31 Days of Creating 2021 - Day 21

 “Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” 

~ Camille Pissarro

I finished up another preemie gown. While I’m sewing I always pray for the babies and the families that will hopefully be blessed by these gowns. I know I make a lot of these gowns, but a) our community has a real need for them, b) this is one way I can give back and serve my community, and c) sewing is very therapeutic and grounding for me. I am sewing to bless others, yet it blesses me too. “Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25) That is a mighty gift!!! 

Have you thought about what grounds you and feeds your soul?  🧵❤️🪡 

~ Cindy

31 Days of Creating 2021 - Day 9

 “Do small things with great love.” 

~ Mother Teresa

A few months ago a sweet friend of mine, and her sister, asked me if I would take her sister’s beautiful wedding dress and create preemie gowns for our local NICU and L&D. I felt so honored to be given this opportunity to take a wedding dress that represents love, and transform it, so that it multiplies and blesses many others. Today I made two of these precious little gowns. And I think I will be able to create at least 10 preemie gowns from the dress. SO many families will be blessed by this beautiful and generous offering from my friend’s sister.  

🧵🪡🙏🏻 #31daysofcreating

Easter Sewing Round-Up....

Oh Friends!!!  It is almost Easter!!!  And we know that Easter is an extra special time for people who enjoy sewing!!! :)  I have stitched a bunch of precious little Easter outfits over the years.  I thought I would show a few here and add a few links if you want to dig a bit deeper on this blog.

First though, Easter is late this year!  Do you know why?  Do you know how it's determined when Easter is every year?  I didn't know until about 15 years ago when I actually looked it up.  Easter is the first Sunday, after the first Full Moon, after the Spring Equinox.  Pretty cool!!!

Ok....so above is one of my absolute favorite little boy Easter outfits!!!  This was made with a Creations by Michie pattern #102.  Here is the link to the blog post about it.

And here is a close-up of the adorable little chick made with the mother of pearl buttons.  So cute!!!

This was a super fun dress to make.  And I really liked working with the rick rack to create the flower.  You can read all about it here and here.  And you can read the tutorial about creating the tucked hem here.  I love this technique!!!

This precious dress was not created for Easter but it would be perfect!!!  Here's the link for more information and more pictures.  This dress was fun to make because I pleated the collar fabric together with the dress fabric and left off the sleeves.  So fun!!!

Here's a sweet little bubble that stitches up super quick!  I made this as a baby gift for a family at our church at the time.  Here's the link.  This bubble is fully lined and stitches up fast!  And it could easily be made for a precious little boy or girl depending upon the colors you use.

Here's another adorable little boy outfit.  Little boys can be hard to sew for...but they don't have to be.  :)  I loved sewing for my two boys over the years!!!  You can read more about this outfit  here and here. 

Oh my heart!!!  Another one of my favorites!!  I have so many favorites!!!  :)  I loved this dress as it was great for a little girl who did not want a bishop dress that year.  It was so classic and beautiful!!! It was made from a Maja's Heirloom pattern called Larkin.  You can read about it here and see more pictures.

I have plenty more on the blog and I'll dig through some more if I can over the next week or so.  But I'll leave you with this dress for now because it is such a quick and fun sew.  This is made from the Children's Corner Lillian pattern.  I cannot tell you how many of these dresses I have made over the years.  I love this pattern!!!  It is fully lined and stitches up fast.  Plus it is really a blank slate and you can do SO much with it!!!  I love it!!  This one has some rick rack around it and a rick rack flower in the center.  You can read more about it here and here.  

I hope you enjoy this flashback of some of the Easter outfits I've stitched over the years.  There are plenty more.  I will try to highlight some more soon.  Until then......Happy Stitching Friends!!!

xoxo,

Cindy

Hand-Stitched and Hand-Embroidered Handkerchiefs...

Not too long ago I decided to make a few handkerchiefs as a special gift.   I thought I could purchase some nice ones and then add some hand embroidery on them.  I had the hardest time finding any that I liked the feel of the fabric.  So I ended up making handkerchiefs.....and then I stitched on them.  The handkerchiefs were 7" x 7" finished and I used some nice batiste fabric that I already had.   I was very pleased with how they turned out.  

I flipped through various embroidery books that I have to find small design options.  And of course, I could have reduced larger images to make them the right size, too.

