Birthdays

A little break from Israel.... just for this post.

Having seven children, many of them married now with children of their own, has always been my delight. Having said that, May had always been my month where I didn't have to concern myself with birthdays or anniversaries.... until now. I now have four grandchildren born in May... three of which are girls. So below is the first dress made for the first joy of May.. Miss T.

Elf Apron

This is for all of you moms out there who have little ones (little elves) who long to help you in the kitchen while you're making those wonderful Christmas yummies! In my last post I shared a picture of an adult apron with a santa pocket near the top with two lower pockets showing his mittens. It was made as a sample for the shop that I am now working in. Well.... along with the adult apron pattern, there was a child's apron pattern to match... This one had a smiling elf on the upper pocket, an it's cute little mittens on the lower pockets. I decided to make the child's apron reversible, (I should have done the same thing with the adult apron!) just in case there are any little messes (or large ones). I thought the patterns were pretty cute and thought you might too! Any questions? Just ask...... Have fun!

Pillowcases!

I forgot to share just a few of the flannel pillowcases I have made for the grandkids. There is a million pillowcase challenge going on right now for our soldiers and for kids who are in the hospital. Such a worthy cause. Cozy Quilt Shop alone has made nearly 3000 so far.





Behind the Christmas pillowcases, you can barely see a little girl's apron that I am finishing up. Time is nearly running out!!!!

Berninas!

Here is what I have been working on since the last time I blogged.

The top picture is of my own Bernina, the 730. These machines run for about $7300.00 plus tax. (Machines have gone up just a little since the machines of long ago that I shared on my last post.) This Bernina can do just about anything. Not only does it sew beautifully but it also embroiders. I use my laptop to get things set up embroidery wise..... send it over to my machine by way of usb cable and voila... I stitch it out. The new Berninas, simply put, are merely computers that just happen to sew.



This next picture is of the new Bernina, which will replace the 730. I thought my machine did everything.... but then the new 830 came out and this machine truly DOES do everything and more. For one, it is much larger than the 730. The lighting system is out of this world! It also is a dual feed, which I have been waiting for forever, twice the size bobbins, (Yippee! I hate stopping to refill a bobbin!) plus has a touch screen.... incredible!! You will also notice a much larger sewing space, for those who like to do their own quilting. This machine is phenomenal... but so is the price..... $10,000.00... plus tax! (When it first hit the market is was $13,000.) Check it out:



For those of you who are wondering why this incredible machine is in my home....... no... I did not purchase one! Cozy Quilt Shop had me bring it home to get to know it. (Do I have to bring it back Daneila??)

Since the shop asked me to make a sample apron, I decided to make it on this fabulous machine. Here it is:




Now don't knock yourselves out running to your nearest dealer to purchase this machine.... I'm sure that they can hold one for you... just in time for Christmas. Are you reading my blog honey? ;-)

Happy Holidays!

The Machine.

I have posted on various occasions about sewing machines that I use, but with this post I want you to become a little more familiar with the machine itself. I happen to own several machines..... not new ones necessarily, but certainly ones that I have grown to appreciate over the years. Over those same years, I have also taken the time to research some of the history involving the machines that have made their way into my home as well as my heart.
A very small history lesson is needed here, to help you understand the reason that I own the machines that I do. Before the 1900's, not too many women even owned a sewing machine (much less afford one!) and the ones who did were pretty confined to the type of machine that was available. Besides making clothing, women also made the quilts for their families' beds. The log cabin design was one of several popular patterns back then with the center squares being either red (to represent hearth or heart) or yellow (to represent a candle in the window). Two-color quilts were also quite popular, that is, if you could afford the fabric. Crazy quilts were popular due to the irregular pieces of fabric that were used. Once these quilts were sewn together, you could embellish over those worn pieces of scraps. Those who had more money, along with more time, made more elaborate crazy quilts in honor of Queen Victoria. The fabric used on the fancier crazy quilts included, rich satins, wools, velvets, brocades, linen, and more. The main purpose of those crazy quilts was to show off one's hand work and wealth. Most had a spider web embroidered on it somewhere believing it to bring good luck or good fortune. Many of the quilts were made solely by hand back then, but as time marched on, the sewing machine became more popular and much more available. It took far less time to make that valuable addition to one's home and more women were able to purchase them.
The first machine that I'm going to share with you is a Minnesota A treadle sewing machine and it's a beauty! Made in 1910 by the Davis Sewing Machine Company, it was sold exclusively by Sears & Roebuck. My mom first learned to sew on one of these machines and states quite proudly that she could get going pretty fast on one of these. How wonderful it must have been to have the availability of such a fabulous machine!






