Birthday Card for My Niece

It seems I do a lot of sighing these days, although a lot of it is silent.  My first priority is always my family, notably my role as caregiver to my husband.  We had made a decision about his treatment, but then were put on hold, which I find harder than knowing a difficult and demanding protocol is just around the corner.  But we are now moving in a definite direction and know that it will commence in just over a month.  (If you are interested, you can read the latest Caring Bridge entry on my husband's site here.)  It's going to be a busy month, to include (I hope - I'm trying to work it out) another injection in my knee, which will give me some down time.

My niece had a birthday back in July.  After corresponding with my mom, I decided on a sparkly kitty card.

The kitty is a Sizzix die which I got on clearance some time ago.  I think I paid $2.97, and I got a dog die for the same price.  I embossed her crown and bow with "Bridal" embossing powder by Personal Stamp Exchange.  Kitty is sitting on an oval from Spellbinders Classic Ovals Small, and she has rhinestones for her collar.  Moving up to the sentiment, it is from a Verve Stamps set called Circular Sayings, which I embossed with "Violet Glitter" by Stamp-n Stuff.  I cut the sentiment out with Spellbinders Standard Circles Large, and placed it on top of Spellbinders Picot Edge Circles.  Then in the left upper corner, I cut out Corner Flower #2 by Sizzix.  The decorative paper was in my stash, and it has lots of glitter on it as well.

Sewing Done!

Here's a closeup of the smocking on JR's pinafore. It's crooked because of how I laid ot out to take the picture. The pattern was challenging for me, but I am pleased with the results. In the pink and green section, I stitched all of the green first, then did the pink, which crossed over the green, yielding an interesting effect.


Here is the completed ensemble. That hat was going well until it came time to gather and attach the ruffle; because there were four layers, I wasn't able to use any of the traditional gathering methods (longest stitch length on my machine or using the gathering foot for the serger), so I ended up zigzagging over a piece of dental floss. Even so, it was difficult to pull up to the proper length. Then I was concerned about all that bulk and the lumpiness of the gathers, but I was pleasantly surprised when I completed the sewing.

I still have one item to sew together, but I'm doubting that will be done by Christmas Day. The pieces will probably be put in a box and wrapped with an IOU attached. I also have the skirt to make for my husband's brother's daughter, but it doesn't have to be completed until Jan. 1, so I'll tackle the projects that must be done by Christmas Day next. There's a bunch of machine embroidery to be done - four towels; two identical items, one for my mom and the other for my mother-in-law; another item I can't name. I think that's it!

Another Gift (Almost) Done & Cross Stitch Progress

I was chained to my sewing machine for over six hours today, and despite having to rip too many times (or is the proper term "backstitch"?), I have completed JR's pinafore except for opening the buttonholes and sewing on two buttons. Hmmm, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Tip of the day: I like to run a bead of Fray Check along the inside of the buttonhole before opening it to prevent fraying.

I'm still learning how to take close ups, and today's attempts failed, so I will try again tomorrow to get a picture of the actual smocking.

Here is the progress I've made on my ornament. Once I finished the holly and ivy, the stitching has gone much faster. All that's left to do is the bottom - the words "Christmas 2007" and some baskets. I may actually finish it by the end of the year!

Sewing In the Snow

(To the tune of "Singing in the Rain") -

I'm sewing in the snow
Just stitching in the snow
What a glorious feelin'
Like nothing I know
I'm laughing at snow
Still swirlin' around
Sew-ing's in my heart
Snow won't get me down
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the snow
It's going to blow
With needle and thread
There's nothing to dread
I'm stitchin'
and sewin' in the snow


Ok, I'm no poet (thanks to Rhyme Zone for the help!) but you get the idea. 15" - 25" of snow, blizzard conditions [Snow with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of 1/4 mile or less, for an extended period of time (eg. > 3 hours)] starting late Saturday night and continuing through 7:00 am Monday. Sew, what's better to do during a blizzard than sew and stitch? I started sewing together Jamie Rae's pinafore on Thursday, made a lot of mistakes and had to rip, rip, rip, so that's on the agenda for Saturday and Sunday. I'd also like to work on my latest cross stitch ornament. Of course, if the storm isn't as severe as they say, I'll be at church Sunday night; we're supposed to have a wonderful concert by a talented pianist who is studying at the Eastman School of Music. We will see!

Walking in a winter wonderland . . .

Progress on Christmas Gifts #2

This is Julia's nightgown. I still haven't opened the buttonholes and sewn on the buttons (on my list for tomorrow), but I wanted to take the pictures while I had access to the camera.


These are the cloth shoes I made for Julia's brother, Luke, using the tutorial at Stardust Shoes. While they're not as cute as the ones here, they will be practical. Since I'm not completely sure about the size, I didn't want to put to much energy into them just in case they don't fit.

The next project on my list is stitching together Jamie Rae's smocked pinafore. (Jamie is my other brother's daughter; they live in North Carolina.) Once that is done, I can work on gifts for the local family members.