Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Well I have been out of town so I haven't even thought about sewing anything. Today I will be monogramming some things for my class and will be making a few items for friends. I'll post later some pictures. Happy FRIDAY everyone.

Fruit Salad

Hope you don't think I am talking about a recipe.... Yesterday I headed to Tupelo bright and early to help out my friend Connie Buse. She has been keeping her grandbabies this week and I must say neither one of them has met a stranger. I walked in to find Sims at the table eating breakfast and playing with stickers. She started telling me about her mommy having a baby and if it was girl she is gonna be called Peachy and for a boy Fruit Salad. I laughed and laughed. Then we played games and the rules were made up by Sims as we went. I know Connie has enjoyed having them.

Adult Onset?

I have been in the sewing room this week in spurts. I really think I have adult onset A.D.D. I don't know how I do it, but I manage to jump from one project to the next and back more than any adult should. Just this morning I have cut quilt pieces, hemmed pants, pleated somethings, and have plans to finish and deliver jon jons.

Hey, Guess What-

Guess what I'm making.... Here is the beginning of what I hope will end beautifully.

Baby Model

How cute is Morgan Mathis? Kellie had mentioned wanting an outfit so in one of my sewing frenzies I made this one. I loved it on the hanger but I absolutely fell in love with it again when I saw this picture. I had thought that it might be too small, not really knowing how big she was so I made it by a 6 m0 and it looks like a fit. I hope they enjoy wearing it as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

Runners-not athletes

So I haven't been in the sewing room a lot the last few days, but I have managed to get some new projects finished. In August I am hosting a party for Habitat for Humanity. It is a jewelry trunk show and an Afternoon Tea. All are welcome to attend or you can mail me your donation. Yeah that was a shameless plug! So in an effort to create some continuity from room to room in my home I decided to use black and white toile to top all the tables that will be bedecked with jewelry and sweets. I am not a domestic sewer, meaning I'll make clothes but don't ask me to make curtains and table cloths and such. Well last week I made curtains for Leslie's classroom...check and I made runners for my two buffets and my dining room table...check that off my list. I know I will have bistro tables set up around the downstairs but they will have full length cloths with toile toppers. Connie will be monogramming me a toile initial for my front door and if anyone has other places to put toile accents I am taking suggestions.

Sales, Wills, and Pleats

So on Friday, Heirlooms Forever had their sale. Yeah they have a sale by marking their stuff down about 1%. But oh you should see the people stalk them out for that slight % off, and don't even think about the 50% off room....talk about a THROW DOWN. Do not I repeat do not come between a woman and the fabric she has had her eye on every trip to the store.

I was on a mission on Friday...yes I was getting a pleater. The one item that was marked down like .05% unlike everythingelse. Don't worry I wanted it no matter the mark down or mark up. I stood in line for 30 minutes, manged to pick out many other things I didn't need, but couldn't live without and an hour after entering the doors of Heirlooms I was walking out 3 bags deep. Thanks to my sweet mom I now can pleat my own fabric to smock. It was my birthday present early. Well, technically I can't do it yet, because they were out of the orange pleating thread, and because I don't know how to use the thing and will have to have a little lesson, but after that....oooo I will be able to pleat anything I want.

I know my friend Connie is reading this and shaking her head. She has a pleater and offered to let me use it whenever, but you see she has a daughter that sews and a daughter in law that sws, and when shes gone I will loose access to the pleater. I needed my own. Connie did try to however have an intervention and say she would will me hers but I got her voicemail too late I was already the proud owner. Thanks for the sentiment Connie, but I hate to think of the fight over the pleater that would happen. Gripping those needles could be painful if I would have had to make a run for it...:) You know I'm not athletic......

Quilt?

Well, let me tell you that I don't believe I will be the next quilter....But Sunday morning before church I decided to put together a Christmas 12 inch square. Hmm...well the piecing of it was not the issue. hmm..no it wasn't even the putting it together to quilt...no it was the actual quilting...that stinks...who could do it by hand? This was my attempt.

Also while in the sewing room on Sunday I managedto make two Christmas dresses and two pairs of pants...only one of the dresses is featured here...because I branched out. This is a dress I had never made before. Like most dresses it has the tab top buttons, but look at the back....it is a wrap dress for little girls, it buttons in the back. How sweet huh? Yeah well my to do list for around the house has definitely taken away from my sewing time this week.

Sewing, Smocking, and Appliques

A dress I smocked.
A dress for Aniston

Some onesies for two of my friends' babies

Happy Halloween Early! I love this witch hat with the little spider hanging from the tip.


Look how sweet this Christmas tree is! I hope Ellie likes it.

