UFOs....

are no longer visible in the small town of Eclectic Alabama.  These four unfinished objects were completed on my vintage Bernina 830.

1.  Tan slacks..altered

                           2.  Mandy silhouette pillow...completed

           3.  Mae blanket...completed

         4.  Mae plaid silk skirt...fini

The Christmas Skirts are all finished and the Candy Cane quilt just needs to  be quilted and bound.

Yay! I was so thankful for a quiet Sunday, a fire, and a Bernina!  Oh yes, I am Thankful for football games that kept a certain someone busy so that I could sew uninterrupted! And I know Somewhere Out there, Ralph is smiling!

     Love is, above all, the gift of oneself. 
                    ~Jean Anouilh








Sarah had a t-shirt that she has long outgrown, but many times in the last few months it has seemed to reappear on my visits to Birmingham.  Her "present" t-shirt, as she called it, was soft and comfy, so as I was choosing a design for her Christmas t-shirt,  a "present" seemed the only choice.

The first shirt that I did was pink and green with a touch of gold.  It is Sarah's choice of colors and I hope she will enjoy wearing it.  The gold lamee was a scrap that someone had given me, and it made a really cute little bow.  I used a gold metallic thread to satin stitch around the bow, and it stitched just fine as long as I slowed the speed of the machine down.  I added her name to the side of the gift. 

  My second little gift t-shirt was made for little Miss Amelia, whose Mamie has been under the weather and just hasn't felt much like sewing this Christmas season.  While Mamie chose colors and fabrics, I ran the machine and we sewed up skirt to match.

 It is so much more fun to sew with your good friend sitting in a chair beside you !


So Mamie and Goggie drove to visit sweet family and deliver the Christmas attire yesterday.  I sure hope it fits!

Birmingham Baby

If you were to open up a baby's head
-and I am not for a moment suggesting
that you should- you would find
nothing but an 
enormous drool gland.  ~ Dave Barry





A new baby friend has entered this world, and sweet Miss
Elliot must have some burp cloths to catch the inevitable burp and drool.  Here is a quick gift that was sent her way today;  two burp
cloths and a diaper cover for when she is a bit older.

The script monogram is Master Circle, the manuscript is Blackboard, and the ballerina's tutu is one of Martha's Mini's.

A Stocking is Born

The stockings were hung 
by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would be there.
     ~Clement Clarke Moore







While I continue to work on my UFOs,  Santa's Elf in Texas has been busy at her machines making a stocking for the newest addition to her sweet family, Miss Molly.  I asked Kathy how she did  her stockings and she was kind enough to send pictures.

Kathy's first step is to quilt her fabric.  I know that most of us would choose a quilted Christmas print, but this little girl is getting a stocking that matches her sister's, with a beautifully quilted fabric.  On this project, though, since it is going to be lined separately, Kathy quilted just two layers, her print and Warm and White batting.  I am sure she used the guide on her machine to evenly quilt the diagonals onto her fabric.





  Next she cut out the cotton from a pattern that she had drawn, then sew them right sides together.  She did the same with her white cotton lining, then tucked it inside her stocking, wrong sides together.

While the next task would appear to be easy, for me it can take some DEEP THINKING.  She used her pretty read dot, figured WHICH SIDE and WHERE to stitch the name, and added Molly's name to the cuff.  I am sure she used 2 layers of medium wight cut away, since the back of the embroidery will not be seen.  Nice and neat and no puckers!

Once again some figuring out is required.  Her cuff was neatly pressed, stitched into a circle much like she does her pillowcases, and stitched around the top of the stocking and lining. Before stitching she inserted a pretty piece of ribbon, so that Molly can hang her stocking by the chimney with care. This method used to scare me, but careful measuring is all that is required.

This stocking will hang proudly next to her sister's, and I am sure that it is already on a UPS truck somewhere near Chicago.