Those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love. ~Author Unknown
A blanket of love was exactly what I wanted to create for my daughter to sleep under when she arrived as a freshman at the University of Florida. Though it is just 90 miles from our home, it was too far for her to come home for dinner or a quick visit when feeling a little lonely.
Posted in quilts
Just like everyone else, I love a bargain. I found this great sweater, without embroidery, marked down from $48 to $9.  I knew the addition of an embroidery design would take it from plain to pretty.
The lacy knit sleeves make it cool enough for Florida weather and yet, with a green or purple shirt under it, it is warm enough for our few cool days. Continue reading
Posted in embroidery blanks, ladies, machine embroidery
Tagged Connie Palmer, embroidery on knits, grape embroidery, KO Designs
Maybe I should have a whole category dedicated to Swiss flannel projects. This is yet another of the many items I have made with this luscious fabric and I don’t ever seem to tire of it.
Earlier, a similar white blanket was made, using regular Swiss flannel and featured in the post Antique Carriage Blanket. This one was made in anticipation of the birth of my second grandson, Alastair. I enjoyed using the bold dark blue in the flowers. Continue reading
For the 50+ out of town guests for our daughter’s wedding, we planned a Saturday afternoon cruise down the St.Johns River.
In our area, the wedding pre-ceremony activity is most often a guest golf tournament, usually for the men, with balls or some other minor golf equipment for favors.
Our out-of-town guests ranged from the groom’s 85 year old grandmother to young mothers with 6 month old babies. We wanted something they all could enjoy before the 6 p.m. wedding ceremony.
…a little child, born yesterday,
A thing on mother’s milk and kisses fed…
~”Hymn to Mercury” (one of the Homeric Hymns), translated from Greek by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Swiss flannel cap with antique silk grosgrain ribbon and it’s-gotta-get-better featherstitching.
This little guy was not born yesterday, but he certainly has thrived on mother’s milk and kisses. In fact, if the amount of milk and kisses he has received were accurately reflected in his size, he would be bigger than a four year-old. But he is a good sized boy at 10 months and has already worn his last heirloom daygown and bonnet.
Alastair, 2 1/2 months old
I think few things are sweeter than a baby wearing a bonnet. This cap is part of my grandson’s coming home outfit and coordinates with the blanket and daygown shown in earlier posts. Continue reading
Alastair, 2 1/2 months, on antique carriage cover. He had nearly outgrown this daygown, but this was the first time that the harried new parents got around to taking a picture for me. It DID fit when he came home, but at 9 lb.s 6 oz. it didn’t fit very long!
One of the first things I made for Alastair’s layette was his coming home outfit. The daygown was made from Maggie’s Classics Daygown #113 pattern. The matching blanket was featured in a previous post and the sweet little cap will be shown soon.
Obviously, this picture was taken lonnnnnng after he came home from the hospital. He was 2 ½ months old and the gown is ridiculously short. When he was newborn, the length was adequate if not generous.  But were I to make another, I would make it much longer. You can see that it still fits him except for the length. But if it had been cut longer, he could have worn it much longer. Continue reading
 For some time now, 5 year old Laurel has been begging to sew.  Yesterday, with Christmas behind us, we finally had a little free time.
Next week she will be going to our family cabin in the mountains of North Carolina so we thought a polar fleece scarf would be useful. She serged the 8″ x 50″ edges with a three-thread wide stitch. This was her first experience with my fabulous Babylock Evolve serger and she took to it like a duck to water. She loved the speed and ease of control.
For many years, I taught sewing to children. There are so many things that I learned about teaching skills and generating enthusiasm. One of the most important considerations is selection of the project, which should be quick and easy, and, in my opinion, foolproof. An earnest junior sewist cannot be allowed to fail. So the scarf seemed to be a safe choice. Continue reading
Posted in girls, Kids Sew, machine embroidery, Nana fun, serger
This blanket was part of Alastair’s coming home ensemble. When he left the hospital wearing his tailored boy bonnet, a Maggie’s Classic daygown and wrapped up in this shawl, he was the quintessential old fashioned baby. His Gerber Baby good looks added to the overall pleasing presentation.
Swiss flannel is such a wonderful fabric, especially for babies. Invariably, the mothers have reported that the weight and texture make it the ideal fabric for their little ones. The weight is just slightly heavier than batiste, but the little bit of nap offers a tad more cuddliness.
The weight also makes it very suitable for a nursing cover up. It is not too heavy and when folded is compact enough to fit easily into even the most chock full diaper bag. Continue reading
Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery
Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.– Peg Bracken
Those same basic ingredients of time and love are stitched into gifts from those of us who love to sew. This gift set of 12 monogrammed linen napkins were embroidered with both time and love for my daughter.
Rebecca loves to entertain, especially if the occasion warrants use of china from her grandmother and sterling silver from her godmother. She was delighted to be hosting the family Christmas day festivities and began planning and decorating just after Thanksgiving. I knew these napkins would give the finishing touch to her holiday table.
The napkins themselves are “blanks,” ready for embroidery.  I have to mention that the scalloped edges are really very rough. I’ve never been fond of cutwork because there are always eyelashes poking out from the button hole stitched edges. Continue reading
Posted in home dec, linen blanks, machine embroidery
At last, it finally happened. I had all three of my grandchildren in the same place at the same time wearing their matching outfits. Getting a group shot that includes a 9 month-old baby is dicey at best, but the two older children were very cooperative and patient. Maybe that whole Elf Watch threat still hangs over their heads.
Alastair in Glenn suit with his paternal grandmother, Oma, after church
The details of each outfit are in previous posts, but in summary the plaid is Viyella, the button-on bibs are a linen blend, the pattern for the boys’ suit is Glenn by Children’s Corner and Laurel’s dress is an extended yoke pattern. The embroidery designs are all from Bernina’s Current Critters Continued collection. Continue reading
Posted in boys, clothing, girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery, smocking
