Fall stitching

I didn't get this little bishop finished quite as quickly as I originally planned. Doesn't that happen to all of us? 

I used a combination of Scared-d-Cat and Octo-Bear, both by Little Memories. I didn't want specifically Halloween or Thanksgiving. So I went with a general fall theme.

The pattern is Children's Corner Bishop. I used a pima cotton called Kiwi Gingham from Bessie Mary.

Hopefully I will have a picture of our baby modeling her new bishop soon. I am onto Christmas sewing and finishing up convention projects. (The darker green around the center pumpkin is because the fabric is still wet where I spritzed out the blue marker. I'm delivering the dress within the hour and didn't have time to wait for it to dry completely.)

Little bit wearing tiny bubbles

Fits pretty well. I did cut the elastic measurement for a size three months 3/8" shorter.

The buttons and buttonholes are placed as per the pattern markings. She has some room to grow, which is good since she is growing by leaps and bounds.

Tiny Bubbles

Who can resist a sweet bottom covered in ruffles? No, my sewing room is not 100% complete, but I just had to cut out some fabric and sew! And when you don't have to dig through your fabric it is a quick decision on what to grab.

Children's Corner Patterns

I made this adorable bubble for baby. It is Children's Corner, Taylor.

The fabric is a mutli colored "bubble" print from my stash. I have no idea where I got it. I don't think I have had it long but who knows. It is 100% cotton but the piping and ruffles are poly/cotton Imperial microcheck. No one wants to try and iron those ruffles.

The ruffles are 1 1/4" strips cut on the straight of grain. The edges are roll edge finished with my serger. I used a wooly nylon in the loopers to give a heavier finish. I can't wait to see it on her.

The christening gown design is on paper and getting ready to be on fabric. I am headed out on a short road trip. I hope to get the embroidery well under way in the car. When I return that sewing room will be completed and the former sewing room cleaned out and set up because...

baby needs a crib at Mimi's house! This is where she slept Friday night. Storms knocked out power at her house and it is HOT here. So she spent the night at Mimi's in a dresser drawer. Now I have to admit she was too stinkin' cute in that drawer but that solution won't be safe for very long.

And since everyone needs a parting shot of our beautiful baby;

She is wearing this and looking too cute.

REMINDER::::::: Don't forget to leave a comment on the Sew Beautiful Blog tour to be entered in the wonderful giveaway. Deadline is Sept. 15.

Dolly gets a new dress or two

First posted at Children's Corner

I fully expect to eat some crow. I have made it widely known that I am not a doll person. But....sometimes though, you do what you have to do.

A friend is chairing a doll raffle to benefit their local NICU and my local chapter is having a doll raffle as part of our annual auction in the fall. I did take the lazy way out and made two of the same dress. Lots going on around here, I didn't feel like I needed to noodle over two completely different dresses. So I didn't. 

I used Lezette Thomason's book of doll patterns, "Dolly's Wardrobe."  There is a lot of comfort in making a pattern that you are familiar with even if it is almost 1/10th the scale.

Our Samantha doll has not only been well loved be she also lost weight over the years, so the pattern was quite big on her. I did take up the dress some at the side seams, but not a whole lot. I didn't want it to fit this doll and not fit the next one.

I just used the simple smock plate that was included in the book. It took longer to construct one dress than it did to smock two of them. It is smocked with two strands of floss. 

The fabric is Heirloom Imports line pique. Smocked with aqua and trimmed with aqua whip stitch piping. I have no idea what the collar is done with. White fabric. Isn't that descriptive? It was a hunk I found. All materials are from my stash. So in my mind, free!

Here is dress #2. More of the same. I did band the sleeves with binding on both dresses instead of elastic and a ruffle. For me that made the sleeve too big. The sleeves are inserted "in the round" just as I do on bigger girls dresses. I'm not a fan of that seam hanging out the bottom of the sleeve.

I am off to pick up our sick kitty. He has been at the vets all weekend. Kidney failure. I think our time with our little old man may be dwindling. This is a picture of him a couple of years ago trying to be nosy. He isn't a very cooperative patient, so I know he will be glad to be home.

Videos from Children's Corner

Lezette Thomason has given us all a gift. If you have ever tried to stitch a CC Jeffrey you might do what I do. I always end up stitching the bottom legs of a lined Jeffrey three times before I get it right. But Lezette has done a series of video demonstrations of their most frequently asked construction questions. Thankfully for me, they included the Jeffrey. Go take a look, they are fabulous.

