Category Archives: home dec

Alastair’s Stocking

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At last, Alastair’s Christmas stocking is finished.  I’m generally pleased with it, but as always, if I were to do it over I’d make some changes.

The Santa in flight embroidery design is from Babylock’s Christmas Collection II. The intricacy and shading has tremendous appeal to me, but the real clincher was the inclusion of Rudolph in the sleigh’s team of  reindeer.

I have always enjoyed adding details to an embroidery and this one gave plentiful opportunity.  A seed bead has been stitched to Rudolph’s nose, a detail that will be overlooked by most, but not Hawk-Eye Alastair.

 

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He will also finger the tiny bells stitched to the reindeer harnesses.  They were a little large, but just how realistic do you have to be with a design like this?

Another addition is a tiny soldier button to Santa’s pack.  I’d like to have included more toy buttons, but only the soldier was a suitable size.

Edging the black ultrasuede stocking body is red and white double mini piping.  The ultrasuede was purchased years ago to make wine bags for my oenophile brother.

 

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Heirloom Ornament

I would love to have a  tree loaded with heirloom Christmas balls.  But it is already loaded with ornaments made by my children and grandchildren and other special keepsake decorations.  Still, I enjoyed making this one by hand while  taking a break from holiday machine sewing.

The styrofoam ball was simply divided into four parts, then three quarters were filled with puffing.  The fourth features a shadow embroidery design done by hand.  Continue reading

Generic Gifts

In addition to all the gift giving for family and friends, the Christmas season always brings occasions where a small gift is needed for teachers, the office party, club or other group gift exchange.  I’ve finally come up with a few generic gifts, appropriate for just about anyone.

My stash includes a stack of linen guest towels, ready and waiting for holiday embellishment.  I’ve just begun working on a few, two for specific gatherings and a few more to have on hand for a last minute need.

Usually, my  time saving goal is to embroider the same design on all  towels.  But there are so many gorgeous Christmas designs that I cannot help but sample from several collections.  I’ve started out this year with a holly wreath from Sparkling Christmas by one of my favorite designers, Sue Box www.suebox.com.  As expected, it stitched out perfectly with almost no jump stitches.

Bob will take this to his office party next week.  I feel rather smug to have this done in advance.  Now, I’d better get back to Alastair’s almost-done Christmas outfit.

Little Santa Workshop

 

turn-tube Christmas pillowcase for Cousin Mikey

Today was the official opening of our Little Santa Workshop.  Newly empowered by success in the workshop and at the sewing machine and puffed up with confidence,  Robert and Laurel have composed a very long list of friends and family members for whom they intend to make gifts.  Trying not to put a damper on their enthusiasm and generosity, I suggested that we prioritize the recipient list and begin right away.  So we did.

There are so many quick and easy sewing projects that I think Laurel just might be able to check off most of the names on her list.  Coming up with comparably simple projects for the 5 year old “shopper,” Robert’s title for  his woodworking persona,  presents a greater challenge.

Today, Laurel made a Christmas pillowcase for one of her cousins.  The turn-tube decorative hem technique is detailed in an earlier post  Even with her little Brother set at a very low speed, Laurel finished this pillowcase in less than an hour.  Continue reading

Thanksgiving ’10

Alastair at home after dinner

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving day with our daughter and her husband’s family.  In addition to the tenderest pork roast this side of the Mason-Dixie line,  standard Thanksgiving fare was offered, including turkey and all the trimmings.

89 year-old Ruby again delighted but did not surprise us with her dee-vine Florida pear cobbler, chocolate pecan pie and blackberry cobbler.  Everything was delicious beyond words, except for the pumpkin cheese cake I made.  The gingersnap pecan crust was burned and I don’t know why.

But with a few of my ordinary but satisfactory pumpkin pies and Ruby’s contributions, there was no shortage of desserts.

