Finding Mr. Right

It is funny that I am posting this project in the week of my wedding anniversary. However, I made these for friends of my parents, celebrating their golden anniversary! Wow- 50 years is a real accomplishment! My Mom and Dad wanted a little gift, so I suggested pillowcases with these fun sayings. The gold thread makes it special for a 50th anniversary!

 This design was a freebie on Sew Forum. It stitched perfectly and is really wrinkle-free, though it looks a bit wrinkly in the picture. The couple I made these for loved them! Do you have any funny sayings you like to embroider? I'd like to hear about them.
Linking to White Wednesday at Faded Charm. 

Tidbits

Hi Friends,
I was just looking over the past couple of weeks' pictures and I realized why I haven't had time to post what I've been up to...because I've been so busy! We recently joined our local Y and I've been taking the kids there 2 or 3 nights a week plus on Sunday. We went to my Hubby's company picnic last weekend, we went apple-picking, and to Old Home Days for our town. The kids have been busy with friends, school, clubs, etc. We are having a lot of fun; we just don't have much free time. I'm sure you can relate!

Getting up at 5:45 to get the kids ready for school has its rewards. I had this beautiful sunrise out my back window this week!
The little bit of stitching I have done has been in "bits and pieces". I completed a varsity feltie embroidered shirt for my daughter last night, but she wore it to school today, so I don't have any pictures.
I have been organizing my fabric. A friend on Martha Pullen forum suggested a way to fold the fabric and store it in bins. I tried it and it's wonderful. I can see exactly what I have.

These bins are shallow (about 4" deep) and the fabric is folded like fat quarters. I have 2 bins nearly full and probably will fill 2 or 3 more. This should inspire me to get stitching!!
I also started sewing the 1919 romper. I need to get this finished, because I signed up to test the Ellie Inspired vest pattern, which should arrive any day, and I plan to make it for Davy to match this romper for Andy.

 

I also spent a few minutes crocheting a baby cap. Busy Mom Designs is having a crochet it forward offer, so I decided to participate. This little cap is made from worsted weight yarn and only took about 1/2 hour. I have donated it to a local baby charity.

Well, I hope to get more things completed soon! Have a great weekend!

Kit & Ruthie

When Kit the American Girl movie came out in the summer of 2008, the girls and I had a tea party for some of our friends. I made dresses for both girls to match the style of Kit's birthday dress and Ruthie's meet me dress.
For Kit's dress, I started with an A-line sloper and made a simple zip-back dress. I cut the front in 2 pieces and made a scalloped edge on one side with piping. I overlapped them and stitched most of the way down. The collar is an antique that I had bought on ebay. I found the fabric at Joann's and it seemed like a good 30s style print at a low price.
For Ruthie's dress, I made a blouse and skirt. It actually buttons down the front and the skirt has a simple elastic waist.

I also made aprons for everyone who came to the tea party. I used fabrics and trims I had on hand. I didn't use any patterns, just gathered and added waistbands. I had so much fun making aprons for a few weeks. These are the aprons that are featured on a clothesline for my avatar! In some other post, I'll show them in more detail.
We had a great time at the tea party on our porch. We used china and silver and had fresh flowers. I just watched the Kit movie the other day and remembered our tea party. I hope the girls have great memories of that day!

May, 1936 Dress Styles

I have a bunch of things to show you, but I haven't had a minute of free time lately. For now, I'll show you some beautiful illustrations from May, 1936.

CSI: Sewing

Enhanced by my CSI like photo-editing capabilities!

 During Hurricane Irene last weekend, we lost power for a day and a half. To satisfy my sewing craving, I traced a pattern for a vintage romper that I want to make Andy for the fall. While tracing the lower back, I noticed a strange tan mark that looked like....yes....a baby's hand print!

Here's a picture of Andy's little hand next to the print on the pattern; they are about the same size! I imagine that a Mother in 1919 was making this pattern for her little boy and he put his hand on the piece. After nearly 100 years, the oils from his hand darkened into this amazing print. I love this pattern even more knowing that it has this little bit of history on it. Here's the pattern I'm making:

I found a soft-as-flannel houndstooth brown and tan cotton and I have brown velveteen for the trim. I will make the long sleeve version and try to find some wooly knee socks to go with it. 


I hope you enjoyed this episode of CSI: Sewing!

September Means Back to School

In our part of the country, school starts just before labor day. I know that's later than much of the heirloom sewing world. This year, Pete is in 10th grade at the High School, Katie is in 8th at the Middle School, Rosie is in 6th at the Upper Elementary, Davy is in 1st at the Lower Elementary, and Andy is home with Mommy. You can imagine that I spend much of my day driving to and fro for carpool. We are very blessed to have wonderful schools with amazing teachers! Rosie and Davy have "re-run" teachers that we love! I was surprised when Davy said he would like me to ME a t-shirt for his first day of school. Do you remember the photo school bus shirt I made for his first day of kindergarten?
This year I chose a "1st Grade Rocks" design from Embroidery Boutique. It stitched beautifully, though it took a little while because I made the 6x10 size with 23,000 stitches.

Davy's teacher sent me an email that he had a great day and she loved his shirt!

I'm hoping to spend at least some of this long weekend sewing and I have something really interesting to show you in my next post!