Category Archives: heirloom sewing

NEW..Year, Beginnings, & OFB Daygown

Posted on January 2, 2013 | 8 comments

“Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities.  ~Michael Josephson

January, 2013,  a time of beginnings.  We awaited the drop of the big ball with a  a fabulous, fun-filled New Year’s Eve with our son and his family.  They brought along Apollo, their 100 lb.  German Shepherd and it was a time of happy chaos here at our house.

We watched football, ate goodies, had a bonfire with s’mores, then fireworks.  Robert and Laurel found a farewell letter from Peter Elf and said their goodbyes to him.  Laurel, the little businesswoman, had bags to embroider so she got that done.  New Year’s Day was more of the same, except for the bonfire and fireworks.

As the above quote states, the new year brings new opportunities.  Our overdue granddaughter has still not made her appearance and I’m seizing this nail biting opportunity to sew more baby clothes.  The challenges he predicts will come in their own good time.

Ready to begin!  Yellow Imperial broadcloth, Vintage Swiss petit point handloom, French lace, entredeux and OFB Baby’s First Daygown pattern.

Thank goodness, I’m finally well and healthy enough to hold a newborn any day now.  I don’t know if it was all hot tea or the fresh-off-the-tree citrus I consumed, or maybe all  the naps.  But thankfully, I’m back in the sewing room. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in antique/vintage textiles, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, Nana fun

Bonnet, Monograms and Chicken Soup

Posted on December 28, 2012 | 13 comments

What does this baby bonnet

have in common with chicken soup? Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in antique textiles, baby accessories, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, machine embroidery, Nana fun

Updated…Compromises-Play it again, Sam!

Posted on December 2, 2012 | 14 comments

Though nothing like this was heard at the formal Stetson Christmas Concert which is central to this post, the video below is is too special not to share. Thanks, Shirley, for bringing this to my attention. I promise you all will want to see this to the very hilarious ending.

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I’m being forced to make creative compromises.  It is absolutely impossible to sew all that I want and to regularly dress my grandchildren in the classic clothing I’ve always wanted for them.

Torn between making baby clothes for soon-to-arrive granddaughter #2 and sewing Christmas outfits for the three grandchildren who are already here, I am making compromises I never thought I would accept.

I’m re-doing, recycling, and taking shortcuts with holiday clothes, not to mention cooking and housekeeping!  This year’s Christmas frock for granddaughter Laurel is 2011 all over again.  It’s the same burgundy velveteen collar dress, though he collar has been replaced with one I made for my daughter 24 years ago.

This doesn’t even meet the bridal wardrobe standard of “something old and something new.”  This is just something old and something older!

Seven year old Robert joined us this year for the Stetson University Christmas Concert.   He looked handsome in a nice red sweater (off the rack, not even handknit by Nana), while Laurel, 8, wore this dress.  But they certainly didn’t compliment one another’s outfits.  Oh well.

The concert was absolutely spectacular and incredibly moving.  My scalp prickled and my eyes teared. Continue reading →

14 Comments

Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, Holiday Projects, Nana fun, Second Time Around

Pink Antique Lace Daygown

Posted on September 25, 2012 | 7 comments

ant pink lace daygown all2

 

I love antique laces.  I love the extra detail in the pattern, the unusual colors, the history of previous owners and previous uses about which I speculate while I am sewing.

I love this daygown.  I love the materials, the techniques, the details that I so enjoyed adding and the daydreams I entertained while fantasizing about grandchildren in my future.  Can you tell I love heirloom sewing?

Yet again, this is not a modern project for an old fashioned Nana.  I needed grandchildren before I realized the importance of easy care.

Through the years, I have sniffed out some incredible finds.  This lace was one of them.  At the end of this post, I will tell you about how I became the final owner of this unused, antique lace. Continue reading →

7 Comments

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

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Exquisitely Detailed Vintage Baby Dress

Posted on September 20, 2012 | 21 comments
circa 1940 organdy baby dress

circa 1940 organdy baby dress

 

The bassinette skirt I’ve been working on is coming along, but it surely takes a lot of time to arrange the designs.  So while I continue working on that,  I thought you might enjoy looking at this sweet baby dress which has so many exquisite details.  It was given to me by a friend but she knew nothing about its history or origin.

The fabric seems to be a soft organdy, if there is such a thing.  It may just be that it’s old and has lost some–but not all–of its crispness.  Labeled Tiny Tots Originals  hand made Philippines, every stitch is done by hand.  I googled Tiny Tots and could only find references to a company by that name in the garment district of New York City.

