Another version of Infant Wardrobe I

My friend returned for Calgary with a couple of photos of her grandson in his new black denim suit. She created the Infant Wardrobe I in black denim and worked a few designs from Native art in brilliant colours of Pearle cotton on the back and pockets. She envisioned this little guy wearing the suit with a red cowboy hat and red cowboy boots but his parents nixed the idea completely. Parents can be such a bore and unimaginative!

 

So here is little Nathan with his Thunder Bird Jacket and matching pants.Unfortunately the colours in the photo just don't do the embroidery justice. The red,orange and green were rainbow true and they looked more like magenta and lime. His T-shirt in the second photo is better but not the electric orange he was wearing. Apparently he insisted on wearing his new suit to daycare the next day so I guess it was a hit with him and that is all that really matters.

Nathan has a new baby brother and here he is wearing the Baby Boy's  Smocked Bonnet and an heirloom bib for which I can take no credit. What a cutie! Can't wait for him to grow a little bigger and for Grandma to make him a few more clothes for us to see!! I understand he is growing by leaps and bounds.

The fall issue of A Needle Pulling Thread is in bookstores now. There are so many beautiful projects in this issue, many of which would be good projects for Christmas gifts. But if there is nothing there this time, let me assure you that the Festive issue is soon going to press and it is packed with even more beautiful things. There will be smocked Christmas balls - a beginner, intermediate and advanced level designs - and many more projects for you to interpret as you like. 

So often we see something that is not in our favourite medium. If you cross stitch and you see a quilting pattern, who says you can not re graph the design and stitch it? The magazine is all about creativity. Nothing would make Carla happier than to see photos of how you created from the magazine.

So until next time, keep stitching......

Fall coming in fast

The other day a friend sent me a note about iron cleaning and I thought, yes, how timely. With everyone getting back to sewing and probably getting their sewing room back in order, we tend to clean up whatever creative messes we've developed over the summer. Our irons are such work horses and too often we neglect their care. Every iron has it's own set of rules about cleaning the water tanks but cleaning the face is not at all hard and only takes a minute.

If we let our iron develop a build-up of craft glue or adhesive from iron-on products or just plain old spray starch these gunky gooey things can transfer to our clean, new fabrics and make a real mess! There are a number of products on the market with which you heat the iron to cotton or higher and simply wipe the face with a cloth loaded with cleaner. Be sure to clean the sides of the face and the holes of the steam vents. When the iron is cool it is a good idea to wipe it again with a damp cloth to be sure there is no residue from the cleaner.

 

I have used a cleaner from Dritz for years and there is an excellent one on the market from Rowenta in kit form that even includes the cleaning cloths!

Another area that needs attention is our iron board covers. They get just as dirty and I have cut up some white cotton sheets (we don't have twin beds for the kids any longer) to pin firmly over my ironing board cover. When scorch marks or any spots start to show, it is just a snap to whip one off and replace it with a fresh clean one. I want to experiment with making lavender water to spritz on my ironing board so everything smells wonderful - anything to make ironing and pressing more enjoyable!

One of the ladies who attended the Workshop last summer out in Westport, ON sent me a photo of her finished gown. 

Yea, Judi!! Well done! It is so great to hear back from students when they finish a project, no matter how long it takes.

We did a lot of technique on the sleeves of technique on the sleeves of my pattern, "Autumn Leaves" in this class. The pattern front shows an heirloom view in pink and we elaborated on that view.

Another lady sent a photo of her granddaughter wearing the "Little Breeze" pattern which she had made in a class this spring. It would make such a cute jumper for fall in a very fine corduroy, teamed with a little coordinating turtleneck T-shirt, don't you think?

I absolutely love the fabric she has chosen for this gown and I understand the dolly's version may be in the works. Let's hope so, so we can see them together.

Smocking on a print is not always easy but she has chosen her colours well and the stitching is not lost in the print. Note that she has also outlined the armhole bands with pink rickrack. Great touch!

Well, I just have to share with you, once again, a couple of photos of the sunset from up at the lake. This year we have been blessed with such spectacular mornings and evening - the weather has not always been spectacular to match though. The season is drawing to an end so I hope these haven't been boring for you. (And by the way I haven't altered the colours. I found a sunset setting on my camera that captures those fantastic colours.)

Going

Going

Gone

 

So until next time keep stitching.....