Stockings 2014

These are the stockings that I have made for the quads to use when they are here for Christmas! (Whitney is not coming, but hers is cut and sewn; it just needs to be trimmed with pompoms.)

Cambria's, Ian's, and Julie's.

Stockings from Christmas Past!

I have never documented the stockings I sewed for people as they joined our family, and as I prepare to begin the next batch for the quads, I feel a need to do so now. (If for no other reason than to keep track of which one belongs to who!)

 Todd's (it is not here - I think Sarah has it in Colorado.)

 JC's and Trinity's. I also made Sarah a tablecloth out of the fabic of JC's. Love it!!

Ashley's, Braden's, and Addie's. I am especially fond of Ashley's since she is our Texas girl.

Andrew's infamous "Guy on a Buffalo" and Emily's (reminds me of Sweden.)

Here's the Guy on a Buffalo/BarrenWoman episode that we were laughing about that Christmas and which inspired the stocking.

Too funny! Still makes me laugh.

Christmas Pillowcases

I finished and mailed the grandkids' pillow cases this morning. Even though I am not sewing them for the quads yet, I did make one for Whitney as her siblings were wondering why she was not getting one when the box arrived in past holidays. Gotta love that they love their sister!

Left column is for Braden, Addie, Corinne, and Trinity. Right column is for JC and Trinity. I rolled them up and tied them with ribbon and then tucked a candy cane "from Abby" under the ribbon. I also sent the Florida kids their Christmas ornaments since they are not coming up for the holiday.

Thanksgiving Pillowcases!

And here's a picture of the fabric I used for the grandchildren's Thanksgiving pillowcases.

The boys got the fabric on the left and the girls are on the right.

Halloween Pillowcases

Continuing the new pillowcase tradition started last Easter, I made Halloween pillowcases for the older grandchildren while I listened to Saturday's General Conference sessions.

The green bats are for JC and Braden, and the kitty/pumpkins are for Trinity, Addie, and Corinne.

Here is a picture of JC and Trinity with theirs.

Braden asked if the bats glowed in the dark - what a great idea! I am going to see if I can find that kind of fabric for him in the future.

A Table Runner for Lisa

Lisa asked me to sew a table runner for her classroom at Burnett Creek.

I love the yellow chevron fabric she chose!

 And here's the finished product in use.

Retro Aprons in 2011

In June, 2011, after I had my second knee replacement, I decided to sew retro aprons for all the women in the family.

 This is the pattern I selected.

 I bought all the fabric and contrasting fabrics and trims. And then I sewed like crazy!

It was worth it - everyone was delighted with theirs!

 Sarah and Trinity model theirs and hold up the matching potholders I made with leftover fabric and trim.

 Ashley and Addie match perfectly!

Continuing the mother/daughter theme, here am I with my mom.

 Posing together.

 Addie liked carrying her bag around afterward.

 Lisa wasn't there, but I still made her one and mailed it to her.

She took a selfie and sent it to me.

I can't find pictures of Vanessa and Emily with theirs. I know I made one for Vanessa; I remember the striped fabric. But I am foggy about Emily's. However, I can't imagine that I would make one for everyone and leave her out. I'll see if I can't get pictures from both of them.

Cambria's Alphabet Wall

Jessica invited all her friends and family to make an alphabet letter for Cambria's bedroom. Unfortunately, the letters were all gone when I responded that I'd do one. That made me really sad as I wanted to participate in such a fun project for my grandbaby.

But, luckily for me, someone never got their letter R done, so Jessica asked me if I would do it. I used fabric from Cambria's blessing gown and found buttons to match the bow/headband she wore that day.

Simple but elegant - I am pleased with how it turned out. It will look nice here among all the other letters!

Trinity's Quiet Book, 2004

Trinity's was the second "grandchild" quiet book I made. 

 Trinity got Duffy for her title page and Sesame Street fabric for the cover.

I love the dress up girl - the fabric for the dresses are from clothes I sewed for my children. I don't do the elephant too often - his legs can pop off as they are on brads (or even tear the fabric of the book.)

 Balloons to match and the chick who uses tiny fingers to make a bill.

 Flowers in a vase and the turtle - I love finding interesting fabrics for his shell!

Looks like I need to make some new pieces for Trinity's pumpkin. And the tie the bow is for a lamb with soft furry fabric.

 I don't do the bunny shape matching often - they're hard to cut out and get right. I think the mittens were in Jessie's quiet book.

