Tag Archives: machine embroidery

Tween Church Ready

mall-purchased dress, Nana made purse

mall-purchased dress, Nana made purse

 

There have been so many must-do projects in my sewing room that I’m way behind in clothing my granddaughters.  Ten-year-old Laurel has outgrown almost all of her church clothes so we shopped at the mall.

Clearly she is a “tween” now and  not our little girl.  The mall is definitely where it’s at for clothes now.  The good news is that it frees me up to sew for 19-month-old Vivian Rose.  I have had to search  hard to find the silver lining in that black cloud called “growing up.”  Whew, I tell myself!  I needed some help.

But as always, even with ready-to-wear,  some sewing was still required to pull the outfit together.  Before Laurel went to bed Saturday night, we added the white flower but she really wanted a purse for the outfit.

 

purse LF

The lacy heart design is from the Let There Be Love collection by Kreations by Kara. The monogram font is from the 2007 Internet Embroidery Club alphabet by Martha Pullen.

 

She wanted one that would hold her inhaler, a handkerchief and hair brush.  A 6″ x  42″ scrap of heavy linen was lying on the cutting table  along with huge piles of other remnants from earlier projects.  I was lucky that was on top because it was just perfect for the body of the bag.  Had it been buried a little deeper, I might not have found it until the big Spring Sewing Room Clean Up. Continue reading

Patterns~Embroidery Machine Covers

There is good news!  Many readers were interested in the embroidery machine cover   I made for my mother’s Babylock Ellageo several years ago. But the pattern was no longer available.

 

ellageocover

 

Now they are back!  Missi of Skeldale House  went the extra mile to contact the pattern designer, Monica Aderton.  Her site, Monica’s Miscellany, has been down for some time.

This is Monica’s response to Missi’s inquiry: Continue reading

Slumber Party Pillowcases

L cake

Laurel, out of the pool and ready for birthday cake

 

Granddaughter Laurel recently celebrated her 10th birthday at a resort hotel.   Five of her closest friends and a few mothers had a big time enjoying all the activities and amenities typical of a resort hotel.

 

pcs 6

 

For party favors, a pillowcase was embroidered for each girl.  I have been reluctant to post these photos because there is sooooo much puckering in the embroidery.  It was caused by operator error–my use of  inadequate stabilizer.  But the girls were absolutely non-judgemental and seemed to love their personalized gift.

 

six pillowcase party favors

six pillowcase party favors

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Baby’s Easter Slip & Tips

slip 2

slip for Baby’s Easter bow dress

 

This pink slip was made to be worn under granddaughter Vivian Rose’s white batiste Easter dress.  It create a soft pink shadow effect.

 

dress pink2

 

The slip bodice was monogrammed with white thread. Continue reading

Baby’s Easter Dress

dress pink2

Vivian Rose’s white Easter dress with pink slip

UPDATE:  Finally I have a photo of Vivian Rose in her Easter dress.

VR Easter 14 crop

 

NOTE:  Please excuse the poor quality of these photos. They were taken midday, making it nearly impossible to get a shot without shadows.  The breeze was blowing and the dress kept moving.  And photography is not my strong suit.

Are you all busy with Easter sewing?  Busy, busy, busy has been the status around here for some time and it’s not been all about sewing.  With Aunt Rheeta’s visit,  Rebecca’s 3-day visit with Alastair and Vivian Rose,  and sleepovers with our other two grandchildren, progress on Easter outfits is way behind schedule.  But I loved every minute of these visits and have no regrets.

During that time, however, I did manage to make some progress on  Vivian Rose’s holiday finery and now that things have quieted down, I  have just finished her dress and slip.

 

dress no slip

dress without pink slip

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Rheeta’s Visit ~Sweat Shop or Working Vacation?

Rheeta

Aunt Rheeta has fallen in love with my Brother Quattro.

What a fabulous time we have had with my dear Aunt Rheeta.  She and her little apricot poodle, Molly, visited us here in Florida to escape the bitter Indiana winter and do a little sewing.  As it happened, she did more than a little.  In fact, my sewing room was like a sweat shop.  She accomplished so much!  Having an in-house sewing buddy was such fun.

We worked together, with most of the design arrangement done by me and most of the sewing done by her.    She is no newcomer to machine embroidery, only new to my Brother Quattro which she loved.

Rheeta has several major projects under her belt, including a spectacular embroidered linen communion cloth for her church, an exquisitely embroidered Bible cover and more.

Her primary goal was to finish high school graduation gifts for her granddaughter Alexa, a rising freshman at Texas A & M.  Rheeta’s first project was the requisite college fleece throw in school colors.

