First Snow of Winter

Brrrr! It has snowed most of the day here in Boise. Unlike some people I'm NOT a fan of winter, but I have to go thru it to get to my favorite season . . . . Spring! I'm not one for temperature extremes, hot or cold. We are supposed to be getting more snow tomorrow with 30 mph winds. In another month and a few days we will be setting out new spring fabrics at Hancocks. Enough about the weather, I'm sure to have more than I want to talk about over the next couple months. On to something better like . . . . smocking!
I've finished up the hem to my bishop for my class and will soon need to finish the neck binding. Alas the busy purchasing season is upon most people and we are sky high in fleece at the store! Good for the paycheck, but very bad for time smocking or sewing.
I'm going to need to purchase the fabric for my American Girl dress soon. It won't be difficul to stitch up this dress. It has no smocking, but has holiday written all over it! Just what every girl needs. If any get the catalog or look at the AG site, it's the red dress with the hat. And my friend's daughter, Kitty (short for Catherine) will be darling in it! Though like the past couple of dresses I've done for her, I'm going to have to rework a pattern a little to get it to look like the catalog dress.
Okay everyone, here's to all girls and their dollies! Happy stitching everyone!

Bishop For My Class

The past few days I've been smocking the sample bishop I'm going to use for one of my classes next spring. I've got all the smocking and embroidery done. I've been keeping track on how many hours it takes for each part. That will let me better assess how many sessions I think students will need. I've told the girls in my chat group I will posting lots of pics for a smock-a-long if they are so inclined. It will also help my students for when they are not in class and they want a little help. There are some who are nervous and just need a little extra "you can do it" kind of help. Which I'm great with. I say that they just need a little emotional support. Don't we all sometimes?
Anyway, I think everyone will love the finished product. I certainly am happy with the smocking and embroidery! The smock plate is "Indiana" from AS&E issue 92. I used batiste.
I can't wait for 93 to come out. The cover dress looks to be right up my alley. It's pink of course! Just my kind of thing.
My friend, Jerri, who has lived in Paducah, KY for the past about 7 yrs. is packing a uhaul and going to be moved back here to Boise next week! She also is going to start working at Hancocks again with me. It's great when you love the people you get to work with. All the girls I work with who've met her just adore Jerri. They can't wait for her to work with us. She's one of those ladies who you feel like you've known all your life after being around them for a short while.
Okay girls, I'm going to sew. I was going to sew on my bishop, but I want to get the dress done from two posts ago finished. I think the two girls will be getting xmas presents with the two dresses I'm sending out.
Happy smocking everyone!

Gonna Teach Classes

Sorry no pics this time. Haven't done much in the way of smocking or sewing. But I have done some planning on the classes I'm going to teach. I'll start with smocked socks, a bonnet class and a bishop. As this is not by any means smocking country in Idaho, I'm not going to have any students learn how to pleat, just the smocking and some embroidery.
For the bishop classs demo dress, I just finished getting a bishop ready to smock. I think I will do something similar to "Indiana" from AS&E issue 92, it's latest issue. Even though I love the double needle pintucks, I'm thinking about changing that to some shadow embroidery instead. Haven't decided exactly what the finished gown will look like. There are no rosebuds in the smocking, so I'm playing around with the idea of adding them.  I picked white batiste and will do the smocking in white with pink roses. I've just got to have my pink!
Since I want to start with classes in late February, I need to get my samples done for display. I think the finishing on a bishop is easy enough for a beginner to learn. The hem is a tucked hem. And I think I will do french side seams. Usually I just finish the sides on my serger, but I think french seams is a good "know how" for any sewer.
I have a close friend, Jerri,who had moved to Paducah, KY about 7 yrs ago. Well, she will be moving back right before Thanksgiving. Something to be very thankful for. She is an amazing quilter! I few years ago she won "Best of Show" in the St. Judes' quilt contest. Well, anyway, I love to brag on her and now Jerri has a grandbaby for me to lavish smocked clothes on.
Okay, I need to get smocking on this dress. Happy smocking girls!

