Category Archives: serger

Kid Sew Scarf

Posted on December 31, 2009 | Leave a comment

 For some time now, 5 year old Laurel has been begging to sew.  Yesterday, with Christmas behind us, we finally had a little free time.

Next week she will be going to our family cabin in the mountains of North Carolina so we thought a polar fleece scarf would be useful. She serged the 8″ x 50″ edges with a three-thread wide stitch. This was her first experience with my fabulous Babylock Evolve serger and she took to it like a duck to water. She loved the speed and ease of control.

For many years, I taught sewing to children. There are so many things that I learned about teaching skills and generating enthusiasm. One of the most important considerations is selection of the project, which should be quick and easy, and, in my opinion, foolproof. An earnest junior sewist cannot be allowed to fail. So the scarf seemed to be a safe choice. Continue reading →

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Posted in girls, Kids Sew, machine embroidery, Nana fun, serger

Washaway Tangerine Towel Bag

Posted on December 22, 2009 | 5 comments

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. – Charles Schulz

UPDATED 12/23 

There are so many people who touch our lives, though they are not major players. “Something extra,” can be a small remembrance, a gift to acknowledge but not to oblige.

For our family, fresh fruit from our citrus trees has often filled the bill for small presents. But this year I wanted to focus a little more on presentation.

I thought the addition of an embroidered dishtowel would be something extra. I could have just slipped it into the brown paper bag in which I normally pack the citrus. But then I thought of this specialty thread and decided that a washaway bag was just what I needed.

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Posted in bags, Holiday Projects, home dec, machine embroidery, serger, techniques

Halloween Sewing

Posted on October 27, 2009 | Leave a comment

What have you sewn for Halloween?

Sewing grandmothers–and mothers–are usually busy at their machines in the weeks before this increasingly popular holiday. Until we had grandchildren, I was never one of them.

Both of my children have October  birthdays and every  year they each had a minimum of two parties.  There was one for friends, one for family and some years, one for school classmates. By the time I was done with smocked birthday outfits, dozens of cupcakes, buckets of buttercream frosting, home made age appropriate party favors and accompanying hoopla, I had no creative energy left for Halloween. My children had to rummage around in their closets to come up with their own pathetic costumes.

That was then.  But now I am a card carrying member of the Sisterhood of  October Costume Creators. Continue reading →

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Posted in Holiday Projects, machine embroidery, Nana fun, serger, uncategorized

Book Bag

Posted on October 21, 2009 | Leave a comment

 

Some projects just seem doomed from the get-go.  This book bag for my homeschooled granddaughter is one of those.  It was cut out 8 weeks ago and has been pushed to the bottom of my to-do list again and again, because something else was more urgently needed or there was a problem with the bag that stopped me in my tracks. So I am happy just to have it completed finally.

Nana School book bag

 

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Posted in bags, machine embroidery, school accessories, serger

Spiderman Birthday

Posted on October 3, 2009 | 2 comments

Robert standing in front of his birthday tree which we planted when he was born.

For his fourth birthday party, our grandson Robert decided on two themes, Autobots and Spiderman. It was just too hard for him to chose one over the other, so it was a duo-theme celebration. For this special occasion, I would so love to have made him a button on suit with an heirloom style lace edged collar.

But Robert is a Huckleberry Finn kind of kid– no fuss, no shoes and, if he thinks he can get away with it, no clothes.   He prefers to wear what he calls “short sleeve pants” and loves nothing better than a new Spiderman or transformer shirt. The hugs he gives me when I deliver his “character”  duds make it all worth while.

For his birthday, I made Robert two Autobot and  two Spiderman shirts.   On party day, he grinned from ear to ear as he got dressed in  one of the Spiderman shirts. But he was awestruck when Spiderman himself showed up at the front door.

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Posted in boys, embroidery blanks, machine embroidery, party accessories and ideas, serger

Polar Fleece Monogrammed Throw

Posted on September 25, 2009 | 2 comments

Cpaisleythrow1

As cold weather approaches, I am taking inventory of my polar fleece stash.  It is a fabulous fabric with unbelievable warmth, undeniable ease of care and unfailing popularity. A suitable gift for anyone, a monogrammed polar fleece throw is always a winner.

When one of my oldest and dearest friend moved to Maine—MAINE for heavens sakes!!!!–from our  neighborhood in sunny Florida, I was shocked and a little outraged. She is my son’s godmother and my daughter is her namesake.    How could she, who had loved and lived in Florida for 40+ years, leave Paradise—and us— for the frozen North! I was pretty sure she would freeze to death in her charming but ancient 1880 farmhouse overlooking the ocean, while I was  warm and worrying and missing her here in Florida.

For her August birthday and for a modicum of my own peace of mind, I made this throw for her. At least, I thought, she could curl up in the polar fleece with her cell phone and have a hot pizza delivered to her home. Well, she could if they deliver up there during Maine’s 10 month winter and if they could make it up her steep, icy driveway. But back to sewing……

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Posted in home dec, machine embroidery, serger

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Pack ‘n Play

Posted on September 14, 2009 | 10 comments

Good bye playpen. Hello Pack ‘N Play!

pack play all

As soon as I knew that our first grandchild was on the way, I found myself at Babies R Us in a state of shock. I had birthed, burped, breastfed and badgered two beautiful, bouncing babies into happy, successful adulthood.

And yet here, in the mall of moppets and mothers, I was a stranger in a strange land. Nothing was the same, nothing was familiar. I had less than 6 months to get up to speed, to be knowledgeable about a grandmother’s tools of the trade.

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Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery, serger, techniques

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Turn Tube Pillowcase Hem

Posted on August 25, 2009 | 6 comments

4th parade pillowcase

My grandchildren love having special holiday pillowcases. My personal favorite for bed linens is pima cotton, so I normally use pima for the pillowcase body and a seasonal or novelty cotton print for the contrasting hem.

 

parade pc CN

Photo courtesy of Creative Needle magazine

 

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Posted in home dec, machine embroidery, serger, techniques, turn tube hem

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Teepee Bags

Posted on August 17, 2009 | 6 comments

pony bags

 

These little teepee bags, whose zippers are approximately 8″ long, were party favors for granddaughter Laurel’s 5th birthday, a My Little Pony/Unicorn party. Ignorant as  about all things Pony, this Nana was on a steep learning curve.  Only when Laurel became enamored of the hairy, rubberized little equines did I realize that I needed to check it out.  Continue reading →

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Posted in bags, machine embroidery, party accessories and ideas, serger, techniques, Tutorials

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Harry Potter Nursery

Posted on August 10, 2009 | 6 comments
HarryPotterquilt

More details about the quilt are posted here.

 

When my daughter and son-in-law got the good news that they were to be first time parents, they requested a Harry Potter nursery.  I was at a loss. How was I to make this look soft enough for a baby and yet maintain the requested theme?  I like heirloom style and soft colors.  Harry Potter is neither.

With all the visual fodder in the lengthy 7 book series, it was necessary to narrow the focus.

Keeping in mind that Rebecca specifically requested bright colors, I went to the drawing board.  I like to start a nursery decoration plan with a quilt.  That establishes the color scheme and allows many spin offs and opportunities for accessories.

After deciding on “fantastic creatures” I set to work, looking for designs that could be edited and customized to meet the description of critters from unicorns and fairies (the easy ones) to a thesteral, Pygmy Puff and snidget. Continue reading →

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Posted in baby accessories, machine embroidery, quilts, serger

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