The second machine that I'm going to share is a Singer hand-crank machine. This machine is a little tricky as you have to crank the machine while maneuvering the fabric through all at the same time. I have a friend who owns a couple of these machines and has made several quilts on them. She does demos all over the country and I myself have had the wonderful privilege of demoing mine as well and have always marveled at how beautifully it sews! This machine was made in 1923 in Clydebank, Scotland and manufactured in Great Britain. It's also in excellent condition!



With the advent of the Depression, Singer took a huge risk and made a lightweight sewing machine that women could take with them when their families had to up and move due to job loss, extended families moving away, financial instability, etc., etc. This 'risk' ended up being a huge winner for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The machines were inexpensive, light as a feather, (11 lbs.) and they took up hardly any room in those already crowded cars. The tables that you could purchase to go along with those machines served not only as a sewing machine 'cabinet' for the machine but they also became a nice dinner table or card table to boot. And..... those tables could easily collapse making them quite portable... along with the machine. Genius! The Featherweight was known as the perfect portable and they are still popular today due to their precise stitching ability and ease of taking to class. Most women have affectionately named their machines, me included. I wanted you to see a picture of the table, which was constructed out of wood on top and metal legs. The one that I have is in perfect condition. Just like the machines are numbered, the tables have serial numbers as well. When you remove the insert, your machine fits nicely down into the table top. When it is needed for a dinner table, the insert fits just as nicely back into place!

The machine.....



The table.....




The last machine pictured on this post belonged to my aunt Sybil. She made me several dresses on this machine and I am sure that it cost a small 'fortune' when she purchased this baby back in 1952. It's a Pfaff 130 "Dial-a-Stitch". Talk about a heavy duty sewing machine, this is it. It weighs at least 50 lbs. and can sew anything...... even the canvas on a ship's mast. It is known as an industrial powerhouse and I can see why. When I have something incredibly heavy that needs sewn together, this is the machine I head for because of its durability. This machine was made in West Germany.



The Berninas are next!

Aprons!

I made a few aprons this past Christmas for a couple of my daughters. As I had stated in an earlier post, I really wanted to make as much as I could to save on money. Not that my plan really worked :-), but I did enjoy the time I spent sewing for each of the girls. The pattern that I used, I had also shared with all of you before. It is a reversible apron pattern, picked on purpose, due to the fact that I am a messy cook. Since I do tend to be messy, I just assumed that everyone else is as well... hence the two-sided pattern.

The first one is Beck's. She loves anything retro, so when I saw this fabric at the quilt shop, I knew that it was meant for her!



This is the fabric that especially caught my eye for her.



This next apron is Nicole's. Those of you who are acquainted with Nicole, know that she eats clean by eating raw. She has an incredible web site that a ton of people follow. If you haven't checked it out... it is an absolute must! I decided that I would embroider the bodice of each side.










The last one that I am sharing on this post was made for my new daughter-in-law Casey. The fabric just seemed to say Casey all over it.





In the next post, I will share a couple more!

The Wedding!

There was a wedding in our family as we closed 2009 out... our son Michael married the girl of his dreams, Miss Casey Simone. For the wedding, I set aside time to make a gift box, to hold all of their gift cards and/or money, and the ring bearer pillow. I used a brown silk dupioni for the gift box and a bright pink silk dupioni for the pillow. On the box, I embroidered the kids' initials along with the date of the wedding. On the pillow, I decided to embroider a portion of their wedding invitation along with a scripture verse out of the book of Song of Solomon. I used some left overs of the brown silk to make piping around the edge of the pillow. For those who know me, I love to glitz just about everything so it was no big surprise when everyone saw how many crystals I used on these two items.





Here are my cute little granddaughters with the dresses that I made for them for the wedding. Ashlynn and Reilly were the flower girls, so I made their dresses out of the white silk dupioni. I used the same bright pink silk, that was used for the pillow, and gathered it up for the waist band and bow for the two dresses. Using the glitz again I covered up my stitching lines, where I had gathered up the waist band, with pink crystals. I used an adorable trim that I found, around the neck of each dress. On the inside lining of each dress, I embroidered the girls' initials. For our little Miss Teagan, (affectionately known as Miss T.) I used the pink and the brown silk dupioni and quickly put together a dress for her. I decided that I would again, scrunch up a waist band and again cover the stitching lines with crystals... this time using brown ones. All three looked so cute and each had fun dancing and twirling in their new dresses.

(Pssst! I see you Keira!!)



Is this not the cutest picture?? She was very into her dance. ;-)



Miss Ashlynn had fun dancing it up with her cousin and ring bearer, Tallon. And not to be outdone by her cousins our sweet little Keira, who also fancied herself to be the hottest dancer out there, was on the floor behind them.



