Holiday Season

David and I have enjoyed a wonderful Thankgiving and I look forward to the remainder of the holiday season.

Greg and Julie arrived the last Saturday and will be leaving tomorrow.  It is always to GREAT to have them home.  They came home this year with the special surprise that July will bring us a new bundle of joy to all of our lives.  This will be their first child.  While they were home, Julie and I spent a couple of days at my favorite fabric store, Main Street Fabrics, in Ackerman, MS.  We selected the fabrics to create a coverlet for their master bedroom.  I made a sample square to make sure that we have the colors like she wants before they go back to Texas.

Clif and Becky have been working very hard to get their house finished.  David went over a couple of days to help out.  Clif and Nora Ruth came for Thanksgiving dinner.  Becky was not feeling well. Her delivery date for their second little girl is Tuesday, Dec. 1.  They will get to come home to a new house instead of the apartment. 

Angela and Ted, Lola and Julian also joined us.  Julian is still having breathing problems but is a tough little guy and is always happy. Lola had a great time playing with Greg and Julie's dog, Timber.

My Mom(81) drove over and to enjoy this great day with all of us.  She brought the quilt that she is making for Nora Ruth's Christmas present.  It is almost complete, only needs to finish the binding.  She does beautiful work.  It is hand quilted.  She completed one for Lola and Julian last year.  Now with the 2 new babies on the way, this year will be very busy for her.  It's great to have her so active at this age. 

As you can see, our life is great! I have a wonderful husband and family. God has blessed us beyond words.
Hope that all of you have had a special week.

Jackets for Winter

Fall has slowed me down 'bunches'.  I do not know what it has been but I have just not had the inner push to sew.  I have now completed the jackets planned for the 'grands' and a couple of outfits for the girls.

I made both Lola and Nora Ruth 'fake' fur jackets.  I did not get a picture of Nora Ruth's before I delivered. It was made by the same pattern as Lola's but was only a blue/brown pattern.  Nora's was the first and when I made the collar, I used the fake fur for both upper and under collar.  It was a little bulky so when I cut Lola's I tried a different approach and used a light weight corduroy for the under collar and it lays a little smoother.  Sewing is always learning.

Julian's favorite thing right now is 'Thomas the Train' so I made him a fleece jacket lined with a flannel in the 'Thomas' print.  When he saw it at the fitting, he was very excited.  Angela(Mom) said that he might wear it inside out.

Both of the girls got an outfit with leggings and a ruffled top.

and Nora got a long all in soft corduroy.  The little apples are out of a gingham and appliqued with a darker pink stitching.  I found a matching ruffle trim and used the darker dot ribbon to complete the outfit.

 

This has taken me 3 weeks to get them completed.  I have several more that I am planning before Christmas.  Hope that I can keep the momentum going.

Halloween Bags

Halloween is close approaching and thoughts began to turn to that old activity of trick or treat.  The grands are getting old enough to enjoy so I thought that I would put together some bags for all the goodies.

I went out on a limb and free hand cut my patterns.  To get the stiffness to maintain their shape, I use just a single layer of cotton quilt batting.  They are fully lined.

The girls have black cats and Julian's is a ghost.  I monogrammed the back.
 

Now I will get back to garment sewing.  Making something different is fun!

Happy Holloween!

Fall is coming, just Look

I have been busy this week.  I did get all the squares done for Lola's jacket, but did not get further on this project when I decided to take off on something else.

Little play clothes for the grands became the focus this week.  I picked up my embroidery machine last weekend and had to see if it was working correctly.

Lola's is a pattern from Embroidery Library of the Paisley Pets.  I did not want to make Halloween themed outfits like last year so I thought this would serve the purpose.  Lola has seen the cat but not the whole set.  I was a little hesitant that it might not be as bright as she would ususally want but her comment was " I Like the Kitty" so I knew that it was going to be fine.

I have not gotten the pants made for Julian yet.  I tried to convince him that the Paisley gekko was going to be for him.  Ted(his dad) tried to help me out but Julian kept saying that he wanted a cat.  Finally Angela said that a dog would be great!  So here it is, another pattern from Emb. Lib. of the patchwork animals.

I had Nora Ruth yesterday and she seemed disappointed that she did not have anything on the table.  I showed Becky(her Mom) my new patterns.  Becky chose the Retro Owl.  While Nora was napping, I worked very quickly to get hers embroidered so that she would be suprised.  Her comment when I showed it to her was, I like the cat better.  I did not win. I haven't completed her pants either but the owl finshed up beautifully.

I did get one outfit complete for sale, it will be listed on the Etsy site when I get better pictures.  I call it the 'funky monkeys' and they are patchwork similar to the dog.

