The Cottage Mama's Summer Picnic Dress (Free PDF Pattern)

 Lindsay Wilkes of The Cottage Mama (click HERE) creates charming children's clothing and sewing patterns.  The clothing has a vintage appeal with a modern twist that is just delightful.  I have purchased several of her patterns and am eagerly awaiting the publication of her first book:   Sew Classic Clothes for Girls.  The book contains a generous set of patterns for 20 girls’ dresses, outfits and accessories.  The book will be available in October of this year and can be pre-ordered from The Cottage Mama. (I have no affiliation with Lindsay or the book.  I just love her style!)  While perusing her website this summer I came across her tutorial section that is chock full of great things to make and several free patterns.  The pattern for the little Summer Picnic Dress can be found HERE in sizes 12 months to 4 years.

 I made two little size two Summer Picnic Dresses using vintage pillowcases from my stash.  The first one was for little Chloe who just turned three but is very petite.  I omitted the ruffle on the bottom and added a tuck under each arm to accommodate the straight sides of the pillowcase. (The pattern has an a-line silhouette.)  The bodice lining piece had to be straightened at the sides to match the straight skirt of the case.  I added little flower buttons with embroidered lazy-daisy leaves to the little bodice piece to go with the lovely hand embroidered bottom of the vintage case.  Bright pink satin ribbon replaced the fabric ties called for in the pattern.

 The second Summer Picnic Dress was made from an all white vintage pillowcase with beautiful satin stitching, cut-work, and a fancy crocheted edging.  I made the same adjustments under the arms and at the side as the first dress but added a piece of vintage Swiss edging as an overlay on the front bodice.  This dress also ties with ribbons.

Beautiful hand work on the pillowcase bottom.

Purchased ribbon flowers on the tie ends and the corners of the bodice.

Douglas Pagels has edited a collection of inspirational words and blessings called:  I'd Love to Give These Gifts to You.  This quote is his own:

"Each day brings with it the miracle of a new beginning.  Many of the moments ahead will be marvelously disguised as ordinary days, but each one of us has the chance to make something extraordinary out of them."

Enjoy this wonderful new day.  Look for the extraordinary in the little ordinary things you do today.  Blessings to all who read this!

Smocked Baby Bonnet for Beckers

 Talented Charity of Say Grr Sewing recently had her third child, a beautiful baby girl nicknamed 'Beckers'.  Charity has amazed me with the how much sewing she accomplishes with two very little girls and now she has another little angel!  I believe God blesses young mothers with extra energy!

Charity's recent 'flip' for the Flip this Pattern Series at Frances Suzanne was truly creative, innovative, and beautiful and yet very wearable.  She made the dress look like a morning glory flower complete with a hand embroidered butterfly on the petal collar. Stunning!  Check it out HERE.

Charity is always so kind when she comments on my posts and I feel like I have gotten to know her a little through her blog.  I wanted to do a little something for the new baby so I made a smocked bonnet.  The fabric is Imperial Batiste with Cluny lace.  I smocked it with an adaptation of 'Genny' by Ellen McCarn.  I used the first five rows of Design I but I 'did my own thing' with the embroidery in the center of the cable rows. I love to smock but I love to embroider even more!

I checked my blog list this afternoon and found that Charity has posted photos of 'Beckers' in the bonnet I made her.  I can't tell you how touched I was to see those photos.  I don't often get to see the smocked baby things I make on real babies.  It was such a special surprise to see these pictures and so nice to know that Charity will use the bonnet and not just put it away.  I would rather something I made was worn to the point of being threadbare than put aside to save for 'the future'.  I feel that way about a lot of things, actually.  We use our linens and china, etc.  All we are sure of is today!

If you want to see how very sweet a smocked bonnet looks on a beautiful baby girl, check out Charity's post HERE.

Have a lovely evening!  Blessings, Karen

Busy in August!

This is the only smocking I have done in weeks!  I'll post pics and patterns soon.

 Hellooooooo out there!  It has been a hectic couple of weeks here but I am back to give you a little taste of a little of what I have been doing.

My mother died about twenty months ago and my sister and I have been slowly going through all her things and deciding what to do with them.  We recently closed on her waterfront condo and had to scramble to complete the last of the sorting and deciding.  Much of the furniture was stored for my nephew and his wife who have been living in Asia as missionaries.  They will be here in the States soon to spend about a year to establish his wife's citizenship in this country.  My sister and I also saved some pieces for ourselves but much of the oriental vintage pieces have been taken to a consignment shop.  (That was a job in and of itself!)

Our mother had beautiful oriental furnishings.

 School started for teachers in Pinellas County, Florida on August 12.  I was lucky to have a 'smartboard' installed over the summer break.  Unfortunately, that meant that two walls were reworked and the entire classroom's furnishings were relocated to get the job finished.  With the help of my husband, children, and one of my son's friends, my room was almost back to normal and set up for 'Meet the Teacher' on the morning of August 16.

View from the doorway of one corner of the room.

Smartboard!  

A tea party was planned for the weekend before Victoria-Rose was to return to college.  Such fun!  More on the party to come.

Teacups set out for the girls to choose their favorite for the party.

