Wednesday, October 31, 2018

A Little Dress for BabyStitches

I saw this dress sewn up in my local quilt shop, The Loft.  It was so cute that I just had to buy the pattern and make it for BabyStitches.  I chose two different fabrics.  The pretty multi-colored fabric came from that same store, The Loft, and I had the pink print in my stash.



Just so we are all clear on it, the pattern is Kwik Sew #K3775.



It was not the easiest thing I've ever sewn!  In fact, I'll admit that I had to go in to The Loft and ask Marva for some help, as I knew she had already made two of them.  Together, she and I figured out how to put the pieces together.  The unusual thing about this pattern is that there's a front piece, and a back piece, and a side piece.  And it was a little weird how the facings fit with the three different pieces.  But I'm very happy with the result.


Doesn't BabyStitches look lovely, especially wearing Mom's shoes!!??


I put these three pretty yellow sunshine buttons on the front placket.  Yes, I know it is fall, and I have just sewn a sleeveless dress.  But this is California, where the days stay warm longer.  And BabyStitches can always put a little t-shirt on under the dress if it's cool outside.



I found some unusual buttons for the back of the dress.  I was a little nervous about sewing buttonholes, because it's been a long time since I've done any.  And I've never made buttonholes with my newest machine, the Bernina 750.  So I looked in the book, followed the directions, and it was simple!  I held one of the buttons up to the touchscreen of my machine, in the particular corner they told me, and adjusted the corner square (with my stitch length button) so it was the same size as my button.  Then the machine just automatically sewed the buttonhole and it was just the right size!



Monday, October 22, 2018

Some of you may know (remember) that I am a long-time member of the Bear Patch Bits Club.  This club is part of Bear Patch Quilt Company, located near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.  SisterStitches is the manager there.  I've made several visits to the store, when I've visited family and friends in the midwest, and it is a really, really nice store.  Lots of wonderful fabric, classes enough to choke a, well, a bear, coffee and cookies, nice quilt samples all around.

Now to the Bear Patch Bits Club.  For a mere $40.00 for a whole year (I think that's what it was), I receive a package in the mail every month.  Containing twenty (yes, 20!) 5-inch squares of new fabric that the store has  recently gotten into stock.  Accompanied by a nice letter (written by SisterStitches!), usually containing a quilt pattern using 5" squares, and also a yummy recipe.  

I have to tell you that these packages have become like Christmas every month for me!!!  I see that oversize white envelope in my mailbox, and I know that there are 20 pieces of joy inside!  Really, each one makes me very, very happy.  This happy relationship has been going on for many years.

Bear Patch Quilt Company is going to close within a few months from now.  I know.  It's very sad.  And I certainly don't begrudge the owner and employees a nice retirement.  But that also means that my little white envelopes will no longer be coming in the mail.

Well, MisterStitches has often been the spectator to my opening said envelopes, and he knows how happy they make me.  So, he really stepped up.   He asked me if he could provide a similar thing for me.   After I picked myself up off the floor, I said, yes I think you can!!  So I pointed him to Missouri Star Quilt Company, and told him that getting a charm pack in the mail would definitely mean the world to me.  

So last week he presented me with the first box.  I opened it and this was inside.  A beautiful, beautiful charm pack of "island print" batiks.  Oh so beautiful!



Just look at them all!




Such luscious colors!!




Aren't these blues gorgeous!!



And the reds/purples!



See what I mean!!??!!




As you can see, MisterStitches really hit it out of the ball park with this idea!  
I think I'll keep him around.

A friend witnessed me opening the box and going through all the colors.  Oh my, it was so much fun!

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Alphabet Embroidery

My friend,Jenny, over at Jenny of Elefantz, has designed some beautiful embroidery designs for the whole alphabet.  And she is sharing them by email from her blog one or two at a time.  I thought that maybe this was a "make-along" that I might be able to keep up with, as they are small, so I'm working at turning out lots of pretty little letters.

So far I've done a through f, and am currently working on g.  Once I get the fabric ready and the threads collected, these only take about an hour each to make.



I'm pinning them up on my design wall to keep track of the finished ones.

And now for a few close-ups.  I have to admit that I am more eager to show close-ups of some of them, and a little reluctant to show others, the ones which aren't as nicely done.  But, as DaughterStitches is fond of saying, "It is what it is."  Or "C'est la vie!"




Jenny's idea and instructions call for making 26 little pin cushions with our embroideries.  (Each letter is around 2-3" tall.)  So I added some pretty lavender print to the sides of the "b" for that reason.  But I'm not sure that I want to make pincushions, so now I'm leaving them as just little squares.  Maybe I'll put them into a sampler wall hanging.  Or maybe they will be Christmas ornaments.  Who knows?!?  And some of them might even turn into pin cushions!




Aren't they such cute little designs?!?




I decided to streamline things a little bit, and prepared several squares ahead of time.  I found pieces of appropriate fabric, cut them to size, and ironed a stabilizer onto the back.  I even went through my Bear Patch Bits and found some little squares in there to use.








I have to admit that I have changed the colors a few times from what Jenny has called out.  Sometimes I can't find the right color, and sometimes I just feel like doing it a little differently.  Or, I've chosen a blue background, and she calls for light blue thread.  It's fun because they are such cute little things when they're done.  Go on over to her blog and check them out!

Sunday, October 7, 2018

A Cautionary Tale

Please, please, please be careful with your rotary cutters!  They are so very sharp, and I know we get used to using them and don't always think about how sharp they are.  Or maybe I'm just speaking for myself.  Anyway, the other day I was doing some cutting, just a small little bit, and the rotary cutter jumped up onto the ruler and shaved a small piece of skin off my finger.

Boy, did that hurt!!  I immediately tried to stop the bleeding and put a bandage on it.  It bled right through.  So I gave in to MisterStitches's suggestion that he drive me to Urgent Care.

  It wasn't a big cut at all, just sliced off a little bit of skin, but it sure bled.  I kept wrapping more and more layers of kleenex around my finger while I waited.  It actually took quite a while for the PA to get the bleeding to stop.   I was told that if a capillary gets cut off at an angle it can be hard to stop the bleeding.  




Now, of course, I am just fine.  Although not as good as new!  That will take a little healing time.  It's very challenging to type with this plastic thing on my finger!

And guess what!  There was my protective glove, lying right there beside me on the cutting mat.  Of course.  You know, I almost always use it.  I bet I'll use it even more often now!


Monday, October 1, 2018

A Beautiful Christmas Stocking

My dear daughter-in-lawStitches has been working on a Christmas stocking for SonStitches.  It has been a TON of work for her.  She's carried this project to our house many, many times to work on in her spare time.

And now it is finished.  She recently brought it to me to help her finish it up.  There were good directions, and a piece of felt to use for the back of the stocking.  We also cut another piece of felt to put behind the stocking front, to protect the back side of the stitches.  As much work as 
Daughter-in-lawStitches has put into this stocking, we wanted to make sure it was protected!




And here it is.  Isn't it beautiful!?!



Here are a couple close-ups.  Look at how many little stitches are sewn to make the intricate design.


Such a labor of love!  And she immediately started on a stocking for BabyStitches!