And I used my favorite floss colors again.  Sometimes I wonder if I use them so often just because they are easily available - meaning that I use them the most often so they are the easiest to find when I go looking for floss.  Speaking of which,  I am still using my fabulous and fun sewing pouch that I made many years ago!!!  I still love this bag!!  I usually keep a preemie gown in it that I'm working on, so if I am heading out the door I can grab the sewing pouch and have a project to work on if I have to wait while I am out.

I love how these handkerchiefs turned out.  I need to make a few for myself.  I love the idea of a cloth handkerchief.  The kids and I have embroidered many handkerchiefs over the years for their Dad.  They are a super simple project and a lot of fun!!!  I hope you will consider stitching one for a special friend and/or yourself!  

Happy Stitching!!!

P.S., I just remembered that I made another handkerchief years ago that I stitched into a cute little bonnet.  So I guess this wasn't the first time I stitched a handkerchief from scratch.  And for this one I put precious lace around the edges.  

Baby Girls and Pink Dresses....

There is something about newborn baby girls and precious pink dresses.  Call me old-fashioned!!!  So when a young friend of mine was pregnant with her first baby girl I knew I had to make her a few dresses.

This precious daygown is from an Old Fashioned Baby pattern called Priscilla's Layette.  I used white cotton batiste for the dress and pink and white gingham for the bias binding around the neck and sleeve edges.  I stitched dainty bullion rosebuds down the button placket using my favorite colors of floss.  I also stitched up a diaper cover from a pattern by Ellie Mae Designs using the same gingham, and lined them with the white batiste. I have a hard time giving a dress without a coordinating diaper cover.  Maybe that's because I have two girls and I always liked their dresses to have matching diaper covers.  

I also really wanted to start this sweet baby out with a bishop dress.  Since bishops have raglan sleeves they really grow with the baby, transitioning across several seasons.  When they get too small to be worn as a dress they generally still fit across the shoulders and neck and can then be paired with leggings, pants, or shorts.  I also made a matching diaper cover for this dress.  I used my favorite bishop pattern which is the Bishop Trio from Creative Keepsakes.  I've been making this pattern for almost twenty years now and I still love it!!! The smocking plate is Cary Anne from Ellen McCarn.  I actually have very few smocking plates because I love this one SO much I use it all the time.

Have you had the pleasure of stitching for a fresh baby lately???

Keep stitching friends!!

xoxo!!!

My Favorite Wee Care Gowns.....

I have no idea how many Wee Care gowns I have stitched and smocked over the years.  And I rarely follow smocking patterns when making them.  Generally I smock them like the one above.  I like the look of white floss on white fabric, which I think is timeless.  For the girls I add a simple bullion rosebud using two shades of pink and simple green leaves.  For the boys I make a classy blue bullion bow.  So sweet!!!

Still Blessed...

It's been a pretty busy year for our family.  But I am still here!  And I've been sewing quite a bit lately. As always, I find it therapeutic!!!  

A friend from church asked me to make custom outfits for two of her childhood dolls. I had so much fun with both.  For this doll the only request was to make a white dress.  So I made it a bit heirloom by giving it pintucks, hem tucks, entredeux, and lace.  The doll's cloth body is pretty wide so the dress looks a bit boxy - but it does fit the doll well. Now she has a new cotton batiste dress, bonnet, and bloomers.  She is adorable!

I have also been doing some 18" doll sewing, and some quilting.  Plus I have a few new techniques to share soon!!!

Wee Care Delivery......

Long time, no write!!!  I actually have been stitching a bit here and there - Just not taking the time to post, I guess. Our local SAGA Smocking Guild has been busy the past few months.  We were finishing up our Wee Care gowns for delivery. 

Our wonderful group of ladies really out did themselves this time around!!!  Just look at all these adorable gowns that are now ready and waiting at the local NICU to bless families going through potentially rough times!

I love seeing the creativity and individuality of the ladies.  All gowns were made from the same pattern but yet were all so very different.  Thank you to all our wonderful members that made this year's delivery a huge success!!!  Are you interested in making these precious gowns for your local community?  You can check out SAGA's website here and see if there is a local guild near you.  They would be thrilled to have you join in the fun!!!  And blessing others is always good!!!!