And of course, I had to make a quilt!! I quickly made a lap size quilt for the two of them to cuddle under while watching tv. I wanted to show you the label on the back too. Such a fun wedding!

Christmas Revisited!

As you know, this was suppose to be my 'sewing' blog. But being true to form, I seem to get easily sidetracked.. especially when it involves my children or grandchildren! So, I thought it would be nice if I actually shared with you a few things that I had the pure pleasure of sewing these past few months.

This seemed to be the year for stockings!! Some of the ones here are simply replacing older ones that I had made years ago. Now that nearly all of my children are married, I decided that I wanted ownership of those dear, old, stockings so that I can keep them hanging on my own fireplace mantle. Such sweet memories for Jim and I of times past. (Elizabeth... you're the last hold out! Get that old stocking in the mail.)

First up is Rebekah's replacement. (Don't forget.. you can click on any picture if you need a clearer view.)



I even made a new one for Christopher (my son-in-law) this year!



Next is my son Michael's. (I know, I know, these aren't the best pictures... sorry.)



My niece, Gretchen, had a new little darling this year. Here is her precious Milan's stocking that hangs at her grandma and grandpa's house. I decided to make a little pocket and sew it onto the back of the stocking..... just the right size for those little treasures she might acquire from her many new fans! ;-)



Pocket on the back.



Not to be outdone, my nephew had his third little boy this year. Since I had made the other boys' stockings, it was only right that dear little Joshua got his own as well.



Another friend had asked me to make a couple of stockings for her friends. Stockings are such a different type of gift to give.. and isn't it nice to be a little different? The first one is for her friend Karen, while the second one is for Karen's husband.






I also made aprons and dish towels this year. That was really fun! I purchased the waffle weave fabric by the bolt so it was easy to cut up, embroider and then make into towels. Once done I cut and ruffled some fabric and added it to the bottom of the towels.



The great thing about the aprons is that they are reversible!



The towels.




James and Stef were the ones who got the quilt this year. The center portion was pieced together by using a tall fat quarter pack that we had at the shop. Since I waited for such a long time before I actually pieced the quilt together, the coordinating fabric for that particular line was not easy to find. But eventually I found enough of the fabric to get this quilt made for them.



I also took the time to make and hand embroider a pillow for my bed.

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat....."

At Christmastime around here, our home is filled with lots of music. The kids used to get so mad at me because I would want to start playing christmas music by the end of September or October. My reasoning never made sense to them but I am hoping that as they have grown older themselves, that they now understand why I love it so. I not only love the music (it's just not fair to only get three weeks of enjoyment over the most beautiful music ever written),but I also love the decorations, the smells, the sounds, the weather, hot chocolate by the fire, decorating the house, surprises, the memories, but best of all I love celebrating the incredible birth of Jesus Christ. It just cannot get any better than that. We are truly blessed aren't we? And one cannot forget all of the christmas programs and movies....... Again... I love this time of year. Hopefully you do too.

I have also been sewing like crazy to get the gifts done that I will be giving away this year. I am only sharing a few pictures at this time because I have already given these away. Tea towels. Everybody needs them and this waffle weave fabric is great. I buy it by the bolt out of New York and then cut it up for towels or even children's jackets. It is wonderful to work with and washes beautifully. Below are the towels along with a couple of jackets that I have made in the past. I have thrown in a few christmas stockings as well. The pink one is for my niece's new little one and the other two are for my daughter and son-in-law.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

For the love of handwork....

I thought that I would share one more pillow with you that I designed this time, except for the stitchery portion, before getting back to strictly machine sewing projects. Again, referring back to the days when the shop was open Toni, the owner, and I loved (like I already stated) anything that involved handwork. Another designer we carried was Kindred Spirits. Their book entitled, Hollyberry Stitches, became a quick favorite to many of our customers. One of the designs, which I used for this pillow, was an easy one for beginners and many loved the whimsical faces found hanging on the tree branch.
I simply completed the handwork, then made four pinwheels, one of my many favorite quilt block designs, grabbed the size pillow form I wanted, and voila out came this pillow. Two of my favorite things combined together to make something very quick and easy into something very rewarding. Look into those stitchery designs that you might have lying around your house or even into those coloring books that you may have purchased for your kids or grandkids. You will be pleasantly surprised by what you might find hidden there! In fact coloring books are great tools to use for applique ideas, handwork design ideas, etc... (You'll never look at coloring books the same way again!) So go to it girls and let that imagination of yours, along with your hands, fly! Off to sew 4 millie.

(Always click on the any of my pictures if you want to see them 'up close and personal'.) Blessings ;-)