What a wonderful organization Operation Christmas Child is! Shoe boxes filled with age/gender appropriate gifts are given to children who might otherwise receive no gifts on this most special holiday. These are children in war torn areas, in refugee camps, and in areas of disaster like the Philippines.
The tiny figure in the road just in front of our cabin is Alastair, 4, examining a fuzzy caterpillar.
What a delightful week we just spent at our cabin in the North Carolina Mountains. Except for grandson Alastair, it was a girls’ getaway. With my daughter Rebecca,
Rebecca and Alastair
her 9 month old daughter Vivian Rose,
Vivian Rose in her warm bunny jammies, protecting her from the bitter 34 degree weather.
Posted in girls, infant clothing, machine embroidery, Nana fun
Laurel encouraged Alyssa. The girls sewed in their pajamas until long past bedtime.
What a fabulous weekend we had!  Two grandchildren are a bundle of fun, but including a third child added so much to the equation.
Additionally, I had that pleasure of introducing that child to the wonders of sewing!
When my granddaughter learned that her good friend Alyssa had been asking for sewing lessons, Laurel asked if she could invite her to spend the weekend with us. We all had a grand time.
If you would like this Scripture, post your request as a comment. The design will be e-mailed to you.
We started with embroidery because she had a specific project in mind for her pastor father. He recently answered a call to another church and she wanted to embroider one of his favorite Scripture verses to hang in the new office.
Psalm 19:14 was not in my now very extensive collection of Bible verse designs—thank you Designs by JuJu and Sew Bird’s Stitches–so I worked up the text quickly and easily with my Brother PE-Design.  It certainly is appropriate for a preacher. Continue reading
Kind hearts are the gardens,
Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the blossoms,
Kind deeds are the fruits.
~19th century rhyme used in primary schools
Robert finishing up a dishtowel for his mother.
Like every grandchild, our 8 year old grandson Robert is beautiful, brilliant and extraordinary in every way. Let me share a story about this little guy, his kindness and his hope. Never fear, as you can see from this photo, there is a sewing connection.
Some time ago in Sunday School the children filled clay pots with paper flowers made with their own little hands. Additionally, each child made a card to accompany his floral arrangement. The next Sunday, these were delivered next door to residents of the senior apartment complex, which is a mission of our church. Robert and his sister Laurel were not in town with us that weekend, so they did not participate in the delivery or meet the recipients.
A week later, a thank you note for Robert was received at the church office. An office volunteer reported that “a little old lady shuffled all the way over here with her walker” to deliver the note. The carefully printed card expressed thanks for the flowers and especially for the message which Robert had chosen, “God is always with you.” Each child had selected his own greeting without suggestion. Most said “Have a nice day,” or “God bless you,” but Robert had another thought.
He was absolutely delighted with the note which was signed “Miss Charleine, #752.”
The next week he decided to bring Miss Charleine a bouquet of real flowers after church. He was excited about meeting his new friend. I did not call ahead for fear Miss Charleine would feel obliged to offer cookies or whatever. We would just stop briefly. Continue reading
Posted in embroidery blanks, machine embroidery, Nana fun, uncategorized
hostess gift part 1
Our family has just enjoyed a fabulous week of fun and sun at the beach.
perpetual motion beach babies playing with their new friends
With friends at church we traded a week at their oceanfront condo for a week at our cabin in the mountains. Just 30 miles from home, the condo was conveniently located and the perfect place for a family gathering.
One reason it is so relaxing was that cars are not allowed on this section of the waterfront, unlike most of Daytona Beach.  The children were able to run around and dig anywhere that seemed deserving of a deep hole. Meanwhile, I sat under the beach umbrella with my daughter Rebecca and baby Vivian Rose who was mesmerized by the waves and the pelicans.
The designs are from Dakota Collectibles Shell collection.
As a thank you/hostess gift, I embroidered some kitchen and fingertip towels for the condo. Continue reading
Nat King Cole sang, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer…”
I haven’t seen much lazy this summer, and I have never seen hazy Florida humidity as visible as in these photos. It was steamy out at the clothesline today! I have seen plenty of “crazy,” but I’m not even going to start on that.
In earlier posts, there has been discussion about the utility end of sewing. Not everything we stitch is beautiful or creative or unique. Sometimes it is just what is needed. And according to my daughter, her children needed laundry bags. So that’s what I sewed. Continue reading
Posted in baby accessories, bags, machine embroidery, Nana fun
For Laurel’s 9th birthday I finally finished smocking this nightie.  The matching gown for her American Girl Molly had long since been done.  But when little Vivian Rose was born I was wrapped up making baby girl things, so this project was pushed to the back burner. I was so glad to have both pink things out of my sewing room.
Like the Molly’s nightgown, Laurel’s has a machine embroidered heart in the unsmocked area at center front. The designs are from Martha Pullen’s Little Pleasures collection which includes two nearly identical hearts in two sizes. A little editing made them match almost perfectly. Laurel notices and appreciates details like that.
Antique textiles offer so much creative inspiration. Suzanne Sawko and I found this elaborate antique bib at the once-in-a-lifetime estate sale mentioned in earlier posts. It appears to have both machine and hand stitches on a fabric similar to light weight pima broadcloth or a heavy weight Swiss batiste. Continue reading
crying Karoline
My mother, Dollie Manning, was a very gifted doll maker. Years ago, she made the as many as 80 porcelain dolls for each of the Sewing for Dolls events that Mildred Turner, Terri Johnson and I held around the country. Additionally, she provided dolls for several similar schools sponsored by Ellen Nickerson in the San Francisco area. Mom also made tiny 3-8″ dolls that Lezette Thomason marketed and for which Lezette had drafted patterns. Then there were the dolls she made for our daughter Rebecca. That’s a lotta dolls.
When 8 year old granddaughter Laurel discovered that there are 3 storage bins of dolls in the garage, she just had to see them. She was allowed to select one to keep and she chose this very unique baby who had lost a shoe through the years.
You don’t often see a doll crying but Karoline (the name given her by Laurel) had tears that looked real.
The sheen on Karoline’s tears is from clear fingernail polish.
Then I told Karoline’s story to Laurel. Continue reading
Vivian Rose 2 hours old
Hurrah! Baby Girl arrived today, Monday, via C-section weighing in at 8 lbs. 7 oz., measuring 21 “. Mother and Vivian Rose are both happy and well. We are thrilled!
From the moment she was placed in her mother’s arms, she latched on and nursed for almost 2 hours. Of course, it was not non-stop, but she never let her little mouth stray from the source of her contentment. She screamed when she was moved to the opposite side and then went silent when she was in the vicinity of lunch. So she was 2 hours old before we got a good look at her and took this photo.
Rebecca was very pleased with this pink Swiss flannel bishop daygown.
It matches the bonnet made earlier.