The fabric on this page has a story behind it. When Sarah was born, Craig was just starting out in his career and we were dirt poor. I made a lot of Sarah's clothes; in fact, almost all of them. I saw this fabric and drooled over it, but it was $3.49 a yard - a fortune back then. I simply could not afford it. I looked at it and sighed every time I went to the fabric store. Finally, finally, finally it went on sale and I was able to buy some and make her some overalls. This fabric still takes me back. Every time I see it.

JC's Quiet Book, 2002

I made a quiet book for each of my children as a gift for their first birthday and have continued that tradition with my grandchildren. I did not begin documenting what I had made until my mother and I were working on Corinne's during the summer of 2013; luckily Sarah and Ashley were gracious enough to take photos of the other quiet books so I could include them in this blog.

Here is JC's.

Winnie the Pooh for the cover.

 This train is a tradition - almost every quiet book has it for the cover page!

 The stop light and Katie Caterpillar.

 The orchard is obligatory as a nod to Apple Jack and Granny Slash, and the Illini tipi speaks for itself.

 Dumbo and shape matching (a hard one; I rarely do it.)

 Normally the pencil and pad of paper are the last page, but I changed it up for JC. And the flowers in a vase page is a favorite.

 That clock sure looks dated! And usually I include a "tie the bow" of some sort.

This page was in Sarah's quiet book. The mitten fabric is from JC's Christmas stocking.

Easter Pillowcases!

My friend and fellow grandmother, Lisa Connolly, told me about a sewing project she was doing - sewing Easter pillowcases for her grandchildren. Easy to do, she had had success making three for her three grandchildren.

It sounded like a great idea, and so I went fabric shopping and began!

Trinity: blue Easter egg

Braden: blue Easter egg

Addie: pink bunnies

Corinne: rickrack fabric

(I didn't make any for Julie, Cambria, Whitney, or Vanurt yet - they're too little for pillows. That's for next year.)

I had texted Sarah about JC - he's thirteen and too old for bunnies, but she assured me he would like a pillowcase, too. All I could think of was the movie, A Christmas Story, where Ralphie's well-meaning  aunt makes him pink bunny PJs for Christmas. Not wanting to be "that" relative, I purchased some more "manly" fabric for his.

Sarah affirmed that the football print was perfect, so that was the one I used.

The pillowcases were not only easy to make, they were so much fun that I decided to whip a few up for the kids of my Hershey colleagues.  Atticus MacLaverty (age 2, Jocelyn's son) got a green bunny print, Grace Ferguson (3, Sarah's daughter) got the large birdie print, and Alexa and Jack Evans (6 and 4, Cindy Evans' kids) got pink and green bunny prints.

I think I will do this for Halloween and Christmas, and maybe even Valentine's Day as well.

Cambria's Blessing Dress

I was thrilled when Jessica asked me if I would make Cambria's blessing dress. She had a pattern in mind and some ideas of what she wanted, so with the help of my iPhone's Facetime application, I went to JoAnn's and got just what Jessica wanted.

It started like this:

A blessing dress Jessica had seen on Pinterest and fallen in love with. This one is made from dotted swiss, a fabric Jessica wanted, but I could not find any locally.

She selected a vintage pattern, asking that I make the slip and the short sleeved dress without the embroidery. I misunderstood her and actually had cut out long sleeves; fortunately I discovered my mistake before it was too late!

(Ashley made the same vintage pattern for Whitney's blessing dress!)

The pattern package was STUFFED with different pattern pieces and sizes. It took a while to sort it all out and find the right ones for Cambria's dress.

 The slip pieces all cut out and ready to be stitched.

 The slip (minus the double bands of ribbon I added later to make it a little more special.)

Sewing anything, big or small, means you need room to spread out. I even used the shelves of my collection to hold some of the ribbon and notions I needed.

All the machine sewing is done on the dress. Now the hand sewn button loops, ribbons on the sleeves, and button decorations need to be added. I love the tucks down the front and back of the bodice!

Narrow ribbon embellishments, one in a solid white, the other with a sheer center. I liked the sheer best, but thought maybe a wider ribbon might look better, so it was back to JoAnn's!

It does! And Jessica asked that I add two buttons to the front of the dress - a detail that I think makes it even prettier. I used a partially sheer ribbon and will trim the bows' ribbon endings after Jessica sees the dress in person and lets me know just how long she'd like them to be.

 The back detail of the dress - again it has the tucking and two pearl button and loop closures.

Here's a picture of Cambria in her blessing gown!