Julia's Sew Sweet And Special Occasion Clothing For Children

No more time

2012-01-08T22:06:00.001-05:00

At least for now, I don't have time for blogging. I may be back in the future, but probably not. If I'm not, I want those of you whom I've formed a friendship with over the last few years to know that I won't forget you. I have email addresses for most of you and will occasionally email you. If I am back, I'll see you then.

Paper Doll Set for Miss R

2011-12-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

When our oldest grand, Miss K, was about 3 (too young for paperdolls) I made her a look-alike paper doll set. The doll looked somewhat like her, and most of the clothes were things that she actually had. I had made lots of them. So, a couple of years ago, I made Miss J her set. So now it is Miss R's turn. I was late getting this to her for her birthday, but I let her know that there would be one more gift on its way.

Here is the princess herself.

Ballerina

Easter 2011

Ballet practice

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2010

Easter 2010

Fourth of July 2011

Bumble Bee outfit

Birthday 2011

Birthday 2010

Hair accessories

UT fan, summer fun, a cool leggings outfit, and pjs

Fall and winter

Miss R ready to dance and twirl

All dressed up

Ready for a swim

Going to a game

Cutie pie - This is one outfit she really doesn't have, but I may have to make one like it.

Magnet strips on the back

Boys are outfitted for Christmas!!!

2011-12-12T18:13:00.000-05:00

As you can see here, I didn't make the shirts this year. I just didn't have time. I couldn't find one in a store in Little Little Man's size, so I ordered one to be sent to his house. So, I just photographed his outfit without a shirt. I forgot to tuck the tie in. Oh well.

The pants are a very, very soft houndstooth check. I'm almost sure it is the same fabric, except in brown rather than black, that I made Big Little Man's coat from last year. The coat is brown fake suede. I lined the coat with a satin lining that I had in my stash. The sweater vests are made from an XL man's sweater that I bought for $14. I couldn't find what I wanted already made, didn't have time to really look, and didn't have time to knit

The above photos show Little Little Man's suit. The photos below show Big Little Man's suit. LLM is one now, and walking!!! BLM is 3 1/2, almost! They are growing up!!!

Our little Miss R is 6 today. She's the one who got the pink ruffled dress for Christmas. I posted about it a couple of posts back, if you want to see it. I posted about some other things I made for her birthday in my last post.

Reversible Christmas "and after" jumpers

2011-12-06T16:28:00.000-05:00

Here is Lil' B's dress. Hers has a tiny polka dotted background and Santa Buttons. I guess the tree speaks for itself!

The reverse side is fine welt corduroy with a big B and a bear.

Lil'E's is a bit more standoutish. I suppose that isn't a word, but I couldn't think of one that would work.

The reverse of hers is also the fine welt corduroy with her initial, an E. Hers has a butterfly.

I guess they'll wear these with white turtle neck shirts and big white bows in their hair (or green or red or black?????)

Three dresses done, and.......

2011-12-04T20:40:00.001-05:00

.........2 more that just need buttons. The boys' pants just need hems, buttons, and button holes. Next will be boys' jackets and ties. I'm not making the shirts this year. There is not enough time.
In my last post I told you that I got on the Justice website and so did my three grands in Connecticut. These are the dresses that they liked and the versions that I came up with for them..

The first one I'm showing is for Miss J. She liked the ombre effect of the Justice dress. She didn't really care about having the sequins. She also wanted sleeves. So, this was the only ombre fabric that I could find other than some that was orange, rust, yellow, etc..... She loves purple, so I'm hoping she'll like this fabric. The fabric is very shimmery. Can you tell in the photo?

Next is Miss K's dress. The one without sleeves is the Justice version. Miss K wanted sleeves. It's hard to tell from my photograph, but the fabric is very much the same as the Justice dress.

And then there is Miss R's dress. She liked the black ruffled dress from the Justice website, but she wanted it to be pink and with sleeves. I have made it with a tulle sash and I also make a chiffon sash that I didn't show here. It looks wonky hanging on the dress form, but in real life it isn't.

Miss R has her 6th birthday in a few days. I borrowed another idea from Justice. At school the other day, a little girl had on a dress that came from Justice. It was a long sleeved tee shirt with a chiffon skirt sewn on the bottom. I used sequined fabric for Miss R's skirt.

I found these tights to go with this dress. I sure hope Miss R likes all these sparkly things, since I also

bought her this shirt to go with some gray jeans that are trimmed in pink. I added these tulle and sequined butterflies.

You might remember these dresses from last year for our Lil'B and Lil'E. They have moved from AZ to SC, so the people in SC haven't seen them yet. I just let down the hem and added the green ribbon back into Lil'B's. Her mom took the ribbon out after Christmas last year so she could wear it for Valentine's, etc.... Thank goodness, I put in a very big hem.

For Lil'E, I had put in a deep hem and a growth tuck. She may be able to wear this next year, too! This is the Christmas side of the collar.

Here's the Valentine's side.

So, this year, I am making them jumpers that are reversible. One side has a Christmas applique, and the reverse side has an E on Lil'E's and a B on Lil'B's. Lil'E's also has a butterfly and Lil'B's has a bear. I'll show them as soon as I get the buttons on and take some photos.
The boys things are about half done, so I need to get busy!

I'm off to see the..................

2011-11-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

fabrics and patterns, of the wonderful Hobby Lobby and maybe JoAnn's. Since those are really the only two stores in our area that carry fabrics. Well, I take that back, there's also Gina's and Katy's, so I may visit those, as well. I've talked with my daughter, who is the mother of Misses K, J, and R. They have looked at the Justus website and these are the dresses they like for the holidays and band/chorus concerts. The first one is the one that Miss R, who is almost 6, likes best. She wants it to be pink, however. I will probably put sleeves in the dress, though.

Below is Miss K's favorite. She's 11. She does want cap sleeves, though, so I'll need to look for a similar pattern with sleeves for her. I probably have one already.

Finally, this is the dress that Miss J likes best. This is very similar to the one she liked best last year. Finding the ombre fabric was the hard part, so I had to compromise. I hope I'm able to find it this year. Miss J does want sleeves, too.

These bolero sweaters are pretty and practical. I don't know that I'll try to make these, but I might keep my eyes open for possibilities.

Lil'E and Lil'B don't live where they did last year, and they are both able to wear the dresses they had then, with adjustments to length. So, I'm just going to make them cute little holiday jumpers that are reversible, maybe.

The boys, Big Little Man and Little Little Man, both need some dressy clothes and not much else, so I will be on the look out for patterns and maybe some houndstooth fabric for jackets and coordinating fabrics for pants, shirts, and ties.
I'm on my way!!!!!

Santa and the Nativity

2011-11-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

These are my latest paintings in store windows. I painted these same windows last year, so I was happy to be asked to do them again! The owner of this furniture store wanted one Santa picture and one of the nativity.

I enjoyed painting these except that I fell off the ladder and bruised my hip and elbow, but at least nothing was broken.

Winter Wonderland???????

2011-11-01T19:02:00.000-04:00

On Thursday night of last week, we were at our daughter's house in MA. It snowed, which we thought was pretty incredible, seeing as how it was only October 27th. That evening we drove in snow to our daughter's house in CT. It was pretty scary driving in all that snow! Our MA daughter ended up with about 4 inches, and our CT daughter had about 2 inches. Amazing, right? WRONG!

On Saturday, which is actually when we planned to leave up there and head back toward TN, this is what started happening! This is our daughter's back yard after only an hour or so of the snow beginning to fall.

This photo was taken from our hotel room in Hartford, and it's actually on it's side. The snow was not falling to the ground, it was blowing horizontally because of the blizzard winds!!! We were in a hotel, because our daughter's power went out, trees were falling and breaking everywhere, and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to make it to the interstate the next morning. We had decided by this point to wait out the storm and drive straight through on Sunday. Our daughter and her family went to the hotel with us, because they were afraid a tree might fall on their house during the night, and like I said earlier, they had no power.

Following are some of the photos I shot on the way through Connecticut and New York. Interstate 84 was closed near Carmel and Kent, NY. We had to detour, and of course had no idea where we were going. We ended up getting back on 84 a mile or so before the detour began, so we had to detour again. This time we turned the other direction, and ended up on highway 50, which was also closed. We spent an hour or more at a Blimpie's until the interstate opened back up. The entrance ramp was right next to this Blimpie's. We drank coffee, ate a biscuit, and listened to lots of comments by lots of other people who were also stranded!

Some of the sites were beautiful!

See the fall colors peeping out from under the snow and ice? Weird!

We made it home, though, with only a couple of hours added to our normal drive. We both had to get up and go to work yesterday morning, and even though we are tired, we managed okay. Our daughter in CT still has no power, her children haven't had school so far this week, and it's been called off for tomorrow already, but worst of all, Halloween was called off in CT!!! Our daughter in MA fared a lot better. Her power is still on!

Finished! Whew!!! Luna Lovegood will have a sweater!!!!

2011-10-25T20:40:00.001-04:00

I finally finished knitting and crocheting this bolero for Luna Lovegood, aka Miss J. Yes, I did write knitting and crocheting. The main body of the bolero is knitted, but I crocheted the front border and the triangle design, which you can't really see here, on the bottom sides of the front. The sleeves are crocheted. The one button is also crocheted.

I didn't have a pattern, partly because I'm still just learning to read them! I did find one that was similar in an adult size, but I decided that I would just see what I could come up with on my own. I made it up as I went along, and I could not tell you what I did from row to row. I do know that I knitted two and purled two on the main body. Below is the back.

And, of course, Luna has very long, very blond hair. No, I didn't make this wig, but I did go to Walmart, and three dollar stores, before I thought to go to Walgreens, where I found it.

I am very excited to be taking this, the Fleur Delacour, Hedwig, and the two Monster T-Rex costumes to my grandchildren soon. I hope to get photos of them all dressed in their chosen character's costume.

Finally, another one finished, another ALMOST finished, and two on the models

2011-10-23T17:39:00.000-04:00

Here's Fleur Delacour's, aka Miss K's, dress and capelet. The long collar and cuffs are detachable.

I'm hoping Miss K will be able to wear this dress as a real dress and not just a costume. The fabric is a cotton knit that is very soft and comfy. The clothes hanger is too large for the shoulders on this dress, therefore making the sleeves look a little weird. I assure you that Miss K's shoulders aren't that wide.

I really struggled with how to make this hat. I actually MADE one from blue felt, but I am not showing it to you, because, well because it didn't turn out so great. So, I went to Walmart and bought a gray felt hat. I wet the top of it until it was pretty soaked. Then, I stretched it with a broom handle until it almost tore a hole in it. I didn't know if this would work, or not, but it did pretty well. Then, I spray painted it to match the dress. It took a couple of coats of paint, but I was pleased with the outcome. The hat is rather stiff with the paint, but at least it's the right shape and color.

Now, for Luna Lovegood, aka Miss J's, outfit. In the scene of the movie that Miss J especially liked what Luna was wearing, she had on a peasant top,

a pair of khaki jeans, and .............

a purplish-blue bolero style sweater. This is all that's left to be finished. I've actually done a little more since I took this photo. Perhaps I'll get it finished in the next day or two.

Now, for two little models in their costumes. These two visited us last weekend. Lil'E said she would be the prettiest fairy of all! Lil'B just thought she looked adorable. She paraded around with a huge smile on her face!

An Undersea Fairy with a sea shell dress and crown.

These are purchased wings, but they were trimmed all in black! So, I painted the black parts pink and added pink seaweed (ribbon).

Here's our little pink sea-horse from the front, and.........

from the back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I posted last Sunday, my mother finally found peace one year ago. In the fall, one of the first things she would want to do was buy some miniature gourds to put on her dining room table. I went with her many times to buy them. So, whenever, I start seeing gourds out in the grocery stores and at the roadside stands, I think of her. So, last Sunday, I placed this arrangement at church in her memory.

She would have been so happy.

A Year Ago, today..........

2011-10-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

..........was when my mother finally found peace.
This was a bittersweet weekend. I was really sad all week thinking about how much Mother was suffering a year ago, but then today, it was that same feeling of relief that I felt when she was finally at peace. I miss her terribly. Nearly everyday, I think of something I need to tell her or ask her. My car still thinks it's supposed to turn down the road to the nursing home. It has done just that a few times!
But, one of our daughters and her husband and two little ones were here this weekend. It was so much fun to have them here.
My brother, his wife, my cousin, and my daughter's family were all at church today. I put an arrangement of fall gourds, Mother's favorite fall thing, on the altar table. I sang in a trio with a couple of other ladies. We sang "Seek, and ye shall find", which is my favorite scripture put to music.
Got my house fairly well straightened up. The circle from my church is meeting here on Tuesday night!
I also got my grade cards done. They go out tomorrow.
Going to bed.
I don't know what I'll do about my machine, yet. I'm waiting to hear from the repairman.

Our insurance..............

2011-10-13T20:09:00.002-04:00

.......... will not cover my machine!

Up In Smoke!

2011-10-11T17:58:00.000-04:00

My sewing machine went up in smoke on Saturday, as I was sewing on it! I just got it back from the hospital intensive care unit (sewing machine repair shop) a couple of weeks ago. I had not had much time to sew on it until this past weekend. I started sewing early Saturday morning. I was still sewing late Saturday afternoon, when it "CRACKLED" and then started SMOKING!!!!!!!! And I don't mean just a little bit of SMOKING, I mean a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of SMOKING!!!! I guess it wasn't well enough to have such a work out!!!! Whatever the cause, I do believe that if I hadn't unplugged it, as quickly as I did, that it would have gone up in flames!!!!! Luckily, I was finishing the last of the seven grands' Halloween costumes, and I still had my friend's machine here, so I was able to finish Fleur Delacour's outfit! Actually, I haven't made the hat, yet. It will be a bit tricky, but I have an idea of how I might be able to make it. We'll see. I am still working on Luna Lovegood's sweater, but I'm about 2/3 finished. I will take photos soon.

Okay, back to my machine. I took it back to the hospital (repair shop) yesterday. I truly don't think there is any hope for it. The transplant for the electronic system is going to be more expensive than it is worth more than likely, so I think we will just put it out of its misery. I am trying to contact the insurance adjuster whom I talked with before. I last told him that my machine was fixed, but now I need to let him know it isn't. I just hope he will at least negotiate with me and my sewing machine store folks! If not, I guess I'll go to plan A from before and borrow my daughter's machine.
One of my daughters has started sewing some really adorable outfits for her girls.
I have really rambled in this post, but as I am teaching my third graders about finding the MAIN IDEA, I hope you picked up in this rambling mess, that the M. I. is that my machine died. Some of the stuff is just SUPPORTING DETAILS. Some of it is very unnecessary information that I would tell my kids to leave out of their essays, if they wanted to make a good score!!!!

