Hurrah! Christmas clothes for our two younger grandchildren were finished, shipped and received late last week. Toddler Vivian Rose’s white Swiss flannel bishop has the neck and sleeve bound with in red gingham pima cotton. Heirloom lace is hand whipped to the bias binding.
The smocking design is just a simple diamond pattern that I made up as I stitched. Continue reading
Brown gingham checks (not black, as it appears) border the towels, embroidered by 10 yo granddaughter, Laurel. The towels are from All About Blanks, my favorite on-line source for blanks.
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and I hope it was your best one yet. We all have so much for which to be thankful. No matter what our circumstances, we all can look around our town, our country and around the world to see others so much less fortunate. So we Americans celebrate our many blessings with family and friends, around a table heavy laden with favorite holiday food.
Norman Rockwell captured the spirit of the day in this 1946 picture.
Some celebrate in the traditional manner, as shown above. Others dine in a more contemporary style, as shown below.
Someone else captured another way to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Either way, most of us celebrate our good fortune. Continue reading
Lately, I’ve been busy checking off a few items on my to-do list by making purses requested by my 10 yo granddaughter,Laurel. She is delighted with each and every one.  Most were sewn using Zippy Designs in-the-hoop purse patterns. I really like this collection which comes in three shapes and multiple sizes.
From Zippy Designz Rik Rak purse design, I made this Gator bag for granddaughter to carry to the big game. It goes with the vest shown below. After I took this picture I remembered that I had a card of gator button from Farmhouse Fabrics. Now one of those buttons hangs from the orange ribbon loop.
It’s always hot for the first games of the season so she wore this retail vest with a Gator blue shirt.
After the Gator bag, Laurel asked me to make purses to go with her church dresses. She has asthma and allergies so she needs to carry an inhaler and handkerchief with her, along with the required hair brush. I always pack her purses with Dove chocolates which she shares with her friends at Sunday School. Continue reading
Posted in bags, girls, machine embroidery, sporting gear
“Candy Corn Cutie” design is from Embroidtique.
Children’s Corner Jane has got to be one of my all-time favorite patterns. When it comes to play clothes or holidays with a short-wearing season, this is my go-to.
It is so quick and easy that I made two Jane tops for toddler granddaughter Vivian Rose. Two!!!!
Poor placement of text on fabric. It would have been so much more readable if it had been embroidered on the almost white stripe.
This sparkly trick or treat bag is a sweet girlie spin on the holiday that is rife with ghoulish images. What little girl doesn’t love feminine Minnie Mouse, on a broom no less, wearing a coral colored witch’s hat? And do you know anybody who doesn’t love candy corn?
This project began with a basic black tote 14″ x 14″. The side and bottom seams were opened first and then the Trick or Treat text was embroidered.
Since the embroidery unit was still attached, the next step was to hoop up orange felt and embroider Minnie as she sails past the moon. The design was inserted into one of the built-in frames on my Quattro. The excess felt was cut away near the black satin stitching and the piece was put aside. Continue reading
Posted in bags, Disney projects, Holiday Projects, machine embroidery
As I’m sure you have noticed, the stores have been jam packed with Halloween costumes, decorations and jack ‘o lanterns for a month now. With all that pumpkin exposure, I couldn’t help but get in the mood to make something to celebrate the season.
I’ve always found that the orange and black signature color scheme just too grim. But with the addition of purple, the entire Halloween mood is lifted, at least for me.
And my goodness, the fabrics!!!! In addition to the adorable prints, the currently very popular burlap is available in a rainbow of colors, printed with text, and to my delight, with orange polka dots. Now that was something I could work with. Continue reading
I like the way the rick rack bordered yo-yo sun turned out but wish I had placed it further to the side.
Though we’ve been extraordinarily busy, we took a moment to enjoy our first sort-of fall day here in Central Florida. We actually turned off the AC and our hairy dog Hannah enjoyed napping on the breakfast porch instead of inside.
But after that brief moment, I was off to our son’s house to work on costumes. Our 10 yo drama-loving granddaughter, Laurel, has written a woodland play which is in high gear production now. As director, she had her cast of 8 girls alternately rehearsing and working on their leafy, nature-themed costumes.  I was busy sewing a shaggy white fleece stripe down the chipmunk’s brown hoodie and making a pastel colored mane for the unicorn. Who knew that 25 years after purchasing a fringe fork I would finally need and use it?
It was such fun to see all those junior thespians alternately rehearsing their scenes and working on their fairy, gnome, and evil witch’s outfits. They had scored big at the local Goodwill where they found most of the foundations for their costumes.
But back to fall and the beach baby outfit. Continue reading
Posted in Disney, Disney projects, infant clothing, machine embroidery
Tagged beach baby, Brother Nemo, machine embroidery, Nemo, Nemo baby, Nemo embroidery, yo-yo's
Making these table linens was a nice break from sewing for my granddaughters. Fine white linen is paired with lime green and embroidered with a fun blue fish. This color combination reminds me of the beach, just 30 miles away.
Sitting on the screened breakfast porch, looking out over our front yard with this table setting made me just as happy that I was not roasting on Daytona Beach and scanning the waterfront for sharks. It’s very peaceful on my porch. I enjoy pulling out dishes and napkins that coordinate with the setting.
Linen is one of my favorite fabrics and Madeira applique’ is one of my favorite sewing techniques. Add pinstitching and embroidery–well, just let me tell you I was having a big time! I never once missed lace or a girlie angle. If there is any interest, I would be happy to put up a Madeira applique tutorial. Let me know if you would find that helpful. Continue reading
This bright little outfit features one of Disney’s favorite princesses, Ariel. Another new Brother design, it is impressively fresh and current.
The pattern for the top is the girl’s jumper from Applique, Martha’s Favorites. Continue reading
Posted in Disney, Disney projects, girls, machine embroidery
Tagged Ariel, machine embroidery, new Disney designs
Have you seen Brother’s new Disney designs? I absolutely love them. So many of them are fresh and contemporary, so well suited to the styles of the day. As you can see, Minnie is not just black and red any more, but she could still rock those colors if you like.
