Sunday, July 25, 2021

Something From Nearly Nothing

Refurbishing Jake's Lovey


Lovey:  An object of affection.
               A child's comfort item.
            A child's sleep aid.
           A small child's companion.

My friend Kristen's little boy has a lovey.  A special item that he has had since he was born and adores so much that it was disintegrating rapidly.  Jake decided that because Mrs. Supper (me) made some repairs in the knees of his pants that I could surely fix his Bear Bear as good as new.  His mother was rightfully skeptical and told him that she didn't think that anyone would be able to fix him.  The poor thing was threadbare in places and the nose and hands were nearly chewed off! Kristen tried to discourage Jake from making the request.  He did it anyway.

I said that I would try but that I couldn't promise that I could completely fix Bear Bear.  Jake was convinced that I could.  I make dresses for his sister and his friends and I made the holes in his pants disappear.  Surely I could fix something as small as Bear Bear!

This was Bear Bear:


These pictures chronicle the repairs:




Jake was happy!
Me, too!!!










Thursday, July 22, 2021

 Disney Bound

Rosalie and Bay Max


About a year and a half ago my little friend Rosalie was going to go to Disney World for an adventure.  I had wanted to make a Disney Bound outfit with Bay Max from Big Hero 6 for a while and asked her mommy if Rosalie had seen that particular Disney movie.  Rosalie hadn't but Marnie (mommy) was enthusiastic about sharing the movie with her and liked the idea of me making an outfit with Bay Max in mind.  I had fun with this one but I was under a time constraint and the hand cut and zigzagged applique isn't my best work.  It did look charming on Rosalie, though, and she received many compliments while wearing it.  She also wore the outfit to school making me so happy to see her enjoy it!


An internet search provided a coloring page of Bay Max that I could adapt for the applique and my stash provided all the material needed to make the outfit.

Patterns:  Oliver + S Swing Set Skirt, size 5 and
 Simplicity #4206 adapted for the blouse
Fabrics, Etc.:  Red Imperial Batiste, gray mottled quilting cotton, 
white satin batiste, black and red ribbon 
Pattern Changes:  I lengthened and widened the sleeves for a prettier puff. 
 I switched the outer and lining skirt patterns so that the
 red lining would accent the hem of the skirt.

I doubled the white fabric and fused it together to make the white fabric less sheer.
  I didn't want the gray to shadow through.


A red headwrap bow made using a Little Lizard King pattern was the perfect accessary.


Bay Max was happy to have someone dressed to honor him!


Isn't Rosalie adorable?!






Tuesday, July 20, 2021

 Three Year Old 'Graduation'

Children's Corner Madeline For Rosalie


I LOVE this dress!  It was made for little Miss Rosalie two years ago (May 2019) when she was three years old.  I made it for her to wear to her preschool graduation.  Rosalie is one of my favorite little girls to sew for.  She is always so appreciative and effusive in her gratitude.  She warms my heart!  When she would come to school in something I made she would run to me and hug me and say, "Look, Mrs. Supper, I am wearing you!"  Oh, my heart! I can't believe that she is old enough to start kindergarten in August.  Her mommy, Marnie, started her first year as a teacher on my kindergarten team when Rosalie was less than a year old.  What a wonderful teacher she has become in such a short time!
Pretty shoulder covering ruffle edge collar

This dress took some serious time to make when you consider that it didn't have any smocking, applique, sleeves, or hand embroidery!  Those ruffles!  Oh, my goodness!  I thought I would never finish them! But oh, were they worth it!
 


The skirt took up more than the entire surface of my extra large ironing board!
I used Children's Corner "Madeline" to make this adorable circle skirted dress in a size 4.  It was my first time making this pattern and I wish it came in a larger size it only sized 1-4. (Probably because of the width of the skirt!)  I believe that it is currently out of print but it does come up for resale on eBay and Etsy occasionally.  If you see it, buy it!  It is totally worth the time you will put in to make it!  The fabric was from a fabric bundle I bought from Farmhouse Fabrics.  You can see what I made with the rest of the bundle using another Children's Corner Pattern HERE.

Rosalie loved it!  So did her mommy and grandmother!


Perfect dress for a spinning little Princess!!


Thank you for visiting!  Have a great day!








Saturday, July 17, 2021

Vintage Linens

 Another Sundress For Avaleigh



This is another little sundress made for my friend's first granddaughter several years ago.  This time I used a vintage cut work hand towel and some Cluny lace to fashion the overlay on the bodice.  All the materials came from my stash and I don't recall the fabric details.  I do remember that their wasn't much of the pink floral at all and I used ribbon on the hemline to conceal the tiny turned to the front hem.  There was just enough of the dark sage fabric to create the straps and the bloomers.  


The pattern is "Ginger", one of the early Violette Fields Threads patterns in a size 2.    This pattern was an easy one to make and fit well with the elastic casings in the back.  It was a favorite of Avaleigh's mother, a young woman I have known since she herself was a toddler!



Sundresses are perfect for hot weather! 
 I hope that you are staying cool and enjoying the pleasures of the season!


Thursday, July 15, 2021

Vintage Linens

 Avaleigh's Vintage Pillowcase Sundress

!