I am sewing................, but.................,

2011-10-08T17:13:00.001-04:00

.......... I just don't have pictures to show you, yet. I didn't get to sew much last weekend. We had a breakfast at church on Saturday morning, and then..................... my town, and those nearby, honored a fallen hero from our community.

US Marine Lance Corporal

US Marine Lance Corporal, age 21, from Tennessee, was killed in action on 24th September while conducting a patrol in Afghanistan. Family members said the Marine was shot in the chest.

He served with Company D, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Knoxville, Tennessee.

According to news reports, L-Cpl. Watson had worked as a deputy in the County Sheriffs Department and patrol officer for the

He had only been in Afghanistan a few weeks, when he was killed. Our church was actually getting together a care package to send to him. It was to be mailed on the Monday after he was killed on the Saturday before last. His body was brought back to our town last Saturday. The airport is about 45 miles from us. People lined the streets wearing red, white, and blue, and waving the American flag most of the way from the airport. The crowd became more and more dense near here. From the town just north of us all the way to the funeral home, there were very few empty spaces. There were 1,000 police, state patrol, sheriff cars, and motorcyclists who rode in the entourage from the airport. This young man was a police officer here. There were giant flags draped from overpasses, and lining the streets! All of the flags in town were at half-mast. The procession took about 2 hours from the airport to our town, like I said that is about a 45 mile distance. It was a proud moment to see the crowd and the support. Now, if we would just give that kind of support to our men and women when they come home safely! There is to be a procession honoring another of our townsmen who died a few years ago, to commemorate his death, next week. I hope as many people turn out for that.
Anyway, because I was in town for this event, and had a little shopping to do, I got a late start sewing. I do have Luna Lovegood's, aka Miss J's, jeans and peasant top made. I also have the bolero more than half-way knitted. I have Fleur Delacour's, aka Miss K's, dress about half-way made. I should finish it and the caplet today.
Tomorrow, I am cleaning house all afternoon, after church. Yes, I know that my grandmother wouldn't approve, but it has to be done, and there is no other time of any day of the week, so Sunday afternoon it is!
My husband has a new job, and is working all day today and tomorrow. He shouldn't have to work on weekends all the time, but he is training right now.
The University of Tennessee is playing Georgia today. Below is Neyland Stadium!

Miss J was born during this game nine years ago, and our youngest daughter got married during this game 6 years ago!! My how time flies!!! I sure hope we win this game; we need a good win! I have missed VERY FEW UT home games over the past upteen years, but I haven't made it to even one this year. Saturday is the only day I have to sew, and grands take precedence over everything, even football!
Back to the sewing room.

Turtle Tumble!

2011-09-27T18:52:00.000-04:00

Our community has the equivalent of a Rubber Duck Race, only with Turtles that Tumble. The Boys and Girls Clubs and the local arts council, and perhaps a few other non-profit organizations, benefit from this event. One of the banks in town that helps sponsors it, asked met to paint their windows to help advertise, so I did. I painted on Sunday afternoon, much to my late grandmother's moans and groans. She would not have approved the painting on Sunday! However, it was the only time I could possibly fit this project in with my teaching and sewing Halloween costumes.

I had one of the turtles that they drop from the sky, I guess from a helicopter. I just painted a bunch of tumbling turtles that looked like the ones they use, well sort of like the ones they use, anyway.

Of course, I painted the wrong date on the window. The lady who called me from the bank told me the date, and without thinking about the fact that it was on a Wednesday, and I knew this event was on a Saturday, I just painted what she had said. On the way to school Monday morning, it hit me that it couldn't be the right date. So, I called to confirm that I was right, and she said that the date she gave me was the last day that the turtles could be adopted. Oh well, I went back yesterday afternoon and changed it in about 5 minutes. I blurred it out in these photos.

Gotta go grade papers! Hope to have a Luna Lovegood or a Fleur Delacour costume to show you after this weekend. That is, unless I decide to go to the Un. of TN football game Saturday. I don't normally miss those games, and I haven't made it to one, yet, this year, but, grandkids' Halloween costumes are more important!

Hedwig, the Owl!

2011-09-25T09:49:00.000-04:00

Seeing as how it is Sunday morning, and I need to go up to get ready for church, I don't have time for much explanation, but I wanted to show you my Hedwig, the owl from Harry Potter, costume. I started with this pattern.

Here's the body. As you see, I used the pattern and added wings. The fabric is some kind of synthetic, soft stuff that doesn't ravel and looks kind of feathery when it is cut into feather shaped strips. I sewed them on in rows after sewing the 6 pieces together, except for one seam so that I could do it on the flat. I left one panel bare for the belly of the owl. I later glued real feathers on that panel.

Here's a close-up of the fabric feathers next to the real feathers.

The wings are stuffed a little. It looks like a lot in this photo.

Miss R's arm will fit inside the wing, but if she wants her hands free, she can stick them through this slit. I didn't even stitch around it because it won't ravel, as I said above.

There's an old pillowcase inside for the lining.

For the eyes, I began with two bracelets from my grandkids' dress-up clothes in their play area at our house.

I first glued the black lining fabric around the bracelets, then, I cut gold velvet circles. I cut the inside circles out of the center of the gold, glued those onto the black and secured with glue around the back. This reminded me of making covered buttons. Then, I took a little piece of white plastic to glue on to give the eyes some life. The beak is made from the same gold velvet.

The headpiece has the fabric feathers underneath with the real feathers glued on top of them. I was just going to put them around the eyes, but I'm glad I decided to cover the whole head.

Next, I will make Hedwig's talons. Miss R will wear yellow or gold tights. The talons will be made from this mottled patterned quilting cotton, and will slip over her shoes. I'll show them to you when I finish.

Yesterday morning, I got a call from a lady at a local bank asking me if I would paint on their

windows. We have a big event in our community coming up that will sponsor the Boys and Girls Club, the local arts council (I'm on the board of that), and perhaps a few other non-profit groups. It's called a Turtle Tumble. It's like a rubber duck race, except they use rubber turtles. This bank is one of the sponsors so they want to advertise it on their windows. Even though, I do not have time to do this, I'm going to anyway. My grandmother would not approve, but I am going to paint this afternoon, yep, on a Sunday. I will pray for forgiveness. It is for a good cause and it is the only time I can come up with to do this project.

Today is my husband's 59th birthday!!!! He caught up with me!

I do not have time to proof read this post, so if I made errors please overlook them!

An Update!!!! & Undersea Creatures!

2011-09-18T12:07:00.001-04:00

First I want to let you know that I GOT MY SEWING MACHINE BACK!!!!! It is FIXED!!!! I am so happy. It may seem silly to some, but it's like I've had a sick family member who has come out of intensive care and is going to make a full recovery!!! I haven't had a chance to sew on it yet, but my sewing machine guy (who is my new hero) tells me it works perfectly!!!!!

Lil"E wants to be an undersea fairy for Halloween. Of course, my first thought was using blues, greens, maybe purples, but not for Lil"E. She wants PINK, her new favorite color. It was purple. So, it dawned on me that seashells are pinkish. I made the bodice in the shape of a shell using this shiny (no sparkles - they hurt and itch!) satiny fabric that was in the box of fabrics that my friend gave me.

I added some shimery white sheer organza type fabric that I had in my stash, left over from making angel wings for church. I bubbled the skirt and inserted satiny seashells and "pearls" (plastic beads) so that she'll make pearly noises (whatever that is) when she twirls.

The over dress is made like a pinafore that ties on the sides. I gathered the skirt and sewed it on the outside of the lower part of the seashell bodice so that it would make a ruffle at the waist.

Underneath is a SOFT under-dress made from velour fabric that was also in my friend's box. Boy, do I ever owe her one!!!! Lil'E really doesn't like anything scratchy touching her sensitive skin. This under-dress will be so comfy for this little fairy. I added satiny puffy sleeves to the under-dress, and added lace with pink and pearl accents.

To finish it off is a seashell crown. Actually, this costume isn't quite complete. I'm still figuring out the wings. I made a set, but I don't like them, so I'm still debating how I'm going to make them.

Since, Lil'E is going to be an undersea fairy, it stands to reason that her little sis', Lil'B would also be an undersea creature. She will be a sea horse. Our little Miss R was a sea horse a few years ago, but she was a gold and brown shiny sea horse, and wasn't as old as Lil'B, so her costume wouldn't work to hand down. Actually, Miss J was once an undersea fairy, but the sizes and colors didn't work for Lil'E, of course.

This fabric came from my friend's box, too! It is hot pink moire satin. I thought it looked like it a watery look to it, even though it's pink. The really shiny stuff is kind of orangey-pink sheer fabric that I had in my stash. I don't remember what I had used it for, but I'm sure it was someone's Halloween costume a few years back.

The fins on the head and back have pipe cleaner spines that hold them up. I just zigzagged over them.

The eyes are cut from a styrofoam cup colored with a black permanent marker. I used my hot glue gun to glue them on and decided to put the glue all over the surface, partly to hold them on better, and partly because I thought it look kind of cool.

I made little shiny shoulder fins.

Here's a close-up of the tail. Can you believe that I almost forgot to make the tail? What kind of sea horse doesn't have a long curly tail?

Here's a front view. It is really hard to photograph a sea horse costume. I hope I get some photos of the kids in their costumes!
Next, is the Hedwig the owl costume (Harry Potter's pet), and Luna Lovegood and Fleur Delacour (both Harry Potter characters) for the sisters in Connecticut. Luna and Fleur actually wear real clothes. I plan to make their costumes so that they can really wear them if they choose.

Can you believe that I have strep throat again? At least I think it's strep. I haven't been to the doctor, but I called my friend who is a physician's assistant. She called medicine in for me. I thought I was just exhausted from teaching and all the other stuff I've had to do this week. Yesterday, I got a really bad headache, though, and realized my throat hurt, too. When I looked at it, I saw those white spots on my tonsils that look strepish. So, I am staying home from church this morning and doing computer stuff so I can rest. My sister has been here this week. I sure hope she doesn't get strep because with her COPD that would not be good. I can't miss school because there is TOO MUCH TO DO to get ready for a sub and it is more trouble than it is worth most of the time!!!! I'm going to try to get some school stuff done today on the computer.

Do Dinosaurs Wear Pajamas?

2011-09-05T20:07:00.002-04:00

These monster Tyrannosauruses do!!!!

Our Big Little Man, who is 3 years old, told his mom and dad he wants to be a monster T-Rex in bed for Halloween this year, and that Little Little Man, who will be 11 months by Halloween could be a Baby Monster T-Rex in bed. As you can see, BLM's pjs are two piece with short sleeves and short pants. LLM's are like a sleeper except without feet. His dino suit has separate feet that slip over his shoes. BLM will slip his feet right into his dino suit's feet. I attached a rubber hair band to the back of the heel so that it can hook around the button that is inside the back of the leg, so that his feet will stay in. I guess these feet will get pretty dirty when he's out trick-or-treating, but that's ok.

Here's Big Little Man's head.

He will look out through the mouth. The teeth are made from Mr. Clean sponges.

Here's where his head will fit.

Little Little Man's head sits on top of a hood that will cover his head.

Here's Big Little Man's naked T-Rex suit. I didn't take a photo of Little Little Man's without the pjs. It looks like a smaller version of this one, pretty much. His feet aren't attached, though.

I have my friend, Marilyn to thank for this green stretchy ribbed fabric. It was in the big box of fabric and trims that she gave me recently!!!! I'm going to use some fabric from this box for Lil'E and Lil'B's costumes, too. What a blessing to have friends like Marilyn, and like Tina, who has loaned me her machine so I can make these costumes. I am such a lucky lady!!!!!

Thank you to those of you who wished my daughter well, through the hurricane power outage. They got their power back on Saturday, after 7 days without it! They were safe and no damage was done to their home, so they were actually lucky. Our daughter in MA had no damage either.

We are getting the rain from Tropical Storm Lee right now, but it is badly needed, so I am not complaining!!!! It has cooled down considerably, too! Whew! These 90+ temps have been miserable!!!! It's going to be in the 70s for a few days!!!!

The insurance company is investigating whether or not they will replace my machine if it can't be fixed. Of course I have a deductible I'll have to meet first. But, I'm truly hoping that mine can be fixed!

Update........

2011-09-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

I still don't have my machine. The couple who own the store where I bought it and where it will BE REPAIRED??? had to leave town suddenly because of a death in their family. They are back, now, though, and he said he would try to let me know something toward the beginning of next week. In the meantime, my daughter hasn't had a chance to send hers to me. Hurricane Irene kind of got in the way of her being able to do much besides try to figure out how to survive three young daughters with no power and no water for 7 days, now!!!!!! But, my friend has loaned me hers, so I'm going to be sewing today!!!!

An Up-date on my machine's status and a Job!

2011-08-27T11:34:00.000-04:00

The repairman said he doubts that my machine can be fixed, but that he won't have time to look at it closely until next week. I am praying that his initial diagnosis is wrong. In the meantime, my daughter is shipping hers to me to use for Halloween costumes. Also, we are looking into our homeowners' insurance. It is possible it will cover at least part of the loss. The lady at the shop where I bought the machine and where it is being "repaired" suggested that we look into this possibility. Apparently she's had other customers who have been in similar circumstances. I am having withdrawal symptoms. I've been straightening my sewing room this morning. It's hard to even be in there. If you are a sewist, you know what I mean! I did not sleep at all on Wednesday night. I was awake when my alarm went off on Thursday morning. Talk about tired and sad!!!!!!!

BUT.....