A little bit of sewing was squeezed in to this very busy month.  Two little sundresses were made from vintage pillowcases and will be blogged about soon.

And....we managed to get almost a week's holiday in Orlando!  Our hands-down favorite activities were Disney related.  We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom.  We all LOVE the Magic Kingdom.

Son Logan

The Family

We had dinner one night at Beast's Castle.  It was truly a magical experience.  The food was delicious and the ambiance, service, and the special touches were just amazing.   (It was snowing outside the windows of the ballroom!)

Another highlight of the trip was high tea taken at the Grand Floridian.  Again the attention to detail was so special and appreciated.

Grand Floridian lobby as viewed from the second story promenade. 

Marble mosaic floor outside the tearoom.

I couldn't resist 'singing in the rain' at Hollywood Studios.  It was a 'glorious feeling'!

Pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer & Tutorial

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These three pillowcases join the others in a pile to deliver to one of the designated sites in my area for ConKerr Cancer, an organization dedicated to bringing smiles to children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.  This is from their site:
"From California to Massachusetts, Florida to Michigan, the UK to Africa, ConKerr Cancer
pillowcases are bringing HUGE smiles and hugs to children with life threatening illnesses. Thousands of volunteers, around the world, are joining together to brighten the lives of these children with a simple act of kindness: making a fun, cheerful pillowcase."

To find a find a local chapter, you can click here:  http://www.conkerrcancer.org/

I make my pillowcase a little differently from the directions posted at Project Run & Play and I thought that I would post a little tutorial for those who want to make the finished 'cuff' of the case without needing to topstitch. I often add another band of color, ribbon, or lace between the cuff and the body of the case, as shown in the last photo of this post.

You will need these materials for a standard pillowcase (in addition to the typical things in your sewing room):

* 27 inch L x 42 inch W piece of fabric for the body of the case
* 10 inch L x 42 inch W piece of contrast fabric for the cuff of the case

Follow the instructions on each photo.  Each photo can be enlarged by clicking on it.

All finished!

These two mini pillowcases have some cotton trimming sewn into the cuff seam.  These are 'baby pillows' that I use to sleep with in addition to regular size pillows.  They are perfect for that little extra bit of comfort when reading in bed.

Another wonderful quote from Mother Teresa:

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, 

but their echoes are truly endless."

PixieBelle Skirts

These skirts were fun to make!  They use more fabric than the usual full skirt but if you are 'stash busting' you will be glad to see the fabric piles dwindle a bit.  (I know it made me smile!)  I used the Tie Dye Diva "PixieBelle Skirt"  from http://www.tiedyedivapatterns.com/ and polycotton plisse' (Tuti Fruti line from Jo-Ann).  The skirts are full of twirl factor and I knew with the flying petals of the skirt that little undies would be showing so I added attached shorts underneath each one.

Two of the skirts will be gifts 'just because' for two sisters.  They both have heart buttons to show the front of the skirts.  The one with the purple button is a larger size and has already been delivered to a foster care 'closet' where foster parents come to get clothing for the children in their care.  (PR&P's "Skirting the Issue")

Showing the attached shorts:

Wise words from John Wooden:

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something

for someone who will never be able to repay you."

We Have Another Winner & Pillowcases for PR&P's "Skirting the Issue"

Hello there!  I am happy to say that we had seven entrants for the Adult Patterns Give-Away detailed in my last post.

 My daughter Victoria-Rose mixed up the numbers and drew...

 NUMBER THREE!  Our winner is Maggie from Maggie's Crafting Adventures (click here).  I'll be sending Maggie her box of goodies soon.

 Project Run & Play's "Skirting the Issue"  has been having a wonderful series this month on sharing our sewing talents with those in need.  They suggested making pillowcases as well as skirts, blankets, etc.  These pillowcases will be going to an organization called ConKerr Cancer here in the Tampa Bay area.  They will be given to children with cancer when they are in the hospital and then they take them home.  I have been  making others and will do a post on an easy sewing method where no top-stitching is needed.

I found this lovely quote from Mother Teresa that I thought was lovely and I wanted to share it with you:

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving 

better and happier.

Be the living expression of God's kindness:

kindness in you face,

kindness in your eyes,

kindness in you smile."

We have a Winner & Another Pattern Give-Away

 We have a winner!  There were 10 entrants for my first vintage pattern give-away (one was by email as she couldn't figure out how to leave a comment).  I did the drawing the old fashioned way.

As you can see in the following photo, some of these patterns are from the 1940's and 1950's and go through the 1990's.

I wrote the ten numbers out, folded them up, and put them in a teacup.

Number 2 was drawn.  Cindy from Siestas and Sewing is the winner!  Congratulations, Cindy!  Your patterns are packed and I am awaiting your email giving me your address.

 This last photo is for the next pattern give-away.  These are patterns for women and range from the 1970's through to the present day.

If you would like these patterns, just leave a comment on this post with your contact information.  This give-away will be open until Friday (midnight EST), July 26, 2013.  Each entrant will receive a number and the drawing will be on Saturday, July 27.  The package will go out by the following Monday.  Good luck!

"Little words of kindness, 

Little words of love,

Make our earth an eden,

Like the heaven above."

Julia A. Carney

Have a wonderful day!