Happy Anniversary and a Giveaway

I can't believe it. Southern Matriarch is Five Years Old! It has been an amazing ride. My goal was to share sewing, smocking and a little life thrown in. I hope I have accomplished that. Sometimes the life has gotten in the way of the sewing. That is nothing new is it? Life has a tendency to do that. For a recap, I went back and found the year in review posts I had done. Life might have been busy, but man oh man, there has been a lot of sewing too!

2008

• 5 Wee Care Gowns
• 2 Wee Care Bonnets
• 4 Silk Ribbon Embroidered Make Up bags with matching Kleenex holders
• 2 Doll Dresses
• 2 Daygowns
• 2 Rompers
• 1 Embroidered Bib w Matching Embroidered Hanger
• 1 Lace Jacket w Pintucked Dress
• 1 Hemstitched Bonnet
• 1 Felt Candlemat
• 20 Embroidered Needlebooks

For a total of 48 items. Not too shabby for a partial year. I don't have pictures before March of that year. 

2009

• 47 pattern weights
• 16 pincushions 
• 6 Sewing tutorials
• 1 christening gown
• 4 bubbles (2 smocked, 2 not)
• 4 Wee Care gowns
• 3 smocked dress quilt squares
• 2 embroidered needlecases
• 2 ready to smock daygowns
• 2 smocked Easter eggs 
• 1 arm chair caddy
• 1 diaper shirt
• 1 bonnet
• 1 apron
• 1 Christmas ornament
• 1 reticule (just the embroidery)

A total of 98 items! Now I realize the pattern weights weren't a very time intensive thing, but still 47 of them!!!!! Now that sounds impressive. Besides, the christening gown and tutorials more than make up for the pattern weights. 

2010

• 6 Covered Hangers
• 4 Daygowns, unsmocked
• 1 Completely handsewn daygown, sorry, it gets its own count
• 3 Doll dresses, 2 smocked 1 not
• 1 Doll Apron
• 4 Smocked Bishops
• 2 Smocked Basic Yoke Dresses
• 4 Bubbles
• 1 Diaper Shirt
• 5 Slips
• 6 Machine Embroidered Diaper Covers
• 6 Machine Embroidered Burp Cloths
• 2 Bonnets
• 1 Diaper Cover, no embellishment
• 1 Christmas Ornament
• 1 Embroidered Journal Cover
• 15 Scissor Fobs, beaded not sewn
• 80 Beaded Pins for Pincushion Jewelry

and

• 1 Christening gown!!

in addition to that include 

• 2 trips abroad
• 1 sewing school
• 1 SAGA convention
• 5 tutorials
• 2 chapter programs
• 1 child moving back home
• Same child moving back out
• 1 sewing room dismantled, sorted, moved and remodeled

add it all together and NONE of it equals

the birth of the most beautiful grandchild ever! So if you are counting, you would need to add

• 26 million snuggles
• 14,200,335 photos taken
• 1,020 hours spent gazing
• 4,320 hours being thankful

Update: I think I should have made that 8,766 hours being thankful!

2011

• 23 pincushions
• 20 snip bags
• 7 Silk Ribbon Embroidered Pencil Holders
• 5 bishops
• 3 Children's Corner Lucy jumpers
• 3 Blouses
• 3 Rompers
• 3 Aprons
• 3 Chef hats
• 2 Daygowns
• 2 Slips
• 2 Wee Care gowns
• 1 Basic Yoke Dress
• 1 Smocked Full Bodice Dress
• 1 Embroidered Summer Dress
• 1 Christening Gown
• 1 Coming Home Gown
• 1 Overalls
• 1 Doll Dress
• 1 Jacket

For a total of 84 items. Not bad. In addition to that 

• 1 Sewing School
• 1 SAGA Convention
• 2 Bathroom remodels
• 2 Chapter Programs
• 3 Tutorials
• 1 extra trip to Louisiana
• 3.5 kids of varying ages moving in
• Same kids moving out
• Birthday party of the decade
• 1 Family Portrait with grown children from all over (Try it and see if you don't consider it a big accomplishment)

and

• 1 design being published in Australian Smocking and Embroidery!!!!! Go me!