I have some other news, that is good and exciting!!! On the night that we had our parent/teacher meet and greet, one of the dad's who is on the county's Education Foundation Board, asked me if I would be interested in the director's position!!! It is part time and some of the work can be done from home on the computer. It also involves fund raising, writing a newsletter, other correspondence, meeting with clubs, etc...to speak about what we do, meeting with donors, finding new donors, giving grants to teachers, the Imagination Library (started by Dolly Parton to send a book a month to every child born in TN till their 5th birthday), and other such things. I went through the interview process, after sending in a resume (Do you know I've never had a resume!!! I've never needed one since I've worked in the same school system over 30 years!). I got the call on Thursday, that I had the position if I wanted it! Yea!!!! That was good news after the tragedy with my sewing machine the day before!
Julia

To All My Blogger Friends

2011-08-24T16:55:00.003-04:00

I am not gone, and you are not forgotten. I'm just too busy with school stuff: grading papers, putting up bulletin boards, writing detailed lesson plans, writing out standards and objectives to go on the wall, analyzing benchmark test data, grading papers, trying to figure out what to put in learning centers, learning how to use a smart board (BUT - the teacher computer in my room is broken right now, so I can't use the smart board), learning how to probe (don't ask), still trying to learn my schedule (I'm getting there), grading papers, taking up snack money (but, no lunch money this year, YEA!), grading papers, etc...... Did I mention grading papers? Oh yeah, I guess I did. I'll be back when I catch my breath.
Gotta get some Halloween costumes made! Can't wait to get started!
I just went in my sewing room to iron a pair of pants to wear to school tomorrow. My sewing machine cord was caught in my sewing table chair. I moved the chair, and yes you guessed it, my machine crashed to the floor with parts going in every direction! I am so upset that I can hardly breath right now. My husband has offered to take it to the sewing machine store where I bought it, and where they repair machines, tomorrow. I am praying that the guy there will look at it and say that it CAN BE FIXED!!!!! I just hope it won't take forever, but mostly I just hope he can fix it!!! There is really only one part that is actually broken, and I would think it could be replaced. My daughters have offered to let me use their machines in the meantime. My son-in-law checked with UPS and found that they can ship theirs for a reasonable amount. I just want to be able to make Halloween costumes. I have my husband's grandmother's machine, which might work, but it is at least 50 or 60 years old, maybe more.

Julia

Lunch Tote for Lil'E and Growth Tucks - Gotta Love 'Em

2011-08-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

I made this little lunch tote for Lil'E. I don't think she will really need it at preschool this year, because she just goes for a half day, but she will probably take snacks. Also she could use this to take her gymnastics gear to class, or to carry her doll clothes, or whatever she chooses.

Her initials are E. R. G. Her middle name is Ruth. She and Miss J were both given my mother's name as middle names.

The back has a butterfly applique.

The sides are from the same fabric as the appliques. I sewed a thin layer of batting between the layers of fabric. I do not know what this fabric is or even where or why I have it. I found it in my stash, though, and LUNCH TOTE came to my mind.

I went to Walmart to find a thermos, etc... to go in her tote. I was really thinking PINK, because that's Lil'E's favorite color right now and I had some really cool fabric with pink in it to trim this in, but it was either lime green, red, or dark blue. I bought the green thinking I surely had something that would work. I was lucky enough to have the green and purple floral, but just barely enough to work!

I made a removable tote inside the tote to carry the sandwich box and thermoses, so that her mom could remove it to wash it if need be. And - so if she wants to use the tote for something besides her lunch or snack, it will be easy to convert.

Velcro was the closure of choice on this.

Don't you just love how a growth tuck in a skirt makes it even cuter? I needed to shorten this a little, so rather than cut off the ruffle and sew it back on higher on the skirt, I just made a growth tuck. This way, if Lil'E likes it next year she can still wear it, if her mom will take the stitching out. I kind of like the way it has even more body for twirling with the tuck added.

I am going EARLY to school every morning and staying LATE every evening. I was the last to leave at 6:00 tonight! I have so much to do in order to be ready for the next day, because I am having to learn the new curriculum for 3rd grade since I was used to 6th. Plus, the administration has added a lot of stuff that has to be done, so I'm doing it. Also, since I'm not in my own classroom, I'm having to hunt for stuff. In my own room, teaching 6th for 18 years, I knew where everything was and what I was going to do for the entire year. I like a challenge, though!

Giving Lil'E Her Name

2011-08-14T17:10:00.000-04:00

For Lil'E's birthday, I made the letters of her name from different fabrics that will match her room, then I stuffed them and hand sewed them together. I tried to blur the letters enough that you couldn't read them, but so that you could still see the fabrics. I'm not so sure that you can really see the fabrics, but you get the idea. The back of each letter is made from a green linen-like fabric. Her bed is painted purple and her curtains have purple and green (made by her other grandmother - so cute!!!), and her bedspread is pink. She needed something that tied all these colors together. She had a bedspread before that did tie it all together, but then her mom and dad bought a new bedroom suite and gave her their queen-sized bed. The twin bedspread didn't work anymore. I hope Lil'E likes getting her name for her birthday!

This is the top that I made, from one of mine that I never wore, to go with the twirly skirt that I made for Lil'E from the bed skirt. After looking at these photos, I'm beginning to think this skirt is going to be way too long. I need to call my daughter for some measurements. Growth tucks might just have to be stitched.

From Bed Skirt to Twirly Skirt!!!!

2011-08-11T18:36:00.000-04:00

My dear friend, Debbie, gave me her bedskirt when she was redecorating her bedroom. She thought, correctly, I might add, that this eyelet would be perfect for one or more of my sewing projects!!! I was very excited, to say the least!!!! Our Lil'E has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. I made this twirly skirt for her from Debbie's bed skirt!!!! I cut the ruffle off one of the pillow shams that she gave me, too, to sew along the bottom of the skirt. Another dear friend, Marilyn, gave me a whole box of fabrics and trims the other day. It just so happened that in that box was a piece of knit ribbing that matched the bed skirt eyelet perfectly. I used it as the waist band!! In this box is also a narrow piece of eyelet trim that also matches this bed skirt perfectly. I am going to use it to trim a top to go with this skirt. I am thinking of refashioning the shirt that I have draped on the top of this dress form. It is one of mine that I have only worn once or twice. It never has really fit very well, so why not use it to make Lil'E a top to match her skirt?

I thought I'd show you just how pretty this eyelet is in a close-up photo! There's actually enough left from the skirt and the two pillow shams to make a couple more little outfits, one for Lil'B and one for Debbie's granddaughter. Finding the time is going to be the issue, though. School has been in session for two days following a week of inservice, and I. AM. PLUMB. TUCKERED. OUT!!!! That's a Southern way of saying exhausted. I do have an awesome group of kiddos in my room, though!!!!! Lucky me!!!!!!

I do hope to have time this weekend to make a couple of other things for Lil'E for her birthday. I have something in mind for her bedroom.

Sailboat Shortall

2011-08-06T10:45:00.000-04:00

I finally got this finished. There are a couple of things I would do differently if I was making it again. For one, I would have either made the smocked panel go all the way to the side seam, under the sleeve, or I would have made it a little shorter, so that the corners would not be in the sleeve seam. It added a little too much bulk, but I truly think it will work out ok. I know the grandmom of the little one this was made for is very happy. She took it to her daughter, who was happy, too. They even asked me to make him a Christmas outfit. I have to think on that one, because.........

........I have started work. We had inservice and work days Wed., Thurs., and yesterday, plus the days I had already been to meetings the week before and last Mon., when it wasn't required, but I worked in the classroom, anyway. It dawned on me the other day, that when I retired, I only had 3 grandchildren. I, now, have SEVEN! It was difficult getting Halloween costumes, Christmas outfits, etc.... done with just three, but with seven, I don't know how I'll do it! But, believe me, my grands are my top priority, so they will get done!!!! I came home everyday this week and sewed for an hour or two just to get this little outfit done. I kept changing my mind about what I was doing, so I took out, and redid several times. I will have to plan more carefully before I start my Halloween sewing!
Big and Little Little Men want to be Monster TRexes in pajamas, Lil'E wants to be a Sea Fairy and her Lil'B is to be a Sea Horse. Miss K wants to be a character, from a book she's read, who wears a karate type outfit (I'll have to research that one). Miss J wants to be a character from Harry Potter (Again, some research will come into play). Then, there's Miss R, she changes her mind often, but the latest is a HORSE. She first said a black cat, which would be so easy, but if she wants to be a horse, a horse she'll be!!!! Her big sister was a cowgirl riding a horse one year.
First, I have a couple of little birthday outfits to sew. Lil'E will soon be 4 years old. I will make her and Lil'B simple little matching skirts, maybe????

Going back to SCHOOL news..........We had a parents meet the teachers time last night. I was flabbergasted as these parents kept coming into my room, and I was recognizing them as my former students! I can't tell you how weird that was! Now, I've had the kids of some of my former students before, but seriously, about half of my students are former students' kids!!!! I think it will be fun to get to know their kids! At least none of them (that I know about) ran to the principal and demanded that their children be moved to another class when they saw who their kid's teacher would be this year!

Smocked Sailboats

2011-07-31T23:05:00.000-04:00

I just finished this, well, actually, it isn't finished. I still need to block it, etc..... I see some of the pleating threads that I overlooked. First, I backsmocked, then, I made some waves in blue and white.

I have never really done picture smocking correctly, but on this I decided that I wanted to do better. So, I got out a couple of my Sew Beautiful magazines and a book on smocking. I studied the correct techniques, and then I practiced a little. I couldn't find a sailboat pattern that was free, and I didn't want to wait on buying one, so I just made these up as I went along. I added the birds and then more wave stitches in blue and white across the top. This is going into a baby boy's shortall suit. It will be made from a tiny blue gingham check, and trimmed with yellow piping. I am making it for Tucker, who is the 3 month old grandson of my friend. She asked me to make it before he was even born. I am just now getting it started. I hope to be able to take it to her on Wednesday of this week.

I made a hand-smocked dress from a vintage table cloth, last week. It was embroidered and had drawn thread work on it. It was so pretty. I donated the dress to the Boys and Girls Club for a fund raiser auction. I hope it will sell and make a little money for them. I forgot to take any photos of the dress, but maybe I can go to the event and get some, or I may just go by their offices before the auction and ask if I can get some photos. I know they won't mind.

I had two teachers' meetings last week. I am going to help the teacher, whose maternity leave I'm covering, work in her room tomorrow. I hope I can stay home to sew on Tuesday. Wednesday is when the teachers first REAL meeting is. I don't think I will need to go to it, though. Thursday is when the kids register. There will be workdays and inservice days on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, then, the kids' first real day is next Wednesday, the 10th of August. I will be a full-fledged third grade teacher ( until Christmas, that is). I am looking forward to it, anxious about it, and dreading it all at the same time!!!
I will enjoy seeing my teacher friends again. I had lunch with a few of them the other day. It was so much fun!

Paper(?)Doll Book

2011-07-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

I found this fabric a while back and nearly forgot that I had it. I found it at Katy's Fabrics, which is a little family owned store not too far from where I live. Anyway, the dolls are on one bolt of fabric and the clothes on another. I started with one looooooonnnnnnnnggggg piece of the pink checked seersucker fabric. I cut around the dolls and then zigzagged the edges, folding the pink checked fabric into pages with batting in between, as I went. When I was finished with that, I cut a bias binding from the multicolored checked seersucker. I bound each page and then the spine of the book. The spine was a little difficult to work with because it was soooo thick with so many layers and all that batting, but it worked. As you can see, the pages are slightly askew at the bottom. I figured it wouldn't matter too much since I was making this for a one year old. I realize that the almost 4 year old, big sis' will probably want to play with this book, too.

The doll on the front is off-center. If I had thought ahead, I would have appliqued something about Lil'B on the front, but it was too late when I thought to do that.

I made a pocket on the inside of the front cover for a storage place for the clothes, hats, and shoes.

I sewed Velcro to the dolls on their heads, feet and chests. After backing the clothes with a rosebud print (which I should have photographed, but didn't) by zigzagging around the edges, I cut them out and attached Velcro to the back of each piece. I made sure that the Velcro would be in the correct position for each doll and piece of clothing. There weren't shoes for some of the dolls feet placement. The dolls are standing in different positions, so some of the clothing doesn't work on some of the dolls, but I made sure that each doll had an outfit or two.

The following pictures show the dolls with and without their clothes.

This fuzzy photo shows the birthday girl and her big sister checking it out just after it was opened.

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her first cake!!!! By this time, she was sleepy and filled with a little too much sugar.

And here's a photo I just couldn't resist posting.

This is Lil'E admiring her new dress that I posted about a few posts back. Of course, she would be holding it up backwards, but that's ok. She wanted to wear it to church the next day, but her mom wants to get photos at the beach first.

Christening Gown - 4th time Worn

2011-07-24T23:23:00.002-04:00

I have posted about this Christening Gown before, but it has been a while. I made this dress 32 years ago for my daughter to wear. Since then, one of her nieces, Miss J, and her daughter, Lil'E, and now her daughter, Lil'B have worn it, too.

I really don't remember how I did this lacy neckline. I just worked the thread with my needle till it came out like I wanted it to be, then I wove the ribbon through it. The ribbon ties at the back neck for a closure. I also used 3 of the tatted loops from my grandmother's tatting to serve as button loops on the back.

Here's a close-up of the embroidery which I did freehand. That's why it isn't perfectly symmetrical.

Here's the slip that goes under the dress. Before I forget who has worn this dress, and when, I need to embroider their names and dates of their Baptisms.

I actually made this before I was really into heirloom sewing. I wasn't well versed on some of the techniques, but I was happy with the outcome anyway.

Pin The Bow On the Baby!

2011-07-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

My daughter, mother of Lil'B and Lil'E asked me to make a cartoonish drawing of Lil'B on a sheet of poster board so that the kids can play "Pin the Bow on the Baby" at Lil'B's first birthday party. I had her send me a close up of Lil'B via email so I could capture her cuteness as closely as possible. Below is a cropped version of the photo she sent. I zoomed in very closely to her cute little face and printed it out as an 8X10 photo. I then taped this photo to the poster board and drew with a sharp pencil around the outline and her features, including that big, big smile. (BTW, this photo was taken when she was in the borrowed to-go seat that I posted about yesterday.) I used colored pencils and a black permanent marker.

This is the result of my efforts. It's not exact, but remember, she wanted a cartoonish depiction. I didn't have a photo to go by for her body, so I just winged it. And, as my husband said after it was finished, "You sure did give her some fat legs!" I told him that she's a baby and babies do have fat legs. After really looking at it, especially from across the room, I realized that I sure did give her some fat rolls!!! She really doesn't have chubby legs; she's a rather thin little one. But, oh well, like I said, the intent was to do a cartoonish version of Lil'B. If I had spent more time, perhaps it would have turned out better. Oh yeah, and her hair has lightened up since the photo above was made, so my daughter said to be sure to give her blond hair. I also covered up her ears. I don't know why I did that.