Tatting.....

One of our smocking guild members was kind enough to offer a tatting demonstration at our last meeting. She is a brave soul. And a wonderful teacher. I do know how to tat...but the thought of teaching 10+ ladies to do so...all at the same time seems a bit daunting to me. :o) Anyway, we had a wonderful meeting!!! While she demonstrated the various techniques I continued to work on my little tatted edging. It only consists of rings and picots but that is plenty for me right now. The brave member also wrote out a pattern for me for the cute little butterfly. I came right home that night and made the butterfly you see in the above picture. I used a pink and white variegated thread so it is a bit hard to see. But I am thinking I'm going to make several of them and maybe stitch them onto something. Just not sure what yet. Do any of you tat? It seems to be a lost art these days!

I really am just about finished with the cute little bishop. And it's a good thing because I have another baby dress to make and I just remembered Easter is a bit early this year. I am thinking of making Ean a button-on shorts outfit this year. It may be the only year I can get away with it with his daddy! :o)

I hope you all are stitching your little hearts out!!! We have a Wee Care delivery this weekend and I'm doing a bit of Wee Care smocking here and there too. I'll post a picture of all the gowns after I get them ironed and ready.

Enjoy your day!!!!

Stitching Update.....

Yes, I know it is taking me forever to finish this cute little dress. And I know this is a terrible picture. But......I wanted to give you an idea of how sweet this little dress is going to be ONCE I finally finish it!!! I am thinking of putting a bullion rose in the center front. I've only been able to work on it a few minutes here and there. I have put the neckband and placket on it...but still lack the side seams, sleeve bands, hem, buttons, and button loops. Maybe I'll get a large chunk of time this weekend to work further on it.

I may venture to the Martha Pullen Retail Shop tomorrow. The Martha Pullen School is in progress this week. I've never been to the school, but I do often frequent the Retail Shop. It's always fun to stop by and witness the energy of the ladies in their sewing element. One day maybe I'll be able to take a week's worth of sewing classes. That would be awesome!!! Until then my days will be spent caring for, raising, and educating our four little ones and I'll fit in a few minutes of stitching here and there. Sounds perfect to me!!!

Free Smocked Christmas Ornament Pattern.....

I have had quite a few people contact me recently about this smocked Christmas ornament pattern I made last year for a Smocking Guild meeting. Most people have asked if it's for sale and if so, for how much. I do not have it for sale...but I have been sending it to anyone that has asked. Therefore, I thought I would make it available to anyone else that is interested. So if you would like my very basic directions on how to make these fun smocked ornaments feel free to email me (sewblessed {at} mchsi {dot} com) and I'll be happy to send you the pdf handout I gave to the guild members last year. (The smocking plate I used was from Sew Beautiful Holiday 1988 and so it is not included in my directions.)

I hope your Thanksgiving Day was wonderful!! We had a fantastic day here with just the six of us!!! Now we are heading towards Christmas at full speed. I'm dreaming of dresses to make for my Elisabeth (who still enjoys wearing my dresses) and little jon-jon's for my Ean....but right now I am working on two, yes two, full-size quilts for a church friend. The goal is to finish them by Christmas. Wish me luck!!!

Wee Care Workshop.......

Have you all been wondering if I've fallen off the face of the earth? Sometimes I start to think that myself. However, I have been stitching a bit here and there since halloween. This past Saturday a couple of ladies from our Smocking Guild and I got together and constructed some Wee Care gowns. All was going great until we ran into pleating issues. I am telling you, sometimes pleating is almost effortless and other times.....well let's just say this was one of the other times. We had three pleaters and until we found our groove we had lots of problems! But we were finally successful and pleated 13 gowns. Now comes the fun part....the smocking!

I've also been working on a few crochet projects for a friend of mine. Her mom passed away and was in the middle of about 8 crochet projects for various family members. Emily and I agreed to finish them for her. So even though I've been quiet....I've still been quite busy. I hope you all are enjoying the fall and stitching a bit here and there as well!

A Finished Day Gown.......

