Category Archives: heirloom sewing

Vintage Spoke Collar

Posted on May 29, 2010 | 2 comments

I’ve always thought spoke collars were about as lovely as anything could be. The first time I laid eyes on one was in the  Smocking Arts Guild of America’s”newsletter.”  First published shortly after their organization in the late 70’s,  it was the only heirloom/smocking publication to be had.

In about 1983,  there was an ad for a smocking shop. It included the shop name, address, phone number and a picture of a spoke collar that Julia Golson had made. There was no information about a class or pattern, simply a photo of beautiful piece of needlework to draw the reader’s attention.

It took my breath away. I had never seen anything so exquisite,  and mind you, this was a grainy, non-digital black and white photo. Of course, I am easily impressed, and was especially so in the early days of my love affair with heirloom sewing.

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Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, techniques

DIY Heirloom Upgrade

Posted on May 24, 2010 | 4 comments

dress XX

 

 

I did not make this dress but I did upgrade it. I think of it as Strasburg Children ver.1.1. , Laurel’s flower girl dress.

Though there are for sale many really lovely ready-to-wear smocked and heirloom garments, for both children and adults, invariably, everything in my price range falls short of my standard of excellence.

 

Lwalks back


Laurel took two steps and then stood like a deer in the headlights. This is the only photo that shows forward progress.

 

Laurel was to be the flower girl at our daughter’s wedding, which took place at our home in 2006. I would love to have made Laurel’s  dress, but I was nearly overwhelmed by the task of getting the house ready. Having sustained major damage from two hurricanes in 2004, the repairs were finished just 2 months prior to the big event. Continue reading →

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Posted in clothing, girls, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, uncategorized, wedding

“If apples were pears…

Posted on May 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ifappleswerepearswhole

And peaches were plums, and the rose had a different name.

If tigers were bears and fingers were thumbs, I’d love you just the same.” Anon

This sweet sentiment is the focus of the small quilted wallhanging. Suzanne Sawko digitized the text and embroidery designs, then I stitched the little heirloom quilt. This joint effort was for a class we co-taught at a Brother dealer convention in Denver.

 

Ifappleswerepearscenter

It is to the credit of Suzanne’s skill, perseverance and diligence that the floral designs look very much like hand embroidery. They are made all the more so by the use of Brother’s Country Threads with their matte finish. They look just like cotton but are, in fact, polyester.  However, the color palette is limited to 61 colors.  Still, it is my favorite as it offers the look of cotton with the durability of polyester. Continue reading →

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Posted in antique textiles, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery, quilts, techniques

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Baby Blue

Posted on May 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Like so many heirloom sewing enthusiasts, I absolutely love imported lace, Swiss batiste, handlooms, Swiss embroideries and every goody on the heirloom menu. And yet, there is something so appealing about this sweet and simple vintage daygown.

The blue batiste is not Swiss, but it is very good quality. Considering that and the fact that less than a yard of baby French lace is used, the charm is not the result of expensive goods. Perhaps it is the simplicity itself that draws the eye.

Jeannie Baumeister’s very popular Old Fashioned Baby patterns seem to reflect the same sweetness this gown exudes. She relies on simple lines, classic details, minimal lace and a splash of hand embroidery.

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Posted in antique textiles, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, infant clothing

“As pretty as Walt Disney’s dinosaur”

Posted on May 11, 2010 | 2 comments

…….the ultimate compliment from Lucius Jackson, age 7

Judy Day made matching Easter dresses for her 6-year old granddaughters. Though the girls live hundreds of miles apart, the cousins share a camaraderie built largely on their grandmother’s love and sewing creations.

The Swiss batiste bodice of the girls’ Easter dresses are machine embroidered with shadow work monograms from Suzanne Hinshaw. The skirts are an exquisite 27″ Swiss embroidery, purchased a few years ago from www.farmhousefabrics.com Tied at the waist with a pink satin ribbon, the dresses are simple but elegant.

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Posted in clothing, girls, heirloom sewing, machine embroidery

Baskets of Roses

Posted on May 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

“It will never rain roses. When we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.“George Elliot

 

basketofroseswhole2Brite

 

I’m having a hard time getting out of the potting shed and into my sewing room. Today, Bob and I relocated 3 dogwood seedlings from beds around the dogwood tree to an azalea bed. Almost 3 dozen cuttings of coleus, impatiens, Swedish ivy and purple sweet potato vine were potted up.