Summer Garden Smocking

Yes, I know it's becoming winter for some girls out there, but this past week in Boise, ID has been the perfect fall weather. It's been in the low to mid 60's and sunny! I'd love to have this lovely of weather all year round. I'm not an outdoorsy kind of gal, but I certainly have nothing to complain about, except not enough time to smock and sew. Oh well, I guess we can't have everything.
Since my last post I've been working on a smocked bodice from Gail Doane's book 'Sew Cute Couture'. The name of the dress is Summer Garden. I absolutely adore everything in that book! As you can see I'm not quite finished with the embroidery. Where the rose buds are going to be embroidered I am going to use bicone crystals. I think every girl needs a little bling in her life, don't you? The skirt will be a stripe from Hancock Fabric in pink, purple and lime green and I think I am going to use an eyelet underskirt. Haven't decided just yet. This dress is kind of a work in progress. As to the differences in colors, the top pic was with a flash and the bottom one was w/o a flash. The top pic I'd say is a little closer to reality of te colors in the striped fabric. I think I will send a pic of the finished dress to Gail when I have it finished. If I was the designer I'd want to see what others come up with. I love seeing what customers are making when they come into my store. Since I always share with my projects with others that can snowball into so much fun for everyone.

I had a lady in Thursday who had found a couple pairs of really cute printed tights and then decided to make some dresses to go with the tights. She said she wasn't much of a sewer or coordinator of fabric prints/colors. Well, I was in design heaven. I didn't want to make things too complicated for her, so I showed her a couple of options for trims on one of the dresses and Wonder Tape to make putting in the zipper on one of the dresses a piece of cake. Me, I hate putting in zippers, much rather do buttons and buttonholes. Since I'm partial to old fashioned dresses, then zippers don't really fit with that. When I can't get out of doing a zipper, I always use Wonder Tape.
Okay, back to my story. She went home with an 'I can't wait to get started' kind of attitude. I love to inspire people to do just that! I suppose my enthusiasm rubs off on them, everyone wins.
The other day I bought Disney's Beauty & The Beast; love that movie. The movie is for me! Since I've said in the past that I make princess clothes, I love Disney princess movies. My faves are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and of course, Beauty & The Beast. I have a wistful sigh at the end of those movies. The girl gets her handsome prince. What more could a girl want, except more time to smock maybe. What's your favorite princess?
Happy smocking everyone!

What's a Girl to do When . . . .

AS&E 72 "Autumn Gold" size 5

You feel the world closing in on you? Why take a few days off work and spend time with needle and thread of course. That's what I did this past weekend. And it's just what I needed. I tell you, smocking and sewing can save your sanity! It was 4 days of no work, although I really like my job at the fabric store. But sometimes us girls all need down time from a busy life. I'm sure all you will wholeheartedly agree with me. I had a customer tell me a few years ago that one trip to the psychiatrist is about $150 and of course they need to see you a couple times a week to start with. I'll go smock/sew thank you very much. I'm positive touching fabrics and picking out floss colors is much more therapeutic for us sewing ladies than sitting on a couch talking out our problems. Somehow pulling thread through each of the pleats just makes any problems seem not so bad.  Of course, after finishing a beautiful dress; stress is melted away. My little 4 days mini-vacation was just what the doctor ordered. I went back to work today with a new lease on working life without spending $150. Think how many yards of fabric, lace, floss, smock plates, etc. you could buy with that money. I know that therapy with a professional does many people lots of good, but I will stick with smocking and sewing.



Fabric is from Hancock Fabrics. When I sew the print, I knew just the dress I wanted to make.




I love stitching bullions!

Tonight I finished up most of the dress. I still need to do buttonholes and buttons. I will take needle and thread to work tomorrow and do buttonholes by hand. This dress is for a store manager at the West Jordan Hancock's. She has a bunch of girls, but the sizes for smocking cute dresses will be worn by the youngest two. A five year old and a dress I haven't finished yet for a 2 1/2 year old. The next one has a lavender bodice and a striped skirt in hot pink, lavender and a little lime green. Smocking is about 1/2 done.
A lady I had made a couple of dresses for called me today at the store and told me how wonderful the dresses were. She says she almost drove off the road because she couldn't quit looking at them. She even took them with her to share with a friend she was going to visit. The granddaughters will get to have them Thursday. That's when they come to visit gramma. I told her I had lots of fun making them. Now if I can just get a couple of pics to post.
One of the girls I work with said she would have looked at the fabric and just pasted it by. I was unpacking freight and didn't even let is get put away before I got some cut for this dress. Sometimes you find a fabric that just screams for you to stitch it up. I really like the challenge of using prints to makes my dresses. Seeing what combination of floss colors, fabric choice and smock plate can make.
About a week ago my mom was watching the local news and they do a human interest story every Wednesday evening about someone who is making a difference in the community for those less fortunate. This time is was about a lady who runs a shop for expecting teen moms and those teen moms raising there babies. The shop is attached to the school that houses 40 teen mommies right now. Three gave birth just last week. They take clothes and other baby items up to 4T. Well, I now have a place I can give me creations to and I know they will be worn. My heart went out to those girls. They get points for good grades and attendance. Then they can redeem the points in the store for their baby/child. I'd love to see my clothes on a baby/little one sometime. I'd have to go introduce myself. Well, I'm off to work on the next project. Hopefully it won't be so long between posts this time. Happy stitching everyone!

