Judi's Sewing Room and More

I have always loved sewing since I was a little girl at about 10 and started making Barbie clothes on my Mother's treadle Singer sewing machine. Actually this machine was originally my great grandmother. My uncle had installed a motor on the machine but I was not allowed to use the motor until I was a little older. Mom made almost all the clothes for herself, my sister and myself on this machine. I remember standing in the middle of the kitchen table so Mom could use the hem guide to hem our dresses. When the dresses were done we would spin in the living room to see how far out the skirt would go. That was of course after we sometimes found a wayward pin in the waistline. Not only was Mom an inspiration for my sewing but also my Aunt Kate. If Mom didn't have a solution to a problem with a pattern, Aunt Kate surely did. And then there was my friend's Mom, Mrs. Muir who lived up the street that was always helpful when I needed it. They all encouraged me to keep sewing and I continued to use the old Singer machine. When I got my first full time job, I bought my own new sewing machine. It was a Pfaff cabinet model and I bought it at Witherill's from Mr. Thorne. And, this machine went in reverse! I soon upgraded to a Pfaff free arm machine and then to a Pfaff 1471. I am fortunate to have three beautiful daughters and I can't begin to tell you how many hours are on that 1471 making them clothes from infancy right up to adulthood. Play clothes, dress, coats, 1st Communion dresses, dozens of Halloween costumes - even in high school and prom dresses. For many years I did little sewing and missed what I call "my therapy". There is nothing more relaxing to me than to spend an evening sewing. So, last Spring I bought a used machine. I said, I don't want a fancy one - I don't do embroidery but the 2170 fit the bill for the features I wanted and it did embroidery. Well, I was soon taking classes at Knecht's and have found a love of machine embroidery. I was jealous of the other sewers with their Creative Visions and soon upgraded to one. I am having so much fun with this machine and have found a whole new world of sewing in embroidery. I thought that I would share some of my projects as I go along. I don't profess to be and expert seamstress but I love sewing and I love sharing these with you. Hope you enjoy them too! Thanks for looking.

REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Sewing for Kira

Summer is finally here and even though I have not posted in a few months does not mean that I have not been busy. My Pfaff has been humming away churning out all kinds of good things. The arrival of our beautiful new Granddaughter in March gave way to a many sewing projects. This purple dotted seersucker outfit is a Kwik Sew pattern and I added the daisy embroidery to it. Don't just love the daisy buttons too?

This cute little dress and bloomers is also a Kwik Sew pattern. The bonnet is a Simplicity pattern from the 1940/50's that has been republished. I found the material in my stash and is the real dotted swiss; not the cheap stuff they are selling in the big box sewing stores now. The rose embroidery is from the Martha Pullen English Embroidery collection.

But, my most accomplished item is this beautiful Christening gown. This dress was featured in the Martha Pullen Sew Beautiful magazine and we fell in love with it. This was my first attempt at heirloom sewing and I was a little wary of making it but I found out that I love this type of sewing. I thought that it would be difficult but found it to be very enjoyable. The fabric is Swiss Nelona batiste with fine French cotton laces and satin ribbons. I learned many new techniques like the lace joining which was quite easy to do. I'm currently working on a camisole with lace shaping and will post a picture when it is done.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A not so traditional diaper bag!

Erin did not want the traditional diaper bag with all the cute little baby print on it but something with a little more class. This is the same Butterick pattern # 4583 that I used for Sarah's laptop bag in denim with a few alterations. I added a pocket on the front under the flap for easy access. On the back, I cut another full back and added a zipper to make a very large secure pocket. I also added and inch to the depth for more room. Inside, I added pockets all around with full pockets to hold bottles. This is a messenger style bag with a long strap so it can be cross body. This bag will be so much easier to carry when holding the baby so it doesn't keep slipping off your shoulder like a traditional bag. I'm not sure how Dad is going to like carrying this flowery bag - might have to make a Dad bag!

New sewer in the making . . . .

Kris has taken an interest in sewing and we'll be taking a beginning sewing class next month. In the meantime, Kris made this runner for her table. She did an excellent job!

April Showers....