Then, I made a bunch of bows from different ribbons so that each child will know where their bow was placed. We will actually use two-sided tape rather than pins. I figured that after the party, my daughter might want to replenish her daughters' bow supply. If she doesn't want all of these, I could send some to my other granddaughters, well, the five year old might still wear them. I don't think the older two do any more. Or, if my daughter wants to let the little girls at the party pick a bow to take home they can. Of course, a clip will have to added to the back, but that's easy enough.

A BABY To-Go Seat!

2011-07-20T12:06:00.002-04:00

This is just a zippered bag, right?

Well, yes, but there's something inside.

Hum.......it just looks like a bunch of fabric and sashes, hum................?

But................if you slip it over the back of a chair (almost any sized chair, this one is a typical ladder-back cane-bottom chair)in a restaurant or at a friend's home, etc..........,

...........and then tie the first set of sashes around the back of the chair,

....then, slip a baby, or Smokey ( the University of Tennessee's mascot), into the front with another set of the straps (sashes, which have loops sewn to the front part that covers the back of the chair for which to guide the sashes and keep the securely in place) over his/her shoulders, then.........

......tie that set of sashes around on the back of the chair, also, then...............

......pull up the sashes that are attached to the part of the seat that the child is straddling, and.......

criss-cross them around the back, then the front, and around to the back again before tying, the baby will be securely confined to the seat.

If the seat part is too tall for the baby, it can be folded down to accommodate a smaller child.

I realize this sounds like a lot of tying, etc..., but truly, it only takes a minute to get the baby settled. Of course, I was working with a very cooperative Smokey and not a squirming baby, but my daughter borrowed a seat very similar to this when we went to my niece's wedding, and it was a life saver! She didn't have to carry in some bulky seat or stroller to the reception. Now, granted, this is not exactly like the seat she borrowed, because it was a purchased one, and not made from a sheet and sham pillowcase covers like this one were, but I think it will work equally as well. I sure hope so, anyway.

Below are some darling milkshake banks that the children at VBS have made from plastic cups, fabric scraps, soda straws, and red poms. The theme of VBS is SHAKE IT UP! It is a food themed Bible study and refers to lots of scripture that is food themed, but mostly as a reminder to children that their are many people less fortunate than they, and that God wants us all to GIVE of ourselves, our talents, and items/food/etc................. One of the gentlemen at the church made milkshakes for about 90 people the night they made these!!!!! We are a very small church, so this year we have gone in with another, not quite as small, church to have VBS! It is working very well. Next year, we will be the host church.

More on the Bubble and now a Sundress, too

2011-07-16T22:15:00.001-04:00

Here's Lil'B's bubble suit, again. I thought I'd show it with Lil'E's sundress, below, to match it.

Here's the back of the sundress. I like that both outfits have bow details. I really should pay attention when I'm taking pictures. That bow just looks all weird, but it really doesn't, I promise!

I used the shell stitch detail for the hem of this dress. I think it adds a pretty little touch.

I thought I'd show you that I lined the bubble suit. The fabric is so thin, that I was afraid Lil'B's diaper would show through. That would not be pretty!

I also lined Lil'E's dress because of the thin fabric, too. I think lining just gives a little dress more body.

These are the patterns I used. I changed them in that I added a smocking panel and I lined them. Otherwise, I pretty much stuck to these patterns. I don't do that often, but it sure does make things go more quickly.

Next, I have a couple more things (but not clothing) that I want to make for Lil'B's first birthday!!!! Our VBS starts tomorrow evening, so I will have to work efficiently to get everything done. That's something I haven't done lately. I found out what Big Little Man and Little Little Man want their Halloween costumes to be this year: A monster TREX in bed and a baby monster TREX in bed. Their mom suggested making pjs for the TREXes. I guess baby TREX will have to have a sleeper type pj. I had better get busy, don't you think?

Sewing Bubbles!

2011-07-16T10:23:00.000-04:00

Well, one bubble suit that is. This is for Lil'B's first birthday.

I used yellow piping to bring out the bit of yellow in the smocking. This is my favorite color combination!!!!

Bow details. The way I have this pinned to my backdrop makes the buttons and center back looked skewed, but they really aren't.

On the leg side seams

Now, it's on to Lil'E's dress.

Crazy, but I've got my mojo back!!!!

2011-07-15T11:59:00.003-04:00

First, I'll tell you about getting my mojo back!

Because Lil'B has a first birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, and Lil'E has a fourth birthday in about a month, it was time to get back to my real passion, which is sewing for my grands.

Above is the smocked panel that will go into a bubble suit for Lil'B. I used floss that matches the fabric (lavender) almost exactly for the largest part of my smocking. I filled in the diamonds with pastel yellow. Then for the bullion roses, I first outlined the center of the diamonds with pastel green and then filled in the center with more of the lavender.

And - below, is the smocked panel that will go into a dress for Lil'E. For this one I used a pale, pale pink for the largest part of the design because Lil'E's new favorite color is pink. Then I used the pale yellow to fill in the diamonds. And - again, I used the green to outline the bullion roses, and this time, I used the pink for the actual roses.

The bubble suit and dress are cut out and ready to be put together. Their mom asked me to make outfits that they can have their photos made in at the beach. She didn't want the typical white, though, so thus, the pastel lavender 100% cotton batiste. She'll have to iron these. I am going to line these with a blended cotton, though, so maybe the ironing won't be too bad!

Okay, so it's time to go rinse the color out of my hair, then into my sewing room for construction of these little birthday outfits.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you know the song, "CRAZY," that Patsy Cline made famous? The lyrics have been running through my mind the past few days, but with some major changes, as follow:

CRAZY

(saying well, maybe)

Crazy, I'm crazy for ~~feelin' so lonely.~~

(giving it a thought)
I'm crazy, crazy for ~~feelin' so blue.~~

(You knew, I would have a hard time saying no.)
~~I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted~~

(that it's been four years since I the last time I taught)
and ~~then some day you'd leave me for somebody new.~~

Worry, why do I let myself worry
wondering what in the world did I do.

(I should teach again )

Crazy for thinking that ~~my love could hold you~~

I'm crazy for trying

(and, "WHYING?")
and crazy ~~for crying~~

( ..ier than I've ever been!)
and I'm craz~~y for loving you.~~

Worry, why do I let myself worry
(will)

wonderin' what in the world ~~did~~ I do.

(and feeling such dismay)

Crazy for thinking ~~that my love could hold you.~~

I'm crazy for trying
(and "WHYING?")

and crazy ~~for crying~~

(saying, "OKAY.")
and I'm crazy for ~~loving you.~~

So, if this made sense, you will know that I've agreed to go back into the classroom, not permanently, mind you, but to fill in for a teacher who is going on maternity leave. I retired four years ago after having taught 32 years. I went back part-time as a math interventionist, and then again in the spring, as a substitute. Now, I have agreed to teach third grade till December 16!!!! The teacher who asked me is a real sweet young lady, who just had her second child {a new little baby boy (her first is s girl)}. I taught 6th grade language arts the last 18 years of my career. The things I'm most concerned about are:
Every classroom has a SMART BOARD now!!!! (Am I smart enough to learn how to use it?)
Centers are a requirement in third grade!!!
I'll have to set my alarm clock again!
When I retired we had 3 grands and one on the way. Now, we have SEVEN! Sewing for 3 is one thing; sewing for 7 is another. Will I be able to find the time to make Halloween costumes and Christmas outfits?

The things that made me say, "Yes," are:
I really like this young teacher, and I remember the year I took a maternity leave until Christmas. Finding subs is not an easy thing to do.
I love little ones. I did teach third grade 30 years ago and loved it. One of my grands is this age, and she's so much fun to be around.
I miss being in the classroom and around kids.
I miss my teacher friends.
I will not have to worry about sick days. When I need to take off, I can do so without worry, as long as I can find a sub.
After the first three weeks that this young teacher is using her sick days for, I will get paid full teacher pay on top of my retirement! I can teach for, I think, 120 days before it starts affecting my retirement. So for all of Sept., Oct., Nov., and half of Dec. I will make decent $$.

But, am I nervous? You better believe it!!!!!
Am I CRAZY? We'll see! I guess it may be December 16th before I know. By the way, December 16th will be our 39th wedding anniversary. I may really celebrate this year!

Pop-up Window!!

2011-07-06T11:49:00.000-04:00

A couple of my followers have told me that for some reason I didn't have a pop-up window for comments. I didn't realize that! I'm sorry if that has caused an inconvenience for anyone who has tried to leave me a comment. I thought I had it set for a pop-up window, but when I went to settings, I didn't. I would appreciate if some of you would try commenting on this post to let me know if it is working correctly now. I've been busy doing yard work and inside cleaning, so I haven't been sewing lately. I hope to get back to my sewing soon!!!!!
Julia

A Flower Show and a couple of other things...............

2011-07-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

This little fellow has taken up residence in our front shrubbery. I think he's a baby Mocking Bird, Tennessee's state bird. His parents keep fussing at us whenever we get close to him, but he just sits and stares at us. I guess we are scaring him. We should leave him alone.

Rose of Sharon

Hosta

Butterfly Bush

Zennias

Hydrangea

Not quite blooming yet, Crepe Myrtle

Knockout Rose

Tomatoes

Pumpkin, where I threw out our fall pumpkins last fall. Ha!!!!

POISON IVY!!!!! My husband is spraying this today!!! I sure hope he gets rid of it. I've never had poison ivy in my life till this year, and I've had it twice just recently!!!

Can you see them? Look very closely. See all those little black dots? Thousands of June Bugs in the field between our house and my father-in-law's.

Fairy Houses

2011-06-30T13:02:00.001-04:00

Our three oldest granddaughters, Misses K, J, and R, have been here for a visit. We made fairy houses while they were here. We placed them all around our yard. Some are actually not houses, but swings, etc.... I just got a lot of STUFF out for them and they used their creativity to make these amazing structures.

Refashion number 7 A Maxi

2011-06-20T09:29:00.001-04:00

I really wish I had taken a before picture of these pieces, but I didn't. This was a REALLY long skirt on Mother, but she was in the wheelchair by the time she wore this, so the length didn't really matter. The sweater was also very LONG and loose. It had very long sleeves, too.

I cut the sweater up the front, cut it off below the bust line, then crossed the right side over the left. The bow was already on here. I left it alone. This dress comes to my ankles. I left the hem line of the skirt as it was.

Then, I stitched the skirt waist to the bottom of the sweater. I cut the sleeves off and did the shell stitch around their hem.

I used a trim that I had in my stash to cover the elastic waist band. This last photo is of me in the mirror. I thought you needed to see it on, rather than just hanging. Beulah wasn't feeling cooperative this morning.

Refashion Number 6 A dressy number this time.....

2011-06-17T23:13:00.001-04:00

Mother wore a long skirt, a long shell, and a long beaded jacket to my youngest daughter's wedding. She was wearing what she called UGLY shoes at this time and refused to wear anything that wouldn't hide them. She was in a wheelchair most of the time by then, too, so her shoes didn't really matter so much, but they did to her. Anyway, I cut the skirt off from the top and stitched it to the underlining of the shell, making a short (well, just below the knees) dress. Then, I cut up the edge of the long beaded jacket trim. I took the trim and curved it around the sides till it met in the back at hip level. I stitched by hand, the trim to the fabric of the jacket. There was no sewing this on the machine. I broke two needles trying. Anyway, once I had stitched around the trim numerous times by hand to ensure that it was going to hold, I then cut the length of the jacket off below the trim. Boy, I should have taken some before pictures.

I may wear this to my niece's wedding soon. I see that I need to press the chiffon of the shell that overlays the skirt. I did shorten it a bit, because it was longer than the jacket when I thought I was through.

Where the bottom front corners of the trim ended, it makes kind of a point on either side of the back of the bottom of the jacket. It doesn't look even in this photo, but I peomise it is.

I'm not sure that I want to wear this or what I wore to my nephew's wedding earlier this spring. It's different sides of the family so no one will know if I wear what I've already worn.

Bandana Fashions For Kids and Refashions Number 4 & 5

2011-06-16T12:27:00.002-04:00

I was walking through Walmart the other day, when I saw the bandanas. They just kind of spoke to me, and said, "We will make cool, cute, summer outfits for your grands." So, I bought a bunch of them.

This shirt is for Miss K, our 11 year old. She can wear this with jeans, white shorts, black shorts, or whatever.

Next is a sun top for Miss J, who is 8 1/2, now. I loved the red, white, and blue of these bandanas. I thought of the 4th of July approaching.

This is a closeup of how I did the straps from ribbon and buttons.

A shot of the back of Miss J's top.

Miss R is 5 1/2 and loves girly things, so she is getting a skirt. I used the borders that I cut off of Miss J's top to give a little more fullness than just using 2 bandanas would have provided. The ribbon is tacked on to the waist on each side seam so it will stay in place.

Lil'B is now almost 11 months old. She's getting a bubble suit.

Her big sis, Lil'E is almost 4! She's getting a pillowcase style dress.

For the boys, who are 3 and almost 7 months, I made hats. I thought I had lined up the red and white stripes on Big Little Man's a little better than it looks in this photo. Maybe there is a wrinkle that makes it look skewed, but I'm not sure. I'll have to go back and look. Little Little Man's hat has the stripes lined up at the crown of the hat, but you can't see the circle they make here.

I lined them with some star fabric that was in my stash.

Now, for a couple more of Mother's outfits that I have refashioned to add to my wardrobe. I did very little to change these. That's why I'm showing them together.

For the blue jacket, which had no buttons down the front, I simply folded back the front edges, stitched them together and stitched down the original edge to make a border along the center seam. (The yellow that you see peeking out is yarn stuffing from Beulah's bra. I didn't realize it was showing.) There is actually a blue floral shell that goes with this. I didn't photograph it, but all I did to it was take up the side seams. I have folded up the sleeves to make a wide cuff. I decided not to cut them off so that I can wear this year round.

I actually did the same thing with this sheer, yellow jacket. Mother wore this outfit to one of our daughter's afternoon wedding. The shell underneath is linen, but it's lined so maybe it won't wrinkle too badly.

These are some of the pants that I cut off to make into capris. Mother was shorter than I am and all of her pants are too short, so this was my only solution. I also took them up down the side seams. With some, I've had to take the waist band off and alter the crotch area.

The yellow ones go with the yellow jacket above. They are linen and will wrinkle, but that's ok.

The blue ones in the middle are a part of the suit that goes with the blue jacket above.