Once again it doesn't compare to the time spent with this Princess

and just as wonderful

welcoming baby brother right before Thanksgiving. What a gift to be thankful for. 

2012

• Four Rompers
• Two Machine Appliqued Sundresses w/bloomers
• One Sundress no bloomers
• One Slip
• One Appliquéd CC Lucy
• Three Toddler Bibs
• Two Under-machine Pocket Mats
• Two Machine Embroidered Jackets
• Six Monogrammed Scarves
• Twelve Luggage Tags
• One Bridal Garter
• One Monogrammed Table Runner
• One Monogrammed Silk Covered Hat Box
• One Smocked Bodice Flower Girl Dress
• Embroidery on "Liberty Rose" Inspirations #71 as well as signature square to insert into a friend's throw.
• One Appliqued Long all
• One Appliqued Jumper
• Two Aprons
• Two Doll Garments
• NINE pair of Santa PJ's.
• One Smocked/Embroidered baby dress

Total 58 items all along with

• One Rotator Cuff Repair and 9.5 months of rehab
• One SAGA Convention
• One Half of a Local chapter Workshop
• Two trips abroad
• ANDDDD One Wedding for our youngest daughter

2013

Once again a very busy year sewing and smocking for three grandchildren. 

• 1 Smocked Bishop
• 1 Smocked Longall
• 1 Machine Embroidered Jacket
• 1 Embroidered Daygown
• 1 Smocked Ready to Smock
• 1 Machine Embroidered Dress w Bloomer
• 2 Machine Embroidered Rompers
• 6 Machine Embroidered Burp Cloths

Add to that 2 trips, 2 workshops, 2 baby showers and it promises to be a busy year.

All in all I am overwhelmed to see just how many items I have sewn in the past 5 years;

THREE HUNDRED FIFTY ONE Items!!!
WOW!

It has been a wonderful ride, I hope you have enjoyed it as well. 

In honor of Southern Matriarch's Anniversary I decided to host a giveaway. It would be wonderful to give away 351 items but that isn't happening. This is the first of this week's giveaways. The giveaway is blue in honor of blue Prince on his way next month. The giveaway consists of:

• One Yard of Heirloom Imports Pique, 60" wide
• Antique Mother of Pearl Buttons
• Two yards of baby size Whip Stitch Piping
• Two yards of regular Whip Stitch Piping
• Two yards Silk Satin Ribbon

Five items to celebrate five years! In order to enter the giveaway leave a comment here answering this question:

In the past five years, what has been the biggest sewing accomplishment you have achieved? Did you learn a new skill, finish a challenging project, start a sewing business? What was your highest achievement sewing wise in the past five years?

I can't wait to hear about your adventures. To enter:

1. Leave a comment here, no email entries please. 
2. If you share this giveaway on your blog or facebook page, come back and leave an additional comment saying you did so, to be entered twice. 
3. Each entry must have a valid email or blog address with which to contact you. This is especially important for those "Anonymous" commenters. 
4. The winner will be announced on Friday.

Look for more giveaways coming. 

Thank you so much faithful reader. It has been you that has made it so fun over the years. And Good Luck! 

Spits Happen

Or burps I should say. These are the collection of burp cloths I did for our new peanut.  I used pre-fold cloth diapers from Cotton Babies. These burps are a tad different than the ones I did for Princess, THREE years ago. (How did that happen?) Sadly, I never got the ones made for Wildman I had intended. Oh well, moving on.

The tutorial I used this time was from Notes from the Patch. My older daughter conveyed that she liked the flat burps she had gotten as a gift instead of the ones I had made into a tube. More coverage.

That presented a problem. How to cover up the back of the embroidery. It didn't look very finished to me. So I was in a quandary. A solution presented itself one day while strolling the aisles of my local fabric store, Jackman's. I found in a hidden spot some birdseye fabric. I found it online, here.

Jackpot! A way to cover the back and give even more absorbency.

