What a week for weather!

This week saw temperatures soar to +11degrees Celsius on Fri. By noon my front flowerbeds were bare of snow and water was running freely in the streets. The snowbanks were nearly shrinking before your eyes. One would think it was April. 

But then everything changed as the temperatures dropped like a stone! Fri. night it sounded like a huge freight engine was about to plow through the house as the wind got up to between 80 and 100 kph. There was obviously a cold front moving in on that warm air! We haven't had anything that sounded like that for ages and it was a bit scary.

Very early Sat. morning I woke to a blizzard going on outside my bedroom window. I had planned to drive to see our son in the afternoon and had every hope things would subside and it would be safe to travel. As I listened to the radio and the road reports everything was being closed to the immediate north of us and to the east as far as Peterborough. Well, I was going to head south and west. But by 11 a.m. Paul called to say don't even try driving - we are getting a bad storm and it wouldn't be wise to try coming. It continued to snow most of the day and the wind just kept blowing. To say the least I was relieved to get his call and went back to inking in pattern pieces for the Infant Wardrobe, the next pattern.

This morning the sun is shining so brilliantly and there appears to be no wind to speak of. When I checked the front steps, the wind has blown all the snow from the driveway so I won't have to shovel there, just the steps.

I am wondering how my hubby and his friends are fairing in the far north, a couple of hours the other side of Sudbury. They travelled to their cabin on Fri. morning and hopefully will be back on Mon. - just in time for the next snowstorm. Hope they don't run into trouble on the roads!

With all our snowy weather I heard from my friend in England that the snowdrops, which grow wild, are in full bloom all along the roadsides. These snowdrops are growing along the wall in her garden.  And soon to follow will be the fields of daffodils which also grow wild and free throughout the countryside. I just can't imagine how beautiful that would be. We won't see trilliums in the woods here most likely until April. My friend also said the Christmas roses (Helleborus niger) were late blooming this year. Just look at the gentle colouring of these plants that she photographed in her garden. I hope they show well on your computer screens.

Smocking seems to be showing up everywhere in fashion this spring. I found a wedding gown in a brides' magazine that was classic in its simplicity and would have been so easy to recreate. It appeared to have been made from a bishop pattern in a chiffon-like fabric but was sleeveless. The bodice had been smocked with a honeycomb stitch and beaded with tiny pearls. The neckline was a simple binding that turned into self-filled rouleau over the shoulders and fastened with a tiny jewelled clasp like a necklace. The skirt had been professionally pleated with sunburst pleating - the only thing that you couldn't do at home. The model wore nothing more than magnificent drop earrings - so elegant! How simple would it be to recreate a gown like this? The magazine was borrowed and I returned it without taking a scan - how foolish of me!

I've seen smocking featured in designer collections lately on the fashion network and pictures of garments with touches of smocking in many of the fashion magazines. I haven't had a camera handy to capture any of these. Just keep your eyes peeled and you will find ideas as well.

Well it will be interesting to see what this week brings. 

Be sure to keep stitching!!

Doll aren't just for kids...

When I was a little girl I played with dolls like everyone I knew. I draped fabric from my mom's fabric stash and 'designed' ball gowns and wonderful clothes. Then I moved on to using the sewing machine and creating 'real' clothes for my Tony doll - a Barbie look-a-like. I made hats and handbags jewellery and shoes all by hand to coordinate with every outfit. When they created a category "Best Dressed Doll" at the local fair, guess who entered her doll and wardrobe? After winning for a couple of years, they dropped the category and I moved on to sewing for me.

So as an adult, when doll making became so popular I was not at all surprised. After all, dolls don't squirm around during a fitting nor do they bleed if you prick them in error. They don't grow so what you make fits forever! And they can't tell you they hate that colour or go jump in a mud puddle and ruin your creation!!

At the height of the doll craze I created "The Grace Knott Dolls Clothes Collection" which included miniatures of the classic Grace Knott patterns and a doll's dress form all to fit the very popular American Girl Doll. My own daughter was away at school and far beyond playing with dolls so I got to create and play to my heart's desire.