The gray pants are separates, that I can wear with that first refashion jacket and shell that I posted about a few days ago.

Refashion Number 3

2011-06-15T10:37:00.002-04:00

For this blouse, I started with one that I bought for Mother to wear to a Valentine's Dinner at our church several years ago. It had long sleeves, very long sleeves, so long, in fact that they came almost to the tips of my fingers. It was a typical button front shirt.

So the first thing I did was cut the sleeves off and just turn them up and hem them on the machine. Then, I took what I had cut off the sleeves , sewed the pieces together, folded them over, and gathered them. Then I sewed them into the front of the shirt, which took up the fullness just enough to fit me, and voila, a new shirt. Thanks, Beulah, for modeling for me again.

This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday at church. Everyone was asked to wear red. I didn't have anything red. When I was a little girl, I had plain old brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. Many of my family members had red hair, including my mother and sister, and my cousin, Malinda. She and I are only 4 months apart in age, so we dressed similarly, alot. She always wore the blues and greens, though, and I was always in pink or red. So, as I got older, I strayed from the pinks and reds, and rarely wear them anymore. I really don't know why. I love pink and red. I wore this with black slacks to church, Sunday, but I think I need to get a new pair of crisp white pants with which to wear this and a few other tops I have.

Refashion Number 2

2011-06-14T11:04:00.002-04:00

This began as a pullover sweater with a wide ribbed bottom edge. Mother loved wearing lavender. It looked so pretty on her with her snow white hair, fair skin, and blue, blue eyes. Maybe this is why I like purples so well.

I began by cutting it up the center, cutting the ribbing off the bottom, then folding back the center edges and, using the blind hem stitch on my machine to make a shelled edging. I turned up the narrow ribbing on the sleeves and did the same shell edging. I used this same technique on the bottom. Somehow, it turned out to be a little longer in the front, kinda going down into a vee shape. I liked this, so I left it alone.

I added a button and used a hair elastic band to make a loop at the front neckline. My favorite thing is the flower that I made from the ribbing that I cut off the bottom.

I've already worn this several times, and people are either just being kind, or they really like it because I've had lots of compliments. I have a solid plum colored shell that I've worn under this, but I like it over the shell that I showed you in yesterday's post that I made from Mother's dress.

I think this will look good with black, brown, or gray slacks, or a skirt. (I don't wear skirts often, though.)

My Beulah is doing her job well for me, lately. She's earning her keep. I do need to make her measurements equal mine, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Her shoulders are exactly the right size, but that's all.

Something else in the purple family that I LOVE!

Below are 4 photos of the same bouquet of hydrangea. I LOVE hydrangea, and I couldn't decide which photo showed these off best, so I just posted all of them. This is from a bush that my husband's grandmother planted many years ago.

Have a great week, JULIA

Not Giving Up, Yet......Refashion Number 1

2011-06-13T10:39:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I took a week or so off, again, and I'm going to try this again. Most of you advised that I should not give up on blogging, but not feel pressured to blog when I'm not in the mood. I have been sewing. I haven't been doing my usual sewing, though. I have been refashioning some of my mother's clothing to fit me. I am ready to show you some of these things, now.

Thanks for all of your encouragement. I just got into a little funk. I think that the memories that kept flooding my mind while I was working with Mother's clothes was part of that. I know that Mother would be so proud to know that I am reusing her clothes this way. I have given away most of her things, but I started looking at the fabrics and decided to use them for myself.

I didn't take any BEFORE pictures! How neglectful of me. I will try to describe each of these items, in this post and the next several, as they were originally. This was a dress style that was fairly popular, maybe 5 or 6 years ago. It was a long, almost to the ankle, dress that had no shape. The jacket had a collar like a button up shirt normally would have. So, what did I do to change it?

With Beulah's help, I'll show you. First, I cut the dress off to make a shell to wear under tops, including the sheer jacket that came with the dress. I will also wear this under some other tops. My next post will show an example of that. I also took the side seams.

Next, I cut the collar off of the jacket. I cut the leftover fabric that I cut off the bottom of the dress into 4 strips, which I braided. I attached this braid to the neckline of the jacket.

That's all I did. The jacket hangs very loosely. The back has an open slit. I kind of liked the way it looked so I left it alone.

I've also been working on some purses. I'm trying to perfect my designs before I start sharing these, though.
Next, I'm going to make some summery little outfits for the grands. I'm going to use red, white, and blue bandanas! I hope these turn out like I am seeing them in my mind.

It's good to be back, again. I hope my blogging mood stays with me this time. Again, thanks for the positive comments.
julia

To Blog Or Not to Blog?

2011-06-08T10:44:00.000-04:00

It seems that I have just not been in the blogging mood for a long time. It could be because I haven't been sewing any children's clothing lately. Maybe I just need to get in my sewing room, clean up the stuff I've been doing, and start on kids' things again. Afterall, that is my passion.
I have just been in a funk. I've been reading blogs. I've left a few comments. I used to leave comments on almost every blog I read, every time I read it. Lately, I have just not had much to say, I suppose.
In looking back over my blog, I'm wondering if all this is, is a format for me to brag about what I've created? Is it ???????....... really, what is it?
I love reading about what ya'll create, so it stands to reason that ya'll want to see what others create, including me? Right? I don't know.
I also haven't had use of my husband's camera lately. I would rather read blogs with photos. I always did like picture books best.
I've been trying to figure out a way to turn my sewing or other creative endeavors into $$. I haven't figured it out, yet. I have heard yeas and nays about etsy, ebay, craig's list, etc...... I have heard yeas and nays about having your own website from which you sell things. What's your take on this?
I have lots of questions. Do any of you have answers?
Okay, so, now I just need to get in my sewing room and finish up some of the projects I do have going on before I start anything new. That's also one of my problems. I tend to think ahead to the NEXT thing I want to make, therefore hurrying through whatever the current project is. NOT GOOD!
Later..............Julia

"I Will Follow Him" and "Children of God"

2011-06-01T16:20:00.002-04:00

Every fifth Sunday, several of the churches in our area have a joint evening service after a family night covered dish dinner. This past Sunday it was held at my church.

The puppet team that I direct was asked to present a couple of songs. We chose "I Will Follow Him" which you may remember as a love song from the fifties that was turned around in the movie "Sister Act" to a religious song. As a background I made the silhouette above to represent people following Him.

This is the puppet that "sang" the song. The poster being held up was just for fun. I wish my husband had gotten photos of all of the signs, etc... that we used. It was really cute.

He did get a few. There were others, though, from behind the taller white curtain.

Here, we were performing the Third Day song, "Children of God". Our youth went to a Third Day concert recently, and they loved this group.

You can't tell in these photos, but the lights in the sanctuary were off and the puppets were holding little flashlights. They swayed to the music as they "sang".

Today, I'm sewing. I am remaking some of my mother's clothes to fit me. These are some of the things that were too good to give or throw away. So, I decided to just take them apart and remake them. Mother was shorter than I am so I am shortening a few pairs of her pants to make into capris for me. I am remaking some of her jackets and other tops to fit me, as well. There's one dress that I'm going to shorten and take in. I really need some clothes, so why not reuse her things? She would be very proud to know I'm doing this.
Oh yeah, I forgot. I am going with the poll votes from my sidebar to name my dress form, Beulah. That was my grandmother's name. It was my mother's first name, as well as one of my first cousin's first names. Lily was my Mother-in-law's first name, but she went by her middle name, Marie. Ruth was Mother's middle name. I have decided to name my sewing machine Ruth Marie. Puddin' was my nickname when I was a kid. I think I'll just save that name for myself.

I'm Back and I've Been Busy

2011-05-26T22:56:00.001-04:00

Whew!!!! What a whirlwind of activity has been going on in my life!!! First of all, we went to South Carolina to visit our daughter who just moved there from Arizona. Our daughter along with Lil'E and Lil'B came home with us to go to the wedding of one of our nephews. They stayed the whole week, then went to Nashville to a wedding in which my son-in-law was a groomsman. Then, our daughter from Massachusetts, her husband, Big Little Man, and Little Little Man came in for our other nephew's wedding. What a treat it was to see these daughters and their families.
Then, I flew up to Connecticut to visit with the daughter who lives there and the one in Massachusetts. We celebrated Big Little Man's and Miss K's birthdays. BLM was 3 and Miss K was 11!!!! Coming home my flight from CT was delayed, so I missed my connection flight in Charlotte, NC. I ended up spending the night in a hotel in NC. I only got about 4 hours of sleep before I had to be up and getting ready to go back to the airport.
In between all of these visits, I have taught a lot, worked on several projects, and worked with the puppeteers at church getting ready to perform this coming Sunday. I also went to a luncheon at a fellow retired teacher's home. All of the guests were retired teachers from my school. What fun that was!
This past Tuesday, May 24th, would have been my mother's 87th birthday. How fitting it was that the retired teachers organization here chose that day to honor her memory! I was invited to go, and I'm so glad that I did. I got to hear people I didn't even know tell memories they had of Mother and how much she meant to them. It was hard to hold back the tears.
Okay, so I have a few pictures of three of the things I've worked on while I've been taking a blogging break.
First, I have made a prayer shawl for a friend whose husband died recently. My church has a prayer shawl ministry, and I've decided to participate. This shawl is 57 inches long and about 2 feet wide. It's made to drape around her shoulders. As you may remember, one of the things I was determined to learn was to knit a cable stitch. I think I've got it figured out, now. This was fun to make.

Next, you may remember this Easter dress that I made for Miss J. It was a little snug across the top, so I added the yellow strips up the sides of the front and all the way around and down the back. Then, I embroidered a wavy feather stitch along the length of them to tie them in with the center panel.

I was rather proud of myself for packing all of the two grands' birthday gifts and my clothes in a carry on bag! I made this small purse to carry my essential things in so that I wouldn't have to take a regular sized purse. I did take a tote bag with one gift in it, along with a couple of books. I have been on a flight before that I was told to put my purse inside my tote. I didn't think my regular purse would fit in the tote with this other stuff in it.

Using sample upholstery fabrics, I made the purse below. As you can see, there is a pocket for my cell phone on the outside of one side.

The other side has a zippered pocket for carrying cash.

The strap is adjustable so that I can carry it across my body or over just one shoulder. I bought a hook to which I can attach my keys. I didn't take the keys on my trip.

On the inside, there is a long pocket that can hold my sunglasses. I also made two small pockets just the right size for my debit and credit card, my insurance card, and my driver's license. I kept the driver's license in a pocket by itself so that it would be easy to get to when going through security. Then there's the main body of the purse which, granted, is small, but large enough for my small calendar and a pack of gum and a small pack of tissues. I was so happy with the way this purse worked out on my trip. I have been carrying it ever since I got home. I will probably make a few more of these and only carry a larger purse when I don't have a choice.

I also made a bag full of zippers for Miss K. It is an over the shoulder bag made from an old jacket of mine that was made of a floral pique in oranges, pinks, and greens. I made her a small pocketbook, too. Then, I made a roll-up case for Big Little Man in which to carry his cars. I made it and a bag to carry it in from an old pair of my jeans. I didn't get photos of those.

A lady who works at the nursing home where Mother was, asked me to make tops for her girls to wear in a baton recital. I wish I had gotten photos, but she said she would email some to me. They were unique! I made them to their specifications.

Oh yeah, I also made cosmetic bags for a couple of my friends, and small zippered bags for Miss J and Miss R to carry their stuff when they are on trips, or whenever. No photos of these either.

I think that's all the projects I've done. Next, I have a couple of commissioned outfits to make for friends' grandchildren. One is for a baby boy, and the other is for a girl who is almost toddling.

It's good to be back on my blog. I have not had time to even read other blogs, so I have a lot of catching up to do!!! I've missed you.
On top of all that I celebrated my birthday (59th) and Mother's Day!!!!

Julia

A BREAK

2011-05-02T19:35:00.002-04:00

I am going to follow along with a few other bloggers and take a little break from blogging. I will still try to read some of yours, and if you are someone who I email with, I will definitely try to keep up with you that way. I just have lots going on and not enough hours in the day.

Remembering.........

2011-04-30T11:13:00.002-04:00

Do you remember this photo?

And then, there was this photo to show the contrast from winter to spring.

This is the same view after the storms came through the other night.

My husband and I were out of town that night. Most of our family and friends were either in closets, bathrooms, under makeshift protection of different sorts, but all were really scared. We kept in touch throughout the storms with my father-in-law. He stayed in the basement till after midnight. Lots of people lost trees and had damage to their homes. No one we know was injured or killed. We do know people who live south of us in the town where we used to live and where I taught school, who have lost their homes completely. There are many who are without power. Many people have wells that work on electricity, so they have no water.

We are so fortunate to have only lost 3 really large limbs from these trees and a few smaller limbs from a few other trees. One of the most amazing sights to us was the picture below. This small limb was thrown into the ground like a spear! It is in several inches deep!

Here are just a few more views of our broken trees.

We were really lucky that one of these big trees didn't land on our house.

Probably the most amazing thing is that these peonies were not destroyed. They are leaning more than they should be, but they are still standing and blooming.

Please keep our neighbors all around us in your thoughts and prayers. Many, many folks lost everything they owned and many lost their family members and friends.

A couple tops for me and my peonies

2011-04-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

So, here's the shrug that I have made to wear to my two nephews' wedding the next two weekends. I am not wild about the drape in the front, but it really looks a little better on me than it does on my friend here. I still don't have a name for her. I'm going to post one of those voting poll thingys on my side bar and let ya'll pick her name.

I like my brown flower. This is like ribbon that was on a spool. I just arranged it in a clump and stitched it down.

I think I'll try to stand with my back to most people the nights of the weddings, because I like the back of the shrug much more than I do the front. The pleats were supposed to only be sewn down along the center back, but I didn't like the way it drooped, so I stitched them down every inch and a half or so.

This is a top that i have made to go with this skirt that I purchased last year. I really like the skirt, but I have not found anything that I really like to go with it. I also made an orange top. I thought I took a photo of it, too, but it wasn't on my camera when I downloaded these, so I guess I didn't. Anyway, I think I like the purple better. One of the nephews is having a Carribean themed rehearsal dinner. I think I'll wear this. I also have a yellow tshirt that I like that I may wear instead. Or, I might wear the orange one. Who knows?

Here's a close-up of one of my peonies. I love these flowers!

This one has the most blooms that are already open.

This one is a little behind, but it is going to have the most blooms of all.

