Little Pumpkins For Fall

Inspiration for the "Little Pumpkin" smocking design can be found in the latest issue of Sew Beautiful magazine. I love that pumpkins are suitable all through the Fall, not just one holiday. The lovely orange of the pumpkins also works nicely with many different colors of fabric.

The smocking design can be found in the magazine or on the blog.  The dress is made by pattern #135 and the bubble by #115.

Michie'

Sew Beautiful "Favorite Heirloom Sewing"

What a thrill to have been picked for the latest Sew Beautiful publication "Favorite Heirloom Sewing."  The photos of my garments appeared in the magazine several years ago soon after I started the business.  I was so excited to receive the call that they wanted a selection of garments to choose from.  What an honor it has been over the years to work with the magazine and staff and how sad to hear this week that the magazine is being discontinued this Summer.  It was a corporate decision and I don't believe a reflexion on the interest in sewing. 

I will continue to create and inspire with classic children's  designs in an effort to keep the craft of sewing for our little ones alive and well.

Michie'

 Pattern #111



 Pattern #108, pattern #104, and pattern #119.

 Pattern #106, pattern #124, and pattern #111.

Pattern #114, pattern #113, and pattern #107.



Bubble With Embroidered Anchors

Coming up in the May/June issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine .....a sweet little bubble with Bullion embroidered anchors.  Blue and white gingham around the neck and a tutorial for binding the sleeves and stitching the anchors.

Michie'

Featured Box Pleat

 Add interest to a plain yoke by adding a box pleat.  Instructions can be found in Sew Beautiful Magazine Feb/Mar 2014.

Winter Sewing

The new Sew Beautiful Magazine has arrived and is full of wonderful ideas for winter sewing.

Not wanting to let the baby boys to be left out, I once again have something in the magazine especially for them.  A long sleeve daygown made out of mint pima cotton with a sweet little train embroidered on the front yoke.  

It had a couple of winter babies and this is just the type of gown that looked so sweet on them.  

Michie'

Christmas Sewing

Although I am still getting use to the idea of it being October, it is time to start making plans for Christmas sewing!

You can look forward on the next few blogs with as many Christmas ideas as I can think of and a free "Holly" embroidery design.  The above picture is from Creative Needle Magazine 2006.  The dress is made using pattern #122 and is made out of white pique, red rick rack and hand embroidery.

Do you ever wonder why the children are often barefoot in the photos?  Shoes simply add nothing to the photograph and are often distracting.  :)

Michie'

Featured In Sew Beautiful Magazine

The Shirt and Shorts #139 is featured in the newest Sew Beautiful Magazine Aug/Sept issue. Tips for good collar construction are included in the article.

My husband's 1956 baby picture was the inspiration for the outfit. Remember when all photos were black and white and if you wanted color they were hand tinted?  With all the digital photos that we have available today, I find it hard to get my head around the fact that this is one of the two baby photos we have of him.

Michie'

Spring Sewing For The Boys

As you can see from the cover of the newest issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine, the theme is Spring flowers.  I must admit that creating a boy's outfit suitable for the issue totally had me stumped for a bit  until I started thinking about what would interest a little boy in a flower garden.  The answer.....a friendly grasshopper!

The plaid sunsuit with a white pique' yoke is made using pattern #120.

The design and instructions for the grasshopper is included in the magazine.

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magazine

Just in time for Spring the new Sew Beautiful magazine is ready to inspire you!  The March/April issue is know as the "white issue" and once you get a peek inside you will see why.

My article in this issue gives detail instructions for adding a little smocking to a plain bubble #129 or dress #130.  Both outfits were made from white cotton sateen and smocked in pale blue.

Michie'

Peter Rabbit

I've always been a fan of Peter Rabbit.  Must be something about getting into trouble and being rescued in the end that speaks to all of us. :)  Here is a little something to keep you inspired for Easter sewing!

This sweet little outfit appeared in Sew Beautiful Magazine issue #113 in 2007.  The outfit was made out of light blue cotton chambray and white handkerchief linen, using pattern #113.  The embroidery design was adapted from Creative Needle Magazine (Nov/Dec 2003 issue).

Michie'

Yellow And White For Spring

I tend to get a little tired of blue on the boys, so how about yellow for Spring?  This outfit made by pattern #103, appeared in an issue of Creative Needle Magazine several years ago.  I love the yellow and white combination on this blond headed little guy.  A simple pattern if you are running out of time and the pattern is knicker length if you are needing something for cool Easter weather.

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magzine

The new issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine is out and is absolutely full of Spring sewing inspiration!  It is very hard for me to sew garments for warm weather when is is 30 degrees outside, so this just what I needed to get me in the mood.

My article for the boys in this issue gives the instructions for adding a smocked square of fabric to a plain garment.  This would also be cute on the front of a Jon-Jon.

And a nice surprise for me was finding that my Baby Dress pattern was used in an article featuring some of the sweetest little dresses ever.

How do you get in the mood for Spring sewing?