It's finished!!! And I am so happy!!! And I think it is so pretty!!! Not that I am patting myself on the back....it's just that Jeannie B. of The Old Fashioned Baby creates such great patterns with wonderful instructions!!! Last fall Jeannie B. posted a day gown sew-a-long. At the time I did not have too much going on so I jumped in, especially when I found out she was encouraging us to stitch the entire gown by hand. I had never done that before and so I thought it would be a great challenge for me. Somewhere about halfway through I got busy with other stuff and put the gown down for a bit. A week or so ago I pulled it out and decided to finish it. And I am so glad I did! I am smitten with this little gown!

I love the neck embroidery and the gathered lace along the neck edge. And I put 5 sweet little mother of pearl buttons on the back and each button has its own hand stitched buttonhole.

I even got inspired last week to add some more stitching along the front bottom. I love the entire thing. It is so delicate and beautiful!!! If I had a dedicated sewing room I think I would hang it on the wall so I could admire it daily. I still might have to find a way to do that!

A Little Peek.....

It's amazing what a bit of rest will do for you! I have been back to the doctor two times over the past three days....but I find I am finally feeling better!!! I'm praising the Good Lord and hoping it continues!!!

In the meantime since completing the sweet bishop, I have now pulled out two projects that have sat for far too long waiting to be finished! The first item is my daygown from Jeannie B's OFB sew-a-long last fall. This precious daygown has been stitched completely by hand....no machine was used. Even the buttonholes were stitched by hand. I have so enjoyed working on this little garment. I find hand stitching so relaxing. It makes me wonder why I don't do it more often. Who knows....maybe I will now!

The stitching above is on the neck of the daygown. I have to stitch the hem in and then I'll show the entire gown. It is so pretty....I love white stitching on white fabric.

Back soon!

Finally....A Finished Bishop.......

Thank you all so very much for the kind words surrounding my kidney infection. This has really been crazy. I've never had anything like this in my entire life and I hope I never have it again. I was in bed for a solid 6 days! Finally on Monday I was able to move around a bit and actually had a bit of motivation in me to sit and hand stitch for a minute or two. During that time I made the button loops and stitched the buttons on this dress. I am so happy to be finished with it. Inside I am jumping up and down....but if I were to really do that I would have to hold my side which still hurts. (Seven solid days on antibiotics and my side still hurts....strange!)

Anyway it seems like I've been working a few minutes here and there on this bishop forever! I am so glad to be finally finished!!!

This little dress completes my requirements for the SAGA Correspondence Course I am taking. I will happily put it in an envelope tomorrow and send it to the instructor for her honest and experienced critique. I know I like it.

And although I still don't feel great, I am better. Last night I even picked up my OFB gown from last summer to work on. I can't believe I have let it sit this long unfinished....but I think some more hand stitching sounds like a good thing!

Still Stitching.....

I am happy to report the smocking part of this little dress is complete! And today while at piano lessons for the girls...and chasing Ean around....I was able to hand hem the sleeves too. Forward progress is always good! I still have most of the dress construction ahead of me...and I hope to get that done over the weekend.

In the meantime, I've been working on finishing a crocheted blanket for a friend of mine. Her mother was making several blankets for her great granddaughter and then passed away. So my friend asked me if Emily and I would finish crocheting these blankets for her so they can still be given to the little girl. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I declined. So Emily and I have been doing a bit of crocheting here and there too. What are you all working on? Any special summer projects???

Remember This.......

I mentioned awhile back I was taking a Correspondence Course through SAGA. With all the craziness this Spring I almost forgot about this bishop and let it slip through the cracks. Not good. However, I am now actively working on it as you can see below. I have a few more rows to go and then some flowers to add. Plus then I have to construct the sweet little dress.

I am pleased with it thus far! And I'll be really happy when it is finished!

What have you all been up to? We are staying cool and keeping busy. Today we are headed to the library....it is truly one of our most favorite destinations! I haven't been able to squeeze much sewing in lately, although I did make the girls skorts for their church Spring program a few weeks back. I'll have to remember to take some pictures. Do you notice the trend here? I have lots of projects finished....I just can't seem to get my act together and get pictures taken and then posted. I must work on that!

Enjoy the day, friends!!!! And try to work in a bit of stitching here or there!

Easter Frocks, Part 2....

I am back with Ean's sweet Easter romper. This outfit has quite a story....seems like that is a trend with me. I can't condense things well....I always want to give every last detail. That can be annoying for some. But anyway, that's just the way it is with me. I hope it doesn't bother you too much.