Edges are finished with a 3-thread wide serge.

Edges are finished with a 3-thread wide serge.  We didn’t worry about the wrinkles as the blanket was soon be packed tightly into her over packed suitcase for the trip home to Indiana.

 

The embroidery is Applique Market’s College Double Applique Alphabet.  As you can see, Rheeta used only the outline.  I love this versatile collection which comes with letters in

Since her acceptance letter,  Alexa has dressed her 4 lb. dog in a tiny, maroon, Texas  A & M shirt.  Certainly, she will be pleased with this fleece blanket.

 

Rheeta's granddaughter is, indeed, Princess of Quite a Lot of Laundry!

Rheeta’s granddaughter is, indeed, Princess of Quite a Lot of Laundry!

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Nap Time and Too Many Children on Parade

cot sheet all

cot sheet for Vivian Rose, made of heavy pink twill with a border of Children on Parade by Michael Miller

Valentine NEWSFLASH!!! Sarah Jane, the fabric designer for Children on Parade and many other adorable prints, has posted on her blog a downloadable PDF for an absolutely adorable, printable (4 to a sheet) kids’ Valentine card. With Olympic hearts and a gold chocolate coin taped to the back, it will delight all your children’s friends. Check it out here.  Thanks, Mary Sue, for the link!~~~~~~~

Our 13 month old granddaughter, Vivian Rose, is now enrolled at a Montessori school two days a week.   After the first day, I called her mother, my Rebecca, to see how it went.  When she said it hurt to hear Baby Girl wailing as she did, I sympathized and said it must have been hard to leave her.

“NO!” Rebecca said. “She cried and cried when I picked her up! She didn’t want to leave!  When I dropped her off she gave me not a single backward glance and toddled off to the play area.  That hurt a little.”  Vivian Rose is one independent little girl.

 

The font is JuJu's Sugar and Spice. Isn't it so cute?

The font is JuJu’s Sugar and Spice. Isn’t it so cute?  The set comes with numerals, upper case and lower case in 3″, 5″ and 6″ sizes.  The letters had to be staggered in order to fit in my largest (8″ x 12″) Brother Quattro hoop.

 

But like all of the “Ones” in her baby class, she has a scheduled nap time.   For that, Rebecca asked for a personalized cot sheet, much like those I had made for Big Brother Alastair and his friend Carson.

My Oh My, so sew much drama ensued.

But first, I have to ask if you have seen this most adorable dress made by Cheryle Cole-Bennett whose facebook page is  SeeSeeMe Custom Designs.

 

jenni-leigh-play-fabric

The fabric is Michael Miller’s Children on Parade.

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Another Precious Child…

precious corner 2X

Our congregation is celebrating the birth of yet another precious baby.  Due to some complications, little Laura Jane came into the world a month before her due date.  At just over 4 lbs., this pocket sized preemie spent her first ten days in the hospital.

Two weeks later and now at home, Laura Jane weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz.  Hurrah!

As a deacon of our church, one of my responsibilities is to welcome new babies with a gift, hence, this blanket.  I love my job, but wish we had more newborns!

The delicate pink color of the ready made 100% cotton flannel blanket is much like the blush color of sweet baby cheeks.  The flannel’s heavy but luxurious texture made the embroidery process a real delight.

The text was arranged in Brother’s PE-Design.  The little angel cherubs are from Petite Designs, Brother’s card #20, one of my most often used collections. The corner embroidery nestled perfectly in my Brother Quattro 8×8 hoop.

 

bib corner Continue reading

Stocking Gallery

stocking gina all

a quick charity fundraiser project

Where’s Waldo?  Where has www.janicefergusonsews.com  been?  According to my savvy son-in-law, the problem was with my server. Humphhhh, no tip for this server. But this blog is back and so am I and I have so much to share with you.

While the blog was down, I have been doing a lot of sewing.  Many of the Christmas projects are finally finished and ready for the big day. 

Do you all make a lot of stockings?  Have you made one for each member of the family?  Do you enjoy stitching these?  It seems everywhere I look in the sewing world, stockings are being cranked out in great numbers.  It seems some families like to purchase or make new stockings each year. 

It’s a one-time shot for the Fergusons.  In this family, you get one stocking and you darn well better like it.  Or you can get your own from Cracker Barrel or WalMart. No do-overs from me.

Alastairstocking

Because I make just one, well except for grandson  Alastair’s temporary stocking.  But that was a special situation.

AlChristmastockingwhole Continue reading

Quick Christmas Toys~OCC

OCC table banner

 

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.

 

OCC stuffies

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