Sew Beautiful Magazine #132

I always look forward to my new issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine and this one did not disappoint. It arrived right as I was going out of town last week and I could hardly wait to get to my brother's house and open it up! Full of great ideas for Fall sewing projects I think it is one of the best issues that I have seen in awhile.

It was a wonderful surprise when I discovered that Karen and Tamzin Bosch had used my "Infant Shirt and Diaper Cover" pattern #109 for this little outfit. I think that their "Little Lion" embroidery design is sweet as can be, and the pattern for the hat which is available in the magazine, is the cutest thing ever!

I also enjoyed the article entitled "Granddad's Shirt." You might remember that I made one of Ryland's outfits from a man's dress shirt, so I enjoyed seeing other ideas for this type project. Although my pattern was not used for this article, pattern #129 would work great.

I'm hoping that Anna will get inspired by the magazine to embellish a sweater for me. I'll let you know if it happens!

Michie'

Pattern of the Week #115 Classic Bubble

Classic Bubble #115 is our featured pattern of the week. This pattern is timeless and can be made dressy or casual depending on your choice of fabric and trims. The pattern includes sizes 3 - 24 months, 3 styles of collars to choose from, a boy or girl sleeve, and accommodates smocking.


The first three photos were a wonderful surprise when they appear in Creative Needle Magazine Dec. 2007! I love the blue and white gingham and the white collar is perfect for a little embroidery and trim.

The collars on both outfit were trimmed with baby rickrack that was twisted together then stitched to the collar before construction. A super easy technique that adds just the right amount of color!

White Dupioni Silk makes this outfit dressy enough for baby dedication. This is the outfit that I recommend when I hear that the daddy doesn't want his son in a "dress!"

I added tiny tucks to the yoke before cutting it out and then decided that a little bow tie would be a nice touch. I had not made a bow tie in about 25 years, but it didn't take long before it all came back!
I was recently talking to a sewing friend and she had recently made bow ties for all her little grandsons to wear to a special wedding!
Michie'

Sewing for Charity

Retta, is a good friend that I met several years ago while teaching in Baton Rouge. She e-mailed me last week to say, "Hey, I'm on the news!" The news clip gives a wonderful description of the charity work that she and her friends do for their area hospitals and homes for unwed mothers around the South.




What a wonderful idea to use our sewing gifts to truly bless others in need!

If you would like to help with their ministry they have a great need for new or gently used onesies, sleepers, and daygowns, in either preemie or newborn sizes. You can mail these to:

Faith Presbyterian Church
c/o Ladies Mission
12855 Old Hammond Highway
Baton Rouge, LA 70816-1025

Michie`

Busy Hands, Happy Heart.

I found this VERY interesting video on youtube which supports my theory that hand work is a vital part of who we are and calms our soul and spirit.

After watching this video Anna has decided our goal for 2011 is to learn to spin. She claims spindles are inexpensive on knitpicks.com...We will see how that goes. :-)

Michie`

Finally.... A Baby Quilt!

Although I love quilting, it is a hobby that I rarely do and save for very special occasions. So, it goes without saying that I have been waiting for the day to get to make a special quilt for the first grandbaby. When our oldest called a few months ago to tell us that they had decided to adopt we were thrilled beyond words and I decided that it was time to start picking out patterns and fabric!

I waited until they were approved by the agency and courts to adopt and celebrated that this next phase by piecing the quilt and doing the embroidery. Since I am not an experienced quilter (I can barely use a rotary cutter) I chose a simple pattern and decided to add some hand embroidery since that IS what I do well!

I will be starting the hand quilting soon and as I quilt I will be praying for the birth mother who has decided to give her baby a wonderful Christian home to grow up in, for the baby, and for our son and daughter-in-law as they try to patiently wait for a little one of their own.

I'll keep you posted on the baby and quilt progress!

Michie'

A Gift for Baby Boy

This gift is for a very special baby boy. We met his mommy when she was 15 years old and started visiting our church. Many times we gave her a ride home after church and then after she got her driver's license she was often part of the group that hung out at our house. She even introduced us as her "church parents" at her wedding. She and her husband are now expecting their first baby and Anna and I had a wonderful time deciding what to send.