It is VERY important to prewash the birdseye fabric with hot water and dry in the dryer to preshrink it. After doing so, I cut it to the size of the diaper and stitched in the ditch down the two lines of existing center stitching of a pre-fold diaper. This with the stitching down of the trim fabrics on the front, kind of quilts the backing. And the backside of the embroidery is not visible or scratchy. Score.

They do end up being thick but for their purpose, I think that will be good. Sure could have used some extra absorbency for Wildman who was a reflux baby.

And because I am the nerdy old lady that I am, a favorite:

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day and a great big "Thank You" to this crazy bunch for giving me the best job ever!

Clang, Clang, Clang Goes the "Streetcar"

Now I know the lyrics say "trolley" but our little NOLA babe won't know them as trolleys. To him they will be streetcars. An iconic symbol of the Big Easy is stitched here alongside the equally universal New Orleans symbol, the fleur de lis. What says New Orleans better? This is baby's "Coming Home" gown.

Embroidery is worked with Cascade House silk floss. The fleur de lis are shadow work and the streetcar is a combo of shadow work and backstitch. A granito is his headlight.

The gown is a combo of Kathy Neal's "Neal's Nightshirt" and Old Fashioned Baby "Baby's Summer Clothes." Fabric is a ribbed pique I purchased from Old Fashioned Baby a couple of years ago.

Swiss trim edges the off-set placket and sleeves. I used blue piping for the collar and antique glass buttons. Baby's mom loves it. I will admit, I am less than thrilled with it. I haven't convinced myself I won't re-do the whole thing. We will see.

And for your enjoyment, a little clip about "streetcars."

Learning to Picture Smock

Sarah posted a comment under the previous post asking about picture smocking.

I've not yet tried smocking anything other than geometric patterns- how hard is it to catch onto?

In answer to your question Sarah, I think it is very easy to catch onto. To be honest, it didn't occur to me when I first tried it that it should be more difficult. Ignorance is bliss. I had smocked one geometric Christmas ornament in a class, my second project was picture smocking. I jumped right in oblivious that it would be any different.

That being said, my first picture smocking attempts were very simple designs. Probably a key to my success.

I can't remember which one of these I did first. The scissor dress is shorter, so perhaps it was that one. Plus the backsmocking is much better on the balloons.  Both of these jumper/blouse sets are Children's Corner Amy. Little did I know we would have an Amy in the family within two years.

There is so much wrong with these yokes. No interfacing in the yoke, I obviously hadn't heard of piping a yoke yet and they could have used to be under-stitched. The facing flops forward on both of them. Hey, you work with what you know and when you know better, you do better. These dresses are both 30 years old and were worn a lot by three little girls. Picture saddle oxfords and black patent leather shoes. Not sure if Princess will be able to wear them. I hope so.

The scissor plate is Kindergarten Scissors by Mollie Jane Taylor. I am not certain it is still in print but I did find it at several online heirloom shops with Google. The booklet on the right is Playtime, I am certain it is out of print. I found it on eBay. (Click the links to find them.)

As I mentioned, my first attempts were simple shapes with few, if any, color changes. The process of picture smocking is called stacked cables. So if you can stitch a cable stitch you can picture smock. Trust me!

via Farmhouse Fabrics

There are also several books that would help. Michie Mooney has a Beginning Smocking book available at Farmhouse.

via Farmhouse Fabrics

Ellen McCarn's book is also a wonderful resource. It has some beginning plates included in the book. Also available at Farmhouse.

via Vaune.com

Country Bumpkin has also reprinted their book on smocking. Available at Vaune.

Laurie Anderson at Southern Stitches also has video tutorials on Youtube. Here and here and here.

So Sarah, give it a go! Picture smocking is fun and very versatile. You can picture smock on bishops also.

Parting shot: Amy wearing "Amy". It is obviously her fifth birthday two weeks before she started kindergarten herself. Almost 23 years ago.

That is it for today, faithful reader. I hope you have picked up a needle today to take a stitch or two.

Sweet "Dunkin Duckies"

Do you have patterns or plates that you just knew you would use, only to come upon them almost twenty years later and realize you never did? Well I do, and lots of them! This sweet plate was one of them. I gave a sneak peek of this project here.