Then with the help of my husband I designed a wooden bed with all the accessories sized for this popular doll. Bob created the frame and headboard, sanding and finishing the wood. I made the mattress from a foam slab covering it with fine cotton and then a custom mattress cover. I was on a mission! Everything had to be to scale. Next came the sheets, fitted bottom and a European style top sheet trimmed with Swiss insertion, French val lace and silk ribbon roses. Next a blanket of softest fleece hand bound with silk ribbon. Then came a pillow with a coordinated pillowcase trimmed in Swiss triple entredeux and a silk ribbon rose.                                                      

What beautiful bed would be complete without a duvet and piles of pillows? This was turning into a major work of art packed with teaching techniques. The duvet has a centre panel of diamond tucks, mini piping and a button closing. There is a pillow sham with flange finished; a demi-moon shaped pillow with the same diamond tucking, lace edged ruffle and faggoting; a bolster with monogram and a teddy dressed in white Swiss edging and a ruff of French Val lace. Most of this could be done with the odds and ends from other projects. But the beauty of all this is it is to scale so if you learned how to do it for the doll you could do it full sized!

Oh, what is Samantha wearing? She will be snug in her smocked flannel nightie from the pattern, "Dolly Snowdrift".

I had a ball doing all this and Bob had fun with his part - so much so that he said he would make more if people wanted to buy them. Well like all phases, dolls have passed but I still have this wonderful collection of bed linens for the Samantha doll. Perhaps one day I will have a grand daughter who will have hours of fun playing with all these things.

Tomorrow is Valentines Day. Best wishes to you all and don't forget to make something chocolate for your special love!!

Till next time, keep stitching......

Mistakes happen!

I didn't feel much like writing on Sunday, my designated day to write. 

I was putting the finishing touches on the robe for the Westport Retreat in June when 'tragedy' struck. 

Let me go back a bit. I had chosen to pipe the vertical princess seams of the pattern, "Autumn Leaves". Now this is always a tricky business as it is so easy to end up with badly puckered seams. But everything turned out perfectly. The pockets went in like a dream - I couldn't have wished for things to look any better. So when it came to the seam finish for these seams I didn't want to disturb anything. They were too bulky to do mock 

French seams so I opted to serge them. 

Jo-Anne is choosing the buttons and making the buttonholes.

Sergers are wonderful tools but oh so dangerous! I was so careful to stitch these long seams and end perfectly where the seams had to split for the pocket openings.

When I checked the last seam sewn, to my absolute horror a tiny pucker had formed on the under side of the seam allowance in the last inch of stitching and was caught in the stitching. 

Oh, easy, I thought. Just clip the stitches, lift out the fold and re-stitch. I did just that but found there was a nice neat oval slice out of the side panel just below the right pocket, 1/8" wide x 3/8" long! 

What will I do? Memories of Trudi Clarkson's old standard saying came 'serging' back from the past: You can fix anything if you just add more lace and entredeux. Well I hadn't used any entredeux or lace in this robe so putting a blob of lace down there would be like hanging a red flag on the spot. 

If it were my garment I would have mended it and treated it with a seam sealant to protect it during future laundering, then added a monogram over top of it all - an embroidered 'JC' would just about do it. But this robe isn't going to be mine!

I fussed most of the day, not sure how to save this. There was no more fabric even if I could cut a whole new panel. I thought about doing a patch so it looked like a Madeira applique with embroidery but that would create bulk and make it look more noticeable. 

In the end I placed a piece of the fabric behind the hole and 

used the fine sewing thread to stitch a multiple zigzag to mesh the fabrics. (Knowledge of invisible mending would have been an asset here!) I took all the threads to the back, tied them off and buried the ends in the seam allowance so that the process could be deconstructed if necessary. A good steam pressing left the spot much less noticeable - unless you know to go looking for it. My friend Jo-Anne will have the final say about the seam sealant and the monogram when I see her in June.