Spring is finally on it's way after our long winter and the April showers will bring May flowers. This is a banner made with a pattern from http://www.joinedatthehip.com/
Kris has this banner hanging on her front door to welcome Spring.

So you all know that we are counting down the days till our first grandchild arrives. A little girl. So excited! I've been sewing up a storm for our new little cutie. These little sleeper bags are a Kwik Sew pattern and was super easy. The embroidery came with the Pfaff 5D software and is so adorable! Can't wait to start making all the cute little dresses and sun suits for summer.

Baby coming!

My daugthter asked me to embroider these bibs for her soon to be new niece. Cute! These are Kwik Sew patterns that were pretty easy also.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Sarah wanted a messenger style bag for her laptop computer. I found this pattern in my file of old patterns and the denim material was leftovers from jeans I made for myself and the lining was also an old leftover. The embroidery design is from the Pfaff Ornamental Gardens. It is actually 1 design with flowers in the middle. I removed the flowers in 5D and copied, pasted and rotated 5 times to create this border design. I think it looks pretty good and Sarah loves it. My favorite - cost $0.00!!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Santa brought Sarah this e-reader for Christmas - which has barely left her hands - and I made this little padded cover to protect the screen when she throws it in one of the many bags I have made her. Sarah bought the fabric a while ago and we were looking for a project to use it on. She felt the look of the castles had a fairy tale look and made a perfect book cover! Fast and easy.

My sister and sister-in-laws loved these embroidered aprons I made for them for Christmas. I had a lot of fun making all these presents and everyone enjoyed receiving them. Now I have to find new projects since the holidays are over. Oh yeah - first grandchild on the way in March. That should keep me busy.

These are more Christmas presents for my son-in-laws. Towels for my popcorn making/eating Derric and the apron and hot pads for barbecuing Rob. All designs from Embroidery Library.

I love making this octagon table mat. It is so simple and fast. I made 6 matching placemats for the holiday season. These were shipped as a Christmas present for my brother and sister-in-law in Las Vegas.

How cute is this. This snowman is an applique banner from the Hanging on a Star collection at http://www.joinedatthehip.com/ It is a pretty easy banner to stitch.

This is another bag for my knitting daughter made from this great neon on black fabric with a knitting needles design. The fabric for the front pocket which is a holder for knitting needles and supplies is from a cool Spirograph collection. I found this fabric at
Pucky Huddle Delight in Candor, NY. A great quilting shop! The pattern by Wired up Designs is a large bag with a drawstring top that can be folded down inside if you don't want to close the top.

These are a couple of bags that I made a while ago for my knitting/yarn spinning daughter. The first one is a McCall's pattern made with material we bought at Hobby Lobby. I made a matching needle roll which is not pictured. The second bag is a grocery style shopping bag with and applique/embroidery from A Bit of Stitch Designing Girls collection to use when she goes on her yarn/fiber shopping trips.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Everytime I make something for my daughter her cats try to take it over. They lay on it, climb in it if it's a bag and leave hair all over it. I had some of these blocks from a quilt in a hoop class made from left over scarps. I probably would never use them for a larger project so I made a few more, stitched them together and made Bobby and Hank their own cat mats. And it worked. Bobby loves the green one and Hank likes the blue one. I wonder if it is the 100% cotton fabric that they like. Also, I know the blue one should have had two more blocks - but hey - it's for the cats!

Thanksgiving time! On our shop hop I found this fabulous fabric at Sew Nice in Norwich, NY. I love this octagon table piece because it is fast and easy! I made a pattern for place mats to match.

I love this banner. It is from the Hanging on a Star collection from joinedatthehip.com. I haven't done this type of applique in quite awhile but I really enjoyed doing it. My sewing buddies and I went on our own "shop hop" a few weeks ago and found the pattern and kit at Patchwork Angels shop in Endicott.

Happy Halloween. I embroidered these aprons with these cute Halloween motifs. I found the aprons at Sam' s Club - 3 for about $11.00 and they are very good quality. The designs are from the Dakota collections. They each took about 2 1/2 hours to embroider but well worth it. I used the 5D Software to pull one of the candy corn out of the design and place them so that they look like they are falling into the pocket of the apron. So cute!