The plate is called Dunkin' Duckies by Ellen McCarn. It is still available from many heirloom retailers. It is a favorite but every time the occasion arose it never seemed quite right. I do love it. Mommy's favorite part was the ducky bottom in the center. She squealed when she saw that. My favorite part is the water drops.

I had been so up to my neck getting Easter outfits across the pond that I wanted something quick yet adorable for our new little peanut. This was the perfect blend. A "Ready to Smock" from Sew Beautiful. They were on sale when I attended the Martha Pullen School in February. There are other "Ready to Smocks" available at local shops and online. Google it! It is a perfect blend of handmade by you and need to be quick.

If you want a quick gift, this is the way to go! It didn't take me long to smock this cutie. I found the romper to be well constructed, the shirt is a tad shorter than I expected, but that could be me. We will see how it does once he wears it. I smocked most of this in the car.  I need to be better about pre-constructing garments. I always say I will, then I get too anxious for the fun part, the smocking.

A sweet duckie paddling his way into your heart!

Play Ball! Sewing for Cousins

New baby's mommy had her showers this past weekend. Now I can share all that I have been keeping under wraps.

 

First up, Children's Corner Taylor. I have made this pattern too many times to count. Here and here for instance. It is a go-to favorite. Because Mommy and Daddy are avid fans, a bubble honoring the hometown team was in order for our new little man. The embroidery design came from Etsy. I don't want to type out the name of the team for fear the copyright police will find me or the person that digitized the logo. Which may have already happened since I can't find it again to make it linky. I did find this one. I used the 2.5" size on this size 3 month bubble.

I liked the bubble so much I decided his two cousins needed one as well. Team love is a family affair around here!  This fun little sundress is Children's Corner Frannie. I made a size 3 with length added again. The bloomers not shown here are Bonnie Blue Sydney.

 I used the contrasting fabric for the collar, piping and lining. Proportion wise I should have scooted the logo a tad farther down the chest. I wasn't thinking of the collar when I placed the embroidery. For play clothes I wasn't re-doing it. I opted for the optional elastic under the arms. Tied bows and 2 year old don't mix. In my opinion.

 

Last up in our Children's Corner parade is Children's Corner Johnny. I made a size 24 months for Wildman. I did like the darker red buttons I used on the Taylor above than these brighter red ones. Again, for play clothes, I wasn't changing it. These were the buttons I had in this size, so they were the ones I used.

All of the fabrics were stash from the closet. As were the patterns. Only thing I purchased were buttons and the embroidery. Under $10 for three cutie patootie outfits, score!

I did like that the embroidery design came in several different sizes so I could use sizes more appropriate for the size garment. I didn't think that little size 3 month needed a 4" logo on his chest.

I have more to share with you in coming posts.
**********************************************************

In other news, registration for the annual SAGA convention opened up today. Check out the brochure here. Promises to be lots of fun. I can't wait.

That Village and a New Baby

Grabbed you with that title didn't I? Psyche!!! You will have to wait to the end of this post. Back to the village, I have fallen way behind in featuring some of the things our village have made for Princess and Wildman. Wildman has outgrown every stitch of clothing he has in the past 6 weeks. Momma is about to lose her mind washing his two pair of pants everyday. Since I am up to my neck in new Baby Peanut I asked a friend to run up a couple of Children's Corner Johhny longalls for him. This is the close up of a royal blue pique longall and shirt. The shirt is piped with the same tattersall use to line the longall. A machine applique and self piping finish the look.

Isn't that lining the cutest? He is going to be handsome.

Another CC Johnny made from a ticking that has aged quite well in the closet. I am sure it is twenty years old. It too is self piped and lined with white broadcloth. You may remember these are both the same pattern I used for the Easter longall, except I had Judy take some length off the legs. Per Mommy's request, snaps in the crotch.

My friend Lori made this precious dress for Princess. It is Children's Corner Emily. It is from a floral pique. I didn't have this pattern and after seeing it, I had to order it. The waist is raised in the front. You can't see the pleats very well but it has soft pleats around the skirt.