Summer Blooms

Here's the other dress I just finished about 30 minutes ago. Isn't it sweet?! It's from a cotton print my mom gave me a couple months ago. She said she didn't really like it anymore. Well, I've been eye-balling it for a couple of years now. It was crying out of this design. I made it for a customer at work who I've become friends with over the years. I showed her this when it was just a dress front along with the dress from the previous post and she wanted to take them home immediately!
Pattern and plate are from AS&E issue 87 page 38, I made size 4. I stitched the buttonholes today at work on my lunchbreak by hand. After doing the sew-a-long with Jeannie, buttonholes by hand are not hard to do at all.  And it's a little tough to haul my very heavy old Kenmore machine with my to work.
I hope this lady comes into the store tomorrow, because I'm dieing to give her the completed dresses. I might have to give her a call anyway. She is a very lovely person, but very loaded down with responsibilities taking care of her husband who has alzeimers. He's still in the beginning stages, but things are difficult for her. So I thought she could use some TLC. Both granddaughters fave color is pink, but the dresses had to be different.

I read the funniest thing today. It was a saying for knitting, but I'm going to put smocking in place of knitting. Here's what I read: If smocking were a drug, I'd be in rehab! I think that about says it all.

Happy smocking everyone!

Have You Ever Thought?

Have you ever thought after sewing up a dress "this is my favorite" only to turn around a few weeks later and say that about another one? I don't know about you, but I do that often. Sometimes, everthing just comes together right and the dress turns out wonderful. Some others . . . . not so much. But I think this dress is one of my favorites.
The fabric is from a local quilt shop here in Boise, ID; The Quilt Crossing. I've been in enough and shared my smocked garments that some of the girls know who I am. Not necessarily by name, but I've had some of them ask: "Aren't you the one who does the smocking?" I always answer happily, "Yes, I am! Want to see what I want to work on next?" Of course, they say yes. I love going into an establishment and having people know what I like and what I represent. Makes a person feel like they belong.
Anyway, the dress is out of AS&E issue 72, page 22 entitled "Coconut Ice". I changed the collar and cuff design a little. The original has madeira applique. Since I don't have a pinstitch (applique stitch) on my sewing machine, it's a little hard to make is come out the way I want it to. So I did some feather stitching instead. Inside the rosebuds I used swarovski crystals. Girls gotta have bling! I spent Friday stitching up the dress, then I went to smock night at my store. Unfortunately, nobody showed up. But that's not the point, I'm there incase anyone wants to come and play.
Last week I finished the smocking on "Summer Blooms", issue 87 from AS&E. My mom gave me a pink print that she decided she didn't want. I've been eye-balling it for the last year, but didn't say anything. Well, she asked me if I wanted it a couple weeks ago and of course I HAD to say yes. Today she offered me a piece of orange print, but I told her she should know better than offer me an orange print. I'm sorry to offend any who love orange, but I can't stand it. I'm a pink girl all the way. If you adore pink like I do, then you are a girl after my own heart!
Just received my copy of issue 92 of AS&E and there is a baby bishop I'm dieing to smock! On the front cover is a peasant top for teen's that is smocked only using feather stitching. Any who have read the Old Fashioned Baby blog know Jeannie loves feather stitching.  I haven't used this stitch in any of my smocking yet, but maybe one of these years I will do a project with it.
I need to get another piece of fabric pleated for smocking. Can't ever be without something to smock. I did purchase a piece that I'm going to use for "Hearts and Flowers" from issue 87.  One of these days I need to get back to my monkeys and get that sewn up. So little time! Happy smocking everyone!