Seems the machine is working well.  I have a couple of things to get out for friends this week so I will have another busy week.  I have a fall romper to get made for a birthday present and an outfit similar to these  above for a friend that works in the office with me.

On to the next projects.  Have a great week.

Labor Day Project

I hope that everyone has a fun day planned for the holiday.  I have no great plans, just to work on the new project that I started this weekend.

I have never attempted much in the way of quilting.  I have pieced 2 quilt tops over the years but it has been many years back.  I was looking in an old issue of Creative Needle and there was a beautiful dress where the bodice was made from crazy quilt.  I wanted to use that technique to make something so this new jacket project was conceived.

I was in Heirloom's Forever(wonderful shop in Tupelo, MS), to pick up my embroidery machine that was being serviced on Saturday, and began to look for the fabrics.  I wanted to do this in lavender, but when Geeds questioned as to who this was for, and I named Lola, he quickly reminded me that pink was her favorite color.

Here are the chosen colors.

I did get the lavender for my trim color. I have 3 different square designs.

I have most of them cut and I am using different trims on each square. I am using decorative stiches, rick rack, braid and laces for the embelishments. 

I have about 8 squares completed and I think that it will take about 26 to complete the project.  I have cut out some of the large flower patterns to use as applique on several strategic locations on the jacket.  The jacket will be just a simple round neck, rounded tail, quilted jacket for playing in. 

This will be an ongoing project, because I have many others that I will work on in between. I will keep posting the progress.

I'm off for now to get busy for the day.

Enjoy your holiday.

Buffalo Park

Not much sewing this weekend.  We have our Grandaughter Nora Ruth while her parents are in Atlanta.
They are in the process of purchasing a house and have gone to order things for the new house.  They have another baby due in December and they are trying to get a larger place ready.

We took Nora Ruth to the Buffalo Park in Tupelo Saturday.  It is about an hour away, a small park with several exotic animals.

  .

There was opportunity to feed a camel, giraffe, and goats.....but that was a little intimidating to her.  She was amused that Joe the Camel followed the trolley that we rode.

Much of the park allows you to get very up close and personal with the animals.  She was not sure that touching was a good thing.

She got to do a pony ride and was doing very good until the horse 'snorted' and the ride was over.

She being just 2,  preferred the horse that Geeds could swing her on and the other playground equipment that moved a little faster.

It was great to have a fun outing with Nora Ruth.  We really do not get to have her much because of our work hours.

I can get back to sewing when she has gone home.

Fall Sewing Began

Sewing this week has consisted of "Potty Pants" and a fall set for Julian(Grandson).

Angela(my daughter) asked for several more "Potty Pant shorts" to assist her in getting him trained before we have to move to long pants for the fall and winter. I recycled material from a shirt that Geeds(what the grandchildren call my husband) had cut an emblem off of to make 2 navy pair and I had a scrap of khaki. This gives Julian a total of 5 Potty Pants and he promised he was going to succeed.

I had lots of fun making the fall set for Julian.

I know he is going to be excited about the cars and Angela says that Ted(the dad) is going to be jealous, because he loves shirts of this style and the funky print material. This probably indicates his age. Comfort and uniqueness is more important than current style.

I was able to match the print perfectly to place a chest pocket with out it being noticeable. Julian likes shirt pockets. With his physical restrictions, pants pockets are not as manageable as shirt pockets to store his rocks and small toys.

The pants were fun, because it is something different. Not just making the same old pant. I added a different print to create the "pouchy" pocket. I often times have trouble coming up with cute ideas for little boys.

I have also been cutting out many more things to get sewing on. I accomplish more if I cut 'lots' then sit to sew. I try to have several items with the same color threads because it takes time to re-thread both machines every time you change materials. Especially my serger, it is not an auto thread.

Hope you all have had a fun week and I hope to get started on some Halloween things this weekend.

Starting Fall

I have been very busy at work. Deadlines to meet and our senior team member is retiring. Trying to spend as much time "picking his brain" as I can. We had his luncheon today and tomorrow will be his last day. We will be on our own.

Very little sewing and still not starting many fall items. I did finish the little set for Lola(granddaughter). It did turn out cute and Angela(Daughter,Mom) was excited.

Julian(grandson, Lola's twin) is in the 'potty training' stage. He has Cerebral Palsy and has braces on his legs. Angela said that it is very hard to get him ready to sit on the potty. He can not stand so sitting is his only option. She came up with the idea to open the side seam of his shorts so that they would be easier to get over the braces. So, I had fixed one pair with velcro several weeks ago and she found it to be helpful, so this time I tried one with gripper tape.

Then I started on the fall sale items for my Etsy store. This was also left over material from last fall that I found in the box. I did purchase the red dot. This is a size 6-7 and I was very pleased. I stacked the buttons to get the same affect as the dot. I will get it posted on the store maybe next week. I am going to run a final summer sale before I remove the summer items and start adding the fall.