The search also turned up other Tiny Tots Original garments for sale on etsy or eBay.  The information is not corroborated, but those garments were dated 1940-1960, though every vendor seemed to be giving it their best guess.

But my-oh-my the details! Continue reading →

21 Comments

Posted in antique textiles, antique/vintage textiles, heirloom sewing, infant clothing

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Smocked Diaper Shirt & Rhumba Pants

Posted on September 7, 2012 | 15 comments

shirt pants

 

One more little outfit is ready for our due-at-Christmas granddaughter.    How I LOVE making baby things!

 

pants back

 

The diaper shirt and ruffle-butt bloomers are Swiss pique, trimmed with candy pink microcheck. The ruffles were made on the serger,  finished with a 3-thread rolled edge. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in heirloom sewing, infant clothing, serger, smocking

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Troublesome Diaper Shirt

Posted on August 29, 2012 | 16 comments

 

ztroublesomediapershirt1

 

 

I’m still frantically making  toddler toys for Operation Christmas Child so I haven’t had time to write up a new post.  Getting all 50 of these in-the-hoop stuffed dolls and animals out the door is my highest priority right now.   As soon as they are finished, I can get back to stitching baby girl things for our newest granddaughter, due at Christmas.  So this re-run will have to do for now.

It seems especially appropriate, since it is our daughter Rebecca’s baby we are eagerly awaiting.  Read below to see why.

This little diaper shirt will be pulled out of the special items packed away after granddaughter Laurel outgrew them.  To go with it, I’m going to make a pair bloomers with an eyelet edge.  Do you think yellow gingham or solid?

Oooh, I cannot wait to see this precious, long-awaited baby in smocked and heirloom clothing.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Babies are always more trouble than you thought – and more wonderful. Charles Osgood

Even 5 year old Laurel is well aware of the first part of this sentence.  Babies are, in her words, “a LOT of trouble!” Recently, for a homeschool social studies lesson, Continue reading →

16 Comments

Posted in hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, smocking

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Sewing in the Mountains

Posted on August 15, 2012 | 11 comments

My dear husband and I are enjoying some quiet time here at our cabin  in North Carolina.

Mountainside Cabin on Seven Devils Mountain

Now, the mountains are covered with these flowers that look like yellow black-eyed Susans.  But I don’t know what they are called. Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in heirloom sewing, infant clothing, smocking, uncategorized

Beach Portrait Dress #2

Posted on August 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Gorgeous little girl, gorgeous dress, gorgeous photo!

Preparations for the Christmas arrival of Grandbaby Girl #2 has me up to my neck in stacks and scraps of  fabric, patterns and trims.  Pink microcheck, white baby wale Swiss pique, Swiss flannel and the pretty floral that arrived from Chadwick Heirlooms are all in various stages of readiness.  So right now, there is nothing to show you from my sewing room.

But as always, Judy Day is cranking out beautiful projects at breakneck speed and  she is willing to share.

Remember the pretty white beach portrait dress that she made in a workshop with Lezette Thomason? That beauty now hangs in the closet granddaughter  Courtney.   Now, Judy has finished a second one in soft mint  green for granddaughter Kennedy, shown above.

Made of white Swiss batiste or easy care mint green Imperial,  this is a classic dress, especially suitable for older girls. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, heirloom sewing, Judy Day's creations

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Baby Slip

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 14 comments

Swiss flannel Old Fashioned Baby slip with hand embroidery—yes, I embroidered this by hand!  Here at the cabin, this quilt was the only thing I could find to use as a background.

While we at here our cabin in North Carolina, I am enjoying some uninterrupted sewing time.  This is the first project I have finished (except for buttons and buttonholes) for Grandbaby Girl #2, due around Christmas.   December weather in Florida could be 28 or 90 degrees.   So for a start, I am planning several daygowns and at least one Swiss flannel slip for cool days.

This should have been a quick and easy project, but it has taken me several days.  Once again I am actively pursing the achievement of an acceptable feather stitch.  I think I just barely made the grade this time, but it took me FOREVER!!!!  First, I had to study all my embroidery books and then go to on-line tutorials and finally YouTube demonstrations. Continue reading →

14 Comments

Posted in baby accessories, hand embroidery, heirloom sewing, infant clothing, uncategorized, White Wednesday