 

basketofrosesnetting2Brite

 

From the side yard rose garden, where an oak tree has grown so tall that it casts too much shade,  the first of many rose bushes was transplanted to a sunnier location. And what seemed like miles of wild blackberry vines were dug up from all over the yard…”and miles to go before I sleep.”

 

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Most of my rose cuttings have rooted and I hope we can get a few planted tomorrow, because according to George Elliot, when we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses. And I always want more roses.

basketofrosescan11

 

Which is why I took the photo of this tabletopper in the potting shed. Continue reading →

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Posted in heirloom sewing, home dec, machine embroidery, techniques

Out of Retirement Pinafore

Posted on May 2, 2010 | 1 comment

pinafore all

 

After a fabulous weekend with both of our son and daughter and their families, I started pulling out some of Rebecca’s dresses that have been packed away for Laurel. Sadly, many are already outgrown, as I missed the small window of opportunity to pull  them out for a second generation.  But this one is out of retirement.

 

It hurts to see the rippled yoke. I do a better job now.

It hurts to see the rippled yoke. I do a better job now.

 

The Little Sunday Dresses pinafore is just the right size for Laurel now.  Smocked with Ellen McCarn’s monogram, the skirt and shoulder ruffles are Swiss embroideries from Capitol Imports.  The bodice is Swiss batiste.

I had planned to pick out the monogram and re-smock it with Laurel’s initials. But the stitches are  just old enough (25 years) and the blue floss just dark enough that I’m afraid the color may have marked the fabric permanently. So I’m just going to leave it.

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Posted in clothing, girls, heirloom sewing, Second Time Around, smocking

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Babylock Christening Gown

Posted on May 2, 2010 | 3 comments

gown all

This christening gown was the main project for the Babylock school I taught at Martha Pullen’s school in Huntsville, AL, a few years ago.

The ecru and white combination has always seemed the height of elegance to me. Also, since photos had to be posted on the school web site, the ecru embroidery showed up much better than if the embroidery had been white on white.

 

bodice center

 

It seems to me that anytime Swiss batiste, imported trims and heirloom sewing techniques are combined, the result is likely to be something beautiful. In this case, the classic christening gown is a melange of Swiss batiste, French lace and entredeux.

 

full bodice

Elaborately embellished, it includes classic details such as point de Paris, Madeira appliqué, shaped French Val lace, feather stitching, pin tucks, twin needle shadow work, and delicate embroidery. Also incorporated into the gown’s design is Lace Tape, a recently rediscovered heirloom trim, applied as a shadow appliqué on the wrong side of the batiste.

 

back

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Posted in clothing, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, lace tape, machine embroidery, Madeira applique, techniques

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Amy’s Sundresses

Posted on April 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

 

They say the acorn does not fall far from the tree,  and for Judy Day’s little acorn Amy, it certainly is  true.  We all hope our daughters will learn to sew and share our passion for for the art.  Amy has the passion and the talent to sew beautiful, creative things.

She took to sewing like the proverbial duck takes to water. While teaching school full time, working on her master’s degree at night and tending to her pre-school daughter, house and husband,  Amy took up sewing.  And then she ran with it.

She began with traditional sewing on a Babylock Decorators Choice, a Christmas gift from her parents and never looked back.  Now that she has an embroidery machine, she is sewing more than ever, while continuing with all her responsibilities, as well as finishing up her Ph.D. 

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Posted in clothing, girls, heirloom sewing

Pretty in Pink

Posted on April 26, 2010 | 5 comments

Some time ago, Mildred Turner and I did a series of doll dressing schools around the country. Each student adopted a 20″ porcelain doll, made by my mother, and proceeded to spend 4 days making a wardrobe. Garments included an heirloom sewn dress–always Mildred’s assignment, a bishop dress and/or nightgown–my assignment, and undergarments, or “unmentionables” we called them.

Each doll came with a biography, much like the American Girls dolls, and the wardrobe reflected the lifestyle and time of the porcelain character. In Atlanta, we dressed Melanie, a 20th century Southern Belle. In North Carolina we dressed Millie Lavonia, modeled after Mildred Lavonia Medford Turner herself.

 

Another time it was a fictional mountain girl, Daisy Renee, named for country flowers and the daughter of Capitol Imports vice president. The Mary Elizabeth doll was my Glenwood home town gal, said to have lived the life of Miss Alice’s sister, circa 1915. Continue reading →

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Posted in doll clothing and accessories, heirloom sewing, smocking, techniques