipped cream for dessert, everyone dined in holiday style.

After the children were “nestled, all snug in their beds,”  we plucked the antique sleigh bells from the greens at the front door and rang them loud and long, passing  below all the children’s windows.  Laurel rushed down the stairs declaring that she had HEARD them!!!!!  Santa was coming!  It was just magical.

The greenery, however, looked a little bedraggled after the bells were put back in place so hurriedly.

At 6:45 Christmas morning, Alastair wailed “Hi!”   “Mama!” again and again until everyone was awake.  This was an early reveille for the adults who had been up until 1 a.m. stuffing 5 stockings all “hung by the chimney with care” and assembling Robert’s pyramid and Egyptian army soldiers.  Continue reading

Miniature Wonder

2 3/4" doll in sewing box

This is one of the sweetest Christmas gifts I have ever received.  The 2 3/4″  porcelain doll is nestled into a comparably tiny sewing box generously stocked with minuscule materials.  Rolls of silk fabric, 1/8-1/4″ spools of  thread, snippets of antique lace, silk ribbon and more set a needleworker to dreaming about dainty delights.  Continue reading