On a much happier note my dear husband brought home a big bouquet of carnations the other day just because it has been so snowy here. Most of the flowers were still buds so as they have opened it has been wonderful to see all the colours emerging. There are pinks and reds,pure whites, peaches and these rich red/purples. Just look at the variations in these in the foreground. The thing I like best about carnations - besides the range of colours available - is that they last so long if you take care of them.  I look at these and think, I should get out my watercolours..... 

And my African violets have been blooming constantly since Christmas. Would you believe this plant was started from a single leaf from the 'mother' plant just three years ago. It is just as large as the original. My mother would be so proud if she could see these as I was known as the original brown thumb who was able to kill any plant that came into the house. Even my Christmas cactus bloomed twice this winter. That has never happened before - once last year, twice? unheard of! Feeding the little things and regular watering    seem to be the key to success.

Well haven't I just rambled on! Hoping to get back on track for next week
Till then. keep stitching!

Groundhog Day is Feb 2

In Ontario on February 2 we 'celebrate' Groundhog Day with a character by the name of Wiarton Willie. Here is a photo of a statue of the fellow. Tradition has it that if 'Willie' comes out of his home and sees his shadow we will have six more weeks of winter! So of course what better reason to have a party? or a full week long festival with a wonderful pancake breakfast on the morning of Feb. 2?  Whichever way he goes he makes someone happy. There are other famous groundhogs in Canada and the U.S. You can read about them and the history of Groundhog day in an article, "What Wiarton Willie sees".  Great fun!! We will all be listening to hear what is in store.

One of my students brought in her latest bishops for me to see. They were wonderful and Lynn has experimented with colour and created some very interesting effects. The first dress is smocked in grey greens that work really well on the pale mint green of the dress. I would never have chosen these colours but was so impressed, with Lynn's permission, I just had to share. The unifying factor here is that all the greens have a blue value to them. Had the floss been to the yellow direction on the colour wheel it would not have worked at all.

 

The second dress I am posting today was smocked with overdyed floss. Lynn decided to let the colours fall where they may rather than try to line everything up. Another perfect job is stitching and interst is created by the changing of the pastel colours. Unfortuanately my photo skills have not done justice to either of these dresses (Both dresses are from "The Baby Bishop Dress" pattern.) Both these dresses would look like tinted whipped cream puffs on a wee child.

 

It is so rewarding to hear back from people who have taken a class and actually finished their projects! Joan sent me photos of her "Saddle Sleeve Shirt"from the class I taught last fall in Norfolk, VA. She's done a terrific job of finishing her shirt and photographing it.

And here is a photo of the cuff detail. Thank you so much, Joan, for sending this on. It really means a lot.

So this is going to be another busy week ahead. I managed to clear the top of my desk, ironing board, cutting table (sort of) and sewing machine table. But now there are piles of things in front of the closet that need sorting and putting away. My big problem is that if things all get put away out of sight I forget about them in the rush to move to something new. But this pile will have to be attacked and I will make a stab at it this week. One more thing on the list of things to do so a new sewing year can begin. And here it is already one month into that new year! Where does the time go? 

Hope you have a great week and that Groundhog Day predicts the right amount of winter to suit your liking!! 

So till next time.....

It's cold out there!

It's cold out there! And I'm snuggled up in my wrap to keep warm while I write this. 

My friend dropped by with a little dress she had made from the 'Little Snowdrift' pattern in a very pretty, delicate Liberty print. We had been shopping on Queen Street in downtown Toronto when Pat spotted this 60" Liberty on sale. She wisely took a good sized piece and yardage of several other prints. 

Pat used baby rickrack to define the yoke rather than piping and created one of a kind flower buttons to repeat the wavy edges of the trim. To spark the red she stitched tiny yellow beads in the centre of each flower. She said she felt the bead would stand up to washings better than just a French knot.  She chose to leave the back unsmocked. In fact, the pattern could be made without any smocking, perhaps in a light weight washable wool or fine wale corduroy. With this weather we talked about how cute this would be with a long sleeved turtle neck and leggings underneath!! Perhaps a sunny yellow....