This one is outside my sewing room window. I sit facing this window when I sew. So far, I can't really see the open blooms very well when I'm sitting. But, I see some blooms that will be just in my line of vision when they open up! I can't wait. Like I said in my last post. When we moved in this house, there was one peony that my husband's grandmother or aunt planted. I wanted to move it, and when I did, it broke apart into several plants, so I separated them and replanted. I've done that a few times, and now I have 11 plants. I will probably separate these one more time to fill in the space between them, and then just let them grow. These are on the back of my house, so no one driving by can see them, but I can. They are right off of our deck, and as I said above, one of them is right outside of my sewing room window.
I did plant three in the front of the house, but I'm not sure they'll get enough sunlight there. We'll see. I just did that a couple of days ago.

Yard Work = Poison Ivy and some other stuff

2011-04-26T09:16:00.000-04:00

I have been sewing JUST A LITTLE. Mostly, I've been substitute teaching. I applied on Monday, two weeks ago yesterday, and started teaching on that Wednesday. I have only had 1 1/2 days since then that I haven't taught. On that day and a half, I already had plans. One of our daughters is coming for a visit over the next few days, so I won't go in while she's here. I've already promised a couple of teachers a few days in May. I have enjoyed it, but it has taken me away from my sewing and other things I need to be doing in my house. I just need to get back in a WORK routine.
Now, for the title of this post. There was no school on Good Friday, so I did yard work that was LONG overdue!!!! Now, I have poison ivy! I've never had poison ivy in my life, and I'll be 59 in less than 2 weeks!!! I didn't see any poison ivy when I was pulling up weeds, but I wasn't looking for it. I've never had to look for it. I will for now on, for sure! My house looks better, though, so I guess it was worth it. My muscles screamed at me for a couple of days, too. It was good for me! This photo is not from my yard. I took this at one of my daughter's a couple of years ago. I just hate to have a post without any pictures.

Now, to the sewing room, to get back in my element. I've actually made a couple of things for myself, and I'm working on a couple more tops. I will post photos when I finish. I've not had a chance to take any photos.

Clothing Made by reusing and recyling!!!

2011-04-18T23:46:00.001-04:00

These collages are of examples of things I've made from vintage linens, or refashioned from other clothing, or made from upholstery samples, etc.....

The theme for the CSI projects this week is Earth Day, reduce, reuse, recycle. I thought these projects fit the theme pretty well.

For me...........

2011-04-16T10:33:00.000-04:00

Here's the first top that I have made for myself since.............uh????????????? I don't remember when!
This is some really ~~cheap~~ inexpensive fabric I bought at Walmart! I didn't want to take a chance on an expensive piece of fabric for my first top for myself, in case it didn't turn out so well. I loved the watercolor look about it. The colors are really pretty, I thought. I used a shirt that I already had to get the basic size, etc.... Then, I played with it on my dress form. I cut the ruffles on the front on the bias and draped them from the top to the bottom overlapping them. As you can see, they have a curve to them. I zigzagged the edges while stretching the fabric on the hems on the top and the sleeves, as I went, so that it gives the fluted ruffled look.

I guess you can tell that this is the back view. It fits me a little too ~~tightly~~ snuggly around the arm scye in the back.

The part I like the least about this top is the sleeves. They are too short and too full for my taste, but I actually copied the sleeve on the top that I used as a pattern. Somehow, they didn't turn out exactly the same. I look like a ~~linebacker~~ butterfly about to take off.

I do like the neck. I made a bias binding from the same fabric. After applying it, I went around the edge with my hem stitch from my sewing machine. I reversed the stitch and adjusted the width so that the swing stitch would go JUST off the edge. I also tightened the tension on my top thread so that it would pull in just a little, making the shell effect.

So, even though it isn't perfect, it is wearable. I will make longer sleeves next time(probably 3/4 length) and take fullness out. That is, if I ever make another top similar to this one. The next project for my self is a shrug to wear to a couple of weddings I have coming up for 2 nephews and a niece. I'm not really sure what I'm going to wear to these weddings, but I have 2 sleeveless dresses that I like a lot, except I DO NOT wear sleeveless anything!!!! I have a pattern for a shrug that has several views. I'll have to decide which I like best. Hum????????? I also thought about cutting off the long dress that I wore to my daughter's wedding almost 6 years ago, and make new sleeves from what I cut off. I really like the dress, but will probably never wear it the length it is again. Plus, I don't like the sleeves on it either. They were ok at the time, but that was 6 years ago!! Can you tell I have issues with sleeves? I don't have the pretty, smooth, firm arms that I once did in my youth.

Distance ...............

2011-04-15T17:26:00.002-04:00

I am joining Colorado Lady and Lisa-Jo in the Five Minute Friday posts. I may not get a chance to do this every Friday, but I think it's a really great idea.
Here is what Lisa-Jo/aka gypsymama says about this challenge.

Friday, time to crack open the chocolate ice cream and unscripted version of beautiful you!

Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s finger paint with words

Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not. Here’s how to play along:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button in my right side bar}

3. Go leave some comment props for the five minute artist who linked up before you {and if you love us, consider turning off word verification for the day to make it easier for folks to say howdy}

It’s a great way to catch your breath at the end of a long week.

So here goes. This week's topic is ON DISTANCE............

When I think of distance, the first thing that comes to my mind is how far it is to my daughters' homes. Two of them live about 900 miles away, the other has just moved much closer than the ACROSS THE COUNTRY distance where she used to live. She's just one state over now. When someone asks me where they live, I usually name the states they live in, but I almost always then tell them that it takes about 15 hours to get to the two up in the NE. It should only take about 5 hours or so to visit the other daughter, now.
Not only are our daughters and their spouses this far away, but also our 7 grandchildren. It is very hard to have them so far away, but.............
Distance is not the same now, that it used to be. Now, with computers and cell phones, the girls and their families are only a text message, phone call, web hook up away. It is easier to travel now than it used to be.
I often think of the moms and dads who waved goodbye to their children who were traveling to the Great West in search of a new and better life. These folks were most likely traveling by wagon train and would probably never return to see their families back home. The parents probably never saw their children again. They may have gotten mail on occasion, but it would have been very outdated by the time it reached them from across the country. They more than likely never saw their grandchildren.
That was a fast five minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have actually made myself a top that I think I'm going to like. I made it by draping the fabric on my dressform. I didn't have a pattern, well, I did use a top that I already had to start out with. I will try to post photos tomorrow. My husband has had to use his camera for his real estate job, and I haven't had use of it.

Smoking Needles Giveaway!

2011-04-12T13:54:00.001-04:00

My friend over at Smoking Needles is having a great giveaway! She makes incredible note cards. Just wait till you see these. Just click here to see these cards. Now, I don't want you to enter her giveaway because that will lessen my chances of winning. Only kidding, of course. She is very talented and creative in so many ways. She scrapbooks and sews like a dream!!!
Julia

Yea!!!!!!!! I finished my first cable stitched Easter project!!!!

2011-04-11T16:07:00.003-04:00

This is Big Little Man's sweater vest. It's to go with the shirt, pants, and tie below that I made for him for Easter. He's sure to find a prize egg wearing this dudified outfit!!! I was so proud and excited when I finished this last night. It's kind of hard to see the cables in this yarn of various colors, but I promise they are there. Maybe, if you click on the photo it will be easier to see. I know I didn't do the cable stitch exactly correct, but I kind of like how it turned out. I'm doing Little LM's differently. It 's definitely easier the way I'm doing LLM's.

I also, made one more hat. The dark brown one that I had made before was to be for BLM, but it was a little bit too small for him, so I made this one. I sure hope it fits him. I found this blue fabric at Walmart, believe it or not, and was thrilled with the weight of it for this hat. I like the blue and brown together. I hope BLM likes it, too.

Here the vest and hat are photographed together on my kitchen floor.

I may be crazy, but I just applied to substitute teach this afternoon. Since I taught in the system for 30 years, I figured I might get a few calls. I am only going to sub at 3 schools, the one where I taught and two others that are close to where I live. As soon as the lady put my info in the computer and sent it to these three schools, one of them called the school board office to ask for my phone number. I know it was in the info, but anyway, I've already been asked to sub on Wed., Thurs., and Fri. of this week!!!! One of the teacher's husbands is very sick, and this is standardized testing week. They have to have a sub with a certification to give the tests, so, that's me! Therefore, I have lots to do this afternoon and tomorrow around the house!!!! For one thing, I am going to go through my spring and summer clothes and get rid of most of them!!!! I am going to start sewing some for myself, so I can get rid of some of my rags!!!! You may ask, when I'm going to sew for myself now that I am going back to work, and that would be a very good question, but I'll figure it out!! I am not giving up sewing for my grands either!!! That is one of my top priorities.

Do any of you use Adsense or any other company that displays ads on your blog for a fee? I've thought about doing this, but I wouldn't want to have an ad for something that I don't think is a good product, etc..... I just wonder exactly how this works? Hum?

Julia

FFF - Winnnings - Cable Stitch - Canned Air!

2011-04-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/2011/04/first-fifth-forever-letter-writing.html

I know that today is not the 5th, but I was actually on the road coming home from a trip to the Northeast, to visit two of our daughters and their families, on the 5th. I am just now getting myself back to some semblance of normalcy. I did not keep a list of people I sent cards, notes, and letters to last month, but I did send lots. I had lunch with 7 of my friends with whom I used to teach. I sent them all notes telling them how much I enjoyed seeing them. I have sent a couple of sympathy cards, get well cards, and thinking of you cards. I sent cards to a couple of ladies who are in a nursing home. I really do enjoy sending cards, notes, and letters. I love receiving them, too, don't you? I just saw a couple (he used to be the preacher at our church years and years ago). They and my mother corresponded for over 30 years. They never failed to send cards for New Years, Valentine's, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays, and maybe even other times, to each other. My mother saved every card they ever sent her. They had a running joke going about the preacher and his family being the X Family!!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

I am a WINNER!!!

I won this adorable romper from Alida at I Make Stuff. I feel very privileged to have won this cute, cute, cute little outfit. It should just fit our Lil'E. I just put it in the mail to her today!!! When she outgrows it, Lil'B can wear it!

This awesome hair decoration is from Bugaboo Mini Mr. and Me. I decided to leave it with my three oldest granddaughters, Miss K, Miss J, and Miss R when I was visiting them last week. The three of them can share it! If you go to her blog, you will see that I have won another giveaway from her. This time I've won a yarn wreath. I can't wait to get it!!!!

And the third giveaway I've won recently is from Jerre at Fabric Artist. This journal cover would be perfect for the little boys in my life, Big Little Man and Little Little Man. Even though they are both too young for writing in a journal, Big Little Man could draw pictures in this for now. When he gets a little bigger, we'll get him a new tablet to insert into the cover. He will love it!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

I've been challenging myself to learn at least one new skill each month. One thing I was determined to learn to do was the cable stitch in knitting. I have learned how to do it. This is my first attempt. It looks nothing like the picture on the pattern. I think I know what I've done wrong. I've played with some scrap yarn. This is to be a sweater vest for Big Little Man. When I make LLM's I will try to do it correctly. I kind of like how this looks, though, so I'm leaving it the way it is. It's hard to see in this photo, partly because of this yarn with the various colors in it.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
I took my sewing machine to be serviced while we were gone. I went to pick it up yesterday. The gentleman who serviced it thought that I had used canned air to clean it. But, I never have. I've thought about it, but I just never got around to buying any. His wife said that I must use my machine next to a return vent, then. I don't. He said that the lint, etc... was packed, packed, packed in there and that if he hadn't cleaned it out, the motor would have burned up. I usually take it every year to be serviced, but I never made it to the shop last year. He said that's probably why it was so packed. He said he could tell I use it LOTS!
He and his wife did tell me NEVER EVER to use CANNED AIR on my machine, so I thought I'd pass that tip along!

Not About Sewing - Rather, My Public Bathroom Pet Peeves!

2011-04-06T10:51:00.002-04:00

Am I the only one with these pet peeves? Do you have others that I haven't listed here?

1. Going into a bathroom stall in a public place after someone who will not sit on the seat! When a woman stands up to pee into a toilet, the seat gets wet! If women don't want to sit on a public toilet, they should either use the toilet seat covers that are provided or use toilet tissue to cover the seat. No one wants to sit on a seat with someone else's pee on it!!!!
2. A public bathroom that has paper towel holders that have a lever that has to be worked by hand. I mean, how do you know if the persons before you washed their hands before getting a paper towel.
3. A public bathroom that has only the blow dryers. These are supposed to be worse than anything germwise.
4. A public bathroom that has a door handle on the inside that you have to touch in order to get out of the bathroom.
5. A public bathroom, especially one in a restaurant, that has a sign telling their employees that they have to wash their hands. It scares me to think that they have to be reminded.
6. A public bathroom with a sign that says the facilities are inspected every 30 minutes or whatever, but that is filthy.
7. A public bathroom with stall doors that won't latch.
8. A public bathroom stall that doesn't have a place to hang a purse.
9. A public bathroom that doesn't have any soap in the dispensers.
10. Going into a stall where the last person did not flush. I mean, come on, even the youngest child who is being potty trained can learn to flush.
11. A public bathroom toilet that only has a flusher lever that can be worked by hand. The self-flushers are the best.
12. A public bathroom that is locked so you have to touch the key that everyone else before you has touched.

Can you tell we've been on a road trip? I guess the best thing to do, is to carry your own sanitizing sheets and hand wash. That way you can wipe down the toilet seat, sink faucet handles, paper towel lever, door handle, etc....

A Pocketbook I Actually Like, I think anyway

2011-03-30T14:00:00.001-04:00

No, not this one. I like it okay, but the handles, which I bought, are not holding together. Also, I just made it in such a hurry that it isn't finished like it ought to be on the inside and the shape is rather boring. I do like these colors, though!!! But, I used them all up on this purse. So......

I made this one. Again, I used furniture upholstery samples that my cousin gave me. I knew I wanted it to hold it's shape, not be very deep (I can never find anything in those really big, deep purses.), and have a good, strong handle. I wanted it to be open at the top so that I could get to my cell phone, keys, etc... easily, but I didn't want it completely open, thus the button flap.

I wanted it to have zippered pockets where I could put things that I don't need very often, but that I do need once in a while. I also wanted pockets for my pens, Tide stick, lipsticks, etc... So, I put zippered pockets on two of the inside sides and open pockets on the other two inside sides.

