A preview of Katelyn's new dress

It was a rare moment of demonstrated affection, but I was so happy to catch it on my camera! Issa's polka dot dress is from last spring, made from Children's Corner Charlotte, and it is lined with a soft pink gingham. I love the little angel sleeve and it has a tiny pocket on her right side. I am going to use this pattern for Katelyn this spring; the dress is cut out and on my sewing machine right now. Barbara at the Atlanta Sewing Center shared a tip with me last spring when I was having trouble with the pocket. I added rick rack to the top of the pocket then used a piece of solvy to stitch around it. Then I just put a slit in the middle of the solvy, turned it on the stitch line, and had a perfectly rounded bottom! Who knew? But then with a lifetime of sewing, Barbara is full of useful little sewing ideas.

He loves me...he loves me not...

This romper was made from a Children's Corner pattern, Hank and Helen. The soft blue cotton seems to be so comfortable, and I loved the little ribbon flower. The stem is made from two pieces of rick rack intertwined with each other, the leaves are gingham applique, and the flower is a button with with little petals made from yellow grosgrain ribbon. TRUE CONFESSION: Yes, this romper is precious, and NO, I did not make it! It was a sample hanging on the rack at Sweet Treasures and when I calculated the expense of the fabric and the pattern, it was well worth the price on the tag! Also, the sweet lady who helped me had made the romper, and had cut out some of the fullness through the hips. I think this was a great idea; if you look at the pattern online it is very full.

We had quite a discussion after Issa asked where the rest of the petals were, and I told her that someone must have been playing He loves me, He loves me not. So of course we had to pick some azalea blossoms, and recite it for both of the girls. When Issa's azalea ended in He Loves Me, we got a shy smile, but when Mae's ended she laughed out loud and shouted "Anfony!"

Button, button...

Another fun project to do with our Bernina! Leann saw these in an embroidery shop, stitched out some designs and had a button maker make them for her. The 3 inch buttons, the H and the D, are mirrors on the back, and would be perfect in one of the zippy bags as a gift. The 2 inch G button is for Game Day next fall at UGA. The bag tag is just ribbon with interfacing, a large grommet and a ribbon to tie it to your luggage. So many projects...so little time~

A skirt of many colors

I found another great shop for fabric for children's clothing...Sweet Treasures in Columbus, Georgia. It was a little off my beaten path to the lake, but well worth the detour! I made this precious skirt from 4 inch squares in a Hoopla packet from MODA. The little skirt in the shop was done in pastels, but the primary color packet was left...so I decided to try it! The skirt was made by placing the squares into 3 rows; first 7, then 11, then 16. I matched up the squares as directed, trying to match at least one color in a block to its neighbor. Since I haven't ever threaded my serger, I went to Kathleen's and used her Bernina serger. Got those blocks sewn together in a minute. (I may have to rethink the serger thing.) It was just a matter of gathering the strips and sewing them together. I added a white facing to the inside of the casing so that I would have a little extra length. The skirt in the shop had a bias strip along the bottom, but since I did not have a coordinating fabric in my stash I just added a larger white rick rack at the hem.

Issa modeled the skirt for me before it was completed; I needed to adjust the elastic in the waist a tad, and finished it off with the rick rack hem. She doesn't look exactly overjoyed, but I am sure she is going to love this little skirt!

sweet baby kayla

Precious baby Kayla has been vacationing in the islands this week, and I wanted to have a new little onesie for her to wear on her return to cooler temperatures. The little duck came out nicely, but I wish I had used a darker pink for the lettering. Overall, though, it looks sweet. A onesie is one of my least favorite pieces to embroider. I used a soft beige cut away as a stabilizer, and added a second layer behind the first. I almost forgot the solvy on top, but was able to add it after I began stitching. Finally, I cut a small oval of Floriani Dreamweave and pressed it to the back of the design to be soft next to Kayla's tender skin. Hope I get a picture of her in it!

Bibi's bakers and a fairy sewing room

Not much sewing took place today. Mae's favorite cousin, Katelyn, came to visit, and we were busy baking, pretending, exploring in the backyard and puttering around the house.

Our day began out in the backyard, and I took this picture of a Sweet Shrub bloom while we were outside exploring. The heliboris were plentiful and beautiful, but the deep red sweet shrub bloom caught our eyes and sparked quite a discussion.

This is the chapter from our fairy tale book that described how to make fairy clothes from natural materials in the backyard. We had a discussion about how our flowers might be used by the fairies. The picture to the right shows "A formal gown made from spider silk and plum leaves. Rose petals and seed pearls are added for decoration."

Nap time followed, and after a day with my 3 year old "littles", I can tell you that we all enjoyed our nap.

Tiger Baby

Justin and Krystal are expecting a little boy, so we get to do little boy gifts! Aside from the fact that I did orange and blue, (gag) and will have to clean and oil my sewing machine, it was fun to do little boy gifts. The burp cloths have a fabric border; I got the little diapers from Atlanta Sewing Center and the navy blue was a nice change. I liked the little cowboy applique; it is another CD from Sew Many Designs.

The little boy boxers have an orange A for his last name, certainly not for that college on the plains of Alabama!

Bernina goes to Birmingham

Katelyn and I have had a fun morning putting names on their new little animal bags, Winnie Finnie and Busy Bug. Katelyn pointed out that they were certainly girl bags, because they had eyelashes. We hooped the stabilizer and turned the bags inside out to embroider them. She carefully tapped the names out on the touchscreen of my Bernina; we couldn't use the software because Bibi had forgotten the power cord to he laptop. imagine that. We were a little more limited in our choice of fonts, but we chose blackboard.

The ever observant Katelyn wondered why we did not have an uppercase letter at the beginning of the names; a long discussion followed of why Bibi like the look of lower case letters on her bag.

I will admit, though, that bringing the sewing machine to Birmingham, with the necessary accessories and notions, is no small feat. But the reward of having a sweet granddaughter in my lap helping me sew certainly makes it worth the effort!

Another new Grandma!

 

My friend Rebecca is in Chicago this week, meeting her new grandson, Alden Felder. How wonderful to have a new grandson, and I have a feeling she will be collecting many frequent flyer miles.
Alden's parents went to UNC, so his little burp cloths are Carolina blue. Go Tarheels and Go Alden!

Bluebird Pillowcase dresses

I have been saving these vintage pillowcases to make dresses for my great nieces in San Antonio, Texas. They have a new little brother, Calder, and I wanted to have something special for the sisters. With blue eyes and red hair, all three would have thrilled their great grandmother Lela, who had beautiful wavy red hair and six children with brown and not quite blonde hair. I don't know about my brothers and sisters, but I always felt like I disappointed my mother in the hair department!

Pillowcase dresses are easy to make. I bleached the pillowcases first because they were a little stained, but they are nice and soft and should feel comfy next to soft baby skin. There are lots of patterns on the internet; all you have to do is cut out the armhole, cut the pillowcase to the right length, bind the armhole and put a casing at the top. Running a fun matching ribbon through the casing completes the dress. I have finished one and the other one is upstairs on the ironing board!
I couldn't help but wonder as I was pressing the soft cotton about the hands that did the original embroidery. I wondered who the seamstress was, and where she lived, and who rested their heads on her pretty pillowcases. I wonder if she would be surprised to know that sweet little girls were toddling around in her handiwork. I have a feeling that she would be very pleased.