{"id":12451,"date":"2011-04-21T00:33:08","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T04:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=12451"},"modified":"2022-04-05T23:56:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:56:15","slug":"judith-dobson-and-the-tea-dress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/21\/judith-dobson-and-the-tea-dress\/","title":{"rendered":"Judith Dobson and the Tea Dress"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is my post for Freckled Laundry’<\/a>s Air Your Laundry Linky party.<\/p>\n

\"zJudithteadressjas\"<\/a>

From the 1989 version of the Tea Dress, this one is made of white Swiss batiste, ivory lace and entredeux, with a blue broadcloth underdress.<\/p><\/div>\n

Laurel’s Easter dress has had its final press and is on a hanger, ready for Sunday. After a 22 year wait for someone to wear it, I have finally stitched this beauty. Since finishing it, the dress has been in my thoughts quite a lot. While my hands were occupied with mindless tasks like piping and machine embroidery for the grandsons’ outfits, my mind wandered over details of the garment.<\/p>\n

\"zJudithteadressbodice\"<\/a>

Bodice features fil tire’ and surface embroidery. Except for a few French knots, all embroidery was done on my beloved Brother Innovis 4500D.<\/p><\/div>\n

I couldn’t help but think about Judith Dobson, designer of this pattern. She seems to have dropped out of the sewing world, at least from my range of sight. Still, I have no doubt that she is out there, stitching fervently, beautifully and perfectly. As the mother of five children, including twin girls who modeled her creations for Belles and Beaus<\/em> ads in Sew Beautiful<\/em> and Creative Needle<\/em> magazines, she likely became too busy to spend much time way from home since I last saw her. Now, with any luck, she has grandchildren to dress.<\/p>\n

I’d like to share some recollections I have of this amazingly accomplished needleworker who has patterns, magazine articles, a book and more to her credit. Her background and experience is extensive.<\/p>\n

I first met Judith when we were both teaching at Martha Pullen’s school in Huntsville. She taught a variety of hand embroidery classes, most notably shadow work and cutwork. Students lined up to get in her classes to learn how she stitched such stunningly beautiful designs.<\/p>\n

\"Bodice<\/a>

Bodice back shows machine embroidered buttonholes. Flip flop lace is pinstitched above the puffing band and lace ruffle.<\/p><\/div>\n

Later, we roomed together in Jacksonville, Florida, where we were both teaching. I think it was a Classic Classes event, with Judith, Mildred Turner, Cindy Foose and Janet Hyde. Or it might have been the SAGA National Convention…whatever. There in Jacksonville we became much better acquainted and I certainly enjoyed our time together.<\/p>\n

\"Sprigs<\/a>

Sprigs of floral embroidery rest between ecru mother-of-pearl buttons from Farmhouse Fabrics.<\/p><\/div>\n

I learned that she and her five children had lived in Saudi Arabia for several years where her husband worked as an executive with an oil company. She described a culture which prohibited women from driving. That shocked me. Returning home to the United States was a great joy to her.<\/p>\n

For some time, Judith gave children’s etiquette classes, serving high tea and lessons on propriety and manners. She also offered small group handwork schools when she lived in Colorado.<\/p>\n

In addition to her design work, her children, of course, kept her very busy all day. But she carefully scheduled her time so that every evening, from 7-11 p.m. she stitched.<\/p>\n

Her children must have been very well behaved. And her husband must have been very helpful and supportive. With just two children, Bob and I could hardly get baths, stories and homework finished by 9:00! I should have asked her for a class in time management.<\/p>\n

\"teadre\"<\/a>

Straight sleeves are embellished with more flip flop lace insertion and machine embroidery.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Jacksonville, Judith graciously agreed to share our suite with my mother who arrived the second day of the school. When I called to extend the invitation, I chattered about what a gracious lady Judith was. Mother looked forward to meeting her.<\/p>\n

While Judith and I were in class, my mother arrived at the hotel, picked up the key from the front desk and went to the room to get settled in.<\/p>\n

She walked in the door just as a naked, dripping wet man stepped out of the shower to see who had entered!<\/p>\n

Scandalized, my mother stormed out of the room and waited in the lobby until time for lunch, when I joined her. She was seething as she pulled me aside to speak privately.<\/p>\n

\"Petticoat<\/a>

Petticoat has 4 rows of lace, extending the too-short dress to an acceptable length.<\/p><\/div>\n

“That Judith is NO lady! ” she sputtered through clenched teeth. “She has a man up there! We are NOT staying with her. I’m getting another room for the two of us!” Righteous indignation radiated from her black eyes.<\/p>\n

Of course, Judith WAS a lady. The hotel had given my mother the wrong room key and we all had a good laugh about it. Actually, my mother only smiled politely. Since that incident, she has been unable even to say “Jacksonville” without a rise in her blood pressure<\/p>\n

Older issues of Sew Beautiful<\/em> feature many of Judith’s designs and articles. She purchased the Belles and Beaus<\/em> pattern company from Betty Rast in Alabama and added to the extensive offerings of the company’s handwork collection. These patterns are spectacular and I am pleased that in my sewing room I have nearly every Belles and Beaus<\/em> pattern published. Her lovely book, Roses and Delicate Embroidery<\/em>, is like a work of art, with watercolor illustrations and careful stitch diagrams.<\/p>\n

I haven’t seen or spoken to Judith in many years. In 2007, we were both scheduled to teach at Martha Pullen’s school in Huntsville and I looked forward to a little reunion. But there was some complication and she didn’t come. That was the last news I have about her.<\/p>\n

I’m grateful to her for the beautiful Tea Dress pattern, first published in 1989. I am also grateful that it is now available for thos who do not have a 22 year old Sew Beautiful<\/em> packed away. And I hope Judith is happy and well, wherever she is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is my post for Freckled Laundry’s Air Your Laundry Linky party. Laurel’s Easter dress has had its final press and is on a hanger, ready for Sunday. After a 22 year wait for someone to wear it, I have … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[69,8,28,18],"tags":[368,1062,509,1056,290,510],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12451"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12451"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39354,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12451\/revisions\/39354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}