In his turkey suit, Alastair, of course, stole the show from the roasted bird.  With his good looks and sweet nature, this little boy does not need cute clothing to win everyone’s attention. But he was precious in his black and white houndstooth check suit, made up from the John-John pattern in Martha’s Favorite Applique’s book by Martha Pullen.

The turkey design from the Autumn Harvest collection by Designs by JuJu was added to the front, enabling the John-John to be worn beyond Thanksgiving day.  I hope to get another button-on embroidered for other occasions. Continue reading

Hideaway Hanger

A hideaway hanger is a fabulous travel accessory.  With a zippered pocket concealed beneath the scallops, it provides a secure place to hide jewelry and other valuables when you are staying in a hotel.  I’ll never forget when a teacher at a huge sewing school had all of her jewelry stolen while she was in class.  A hanger like this might have prevented that heart wrenching theft.

This classic heirloom style hanger is packed in my suitcase every time I go out of town, a lovely and useful gift from my dear friend Barbara Chatelaine of Baton Rouge.   It was stitched on her beloved Pfaff 7570.  Barbara is an incredibly talented sewist, a fabulous cook–her shrimp etouffee is legendary–and altogether a delightful and charming Cajun lady.

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She declares this to be an easy project.  By simply tracing the outline of a wooden hanger, a pattern can be drawn.  Add a seam allowance and trace the shape onto fabric which has been pressed onto an iron-on low loft bonded batt.  The batting gives the cover body as well as  cushions and disguises the contents of the hanger.  Before cutting it out, embroider a monogram or other design.  Or just leave it plain. Continue reading

Margaret Tully Sews

This past weekend Margaret Tully taught a class at the Sewing Garret in South Daytona.  As always, she was delightfully entertaining while she teaching her students fabulous techniques and tips.

I was unable to stay for the sit and sew portion, but snapped these pictures of some of her inspiring samples.

Margaret is best known for her serging expertise, but she is equally adept with sewing.  The creativity and variety of her samples shows just how diverse her talents are. Continue reading

Model Bedroom

 

Home dec projects appeal to everyone.  Whether or not we have little ones to sew for, each of us has a bedroom where we seek a calm and quiet atmosphere, away from the demands of our busy days.

This model bedroom was done for the Springfield, MO,  Babylock dealer, BSewInn, by my friend Judy Day.  Her unfailing good taste, skillful color coordination and attention to detail make this model bedroom a soothing refuge.  It is both classic and contemporary.

There are several other items in this grouping, but they will be posted at a later date.  There is so much meat in the pieces shown that any more items would make for a very lengthy post. Continue reading

Grid Quilt

Recently, there was a post entitled Flannel Board Quilting.  This quilt a variation of that technique which I so enjoy.

The technique of what I call flannel board quilting requires a solid fabric (a wholecloth quilt top) with a carefully measured grid for placement of raw edged pieces.  These are then stitched in place and the raw edges covered with decorative stitching.  It is a simple, almost primitive technique, though there is nothing primitive about this quilt.  Continue reading

Madeira Applique’ Pillowcase Renovation

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The Madeira hem is actually a taupe/tan color, not gold as it seems in this photo.

My daughter Rebecca has always loved fine linens. When she went to University of Florida, the non-standard size dormitory bunk beds could only be encased in tee-shirt knit or rough polyblend sheets. So I custom made pima cotton sheets for her. Otherwise, my sweet princess declared, she just didn’t know how she would sleep. I was tempted to put a pea under her mattress before she left home to prove without a doubt that she was royal. Maybe I didn’t really want the answer to that question.

When she and Harvey married, she was delighted but not surprised when he brought a set of glorious 1000 thread count cotton sheets to their marital linen closet. This luxurious bedding was just one more quirky affirmation of the newlyweds’ compatibility.

Purchased in 2004 and washed weekly since then, the linens are showing signs of wear, most notably the pillowcases. When Becca brought her pillow along on our trip to North Carolina, I saw just how shabby it had become. But even when offered my favorite pima cotton, she was unwilling to replace it, noting their unique dense but almost velvet texture. Continue reading