I have been missing from the blog world for a long time.  I still check some blogs and love to see what other people are sewing, cooking, reading, and crafting and... I have not been idle.  I have LOTS to share!  I now have lots of free time to do so now that I have retired from teaching after a 46 year career. 

This little dress was made for a dear friend and colleague's first grandchild several years ago.  I used a gorgeous hand embroidered vintage pillowcase for the skirt.  Check out that pretty crocheted edging!  (I believe that I may have the 'sister' to this case in my stash.  At least I hope I do!)  The fabric for the bodice is a lovely pansy print that matched perfectly that I had left over from making my daughter's Easter dress when she was two and a half.


The pattern used was an old one that can still be found online: " Medora's Sundress and Jumper" by Beaucoup.  I have used it many times before.  It slips over the head easily and ties on the shoulders.  It is cool and comfortable to wear in the summer heat.



I made a little tied bow headband using Little Lizard King's "Winnie Pinnie" pattern to go with it.


Using someone's beautiful handwork made long ago makes me so happy!  
I hope you have a day filled with happiness!

Sunday, June 7, 2020

Standing


 Standing and Kneeling

I will never be able to say that I truly understand the righteous fear, anger, hurt, and injustice that my fellow human beings of color have carried with them for centuries.  I am an older privileged white woman.  I have never felt what they feel because of the color of my skin.  I can say that I feel ashamed.  I feel ashamed of the white oppression, the automatic privilege, the inequality, the inequity, and the lack of compassion and justice that I see around me.  I stand with my fellow Human Beings.  We are each made in the image and likeness of the Holy Spirit.  I kneel with all those that pray for peace and understanding...for equality, equity, liberty and justice for ALL.

I am an educator.  I began teaching in 1975 in a school that had been all Black before desegregation in Florida.  Our white students were the ones bused in from a neighboring white city in southeast Florida.  I was part of a group of educators from several schools (both Black and White) that met weekly as part of the Human Development Program.  I thought at first that our meetings were to help the children see one another without seeing color first.  It was not.  It was so that we, the teachers, could see each other and the children without the filter of color or race.  We couldn't help the children if we didn't help ourselves first.  It opened eyes and allowed a level of compassion and  'understanding' that wouldn't be possible without the glimpses into each others lives and culture that we shared.  I guess it was like group therapy.  We signed on for a commitment of one year.  We met weekly for several years in my classroom after school.  I  had thought that I was enlightened and unbiased.  Here I was teaching in a school in a Black neighborhood in a school that had only relatively recently been desegregated.  I didn't know that I needed enlightenment.  I was a 22 year old graduate with my head in the clouds.  I had a lot to learn... and learn I did.  I think that I learned enough to make things different for my children, those I have taught over the last 45 years and my own daughter and son.  I know that both my children have best friends with skin darker than theirs.  My son marched in a recent protest holding hands with a black friend.  My daughter' s roommate is biracial. 

I am also, for the first time in my life, ashamed to be an American.  I have tried to hold onto the last shreds of my pride during the entire Trump administration.  Watching the man who is President, who  is supposed to represent me and ALL Americans show his contempt for the people he SERVES is heartbreaking.   I shook my head in 2016 and cried.  How did a man who is a known racist, narcissist, misogynist, and compulsive liar become President of the United States?!  Now the whole world is watching his response to the Protests for Justice and the Pandemic.  The whole world is shaking their heads.  He represents us!  This needs to be reversed!  

I kneel in prayer for this country and all its people.  I kneel in prayer and hope that I will live to see what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prayed during his I Have a Dream speech in Washington:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed -  we hold these truths to be self evident:  that all men are created equal."

When you say the Pledge to the Flag, I pray that you will really take the time to think about the words that you are saying:  "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."



Saturday, May 30, 2020

A Runaway Bunny & a Snowman For Taylor: Reversible Children's Corner 'Lucy'

Taylor: Soft & Sweet & Quick

 Like a Bunny!

Here I am again with another cute little dress made over a year ago!  
The blog may not have been active but I sure have been! 


This sweet little dress was made for darling Taylor, the daughter of my friend and school team-mate Kristin.  She was just a year old when she wore the bunny side of this dress.  It is a well designed lined jumper dress that makes adorable reversible dresses!  The appliques on this dress were hand cut and machine blanket stitched.  The bunny eye was hand embroidered.


Pattern:  'Lucy' by Children's Corner Patterns, size 1  
Peasant Blouse Pattern:  Australian Smocking & Embroidery Magazine
Fabric:  by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller Fabric, white batiste,
 and white satin batiste for bunny from my stash
Applique:  vintage quilt pattern
Notions:  whip-stitch piping, vintage pink shell buttons, 
 French Lace and rick rack:  my stash

The reverse side of the jumper has a snowman from a clip art collection I purchased ages ago with button eyes and hand cross stitched mouth.  The fabrics on this side were all in my stash and I have no idea where I got them.  The only thing I know is that I made my 25 year old son a Christmas vest using the blue fabric more than 20 years ago!
Oops! Buttoned the wrong way!
I think this reversible 'Lucy' came out almost as cute as the little one for whom I made it!


Thank you for visiting!  Blessings from me to you for joy!
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