Hooked

For sometime now, each and every time I see my sweet niece I try and have another piece of clothing to give her. I have always wanted input, but my sister -in-law, thanks me and accepts. Yesterday Kathy came armed with blank onesies, yes my heart was happy, and my mind said yipeee! So we appliqued for Ellie, while in the sewing room Kathy got hooked. While my sewing room only gets cleaned once in a while and it has been a while I have fabric draped or sitting on anything that will hold it. I have a walk in closet with shelving full of fabric, it is very hard to keep organized but harder to resist. As Kathy looked she started picking and choosing fabrics and thread colors for the onesies. Next, the wheels started turning. I had some blue and green seersucker just waiting to be used and by 10:00 last night Ellie had a little bubble monogrammed just for her. I also made a jon jon for a friend of Kathy's in Oxford, and Kathy even sewed up the lining and some of the other straight seams...yes, I may have another family sewing buddy. Kathy has an advantage she is brilliant so the crazy pattern pieces to her make sense. A lot of people look at the pieces going together and don't get it, she gets it. Will she find time during her residency and first year of mother hood to take up a hobby?? I also introduced her to smocking...easy enough and it is portable... We will see if Kathy is as hooked as I hope she will be.

Kelly Get Pumped

A while back my Kelly Mathis asked me to surprise her with something for Morgan. It is finished. I hope she likes it, as soon as she gets me her address it will be headed to Jackson for her sweet baby girl.

Ellie's New Duds

In honor of Ellie B's visit this weekend I made her some clothing. I may be crazy for outfitting her each new visit but I don't have kids, don't want any kids anytime soon, and so she gets the efforts of my creativity.

I tried out a new pattern this morning called the Marley? The top has scalloped edges....it is okay, it sewed up quickly but I think it needs something to make it cuter. I'll be working on something for next visit that is even sweeter.

For Twins

So I made my first outfits for twins yesterday. Of course they needed to match but not be identical.

For Lisa

From the Sweat Shop- first fabric burp cloth

Bonnie Blue Pattern-Riley, Hobby Lobby Fabric

Children's Corner Pattern- Taylor, Hobby Lobby Fabric

Martha Pullen Pattern for Jon Jon and A-Line Dress, Hobby Lobby SeerSucker,

Outfits for big brother and baby sister.

My Life in the Sweat Shop

I have decided that I should have named my blog...My Life in the Sweat Shop. Cullen calls my sewing room the sweat shop, really becasue it is upstairs in our house and since we don't stay up there we keep the air off until one of us is going to be up there for a while. So really for the first few minutes it is possible you will sweat.
Yesterday I began my day in my sewing room. I made 4 bubble outfits, a pair of shorts, and a top. I monogrammed some burp cloths and some clothes for my friend Mandi who had her baby Monday. I caught myself seeing exactly how fast I could make a bubble by the last one. I had it to just under 30 minutes start to finish. I know I'm a nerd.
While sewing I sat glued to the televison watching the Michael Jackson Funeral. Within the first minutes I was crying. Cullen called to check on me and it was during a good part of the service, I had to let him go, I was crying again....and who out there didn't tear up when his daughter spoke. I know I am becoming a softy as I age. So I would say that the funeral cut my sewing productivity down. Humph! Sewing Marathon Day 3-Hope I finish everything!

Sewing It Up!

Whew, today has been a day. I have been in my sewing room since about 6:30 this morning. I haven't really been sewing the entire time, but for at least four hours today I have been running both my sewing and embroidry machine. I have recently been asked to make some outfits so I knocked out a couple today. I must say I have ADD when it comes to sewing. While I know people have asked me to do certain things for them...my sister in law has 3 outfits she needs done, Ms. Connie asked me to make some baby gifts, and my friend Lisa left some fabric to be sewn into outfits, I found myself jumping from project to project today. Much the way I feel this blog will read when I am finished...a little tidbit here and a little there.

For Ms. Connie I was able to cut out all three of her gifts. Two were monogrammed, one was finished.

For Kathy, my sister in law, I was able to cut out and monogram two of her three outfits, one was completely finished.

For Lisa, I was able to cut out three outfits, monogram and partially sew two of them, one is complete.

While all this was going on I also thought of my sweet Ellie that is coming into town this weekend to visit. As some items were on the embroidery machine I was cleaning up my sewing room and found some dress pieces I needed to embroider and sew up for Ellie.

For Ellie I was able to monogram and sew together 4 dresses, monogram 1 bubble, and cutout one outfit.

Her Summer Dress

Her new winter dresses.

Christmas in July

Look what came in the mail for me over the weekend. I am so excited. I can't wait to use this new fabric to sew up some Christmas items. Also, stay tuned for some pictures of some things I have been working on lately. I have been commissioned to make some outfits recently and they will be finished soon.

Cakes

Yesterday I finished and Elvis Cake for my sweet friend Meagan. She is an Elvis Freak, so I can't believe I did I made a charicture of him and put it on a cake. I posted in my other blog, that normaly I do what I want on a cake and I don't get really fancy, but for Megan she got this.

Earlier in June my neice was baptized. Her mom asked me to do the cake so I made my first baptism cake. It was super easy because I was able to do what I wanted to do. Here it is.