Baby Has Arrived!

Emma Lee Mooney

11/9/10

5 lbs. 3 oz.

18" long

Parents: Benjamin and Tiffany Mooney

I can't put into words the joy in our hearts and our thankfulness to God.

Michie'

Thank You For Serving

Today is "Veteran's Day" and since two of our sons, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law are all veterans, the day holds a special place in our hearts. And here is a story that will warm your heart!

Last week our son-in-law had gone out to lunch with a couple of guys from work and they were all in uniform. While eating their lunch a little girl about four years old, under the watchful eye of her mommy, walked over to their table. She stood there and solemnly recited the "Pledge of Allegiance" word for word! After she was through the guys thanked her and told her what a good job she had done. She looked around at her mommy who said, "Now, what do you say?" She turned back around and looked at them and said, "Thank you for serving!"

Be sure to thank a veteran today!

Michie'

You Can't Beat Natural Light

Thought that I would give you a peak of my favorite place to sit and stitch. It has taken awhile to get the lighting adjusted in our new house so that I can see to sew at all! We added lighting in the sewing room and I bought a truly awesome ott light for the living room, but you can't beat the lighting that God gave us! This is my favorite spot, and it is even better if Rex is grilling supper while I stitch! Where is your favorite spot to sew?

Anna and I are traveling today to spend the week with some wonderful sewing ladies in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We are praying for a safe journey and that the morning sickness stays under control! This will be our last "girl trip" for quite awhile which will make it truly special!

Michie'

And the Winner Is!

And the winner of our random drawing for a free pattern or the Embroidery Book is .........Heather! I loved reading all of the sewing memories and hope that you can take the time to read a few of them. Heather, e-mail me through the website, so that we can get your free gift in the mail!

heather said...
i smocked my first dress for my 6 months old daughter ( she just turned 35!]. It was a Style pattern and had iron on dots. It was made of light blue polyester dotted swiss and I used white, pink ,yellow, green and purple floss. I used nylon lace to edge the neck and sleeves and I thought it was beautiful. I proudly had her photo taken in it. I still have that little dress. I look at it now and see all its imperfections , Now I make smocked dresses for my little grand babies using a pleater, cotton heirloom fabrics, french lace and a more restrained color palette but I keep that little blue dress to remind me of my first baby and of how very young I was .

I am creating my own new sewing memory this weekend. Anna and I leave Monday morning to teach in Baton Rouge and New Orleans all of next week, grandbaby is due in 10 days and just found out that she will barely weigh 5 lbs.! I stayed up late and got up early to sew a white little daygown in a preemie/newborn size that I can priority ship as we leave town. I couldn't stand the thought that I had not made anything small enough for her to wear! For those of you who are wondering, I have plans to fly to Arizona when she is a month old. I hope that by then she will be big enough that I will be comfortable holding her!!!

Michie'

Baby Bishop Details

Here are a few details about the "First Baby Dress." The fabric is white Imperial Batiste and I edged the sleeves with lace scraps from my stash. I usually do three rows of baby wave stitches on the sleeves.

I added the Madeira hem to add a little elegance to the dress. I drafted the scallops using my Lace Shaping board. Intending to have the Madeira hem turned to the inside of the dress, I goofed and it ended up on the outside! This happens more often than you would believe.... After experimenting with a few stitches I decided to leave the hem as it was and stitched the scallops in place using a simple Applique Stitch. It is a little plain compared to using a Pin Stitch, but is more in keeping with the older style dresses. I couldn't believe how fast it went using a simple stitch!

This also answers the question, can you still save money sewing? I don't count the cost of the pattern since I use them over and over, so the cost for the fabric and lace was barely over $10! If you have had the fabric and lace for over a year (which was the case here) you might want to consider the project FREE!

Don't forget the "Free Giveaway" which ends Friday night!

Michie'

First Baby Dress

Do you have an unusual memory attached to a sewing project? I do now! The day before we left for South Korea I suddenly decided that at some point I might wish that I had packed some handwork. So, I stuffed a white batiste bishop that I had pleated a few days before, floss, and needles in my suitcase. I told Rex that I might not even get it out, but in case of an emergency (in my case that would be time stuck in a hotel room) I was ready. As it happened I smocked almost the entire dress while waiting for #3 son to come pick us up in the mornings. I now have very strong memories attached to the dress of the view from our hotel window in Seoul and watching "Tom and Jerry" cartoons in Korean! Since Tom and Jerry never say anything I had no problem at all following along. When was the last time you had the chance to laugh along with Tom and Jerry?

Here is the completed dress! I never dreamed a year ago when I was drafting pattern #135, that I would be needing it myself a year later. So, this is officially the first dress that I have made for the expected granddaughter who is due in just two and a half weeks! I always like to start the new baby out in white and added the Madiera hem to make it a little more special.

Do you have a special memory tied to a sewing project? If you do, I would love to hear it, so let's have a Free Giveaway! You will win the pattern or book of your choice!

Here are the rules.

* Post a comment, on this post only. No e-mails, please. And, you may only post once.

* Tell us your most memorable sewing story. Were you on vacation, snow bound, or just really excited about what you were working on?

* Your time to enter will end this Friday night at midnight. I will randomly draw a name Saturday morning. You can check Saturday's post to see who the lucky winner is. I will then contact the winner, to find out which pattern (or the embroidery book) you would like. This will also give you time to see which pattern you would like to add to your stash! Good Luck!

Michie'

The Baby Quilt is Finished!

The baby quilt is finished 3 weeks before the due date! Miracles do still happen! I bought the fabric the week that they announced that they were applying for adoption. I picked out fabric that would work for a boy or a girl and went ahead and started on the embroidered squares. Piecing is not my favorite part, so I set up the card table in the den and put the sewing machine on it one Saturday and sewed while we watched old movies.

I felt like I was getting over anxious when I went ahead and started on the hand quilting and it was 100 degrees outside, but Rex encouraged me to go ahead and start, "Because you never know what could happen!" About halfway through the quilting process they called to tell us that they had a match for a baby, so I picked up speed. Rex loves when I have a quilt to work on. He remembers his Mom quilting when he was very little and he knows that I can stand to sit through ballgames if I have handwork! I loved every minute that I worked on it and will never forget how special it was to make a quilt for the first grand baby. As chance would have it, I was ready to attach the binding the day that they called to tell us that the due date had been moved up 3 weeks.

November 9th can't get here soon enough and I'm glad that I had the nerve to use some girl colors!

Michie'