So here is the outfit Ean wore for Easter this year. I hope to get a picture of him wearing it for you soon. But by the time we got home on Easter afternoon all he wanted was lunch and a nap and neither involved his outfit or a camera. Next year I've decided I'm going to take pictures the day before Easter....when everyone is still nice and fresh and in a great mood! :o)

I built this entire outfit around this "Easter Train" smocking plate that I picked up at our local heirloom shop sometime last year. The plate only has 6 rows of smocking so I started looking for a romper pattern that would accommodate just 6 rows of smocking. I looked through every pattern I have and finally decided to just make my own. Of course, I used my favorite blue/white gingham and it is fully lined. That should be no surprise for those of you that know me.

I was so happy to have this sweet little romper finished early. Then just a few days before Easter I realized I did not have a shirt for him to wear under it. So I quickly made a little shirt. It looks fine on Ean but this mannequin is a bit big for this small garment, therefore the collar is sticking out and looking all sorts of wonky. But trust me, on Ean it was looking just fine. Adorable even! But I am a bit biased!

And for extra exciting news, I won a gift at church this past Sunday (Mother's Day). They gave out three gifts. One for the mom there that had the most children and grandchildren combined (none had to be present). The sweet lady that won had 25 all together! Amazing. I hope I am so blessed down the road. The second gift was for the mom with the youngest baby....which was one of our sweet friends and her precious baby boy! And then the last gift was for the mom with the most children, and they had to be present with her....my row was over half-filled with my four little ones, plus Wayne, of course! The gift was a book about Moms!! I was so surprised and feeling blessed! I hope your days have been blessed too.

Easter Frocks, Part 1....

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter weekend. We sure did. So much fun in fact, that it seems like it has taken me 2 days to recover. Actually that is probably because I stayed up late for so many nights sewing. So I guess it is time for me to post some pictures.

First up is Elisabeth. She is wearing a dress made out of periwinkle blue Imperial batiste. She picked out the fabric and I picked the pattern.

The pattern is Larkin by Maja's Heirlooms. I have wanted to make this dress for years and now I have. It was a lot of fun to put together and smock. It seems to appeal to the older girls because it has some shaping with darts and a little different silhouette. But it appeals to the mamas because it is still modest and sweet. Plus we get to add a bit of smocking and embroidery to it. Oh, and some beautiful lace too!

Even the sleeves are sweet. I am crazy in that I enjoy stitching bullion roses. I had thought about stitching them completely around the neckline, and I still may. But I also like just a few in the center front and then on the sleeves.

Overall I thought the pattern ran pretty true to size. I did measure the pattern pieces before I started and compared that to Elisabeth's measurements. I tend to do that all the time now when I use an unfamiliar pattern. It can really save some grief later on....especially since I do most of my sewing at 11 pm. Elisabeth loves the dress and says she can't wait to wear it again. That makes it a winner in my book!

Sewing....Sewing....Sewing....

Yep, I realize Easter is only 3 days away. Well actually I only have two sewing days left. Hopefully I can knock out everything between now and then. Ean's romper is done. I would like to make a shirt to go with it...but we'll see if that happens or not. Elisabeth's dress just needs the buttons finished. I might put some embroidery on it....or I might not. I think it looks good without...but I know it would look good with some too. Emily's skirt is on my machine right now. I started it about an hour ago....then had to get Ean down for a nap. Ethan? Well, I am still not sure if I'll be making him anything. I'm leaning more towards khaki pants and a white long sleeve shirt...maybe a tie? And I had really wanted to make myself a new skirt and top....but I can laugh that one off already. I can guarantee there won't be time for that at this point.

Even with Easter so late this year....I can't seem to find enough time to get it all done. Then throw in dental check-ups for the kids, a belly bug for one of the kids, weekly piano lessons for several of the kids, weekly violin lessons for one of the kids, etc...etc...etc. Not to mention the daily schooling, meals, cleaning, laundry, etc! Wow, I'm tired just thinking about it all!!! But it is all good...and it's all just what God ordered. Isn't it amazing that nothing surprises God? He is in complete control at all times. The Master Orchestrator!!! I can relax knowing He is in control and I am not! And that His ways are so much better than my ways!