The little white romper has been waiting for a special baby and Anna whipped up some booties to match!

I have now officially handed the knitting over to Anna. I told her that I will let her be the knitter in the family and that I will stick to smocking!

*The romper is made from pattern #103 and is trimmed with purchased Whipped Stitched Piping.

Michie'

A Well Deserved Vacation!

Just to let you know that I do other things besides sewing.......Rex and I are finally heading out to Nashville to a concert that we have been looking forward to for a very long time! We are staying at a very nice hotel right downtown within walking distance of the concert and are looking forward to visiting some of the other points of interest. As we were getting ready for the trip we realized that it has been a LONG time since we have had a vacation that didn't involve work or visiting the kids. Not to say anything against the kids, they are loads of fun and live in some really cool places, but we have found that it is best to occasionally go where no one is calling you "Mom and Dad!"


The trip is even sweeter when all of the adult kids are jealous of your concert tickets!

Michie'

The Smocked Turtle Outfit

This little outfit made from pattern #134 got a lot of attention at Martha Pullen School. The outfit is made from navy and white twill. The twill fabric has enough body that it constructs well without being to thick for the pleater. Instead of doing a smocked inset across the front of the garment I made a smaller inset and stitched flat fabric to either side.
I pleated an inset with 8 rows (including the holding rows) and 52 pleats. Then I sized and tied off the inset so that it was about 3 inches wide. Next, I smocked the "Sea Turtle" and stitched 2 pieces of piping on each side of the smocking.

Navy fabric was then stitched on each side of the inset and pressed it out flat.
Following the pattern instructions, stitch piping to the top and bottom of the fabric piece and continue construction the outfit.

This is an easy alternative when you don't have a lot of time for smocking or if you are concerned that your smocked turtles will all be different sizes! The most difficult time I had with the project was deciding how to add color to the collar. After a couple of false starts I ended up doing a simple Running Stitch with 3 strands of floss.

Michie'

The Fitting

I could not resist sharing these pictures with you. They were taken when I met Ryland for the first time to fit him for the Martha Pullen Fashion Show.

He was much more interested in his new Birthday toys than meeting me.
He did recognize Anna from church and she got a big hug!

As long as we let him venture back to the toys he was willing to cooperate. This outfit appeared in Creative Needle Magazine several years ago. Watch for it on the blog where I will be sharing the instructions for the smocked inset.

Don't you wish you knew what he was thinking? Probably wondering why these women had come over to bother him.

It took Mommy and me to keep him still for this picture. I was surprised when I downloaded the picture at how the navy check fabric showed off his light blue eyes.

What a happy little guy! The yellow outfit was made from pattern #113 and the navy checked outfit from #134.

Michie'

And The Winner Is...

For our Free Giveaway the question was "What other creative things do you enjoy doing?" In other words, what other hobbies do you enjoy besides sewing? According to Dictionary.com a Hobby is an, " Activity pursued for pleasure rather than money." For me, my favorite hobby has become a business so I have had to be careful not to lose my love of sewing. I try to make sure that I am not doing a huge amount of business related sewing and I never touch it on the weekends. I also started looking into other hobbies and have picked up photography during the last year. I have enjoyed my new camera, taking classes, and "Photo field trips" as I like to call them. Rex thinks we are going on a picnic, so everyone is happy!


I loved reading about the many types of hobbies and crafts that you enjoy and for those who asked, "Yes, baking is a hobby" especially if you are someone who struggles with it "And reading also counts!" By my definition, anything that makes your heart go "pitter patter" and gives rest to your soul is worth pursuing!


I hope that you will take time to read the comments left on the blog. Who knows, you might be inspired to try a new hobby or bring an old one out of the closet! And now...... the winner is.......


db said...
Like so many others sewing is my first love. When mom passed away I got elected to pick up her love of crochet (which she taught me many years ago) and make sure every new baby in the family had a hand made blanket. And so I do. I also love photography. So much can be captured through the eye of the lens.


Please email me with your full name, mailing address and the pattern number or book that you would like at crmichie@aol.com.

Michie'