I always make these pocket book organizers so that I can swap my necessary things very quickly from purse to purse.

These are great. because they fold to different shapes to fit most pocketbooks. And,,,,,,my favorite thing about them is, everything has it's own little compartment, and I can see everything at one glance..

I used coordinating fabric samples to tie it all together, but like I said, this organizer can be used with almost any purse.

This time, I made a separate little money purse that has a Velcro closure flap and a little tab so I can pull it out more easily. I have always just put my money in one of the open pockets, and while that worked ok for the folded bills, my change was always hard to dig out and sometimes didn't go in the pocket that I intended for it to go into.
I've only carried this purse for a day and a half. So far, I like it. The strap is just the right length to go over my shoulder and it actually stays there. I have very sloped shoulders these days, so that can be a problem. The purse if very light weight, yet sturdy. I did use interfacing between the layers and that brown suede fabric on the bottom and the strap is very stiff. I've already had some compliments on it. Now, if only the colors were purple, yellow, and green, I'd like it better, but there weren't any more samples in those colors. I may have to go to a furniture store and see if I can get some other colors that I like better. There are lots of fall and wintery colors, so I'll be set for those seasons.
I took my sewing machine to the sewing machine doctor yesterday. I'm leaving her for a few days to have a complete checkup and a little rehabilitation. Since I won't be sewing for a few days, I may not be blogging either. But, I will be reading your blogs.

Dresses for some Little Dolls

2011-03-28T11:20:00.001-04:00

I made these little dresses for some, as the title says, LITTLE DOLLS. I more or less, made them to match the dresses that I have made for my three oldest grands for their dolls. Miss K and Miss J have American Girl Dolls. Actually, Miss R does, too. Hers is a Bitty Baby. But, Miss R is into Barbie right now. Of course, the dresses aren't identical to the REAL little dolls' dresses, but similar. I hope they like them.

I didn't have extra fabrics that were exactly like the girls' real dresses for the most part, so I just made these sort of like the real dresses. The skirt on the blue one in the bottom right corner looks like it is shorter on one side than the other. After I saw this photo, I checked the dress, and it really isn't. I guess it's just the way the doll is modeling.

The yellow dress up in the right hand corner is an exception. None of the girls have a yellow dress made from the cuff of one of my shirts, but when I cut these off, I thought, "Hummm...... that looks like something that could be turned into a Barbie dress. It's been right where I put it last summer waiting to be made into this absolutely GORGEOUS sundress.

This little girl doll, by the way, is one that belonged to our youngest daughter many years ago, and just happens to be the same size as the AG dolls. The Barbies in the top left photos belonged to my daughters, too. My Barbie, who is about 50 years old, is modeling the yellow dress. She is skinnier than the others. Somewhere through the years, Barbie gained a little weight in the hips. I had trouble getting this dress on the younger Barbies. I hope she fits Miss R's Barbie, who is only a few months old.

Hats For The Little Men and a couple of other things

2011-03-25T12:30:00.001-04:00

I finally am getting to post about these hats. I've actually had the first one(pictured to the left) made for days. I made the second one(pictured on the right), and then my husband decided that HE NEEDED HIS CAMERA. He's a real estate agent, and the camera I use is his work camera. He had to take pictures of a house that he's listing, so I was without a camera for days! He left it at the office. He brought it back last night. In the meantime, I decided that I didn't think the second hat I made was going to fit either Little Man, so I made another one yesterday(the one in the middle). I didn't have anymore of the tan herringbone woven fabric, but I had this dark brown canvas-like fabric, which I think worked just as well.

I am going to count this as one of the NEW things I've learned to do this month. I've made a few hats and bonnets, but I've always had a pattern and they were much more simple than these. I did learn a little more with each one I made. For example, I started with the brim and went UP to the crown of the hat on the first two. While that worked ok, it was difficult getting into the crown part to sew. So, on the third one, I began at the crown and worked DOWN to the brim. That was much easier. However, none of it was REAL EASY to get to, inside the hat.

Inside the first hat, I used the binding that was in the store bought hat that I had. The stitching isn't very neat, but it is inside the hat and won't really be seen.

In the second hat, I used some bias binding that I had. I didn't get a photo of the inside of that one. For the third hat, I used some fake suede fabric cut on the bias. It doesn't ravel, and it's really soft to the touch. It worked just as well as the other two.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've tweaked a couple of things on this dress. Remember the button that was out of line with the rest? It was the second one from the top on the left side. I moved it over.

Also, I raised the growth tuck that I put in this dress. The bottom of the tuck was actually right at the very top of the Boutis quilting and I wanted it to be a little higher. It wasn't hiding the quilting, but it gave that impression.

Now, for another project altogether. I am almost finished with Miss J's sweater. I have the back and both fronts done. I'm only showing one front here. I am beginning to think, I should make this a vest rather than a sweater with sleeves. I mean, it is almost April. But, she lives in the NE where they've had snow this week. But, as a sweater vest she could wear it longer. She could wear it over a long sleeved shirt for now. What do you think?

Here's a close up of the crochet pattern. This is another NEW technique ( the shell stitch) for me. So, that makes two things that I've challenged myself to learn in March. I am still going to start on the cable knit stitch. As soon as I finish this sweater, that one is next.

I guess I could count piping icing onto cupcakes as a new skill. I've always just spread it on with a knife, but I've been watching CUPCAKE WARS (love that show) and I wanted to try piping it on. I used a baggie with the corner cut off to pipe with. I have a lot of practice to do before I get them all the same and centered and all that. I actually made the cupcakes below for a Lenten Luncheon at our church. Several churches in our community come together during Lent every Wednesday for soup and sandwiches, a little devotion, and to take up an offering for a food and clothing store that we sponsor for the needy in our area. This past week was our turn. These are really messy, and I'm a little embarrassed to show them, but hey, I never professed to be a baker. I made a smaller hole in the baggie to do these and circled around the top of the cupcake. I added the jelly beans and pipe cleaners for decoration. They aren't perfect by any means of the word, but they do taste good. I ate two bites of one to make sure.

I'm trying very hard to stay away from sugar, and I've given up bread (my all time favorite food in the world) for Lent. It really hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be.

An Extra Dress

2011-03-21T18:08:00.000-04:00

When talking with Miss K and looking at the same websites (long distance), I decided that she might actually like this dress better then the blue one I posted about a couple of days ago. I sent pictures of both patterns and fabrics, and she chose the blue and the other pattern. But, I already had this pattern and this fabric, so I decided I'd make both dresses and let her have 2. If she doesn't like it, maybe I can shorten it and Miss J can wear it. The style I think would work in this size for either of them.

Here the dress is completed. As you see on the pattern, this was an easy dress to sew.

I like the little butterfly sleeves. I already had the pink bow. I had made it a LONG time ago and just never did anything with it. I thought this dress needed just a little something more. I safety pinned it on, though, just in case Miss K or Miss J doesn't like it.

The fabric is so sheer that it had to be lined. I tried some solid purple cotton that I had. It didn't look right. I tried white. That was awful. But, when I tried black, it looked just right. This sounds like Goldilocks, doesn't it?

Stylish?? Me??????

2011-03-20T15:14:00.008-04:00

I was awarded this Stylish Blogger Award by Sherry, at Blessings From Our Nest!

She reminds me a bit of myself in that she's been married over 38 years and has children and grandchildren she loves very much! She's also into : sewing, gardening, embroidery, reading, crocheting. These, with exception of gardening are things I am also into. She is a master, though, whereas I'm still a novice! If you aren't already her follower, click on this link RIGHT NOW! I promise you won't be sorry!!!!

Her blog is the one where I saw the Pay It Forward post. Click on this link to my other blog to read about it. Please join me and Sherry and others who are participating in this fun project.

Rules of this Award

1. Thank and link back to the person giving the award

2. Share 7 things about me.

3. Pass this award to other bloggers I have recently discovered and think are fantastic.

4. Contact these bloggers to tell them I have awarded them.

Seven things about me:

uhhhhhhhh..................I can't think of one interesting thing to tell that I haven't already told in some other post during the 2 years and 4 months that I've been blogging.

So, I'll tell you about my 7 amazing grandchildren instead.

1. Miss K is nearly 11 and has a very definite sense of style. She knows what she wants, that is she knows EXACTLY what she wants. She has a BEAUTIFUL singing voice and is an artist exemplar! She doesn't like math. She loves blue.

2. Miss J is 8 1/2 years old. She used to only wear dresses, but then she found out it's more fun to play on the playground in pants. She, too, has a BEAUTIFUL singing voice and is also an artist exemplar! She loves school. She is fearless!

3. Miss R is 5 years old. She is the funniest little girl in the world. She is always doing such hilarious things. An example is - today her daddy burned a bagel. She came running down the stairs yelling, "I smell smoke. DROP and ROLL!" Then she laid down on the kitchen floor and started rolling. Yesterday, after dinner she told her mommy that her tummy hurt and the only thing that would make it stop would be chocolate!

4. Lil' E is 3 1/2 years old. Talk about fearless. This child jumped off the diving board when she was just 2. She took swimming lessons at age 2 and just jumped right in on the first day. By the end of the session she was swimming, well, more or less. She's very proud of her baby sister. She's moving to be a little closer to granmomma, soon.

5. Lil' B is 8 mos. old. She started crawling and pulling up to a standing position about a month ago. She has the biggest blue eyes!!!! She likes to eat shoes and dog food if her mommy doesn't keep them out of reach! She's also moving to be closer to granmomma.

6. Big Little Man is nearly 3! Oh my, those three years have gone by quickly! He is a bundle of muscular energy!!!! He loves the out of doors! He loves to HELP his mom and dad cook. He loves to torture his dog, who is very patient with him! He also loves riding the tractor with his Papaw (great granddad).

7. Little Little Man is 4 mos. old. He is very curious and likes to watch what his big brother is doing. He is cuddly and loves to laugh. I'm sure that as soon as he is able, he'll be getting into big brother's cars, trucks, trains, etc......

Now, to award some bloggers whom I have recently found and think are fantastic:
Nana's Just Bananas She's another grandmother who likes to sew for her grands. She has made some gorgeous little dresses. Her blog is fairly new. She just began in October '10. Be sure to check her out.
Bugaboo mini mr & me She has some new linky thing going on all the time. She and her blogger friend have just started a YARN LINKY party. Fun!
Stitchbird She is starting a fabric business. She is a very clever, creative lady who comes up with all kinds of new ideas for decorating.
A Creative Dreamer I've found her very recently, too. She posts tutorials for some fantastically creative projects. I think she's a Southern gal, like me.

What's the Point....

2011-03-19T17:11:00.001-04:00

...of having these stitches, if you never use them. I rarely use the decorative stitches on my machine. I don't own an embroidery machine for two reasons: 1. I'd rather hand embroider, and 2. the cost of the machines!!!!

I finished Miss K's dress for Easter, using the pattern below. I made the view of the pink one in the center of the pattern front. It looked a little "grannyish" to me, though. So.......

I embellished this white satin ribbon with a machine decorative stitch and then added the blue satin ribbon bow. I definitely think this "youngs" it up a little. Afterall, Miss K is not quite 11 yet. She liked this pattern and fabric, though. The fabric isn't photographing exactly as it really looks.

Here's a little closer look at the ribbon. The only gathers in this dress are in the sleeve caps. The front and back skirt, as well as the sleeve hems are pleated.

A close up of the back zipper. I rarely put in zippers in my kids' clothing, but this dress called for it and I thought it worked. I usually just add a little fabric to the center back to accommodate the button overlap when a pattern calls for a zipper.

Below is the hat that I showed you in my last post. But, now it is all taken apart to use as a pattern.

Someone asked what fabric I am using. This is a heavy and fairly stiff cotton herringbone that I had in my stash. I think that if I add a few layers of interfacing and have two layers of the fabric for the brim, it will be plenty stiff enough. I think I have figured out how to make the back of the brim curl up. It may not work, but if it does, I'll show you how I did it. I will adjust the size as I go along. This was a woman's hat, by the way. I don't think it would be a whole lot too big for our Big Little Man. I'm not sure what kind of hat I'll be making for Little Little Man.

Go See the Pay It Forward Post on my other blog Baby Girl's Observations. Just click here.

What We Fed the Church Kids (Nutritious????) And A Hat

2011-03-18T17:47:00.000-04:00

We take turns at our church feeding the kids and their families on Wednesday nights. This was our week. We don't go for gourmet or healthy, as you will see.

A Variety of Delicious Chips. There is a running joke about having to have cheese puffs of some sort at every church event.

Grapes - Okay these have nutritional value!

Carbonated Drinks?????????? Well, at least we offered green tea, but there were no takers!

Salad - We have one vegetarian adult teacher, so we always have something she can eat.

Corn Dogs!!! I gave up bread for Lent, and let me tell you, a corn dog without the cornbread is not very tasty. It's not like eating a regular hotdog. Yuk, but the kids love 'em!

Cupcakes with green sugar sprinkles for Saint Patrick's Day!

This lady is one of my favorite all time people in the world! The kids are pretty cool, too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm going to take this hat apart to use as a pattern for Big Little Man. I'll have to make it a little smaller. This was on sale for $3 so it was cheaper than a pattern. I couldn't find a pattern like this anyway. I've already taken the band off that was on here.

Miss K's dress is almost finished. It isn't photographing very well, but I'll see if I can get at least one photo that I can post.

Pants and ties to go with shirts

2011-03-15T14:07:00.002-04:00

Big Little Man's shirt, tie, and pants.

Little Little Man's version of the same.

Sadness Is A State of Mind

2011-03-15T11:33:00.001-04:00

Sadness Is A State of Mind

Sadness is a state of mind
And of body and soul, I find.

If all I see is darkness and gloom
and sadness in my life, it will consume.

So, when things just aren't right
I must look around and seek the light.

It is all around me every day,
Even in just a smile that comes my way.

I need to let the warmth of love come in
And fill my heart to let happiness win.

Without happiness there cannot be success.
I sometimes forget this, I must confess.

I will try harder to remember this
When things don't go as I wish.

JR March 2011

After finishing my grandmother's journals, I felt very sad. I'm glad I've had the opportunity to read them, but it saddened me to realize how lonesome she was the last couple of years of her life. We were all too busy to see it. I could have spent more time with her. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, because I didn't know. I hope this will help me to see that sadness in other people's eyes, and perhaps I can bring a little joy to them with a smile, an extra "hello", a note, a card, a phone call, or a visit.

Motivation for Spring Cleaning!