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magazine

I must admit that it was when I spotted the new Sew Beautiful magazine in the grocery store yesterday that it occurred to me that I had failed to blog about it.  Makes me wonder what else I have forgotten to do the last few weeks. :)

The "Ribbon/Christmas Issue" is full of inspiration.  The boy's article gives detailed instructions for adapting a collar and completing the Bridging Stitch.  A lovely effect on the black corduroy outfit.  The outfit was made using pattern #134 and a vintage look snowman ribbon really dressed up the outfit.  The ribbon was given to me for the purpose of the article and I have been unable to find it available for purchase at this time.

It is fun to open up the magazine and see how our little guy looked a year ago.  Sitting alone was his new trick and once he discovered the artificial snow, things went downhill pretty fast.  Who knew that little boys instinctively roll in snow?

Have you started your Christmas sewing or are visions of Christmas outfits still dancing in your head?

Michie' 

Fall Issue Of Sew Beautiful

 Are visions of fall dancing in your head?  Then the newest issue of Sew Beautiful is just what you will need for some sewing inspiration.

Anna happened to be over for a visit when my copy came in the mail and we couldn't get it open fast enough to see how the pictures and article had turned out.  Hard to believe that this is what our little guy looked like last year!  

Watch the next blog for up close details of both outfits.  

In the magazine you will find a few of my favorite smocking tips along with the graph for the candy corn.

Michie'

Sew Beautiful July/August 2012

Since I am having a hard time believing that June is half over, it was a bit of a surprise when the new issue of Sew Beautiful July/Aug arrived in the mail!  

The "Just For the Boys" article features three picture smocked Jon-Jons.  Yes, that is Christian.  He was 3 1/2 months old at the time of the photo shoot!

The magazine article gives you "Three tips for great picture smocking" along with the free smocking design for "Tiny Turtles."

The free smocking design for "Christian's Elephants" may be found on the blog on the side bar under "Free Smocking Designs."

The free smocking design for "Sailboats" will be available on Monday's blog.  :)

Michie'

A Sneak Peek

My preview copy of the new Sew Beautiful magazine arrived last week right in the middle of all of the Easter prep confusion! As always the magazine is full of sewing inspiration and great ideas.

The "For the Boys" article features Christian in a white linen Dedication Bubble. The article shares my years of experience and secrets to mastering tiny tucks! After a little practice you will never need to avoid a project with tucks again! :)

Stay tuned for more ideas for the Dedication Bubble.

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magazine

I think that I might have been the last person in the country to get my copy of the magazine! My copy is free because I advertise, so I guess that I'll not complain about getting something for free. The funny part was that I was getting tons of orders as a results of the magazine and wasn't sure what was in it!

I got so desperate that I broke down and bought a copy at the grocery store the other morning. I'm not sure how impressed the checkout girl was that my grandson is on page 52, but she was polite enough to show another cashier. And of course my copy was in the afternoon mail.

I was very pleased with how the "Daisy Chain" dress looked in the magazine. Anna is able to take my classic looking patterns and give them a more modern look. The scalloped hem treatment was accidentally left out of the magazine so you will be able to find the instructions and hem pattern in the very next blog.

Michie'

New Pattern?

Many of you are asking,"Where is the new pattern that we are seeing in the latest issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine?" Well, it should be on the website and ready to ship on Monday! Sometimes life interrupts and things just get off schedule.

I have hesitated to share, hoping things would be back to normal by now, but our reality now is that a spilt coffee was our first sign that all was not well with Rex. After weeks of doctors visits and tests, we are still waiting for answers while he remains dizzy and at home. Thank you for your prayers as we wait for answers.

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magazine

It felt like Christmas came early when Rex brought in the mail and my preview copy of the new Sew Beautiful magazine. And what were the chances that Christian, Anna, and Jason would be here for a visit when it arrived? There were 5 copies in the package, so we had a race to see who could find Christian's picture first!

The process started in August while I was in Arizona visiting and the magazine e-mailed me asking about a certain baby outfit that they had spotted on the blog. Why do these things always happen when you are out of town? After I figured out which outfit they were talking about, and tried to remember where is was, in Christian's closet, things moved quickly from there. Christian was photographed at the end of August and I then had to really scramble to get the article and embroidery design completed. One of the dangers of having a garment requested that I have had on hand for awhile is that I then have to retrieve or remember all the details and techniques. But all of those are good problems! :)

Of course we were thrilled with the photograph and it was so much fun to see the finished product from the photo shoot. It is truly amazing how well that they can photo shop out spit up! This was also the day that Christian started arching his back and trying to roll over. What you don't see in the picture is Mommy and Nana Shay ready to catch him if he topples over.

And the best news of all is that this is the beginning of the new "For the boys" article that will be in each issue this year! I was given the opportunity to come up with 6 garments and accompanying articles which will feature designs, tips, and techniques for our little guys. Since my first 3 children were boys and I now have a grandson, this is a project that is very close to my heart and that I am looking forward to sharing with you during the next year.

Michie'

New Sew Beautiful Magazine

I could hardly wait until a got back from Arizona to see if my new issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine had arrived. I met Janet Gilbert at Martha Pullen School and she gave me a heads up that she had something in the magazine made by one of my patterns. Janet has a special talent for designing beautiful smocking designs.

Isn't this the cutest outfit for fall? And what a handsome little guy! Pattern #114 was used for the outfit and pattern #134 is available if you need smaller sizes. The smocking design is included in the magazine.

Thank you Janet!

Michie'