I have cut out 4 more outfits for the grandchildren but want to get several more items for the store before I really begin sewing for them.

Must get on to next project.

I have been sewing on several items. I was cleaning out my summer fabrics and pulling out the left over fall. I found several scraps large enough to make something out of and this changed my focus........the below is for Lola.....have not decided how to finish the bottom of the pants.

I also had started some place mats doing free hand quilting on them early summer and they are not close to complete, so put a little time in on those.

The placemats may not get finished until Spring.....they will be just an occasional time out from clothing. I have divided each into 4 triangles and was doing opposites in the same stitch, I have not decided what to do on the other but I really don't think that doing the whole thing in this tight of stitch is what I want. Offer suggestions if you have thoughts.

I thought I was finished with summer sewing and found 1 more t-shirt that Becky(daughter in law) had brought for Nora Ruth(granddaughter), and I had to get it finished. I really had trouble deciding what was appropriate and my husband suggested that I carry on the previous beach theme....and so I did....Yea summer sewing is complete!

I seem to lose focus and jump from one project to another.....must do better.

I have a question for anyone with an answer. When you use the satin/grosgrain ribbons, what do you do to keep them from fraying? I have tried the liquid Fray Check but it darkens the ribbon and after a few washings it's power is gone. Please share secrets.

I have just finished the last of my summer projects. I have spent the day getting the sewing room clean and re-organized so that I can begin the fall season. I spent the last 2 Saturdays shopping to stock the shelves with new fall/winter fabrics. So, I am pumped and ready to begin.

Here are the last 2 summer items for the grandchildren.

The little boy outfit should have been done much earlier but just got side tracked and did not get it. A true old fashion summer suit for the little man.

The strip t-shirt was bought by my daughter -n law the other week and wanted something added to it. Somehow the blue and white just said 'beach' to me. Fun in the Sun.

There was one more outfit that I did not get pictures of before it left the house. Maybe when I receive some, I will get it posted.

I can't wait to get started for all.....please look back to see what I come up with.

I have just completed several new items that I have posted for sale on Etsy, NanaDidIt.Etsy.com. Please take a look if you get a chance and just give me some comments. I am really trying to get started with making custom clothing and need all the help that I can get.

I really want to try and stay with the toddler clothing, but the market seems to be flooded with this size. I am not working for large quantities of the simple "pillowcase dress" type items, but like clothes with different styles and combinations.

I like ideas for boys also but it hard to come up with.

I am thinking about a grouping of hats and bags, maybe even nightgowns and pajamas.

Just brainstorming....

Spring Sewing

I have been very busy this spring. I took the whole month of February to make new draperies for my den. This was a challenge because I have never made window dressings for anything this large. It is a 4 window group, altogether. I had purchased the material for both the drapes and the valance but, after I got them made, I was not pleased with the valance. New fabric and pattern had to be selected and now that project is complete and I am very satisfied.

I then began the spring sewing for the grandchildren. I am posting some of these and some got out the door with out pictures.

This set was for the twins, Lola and Julian. Lola's overalls are crop length with a Giraffe and Julian's are long overalls with a train that wraps around the leg. The applique patterns are from a Martha Pullen applique book. I used the same fabrics in both appliques and they were colorful allowing the almost any color T-shirt.

The tshirts below were purchased and I used a tropical set from Embroidery Library.com for the applique blocks.

The next two appliques were my own creations. Butterfly and Rooster. I created two other versions of butterfly and rooster but let them go out without getting pictures.




This following are simple sundresses. The black and yellow was my first attempt with a pillowcase dress. Very quick to make but looks excellent on.

The peach colored sundress is just a simple self-tied, very similar to the pillocase just a little more tailored. Each of these could be used with or without the ruffle and shortened to be a top with cute long bloomers or shorts.

I have not made many items for little boys. Julian has had quite a few items given to him so the girls are more in need. The set below is out of a soft green seersucker with just a simple turtle on the pocket. The shorts to the set has a working fly and elastic back. The blue shorts are a quick and easy elastic waist with patch pockets and false fly.

The turquoise swing dress is very full. It looks precious on.

I have made this bubble suit several times and it ranges in sizes 1-4. A very cool and comfortable sun suit for the summer.

This red does not show up very well in the picture but it is really a stand-out when on. It is a halter back capri length. I have used the same pattern to make a halter back top and shorts. Love the pattern, it is so easy to make and can be done in patterns, solids, or even with embroidery or applique.

The simple peasant top was made as a sizing sample but it is made with out the elastic in the sleeve to give just the ruffle sleeve. Also, would be a very cool top for the hot summer.