It Just Occurred To Me....

It just occurred to me.....

1. Easter is only a month away!

2. There are TWO babies that I might like to sew for this year!

3. Emma arrives in a week and I had much rather play with babies than sew!

And so, this is the progress of Christian's outfit so far. The smocking design is out of an old issue of "Creative Smocking" magazine. Sorry, I don't know which issue. Hopefully I can start constructing the Jon-Jon this afternoon, and I am about ready to start smocking Emma's insert. Fortunately, I do smock fast.

Anna picked out what she wanted for Christian's first Easter, but since Emma's mommy is very busy with the move, I am making something suitable for spring in case she already has a special dress.

Also, in my very laid back state of mind that I try to live in and with all the life changes we have right now, I am very aware that Easter will be wonderful whether or not the babies have handmade outfits. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I know you can already guess that I am going for "simple" this year!

How is your Easter sewing going?

Michie'

Free "Cross" Smocking Design!

This all began as a memory game, when one of Anna's friends asked if either one of us knew of a good cross smocking design that was masculine looking. I'm sure that there are some out there, but we couldn't remember one at the time. And so the challenge was could I come up with something quickly that a mommy would have time to do before Easter.

Here is what I came up with and here is what Will's mommy found time to do! She used a ready-to-smock bubble to save time. A great idea for a busy mommy. Great job Amanda!

Click here for the free downloadable smocking design.

Michie'

A Dressy Silk Bubble

To show the difference fabric makes, I used Dupioni Silk and pattern #115 for this dressy bubble. The blue geometric smocking is always a safe choice and small tucks on the yoke and a bow tie give it a rather dapper look.
I had not made a fake bow tie in almost 30 years so it took little work to get it right. Wouldn't this make a great Easter or Dedication outfit?

The boy agreed to the photo shoot on the condition that he could hold his green alligator.

Michie'

Changes

We have had more changes over the past 6 weeks than I care to think about. Rex is now home from work, and although he is feeling some better, it is probably for good. We are back to the original diagnoses that he has probably had a series of mini strokes and we finally have an appointment at Vanderbilt in a few weeks.

And about the time we were getting really down about the whole thing, it was time for Daniel to come in from South Korea for a month long visit! What a nice distraction, or comic relief as we like to call it.

And since all of that isn't exciting enough....... our sweet little Emma along with Mommy and Daddy will be coming the end of the month. Best of all, not just a visit, but for a permanent move! I am so overcome with the very idea that I have a hard time even writing about it. When the possibility of their move came up months ago, we had no health issues going on. I can't believe how God put everything in motion before we even knew we had a need. What a reminder to trust him with each day and not to worry about what is ahead.

With all of that going on, tomorrow is our 35th wedding anniversary. Yes, we did marry really young. You might be wondering what we are doing for this special year? Probably just going out for a nice dinner and stare lovingly into each others eyes. :)

Michie'

A Jumper For Our Sweet Girl

While going through my stash of samples or as we call them in the business, "The Trunk Show," I ran across this sweet little sundress which happens to be Emma's size! Since the weather is still cool, Mommy can put a white blouse under it and it will work as a jumper for now.

The outfit can be made using pattern #132 or for larger sizes pattern #136. Turquoise gingham has apparently become one of my favorites since I am also using the same fabric for a bishop dress that I am currently working on. I hope that it is a good color on her!

Since a dog and cat are both members of their household, I thought that the smocking design was appropriate. The smocking plate can be found in Sew Beautiful Magazine issue #125.

And how is sweet Emma doing? She is now 15 months old, walking, talking her own baby talk language, and we are looking forward to a visit in just a few weeks!

Michie'

The Scalloped Hem Tutorial

The "Daisy Chain" dress featured in the current Sew Beautiful Magazine has got a lot of attention and here are the instructions that I promised to share!

*Click here to download the free instructions.

I found that one of the scallop designs on my lace shaping board was almost a perfect fit for the dress hem.

*Click here for the scallop that I used. The same scallop fits all of the sizes in the pattern!

I know that you will enjoy using this hem technique' to add a pop of color to your sewing project!

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'