2011-03-14T11:30:00.002-04:00

Invite Guests to Dinner!!!! That's what we did last week. We got the house clean (well most of it anyway!) and had a great time with our friends. Not to mention the wonderful meal my husband cooked with only a LITTLE help from me. He did the pork tenderloin and potatoes. All I did was the broccoli casserole and bread. He also made these awesome appetizers with figs, goat cheese, bacon, and maple syrup!!! We got that recipe on the Food Channel!!!! Oh yeah, we have Marie Callander (sp?)to thank for our scrumptious lemon pie for dessert! I didn't take any photos. I was having too much fun.

Bloomers!

2011-03-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

I made bloomers to go with this dress for Lil'B since she is in the crawling stage. We wouldn't want her Pampers or Huggies to show, now would we?

I didn't have enough of the fabric left to cut the pattern pieces in whole, so I pieced the top with the bottom portion. I had to hide the seam, so after making a french seam inside out, I added the ribbon and lace.

Here's how I tied the bow. When I sewed the ribbon on, positioned it so that the ends would meet at the back center seam. I made a right angle fold on each ends of the ribbon, one going up and the other down. I stitched all the way around the top and bottom edges of the ribbon, catching in the lace.

I made a loop with the top ribbon going over and with the bottom ribbon going under.

I crossed the top loop over the bottom loop, then went around the bottom with the top one and put the bottom loop through the "rabbit hole" as we used to call it when I taught Kindergartens how to tie their shoes.

I pulled the loop through, and pulled tightly. I then stitched a little bitty zigzag to hold it in place. This could be done to be hidden.

I have found that when tying ribbon that is to be sewn onto something first, it is easiest to make a pretty bow if you sew the ribbon up and down, so the bow will end up across. Does this make sense?

Boys' shirts done!

2011-03-11T10:51:00.000-05:00

Shirts for Big Little Man and Little Little Man are done. I had fits with these because of my sewing machine needing a check up. I think I took out as much as I put in big Little Man's shirt because the tension needed adjusting. I kept adjusting and adjusting till finally, I got it right. Little Little Man's shirt went much more smoothly. As you see, I made him like a onesie so it will stay tucked in.

I included all the details that a Little MAN'S shirt should have, like button down collars, cuffs with plackets, and yokes across the back with FRUIT LOOPS! If you are my age, you probably remember pulling the fruit loops (the little loop on the back of a boy's shirt) and keeping them. If you really liked a boy, you made sure to get his. Some of the boy's, and I'm sure their moms, weren't too happy when their shirts got ripped. I don't think I ripped anyone's. I do remember some girl in my high school really ripping, not just the seam, but the fabric of some boy's shirt. I think that's when the announcement came over the INTERCOM that NO MORE FRUIT LOOPS WERE TO BE PULLED OFF BOYS' SHIRTS, PERIOD!!!!! Okay, so it wasn't such a great idea in the first place.

Next, it's the boys' pants, which are already cut out, ties, for which I've already found the fabric, and sweater vests that I'm going to knit. Remember me posting that I was going to challenge myself to learn something new each month. I never did get the cable knitting done. One of these sweater vests will have cable knit stitching, that is , I HOPE it does! That's the plan.
Last month I learned how to do the Boutis Technique of Quilting. To learn more about this go to Donna's blog, Comin' Home. She has done a beautiful post that explains the technique way better than I did. She really knows how to do this.
I didn't learn to do drawn thread work, exactly, because I had done it before, but it was so long ago, that I really had to relearn how to do it. I used this technique on my middle daughter's Christening Gown, 31 years ago.

Growth Tuck Adjustments

2011-03-10T09:39:00.000-05:00

I see some pressing is in order, and I see a button that isn't in line with the rest. I hadn't seen that until I saw this photo. Strange isn't it? I actually adjusted this dress by 4 inches. I don't know what I was thinking when I put this together. But, with this adjustment, Miss J should be in good shape.

I was sitting on my couch the other night, looking at these dresses, and I realized that Lil'B would be dragging the ground in this little dress. I made a 1 1/2 in. adjustment. At 7 months, even 1/2 in. makes a difference. I am going to make bloomers to go with this dress. Lil'B is crawling everywhere, so her diapered little bottom needs to be covered. She has to be a "lady".

I've started on the boys' shirts. My machine is acting up! Argh! It is starting to make me mad! It's my own fault, though. I take my machine in for a check-up every summer, but with all that was going on last summer with new babies and my mother's condition, I never got it to the shop. It is going just as soon as I get the Easter clothing finished.

Slip Cover

2011-03-10T01:04:00.000-05:00

I made a slip cover for this couch for my daughter.

It really doesn't look quite this wrinkly in person. Actually, after seeing these photos I adjusted the fabric on the cushions again. I should have taken new picts, but I didn't. I was having too much fun with my grands.
It wasn't easy to find the fabric for this couch, because we needed so much yardage, but we found an awesome store where all the fabrics are factory overruns, or seconds, or whatever. The fabrics were high quality, but inexpensive!!!! Yea!!!! It looks a little shinier in these photos than it really is. It's very soft and kid friendly. It also, all comes off for a spin in the washing machine. There are zippers in the cushion coverings and the rest, even though a tight fit, will slip off. I stuffed the back cushions so they would be fuller, and I covered the bottom cushions with batting to give a little more shape. This took two days, with half of the first day looking for the fabric. I've never done anything quite like this before, so I really didn't know what I was doing or how it would turn out. My grand daughter said that it looked like a rich person's couch. That's the best critique I could ever expect!

What A Difference A Few Months Make! Wordless Post

2011-03-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

The Easter Parade Continues

2011-03-06T14:55:00.000-05:00

Lil'E and Lil'B can be in the Easter Parade.

Their Easter frocks have been made.

Purple with sleeves and a bow,

Is all Lil'E asked for me to sew

For her and her little sis.

I hope these dresses will fill her wish.

That's four Easter outfits that are done.

Of dresses left, there's only one.

Two shirts, ties, sweater vests and slacks,

Are all that this granmomma still lacks.

First, Fifth, Forever

2011-03-05T09:37:00.001-05:00

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/

Last month, I linked up to Coloradolady's Letter Writing Challenge. As I love to get and send mail, this really isn't a challenge for me. Please visit her site and watch the joy on the face of this man as he opens his birthday cards!

This month, I sent:

1. A note to my friend who has just recently found out she's going to be a grandmom soon. I taught school with this lady for YEARS! I taught her daughter who is giving her this grandchild.

2. A 100th Birthday card to Miss Lena, with whom I worked in a fabric store when I was a teenager. She was such a great mentor to me. I loved working with her.

3. A note to my sweet, dear friend, who was also my mother's, aunts', grandmother's dear, sweet friend. She sits right behind my husband at church where she always sat with her husband and beautiful little girls when we were growing up. I'm reading my grandmother's journals from when I was a child. This dear lady is on every other page. She was always bringing a cake, or hosting the Women's Club, or the Circle Meeting, etc..... She lives alone now, and has recently celebrated her 90th birthday, even though you wouldn't believe me if you could see her. She is beautiful and doesn't look like she's out of her 60s!

4. A note to another sweet lady from our church who is now in an assisted living facility. She came to church with her son recently and told me how much she enjoyed my note from last month. Seeing that smile on her face has encouraged me to send her cards and notes more often. I used to go visit her mother when I was a teenager. I baked Snickerdoodles to take to her. Her daughter sings in the choir with me at church now.

5. A note to my dear cousin, Malinda. She is always doing the most thoughtful things for everyone!

6. A Sympathy Card to my friend whose mother recently passed away. Her mother and mine were roommates for a while at the nursing home. Her mother taught school at the elementary school when I was a kid. She was either 94 or 95 when she died.

7. A Get Well greeting to my friend, who is also the church secretary. She had shoulder surgery recently.

8. A Get Well greeting to yet another dear lady who goes to our church. In reading my grandmother's journals I am learning about just how much these families are tied to mine from many decades ago. This lady grew up down the street from where I grew up (and where my mom grew up). She lives just a bit beyond there now. She was in my mother-in-law's high school class. She's not felt well for a couple of months now. She's had a BAD COLD type illness and just can't seem to get over it.

9. A package to our oldest granddaughter who broke her thumb last week. I sent her the popcorn sweater that I knitted for her. I was going to wait until I finished her sister's sweater, but decided that she needed a pick-me-up now. Her sister will understand. I included a note.

A Preview and a Poem by Honey

2011-03-03T14:08:00.001-05:00

Here's a peek how the beading looks with the ribbon woven through it. Since there were two holes side-by-side, I wove the ribbon up through the top one, down through the bottom one, then up through the next top one, etc... So, it gives a poofy look. I didn't want to hide any of the flowers embroidered on the beading between the holes, and this was my solution. It took lots of time to do this. There are over 2 yards in the width of the skirt. It took more than 6 yards of ribbon to go around twice. I am also using the beading on the sleeves. I'm still waiting on the handkerchiefs to get here, to use for the collars. Miss E's dress is done except for buttons, buttonholes, and the collar. Miss B's still needs the ribbon and just about everything else.

Here is an inspiring poem that my grandmother, Honey, wrote. Her real name was Beulah, but we called her Honey. The oldest of the cousins thought that was her name because that's what our granddaddy called her.

Row

When there's no breeze, row.

Bend to your oars and go.

Look up, not down

With never a frown

For the man with a smile

Wins the race worthwhile.

So, row, man, row.

After All That Work..........

2011-03-02T23:36:00.000-05:00

.............and I'm not even going to use the faux entredeaux. For one thing, when I looked at it the next morning, after a good night's sleep, I wasn't as happy with it as I thought I would be. And........for another thing, I didn't need it afterall.

I'm using these trims combined together. The vintage trim that I told you I had soaked to get the yellow out, forms the two rows in the center, the beading. The trim on the edges is some that I have had a long time. I don't remember where I got it. But, I like the way these look together. I'm also using ribbon in the beading, but not in the usual way. It's taking me a lot of time to get this like I want it, and in the end, I hope it's worth it.

Faux Entredeaux

2011-02-28T18:25:00.002-05:00

I looked through my laces, trims, and ribbons.
If I told you what I was looking for I'd be fibbin'.
How I was going to make two little frocks? I didn't know,
But, I needed to figure it out before I sat down to sew.

In my stash was vintage trim that would be just right.
I soaked it to get the yellow out, and to make it white.
Then, I looked and found some entredeaux
To edge this trim when I was ready to sew.

I'm making two dresses that will be the same, you see,
For Little Miss E and Little Miss B.
But there was only enough to trim one dress.
This was causing me to be in great distress.

The nearest store for buying entredeaux
Is over an hour away, and I didn't have time to go.
I found a long strip of batiste of white cotton.
I don't know when it had been gotten.

To make my own, I decided to try.
Otherwise, I'm afraid I would cry.
I used my wing needle and stitch 22
It isn't perfect, but I think it will do

So that these two little girls will be well dressed,
The fabric has been washed, dried, and pressed.
Now, in my head, a vision I can see
Of what the design for the dresses will be.

The pattern for the bodices and the sleeves
Have been cut out, and I'm pleased.
Tomorrow, I can actually sit down to sew
Using my new faux entredeaux!

Here side by side are the new and the old.
To say it is as good would really be bold.
But, I think it will work okay
To edge the trim that I found in my stash today!

Please forgive some of the really corny phrases, but I had trouble coming up with words that rhyme for this little ditty.
This is my second post for today. I posted a photo of Lil'B that you may want to see. It is soooooo cute! I'm not partial or anything.

Pillow for "Little" Little Man and a Cutie Patootie!

2011-02-28T13:04:00.000-05:00

While waiting for the fabric for Lil' E's and Lil' B's dress to wash and dry, I decided to make "Little" Little Man's pillow. For all the baby boys in the family (my cousin's grands, too) I make a pillow from a huck tea towel that our aunt made with some of the tatting that our grandmother, Honey, made. The boys don't want tatting on a collar or whatever, so this is how I give them a small bit of their Great-Great Grandmother's and Great Aunt's creations.

And, here is a picture of Lil' B after her sister put her in dress up clothes! I just couldn't resist posting this! She's 7 months old, now, and crawling and pulling up! Her momma has her hands full.

2 Down Only 5 to Go!

2011-02-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the 2nd of the 7 grands' Easter garments. This is for Miss R who requested pink with bunnies and hearts. I got the pink and hte bunnies, but no hearts. We'll save those for another time.

I found this fabric which is a cotton blend, almost linen like. It was in with the holiday prints. I love that it doesn't scream Easter, even though the toile pattern does have rabbits.

I'm not sure I love this bunny on the smocking panel, but if I took it out there would be holes to deal with, so I think I like it enough to leave it. I like the diamond pattern. I'm not sure that what it is called. I did back smocking on this, too. I decided to use the ribbon above and below the smocking rather than piping, as I usually do.

As you can see, the ribbons go all the way around the back and make the ties for the bows. I also added ribbon along the hem stitching. I did put piping and binding on the neck and sleeves.

This is a close up of the sash loops. I made one long loop and stitched it down in the center to form two loops.
Next, it's on to Lil' E's and Lil' B's dresses. I'm thinking they are going to be made alike. Their mom has purchased some antique handkerchiefs that I will incorporate into these dresses, maybe as collars. One of them has an embroidered E, the other a B. They are white. The fabric is a purple that leans toward lilac. Lil' E's only requests were that it be purple and have sleeves and a bow in the back. She also said that Lil' B wants purple, too. This fabric is also a cotton blend with a fairly loose weave like linen.
Miss K, our oldest, and I are consulting one another over the internet and cell phone about her dress. I've bought fabric that she has approved, so now, I've just got to make sure I get the right style. Her reply when I asked her where she shops for dresses was, "Well, Granmomma, when we go shopping for clothes, I always walk right past the dresses without looking. I wouldn't be caught dead in a dress at school. The only time I wear a dress is when I have to and it's a fancy occasion." So, she's not liking fru-fru anymore. I want her to want me to keep sewing for her, so I will try to please this sweet young lady who will be 11 in May.
Then, it'll be on to the boys' clothing.

The Bunny

2011-02-25T17:49:00.000-05:00

This is what I came up with for the bunny on the smocking insert. I have the dress all put together as much as it could be before finishing the smocking. Now, I just have a little hand work to sew down the binding on the sleeves and neckline, then I'll be ready to put this dress together. It's been a fun one.
I just hope that Miss R likes her bunny.