War Pups

For what avail the plough
 or sail, or land or life,
 if freedom fail?
              ~Ralph Waldo Emerson                               

   This little project is near and dear to my heart for so many reasons.  As  you can see there is nothing really complicated about it, but the cause just gives me warm fuzzies.  First of all, it was for my daughter's childhood best friend, and even though they have been separated by miles since their high school graduations, they continue to stay close and enjoy watching their children develop  friendships. 

    I never could have completed 50 of these little burp cloths without the help from friends, and a sweet friend from the company Darn It All digitized the design and  saw to it that the embroidery was completed.  This would have taken quite some time even on my speedy Bernina 780, with just one needle, so Linda had them completed  on a multi head machine.  Lin and her trusty little snips helped me cut lots of  stray threads.

  Most importantly, it is heartwarming to think of the little ones who will be wrapped in love by mommies wiping up spit ups and burps with these little cloths.

   And so many fine men came to mind as I sewed.  My father and Uncle Earl who were so proud to serve as marines.  Mary's husband and Lin's Daddy. Lots and lots of love went into this little project, that is for sure, andI loved doing it.

Easy Zip Pouch

Zip it Up!

     I'm going to teach a class of little girls soon, and during our last class one of the girls requested that they learn to put in a zipper.  I have made several different little pouches with zippers and have decided which one I will use for the class.  I loved a little one that was pieced, but decided it may be a little more difficult than it should be for a beginning sewist.

     I found this little pattern in the Kids' Clubhouse booklet from Babylock.  I thought it might look a little cuter with 2 different black and white fabrics, with the added touch of lime green.  It is made like any of the other fabric pouches that you can find on the internet, but before I sewed up the end seams, I rolled the pouch to get a top closure.  The 2 fabrics are cut 5" by 12", and a stabilizer was used to give the pouch a little structure.  You cannot see the quilting detail, but the fabric is quilted in 1" intervals.  When I make another I think I will use a little heavier interfacing to give the pouch some bulk.

     I'm looking forward to teaching zippers to my little girls, and hope to take away the fear of them that they all seem to feel.  Wish me luck, and I hope I have some cute examples to show you soon!

Infinity Scarves for 4 little girls

Infinity is love that never ends.

  ~Issa Allbritton, age 10

   We made these scarves for one of our Kids Sew Sunday classes at the store, but I had a difficult time separating them from Katelyn and Sarah.

   These scarves were made last winter at Katelyn's home in Birmingham. We measured the length by holding a tape measure from fingertip of the left hand to fingertip of the right hand, going around the neck.  That was the length.  We used a width of 6 inches for Katelyn's scarf and a width of 4 inches for Sarah's.  Then we sewed the loooong side seam,  leaving a space to turn it.  The part that makes this scarf twisty and interesting is sewing the ends together, but not matching the seams like you normally would.  We scooted the seam of one end about halfway around the circle instead .  

   The fun part is... putting the scarf over your head, looping it, and putting the second loop over your head, too.  :)

    

  

Its Mittens! Its a scarf! No! It's a SKITTEN!

                  Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing,

                  The hours pass quickly when I am sewing.

                                               ~Author Unknown

                

Kathy sent me the idea for this class from Becky's Fabrics and Bernina, in Lewiston Idaho!  I actually called the store and asked if they minded if I used their scarf for a class, and they kindly agreed.  You can tell from the photos that you don't really need a pattern...the fun part of this scarf is the dreaded MINKY cloth!!

 My 4 little girls bravely tackled this project.  I cut out the fabric for them; this is a beginner class and I knew the Minky would slip and slide all over the table.  I determined the length by measuring Katelyn, with arms at her sides, from fingertip to fingertip around her neck.  this was the length of the scarf.  I then added an extra 12 inches so that I would have 6 inch pocket on each side, and another inch for seams.  Of course all of these measurements are approximate, but they seemed to work!

So I had 2 different Minkys that I cut to my measurements.  I used contrasting colors, and you can see that she really loves this turquoise and blue combination.  I then let the girls pin the scarves right sides together, we fitted them with pockets and they sewed these down.  Voila!  Not just a scarf, Not just mittens, but SKITTENS!

The saving grace in the construction of this scarf was a walking foot.  The entire scarf was sewn with one and I do think it might not have been possible without it.  A good time was had by all, and I hope that the scarves are being used these cold winter days.

    

I'm Back!

Do not follow where the path may lead.  

Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. 

 ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I took a blog vacation, but after spending some time looking through the past few years with my sewing and my girls, I decided I loved having this little keepsake to look back to from time to time.  They are growing so fast, now they are all loving little girls, no babies or toddlers.  My dress sewing time is limited I can see, but there is an entire world of fun projects to make  after that!




This past Christmas I knew they would want something a little more grown up.  I had decided on dark blue or navy when the American Girl catalog hit my mailbox.  On the front of the catalog was a sequined dress, with some netting and taffeta trim.  It was a little too frou frou for my taste, so I decided to tone it down a little.  I found a pretty blue taffeta from Gail K. on Cheshire Bridge Road, and they had a bolt of sequin fabric that I could use for the sash.  I did some quick figuring and purchased both.  I had in mind silk, but after looking at the price per yard times 4, I knew that was not going to be.

I used Children's Corner LOUISE for the dress; I had to make some pattern alterations for the largest size, but it seemed to come out fine.  I worried about the sash and sequins, but after trying a few different things, my dual feed on by wonderful Bernina 780 and a Titanium needle worked like a charm. 

So my Florida girls got their dresses in the mail, and only one went to Birmingham, as Katelyn politely declined the offer of a Bibi Christmas dress.  I have a picture of the Florida girls here in their dresses; they forgot to bring their dress shoes when they came for their Christmas visit, but I think I like the boots better anyway!