Smocking--my new project

I took a smocking class at stitchers last Tuesday and have a follow-up this Tuesday. I can't seem to get straight stitches out of it, but at least the wearer will be a moving target. I'm excited about what it's going to look like when I'm finished. I'm making a black bishop dress with zig-zag smocking in bright, rainbow colors--so cute and not babyish like most of the smocking I see.

Update: I finished the construction of the dress--complete with hand sewing and all!! It's not too bad. I've still got tons of smocking to do, maybe I'll get around to it before she's too big to wear it. I've got a list of things I want to sew this summer--just two more weeks and I can devote part of the day to sewing. I may teach the kiddos how to do some and they can help out.

Girly dress from man's shirt

I used this site to make the cutest dress for Julezee. It's a Goodwill .99 shirt, but looks even better as a dress. It really only took a couple of hours to do. The pleat at the top (blue) took forever, and I'm still not too happy with it. But, the important thing is that she loves it. She's begging to wear it to Nana's tonight--with Pantyhose. I've got a couple more shirts to reconstruct before summer gets here. Can't wait to see how they turn out. I decided to do the capri pants too. Can't tell much about them from the picture below, but they are super cute too.

More sewing...and sewing for a mission

This weekend was completly devoted to sewing. I spent Saturday learning to sew on Minkee fabric--a bright fuschia Julianne picked out. (I finally got a picture at Christmas with her in her new dress) I took the class at my favorite little sewing shop, Stitchers Playhouse in Smyrna. We reconstructed one of the Children's Corner patterns, Louise. The class was fun; only two of us, so Ms. Ann gave us a ton of personal attention and help. Of course, lunch was delicious as well--homemade chicken salad, apricot bread with a cream cheese/mango spread, and lemon cake--yum! Back to the dress, we did a high waist, long sleeve dress. Sorta like what you see in Land's End. Julianne wants cooler weather to get here so she can wear it, secretly, I do to, she looks so cute in it.

After the sewing class, I spent a little time helping out a small group at FBC Smyrna with a sewing mission to make 250 dresses using the Lucy pattern. I got the easy job of closing the dresses for the hour and a half I was there. They exceeded their goal in less time than they had anticipated. Over 250 little girls will have new dresses to wear soon. Julianne is modelling a dress similar to the ones we made--this was her birthday dress for her invitations.

Vintage Sleeping Dress/ Nightgown

Julianne loves "sleeping dresses" as she calls them. She's obsessed with dresses in general. We finished a vintage style one this morning (Butterick fast and easy B4910 view C/A sleeves). Of course we had to wear it as soon as it was finished. This was my first ruffle, And, I'm pretty pleased with it. I think it turned out nice--a little uneven, but ok for a first try.

Ice cream summertime dress...for Emma

I just finished my niece's dress, actually started and finished it today. It was an easy one though...New Look 6578...with sholder ties instead of buttons. She's just turned four and picked the material herself...bright pink with white polka dots tutti-frutti fabric from Joann's. Not my favorite, but she liked it. It reminds me of a summertime ice cream cone. I don't know why, I just think ice cream and summertime when I see this dress. I got the sholder tie idea from my favorite little material store in Smyrna, Stitchers Playhouse. An amazing little store with the sweetest ladies running it. The best fabric and the best customer service around. They are always willing to help with a problem you might be having or to pick out the perfect material.