Children's Corner videos

Butterfly bishop-DONE!

Bishop for DD's boyfriend's Goddaughter is finished. I didn't take a picture of the panties. I used Children's Corner Bishop pattern, and Ellen's Watercolors from the 2008 Nov/Dec Issue of Creative Needle. Fabric is a pique.

Excuse the fact that my hanger is covered with tissue paper, I had to unwrap the dress again to take a picture of it. She had it packed and ready to take back to Louisiana today. Love puffed sleeves, love bishops. And really liked this plate. I will use it again. It was cute yet quick. Of course a bishop in a size 6 months is quick by nature.

Want your pleats to stand up nice? Use a pique so that you have to pack those buddies into the neckband. No self surviving pleat has room to lay over! I pleated this bishop with the seamless pleating method. I don't care how careful you are, how tiny your French seams are, when pleating a bishop, at least one of those seams are going to show and look chunky. I don't like chunky. I'm chunky enough without my bishop seams being chunky too.

I like it and I hope the baby's momma likes it too.

Covered cupcakes (oops)..buttons

Some things just scream summer. That is what this darling cupcake print from Susan Branch did for me. I got it from Jan at Bessie Mary. I love Susan Branch graphics anyway, so it was a given I would like her graphics in a fabric. My first thought was to make a bishop smocked with cupcakes, and I still have enough, but then decided to use it to make a CC Taylor. On the Delphi Heirloom Sewing and Smocking board we had a Taylor challenge. Since I had never made this pattern before I decide to try it. It is a sleeveless bubble that I adapted to have a yoke. I paired the cupcakes with what else, gingham. I swear if you used gingham with burlap it would be adorable. Things go better with gingham! (I wonder if the Coco Cola Bottling company will mind?) I didn't have any cute buttons to go with it so I decided to cover some to match. I LOVE covered buttons almost as much as I love linen. And since I liked these little cupcakes so well, I wanted to make sure I had cupcakes on each button.

Covered buttons can be intimidating for some, but are really quite simple. And since I liked the cupcakes it took a bit more planning to achieve buttons with cupcakes on each center. I decided to share with you how I did that. As always you can click on the image to enlarge.

1. These are the supplies you will need. The covered button kit. These are readily available at most fabric stores.
2. A scrap of your fabric.
3. Temporary spray adhesive
4. Scissors, both paper and fabric.
5. Blue water-soluble fabric marking pen.
   

Using your paper scissors, cut out the appropriate sized circle from the cardboard backing of the button kit.

Decide which motif you want to feature on your button. I chose this cute little cupcake with the cherry on top. Trace around the cardboard circle with a blue water-soluble marker. Cut out traced circle.

I have marked the base of the button kit with a black marker. This is so that when I place the covered top into the base, I can position the cupcake right side up. This will be important when attaching the back. Otherwise your button turns out with your cupcake facing sideways. Ask me how I know this.

Pay close attention to this very technically savvy process. Stick the button front on the end of your finger. Spray button front with spray adhesive. It doesn't take much, you just want it to be tacky enough to catch your cupcake and not let it slip as you push it into the white base. (I told you it was technical.) Place button face down on back of fabric circle. It will stick to the fabric while remainng on the end of your finger. Pick up fabric circle and button front, place over white base making sure that the top of your motif is placed below the black mark you made on the base. Shove, press, push what ever verb suits you, the fabric and button front into the well of the white base.

After you shove it into the base, tuck the excess fabric down into the button. You will think it is too much, it rarely is. You can trim a scant amount of excess if you are dealing with a heavier fabric. If you trim it too close, the fabric won't be held securely by the button back. After you have tucked in the extra fabric, place the blue "pusher" thing, (I am sure it has a name that I don't know.) down into the back of the button front to make sure that the extra fabric is snug into the button front. Place button back on top of fabric making sure that the shank is horizontal to the black mark on the white base, thus aligning motif upright on button. Push down pretty hard. Sometimes you will feel the back snap into the button front. Remove blue pusher, check that back is snapped down all the way around. If not, repeat wit h blue pusher.

Twist white base to remove button.

Voila! Cute little cupcake button to go on my Taylor.