Sweet baby cheeks

That is what this little confection reminds me of.

This is the finished Antique T-Yoke Baby gown. I will admit to sprinkling a bit of baby powder around after I ironed it in order to have the full effect. I just love the airiness of this little gown. It is made from a very fine Swiss batiste. Jeannie Baumeister of the Old Fashioned Baby calls it "fairy fabric." Many heirloom retailers carry it and call it Swiss muslin, angel batiste, whisper batiste. Kind of like when you call a real estate property "cozy," it really means small. All of these names mean lightweight and filmy. The entire gown when wet will fit in the palm of your hand. But that is all okay.

I have had some people ask me if I didn't think it was too sheer, too light, not warm enough. Well most of the people I know do live in houses with indoor temperature control. And this is a lap dress or laying down gown. If you lived in a tent in the back country of Montana, okay it could be a tad too lightweight. But I am pretty sure that my future grandbabies will all live in houses with indoor plumbing and forced-air heating and cooling. Now the iron, that could be a whole other ball of wax. But I am okay with that. I would rather it be worn than ironed perfectly to hang in a closet. I am an ironing fanatic I admit. My children all know how to iron and it is my hope that this little gown will meet an iron on occasion, but that isn't my goal.

My goal is for my children and grandchildren to see they are loved through tiny stitches and feathery fabrics. That really is what it is all about. I get so much pleasure just from the stitching, the dreaming and the praying for that I just want the recipient to feel all of that through these tiny creations. So enjoy and I hope you have something small and airy to stitch on. It helps your soul sing.

ooh oooh

You know for some reasons bloggers don't subscribe to the "pretend I am not here" way of thinking. I just discovered that I have been added to the Big List of Sewing Blogs. Not sure why that is on my radar of achievements needed in life. But it is nice to know I made the list.

Moving right along

For some bizarre reason convention projects seem to moving right along. I approach my stitching time a little differently than many. I do machine work during the day and handwork at night in front of the television. Many stitchers tell me that they do handwork during the day. Oh well, this works for me. I have all but the buttonholes done on this gown from my Jeannie Baumeister class at convention. It is her pattern Antique T-Gown Dress and Christening gown. So I am reduced to handwork on both this gown and the pink linen matinee jacket.

I hate this stage of a project. I can't wait to get finished so I can wash the blue marks out. The wash away blue marker just makes it look messier than it is. But of course any project comes alive after it has been washed and the miracles that an iron and a can of starch can achieve are monumental.

So check back soon, I hope to have this one ready for its recipient, a hanger, soon.

#1 in line

to be finished from this year's SAGA convention. Of course it is linen. And to make it even better, it has Turkey work! Or Ghiordes knot stitch. I LOVE turkey work. Its the knotted stitch that makes his bunny tail. I also love this little jacket. It is called Baby's First Outing by Wendy Schoen. I plan to adapt it in Swiss flannel for a boy. I think I will work a little giraffe on it.

I think this little bunny worked in shadow work is adorable. I didn't realize until I enlarged the picture that I forgot to do the whiskers on one side. Need to fix that before I finish the other pieces. They are all traced and ready to embroider.

Happy Belated Birthday #1 Daughter

Going home from the hospital.
We are both so young!

I wasn't home last week to mark the auspicious occasion of #1 daughter's THIRTIETH birthday! How did I get a child that old? I am still only 21 myself. I tease her unmercifully but in all seriousness my life would be less luminous without her. She was the first to make me a mom. A job that has meant more to me than any other. She was the first to teach me the meaning of love, loving life, joy and the depths of gratitude. You are a joy baby girl and am glad I have had the chance to be your mom.

In the neonatal nursery.
Even at 34 weeks she was kicking up her heels.
Who is that wooly man with her mother?

Home again

Whew, been real, been fun, but it is always good to get back to your own bed. Had a great time in Atlanta. Didn't take near as many pictures as I usually do. Had a wonderful week of classes, saw old friends, met new ones, laughed much and slept little. What more could you ask for?

I have said it before and will say it many more times, women need women. And it is wonderful when they have a built in vehicle to spend time together. We too often don't place enough importance on the value of just spending time together sharing life and laughter.

I was able to stitch a bit last night. Came home feeling kind of crummy so didn't have the oompa to get everything put away and spend time at my sewing machine. It is on the plan today. I have a couple of pictures to post.

This was in a class taught by Lezette Thomason of Children's Corner patterns. It was to illustrate the reasoning behind making a too small collar fit a neckline with the simple alteration of trimming 1/16" of an inch off the collar. Now I am math challenged so I will have to take her word for it. When you put the pi symbol in anything, my brain shuts down and leaves the building. She originally showed it as two circles inside one another, I was with her. She then wrote that formula on the board and I was a goner. My brain ran in fear that she would write x=? next.

Sometimes you can be so intent on getting the stitch right, that you stitch your name tag to your linen. Sorry Mum, too good a picture not to share.

Jane and Debbie. Two new friends who were enjoying their first SAGA convention. Hope you had a great time girls. Will be back later with more pictures.

Gettin' ready again

I have been MIA this week. Not for any real good reason. Today I am in high gear as I pack to hit the road again. SAGA convention is this week, I leave bright and EARLY tomorrow morning. My getting ready pile has morphed way beyond the above picture. Now you would be hard pressed to know the color of the quilt on the bed.

The real downside to driving yourself somewhere for several hours is I can't stitch in the car. Really cramps my style. I have been known to stitch at red lights, but there aren't any red lights on the interstate. Bummer.

I have also been painting bonnet and dress stands this week as I prepare to leave.

I will see you all next week upon my return. I plan to stitch and laugh my week away.

Dolly needs a new dress

Not getting rid of all of your UFO's can be a good thing. This doll dress is left from a class I took in 1997 at my first SAGA convention. It was a class on Madeira applique by Wendy Schoen. The only reason I have a doll dress is because it was a class project. I think doll clothes are great and perhaps when I have grand daughters I will relish in making doll clothes; (I have a hard time imagining that.) but doll clothes just are not my thing. But that is okay, I have this project and I finished it because my local chapter is having a raffle of an American Girl Doll and wardrobe. (If you are interested in tickets let me know.) This UFO was so old I had to piece together enough fabric to finish the dress and I am sure there were more scraps left from the collar but I couldn't find them, so I had to piece together cuffs for the sleeves as well. In the pictures it looks like the buttons are different sizes but they are the same size. Shoot I even used some of my prized antique baby buttons for this project.

Who ever wins this doll probably won't know or care that they are antique mother of pearl buttons. I enjoy using them. Better to use them than leave them in a box to be sold at a garage sale later on.

The doll raffle is to fund our chapter Wee Care project so I am happy to contribute. Below is another class project from Norfolk's SAGA convention in 2003. It is a bishop out of Swiss batiste. The unique feature of this dress is that there are no side seams. Kind of cool.

At this rate I MAY finish convention projects before I die. I probably would have to stop going to convention to catch up though.

Not much going on..

Kind of quiet around here. I have been painting dress and bonnet stands. My getting ready pile is getting larger. The cat found it though, so I had to close the door. Darn cat, now I can't see my pile when I walk by the door and have that little "ahh" moment. I am a simple person, it doesn't take much to make me happy. Remind me of this next week when I don't come up for air because the control I seem to have over the preparations has gone out the window.

Pray for our country, I think we need it these days.