Need More Time to Shop!

We arrived at the Stitchin' Post in plenty of time for me to go in and introduce myself, find our hotel, rest, have an anniversary dinner, and be back in time for my evening class. As I got out of the car, I heard someone squeal and say, "Look at the window display! It looks like Spring!" I looked around to see who was so excited over pretty clothes and the promise of Spring. It was me!

I stepped into the shop and to my right, were displays of fabric and my Trunk Show garments.

To my left, was a beautiful display case full of baskets of laces and trims.

I could have spent an hour just sitting on the floor looking through a case of some of the prettiest heirloom garments I have ever seen.

I hardly need to mention the amount of fabric, ribbon, and buttons that I needed to look at. Each morning, as I left the hotel to go and teach my class for the day, I said, "Don't forget, I need time to shop!"

For those of you, who need me to post a blog everyday, (You know who you are) this one was for you! And, for those of you who care, IF the weather holds, and IF the Air Force is on schedule, he will leave Iraq TODAY!

Michie'

On the Road Aqain!

Here is a sneak peak of what I have to look forward to at The Stitchin' Post in Little Rock, Arkansas this week! I borrowed these pictures from their wonderful website, and I can tell from them that I will need time to shop!

I love how these fabrics are packaged together in kits. The women who work in the shops are always familiar with everything in stock. I never hesitate to ask for help when combining colors!

These are the samples that I sent ahead for the classes. The square sampler in front is for the Sweet Edgings Class. The white bubble is for the Shadowed Embroidered Bubble Class. And the daygown is for the Bias Band Daygown Class. All of these are classes that I especially enjoy teaching, and I always look forward to meeting a whole new group of women who love to sew!

On a more personal note, today is our 33rd Anniversary! I met this sweet guy in the youth group at church, and we married when I was 17 and he was 21! What a long and exciting journey we have had together. Not only do we still love each others company enough that he is driving me to Little Rock to teach, we have 4 very independent adult children scattered around the world that we love to visit. We were talking last night about what might be the secret to our many years together..... we laughingly came to the conclusion that one thing has not changed in all these years.....I still can't support myself financially in the manner I like, and he still can't cook or clean! In other words, we still need each other!

Michie'

#106 Pattern of the Week

The pattern of the week is #106! This sweet little dress comes in sizes newborn to 24 month. The dress features soft pleats, and buttons down the front. You may choose from a simple neckband, a large square collar, or a Peter Pan collar.

Made from white Swiss batiste, with lace gathered around the neck and sleeve band, this dress was featured in Sew Beautiful Magazine several years ago. Ecru embroidery and flower shaped buttons, gives the dress a very elegant look.

Featured in the same magazine issue, this sweet dress was made from pink and white pima cotton.

The collar is edged with white entredeux and gathered lace. Pink Shadow Embroidered bows with tiny Bullion Stitched flowers gives this dress a heirloom look.

The blue velvet dress was an experiment to see how Shadow Embroidery would look on an organdy collar. Lace was then stitched to the collar using a Bridging Stitch. I was very pleased with the finished results!

A much more playful version, this dress is made from a blue and green floral cotton. This is one of my favorite fabrics and is available at most heirloom shops.

The Peter Pan collar, was edged with a small bias band and hand Bridging. The tiny embroidered flowers and leaves are Lazy Daisies, and are done with one strand of DMC floss.

A quick and easy dress to construct, this is one of my favorites for beginners!

A Smocked Bonnet

When I worked for " Joy's of Smocking", several years ago, we always made sure that we had a supply of ready-to-smock bonnets on hand before Easter. I still love to make a bonnet for special baby gift. Not only are they practical, they are lovely to display.

A bonnet is also a good beginner project if you are new to pleating and smocking. I know that there are patterns on the market, but I made my first bonnet by looking at one that I received as a gift. Here are the instructions for a newborn size.
Cut a piece of fabric 45" wide by 7".
Cut the selvage off both ends and pleat 6 rows of smocking 1" away from one edge.
Round off the fabric corners that are closest to the pleating. I use a embroidery hoop to trace around and then cut off the excess fabric.
Whip and roll lace edging around the two ends and the raw edge closest to the pleating.
On the remaining raw edge, turn under 1/2" twice and stitch to form a casing for the ribbon.
I started my smocking 1/2" from the ends and smocked 4 rows of Baby Waves. Simple Bullion rose buds were stitched using a Milliner's needle and two strands of white DMC floss. The only color on the bonnet are the pale green Lazy Daisy leaves, which can both be found in the "Heirloom Embroidery Book."
I cut two 18" pieces of 1/4" ribbon, and attach it to each side of the bonnet. I then stitched a Bullion rose to cover the stitching on the ribbon. Using a small safety pin, run a piece of ribbon through the back casing, drawing it up and tie a bow.

I like to do the bonnets in white, so that they can go with different outfits, but I also love when I can give a bonnet that matches a special dress!

To view a printable version, click here.

A Nice Surprise!

Even though the weather is still cold, the new issue of Sew Beautiful magazine, gave me hope that spring is just around the corner! As always, it is full of wonderful ideas and sewing tips.

What a nice surprise it was for me, to open the magazine and see Linda Richards original smocking design on my #114 Smocked Romper! I love the pale blue and green smocking that she did on the white romper, and the smocking design is included in the magazine. The #114 Smocked Romper includes sizes 2 - 5, and #134 is the same romper in sizes 3 month - 24 month.

This romper, is the same style that I liked to dress my boys in over 25 years ago, and one that I look forward to using for my future grandchildren.

Other Stuff

Just so you won't think that all I do is sew, part of this afternoon was spent trying to open an e-mail from our middle son who is in Iraq. The e-mail was titled "Flight home." Since his scheduled flight home has changed 3 times in 2 weeks, I was anxious to see when the trip to Camp Shelby will be! For some unknown reason the e-mail would not load, and would not load, and would not load. After trying off and on for an hour, I finally e-mailed him and asked him to resend his message, in hopes that he would still be near a computer and not out on a mission. Later this afternoon, I received the message and it read, "Hey, Mom, I'm thinking about house hunting when I get home......" That was it. Nothing about a flight home. So, for all we know we are still on standby to make the trip to Camp Shelby to get our kid and his stuff sometime in March!

Lace Edging to Fabric

Sewing lace edging to fabric is easy and very pretty!

Lace edging has one scalloped edge and one straight edge.

A contrasting color thread was used for the photos. Use a fine machine thread that matches the lace.

Lightly starch and press the fabric and lace. With right sides together, pin the lace edging to the fabric about 1/8" to 1/4" from the fabric raw edge. Stitch the lace to the fabric using a straight stitch of 2.0.

Whip and roll the lace to the fabric by setting the machine on a zigzag stitch width of 3.0 and length of 1.0. Using an open toed or a rolled hem foot, "zig" into the straight edge of the lace and "zag" off the edge of the fabric. The fabric edge should roll over onto the lace. (Because each machine is different, try different machine feet and experiment with the stitch until you get the desired results.)

Hold the thread tails as you begin to stitch. You will need to take a few stitches before the fabric starts to "roll."

Press the lace away from the fabric, pressing the rolled edge toward the fabric.

This technique takes a little practice to find what stitch adjustment and foot works best for your machine, but once you master it, you will never hesitate to "Whip and Roll!"