The collar is also pique, piped with pink gingham. So sweet. Spring has finally come where Princess lives, so this will be perfect for walks in the park or even lunch in an outdoor cafe.

Not everything is from Children's Corner. This precious sundress is Child of Nature from Australian Smocking and Embroidery Issue #53. The fabric is a small print floral.

Rachel's smocking is perfection. The yoke and skirt are both piped with gingham as well. You can't go wrong with gingham.

Now about that new baby...... Not THAT kind of baby. My camera has been dying a laborious death. I couldn't understand why I was having such a hard time getting pictures to come out focused any more. I'm sure it is just me to a certain extent but this was getting bad. I have since learned that cameras do have a life span. Who knew? Soooo....

Canon  EOS Rebel T3i

THIS baby is on its way to my house as we speak. Along with three lenses, tripod etc. I am excited. I conferred at length with my daughter, the family photographer. After much encouragement I clicked the "purchase" button. I am sure the secret to her great pictures is in the camera she carries. Just kidding! She really is talented and I am hoping I just can get a few pictures that are in focus. My goals are meager. Lets hope I can eventually take a picture without the "Auto" key. My brain is on overload trying to learn about ISO, Apertures and the like. A whole new language to me. Wish me luck.

Spring has finally sprung here, DH was even coerced into cutting the grass for the first time. I think the green waves of grain look is what convinced him. You could see the grass blowing in the wind today.  It was wonderful to see hostas and hydrangeas beginning to peek out of the ground once the thick blanket of leaves was removed.

I am busy sewing, a couple of more weeks until the baby shower for Baby Peanut's Mommy. Until then you will just have to guess what I am up to.

That Time of Year Again and a Sneak Peek

Time to dig out the red shirts and root for the home team! I have said it before and many others have said it before me, "This is a baseball town!" Regular TV programming will be pre-empted all day to cover opening day activities. Not a moment will be missed.

It is always exciting when the Clydesdales come onto the field. The crowd loves it. It wouldn't be opening day without it.

On a sad note, this will be the first year in more than many can remember without "Stan the Man." Stan passed away this year, on my birthday actually. He was a much beloved figure here in St. Louis.

In his honor the giveaway at this year's home opener is a harmonica. Stan was known for playing his harmonica wherever he went. He was also known as a man of great faith and integrity. In a day when children need heroes, he is one for the ages.

Let's play ball!

And a sneak peek.

Just a tiny peek at the coming home gown. A shadow work fleur de lis. More to come.

Planning

There are many challenges when being a long distance Mimi. Being a long distance Mimi trying to sew for the new baby is even more challenging. It involves lots of "FaceTime", pictures via text messages as well as trying to describe in words what you are wanting to do. It also involves trying to execute what Mommy describes she wants. It has helped to go window shopping while I was visiting to get a sense of what she likes and doesn't like. Pinterest is also helpful.

First step, bring some order to this disaster of a sewing room. I should have taken an after picture. It looks much better now. The fabric closet has been straightened up, everything put away and ordered restored. When it is clean I just want to sit in there and admire it. Alas, I won't get much sewing done that way.

 

Even though the christening gown is breathing down my neck, we have to bring Baby H home before we can baptize him. So over the weekend I have been knocking out the embroidery on his coming home gown. Mommy went back and forth over whether she wanted a bubble or a gown. Gown was finally decided on. I am using Kathy Neal's Neal's Nightshirt. I have had this pattern for ages but never used it. It is very similar to a pattern I have about worn out and even bought a replacement copy. There is something about the offset front closure that speaks to me. It spoke to Mommy as well.

One of the challenges of long distance sewing is trying to describe in a common language what you are using and planning. I finally put together a couple of groupings to show Mommy the plan. This is the one she chose. Skinny Dip pique, antique glass buttons, Swiss eyelet trims, blue fairy fabric for the piping, silk satin ribbon and embroidered with blue floss.

 

Time is flying by, I am off to construct a sweet baby gown. Later, faithful reader.