Betty M sent me this photo of her new grand daughter who was born in Dec. What a charmer! Betty said she had three of these nighties from 'Baby's Breath' ready and smocked for Emily's arrival. This one has the bunting bottom. Baby nighties are impossible to find in the stores these days. A nightie like this one allows the baby to kick and move without getting cold if the covers come away. 

Thank you Pat and Betty for sharing.

I should mention "The Needlework Pages" here.  If you subscribe or are familiar with the Canadian publication, "A Needle Pulling Thread" magazine, you may already know about the web site/directory Carla has created in conjunction with the magazine. If you are looking for a product for some sort of needlework or you are travelling into a new area on holiday and want to find a shop that deals with your favourite needlework or stitchery or quilting etc. you can search the "Needlework Pages" to find a shop! If you know of a shop and it isn't listed, encourage then to contact Carla (the owner and editor) at "A Needle Pulling Thread" to get on board! Once you have used it you will go back time and time again.

I've been busy the past two weeks cleaning up all the paperwork from 2010 and preparing the schedules for April, May and June. These will soon be posted as we get the web site updated. There are a couple of class samples to be made up and then it is back to that drafting board and the baby wardrobe. The first couple of test fitting have gone well and I think we are ready to move on once the pattern pieces have been tweaked.

So until next time.....

On with the new year....

The Open House is over once again and it is time to move on with the new year! Everything will go back into its place and the house will look like normal by tomorrow. 

I wish to thank those wonderful ladies who braved the weather to drive long distances to join us. A good time was had by all and I hope next year we will have bright sunny skies and those of you who missed it will be able to attend.
 

 

Just have to share this photo of little Zoë who lives in Belgium! Her grandmother made this smocked dress for her first birthday a month ago. This was the first smocked dress her grandmother had made in many years and of course Zoë's first smocked dress. What a precious little girl. Now let's hope she gets many more smocked dresses! Keep up the good work Leslie!! The pattern is "The Baby Bishop Dress". 

My dear friend Kathleen lives in England and has sent me her interpretation of "Autumn Leaves", my most recent ladies pattern.  She used a fine blue wool twill and smocked it much lower than I had anticipated. Kathleen being Kathleen, she designed her own smocking plate and used variegated threads. Obviously influenced by traditional English smocks, Kathleen has cut her smock to knee length and prefers to wear it over a turtle neck and casual jeans. No doubt she will be scooting out to the local Farmers' Market on Fridays in this outfit.  Looks so great Kathe and I hope this will inspire others of you to try different looks.

All for today.....

New Years Day 2011!

Well here we are, the first day of the new year 2011 and I am determined to make the time to get this thing up and running.

What a wonderful time of year it is for all the new beginnings and I always feel it is time to clean out the sewing room (and other parts of the house) and make a list of what needs to be finished off and the new projects that need starting with their due dates in mind. 


 
So this is what our new bird feeder looked like after our first surprise snowfall of the winter season. That was about 10" that fell over two days. We squeezed in a green Christmas but it turned mild just before Jan. 1 and all you see out there now is green grass. In fact it is raining as I write this. Next week we are supposed to get snow again. I guess Mother Nature felt what we had was looking a bit dirty so decided we should get rid of the old stuff and have some new and fresh. Such is life in southern Ontario.

Work is coming along slowly on the Christmas decorations. When they are finished I will post a photo. Have been thinking of calling them "The Pink Chocolate Collection". 


 

And here is the photo of my "Baby's Breath" pattern as seen in Sew Beautiful's newest "White" issue (Jan./Feb. 2011). It is made of Swiss Pima cotton Heirloom Dimity. The neckline has been tucked then gathered and the tucks were pinstitched in place. The neck and sleeve bindings are a dull satin fabric for contrast. I used a machine satin scallop to finish the hem and added touches of tiny blue embroidery for accents. If I were a great hand embroiderer, I would love to have seen the gown's hem done by hand with beautiful buttonhole stitching. But I am not, so.....


Well this was easier than I thought. Will try again soon!