Gentle

I know there are some of you who are anxiously awaiting a glimpse of this little rosebud that just arrived last week. We had the chance to visit her family and become aquainted with her last evening. She is just a tiny little peanut, and beautiful in everyway. How can we not marvel at our Creator?

Her doting "big" brother keeps a constant watch over her. These sdays, his favorite word seems to be "gentle", and he repeats it over and over while caressing her and kissing her. He is definitely smitten with his newest sister.

None of us could get enough of holding her and cooing over her. It's so easy to forget how tiny and feather-weight a newborn is.

She is absolutely adorable!!!

Pattern Sale at JoAnn Fabrics - First Half of May 2010

I have been swamped with sewing projects lately. I even managed to get a sewing project done that is a gift for MYSELF. That doesn't happen very often, so I'm really excited. I just have one more small detail to finish on it before I can show you what it is. But that can all wait, because of course, I know what you are really interested to find out -- the dates for the pattern sale at the JoAnn Fabric and Craft stores.

SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2010

McCall Patterns - $1.99 each

MSRP $6.95 - $19.95 each

Limit 10

No Special Orders

Excludes "Easy Stitch 'N Save"

Butterick Patterns - $1.99 each

MSRP $7.95 - $19.95

Limit 10

No Special Orders

Excludes "See &Sew"

Foto Friday Challenge - Red

Little Red Caboose Behind the Train

Here's my contribution to this week's Foto Friday Challenge. The topic is RED.

Little Red Caboose, chug, chug, chug

Little Red Caboose, chug, chug, chug

Little Red Caboose behind the train, train, train, train

Comin' round the bend, bend, bend, bend

Hangin' on the end, end, end, end

Little Red Caboose behind the train

Find lots of other pics that will have you "seein' red" by clicking on the button below.

The Second-Half of the Equation

In addition to being sure that I interfaced the buttonhole as explained here, I also needed to add manageable bulk to the strap in order to produce a larger knot that would not slip through the buttonhole. The following illustrations explain how I accomplished that.

If the interfaced yoke and buttonhole in addition to the additional width of the strap don't rectify the problem of the buttonhole drooping and the knot slipping through, I'm not quite sure what else to suggest. The only thing I can thnk of is making the buttonhole a little smaller.

Remedy for Droopy Buttonholes

I have decided to answer a comment on a recent post here rather than in the comments section because (1) the answer to the question may help others that have the same problem and (2) because I think that the photos will help illustrate what I am trying to say.

The question pertained to preventing "droopy buttonholes" (my words) that occur in knot jumpers. Any buttonhole causes a lot of stress on a garment's fabric around it just by the normal movement of the body. So my rule of thumb in my own sewing projects is that I NEVER, EVER make a buttonhole until I first interface the fabric. In the case of this jumper and this jumper, I reinforced the entire yoke, because the entire yoke can begin to "droop" with the stress of the weight of the full skirts that they must support.

There are other times that in an infant dress or doll's dress I may choose only to "spot interface a buttonhole" to prevent bulk while still reinforcing it. In such a case, I would cut two squares of light to midweight interfacing. Each square would be slightly larger than the length of the buttonhole. Then, I fuse them to the inside of the fabric where the buttonhole will be located. (In the illustration below, I used heavyweight interfacing so that it woud be more visible in the pic.)

The advantage to interfacing both insides in that it will also help prevent fraying of the fabric in the same way a "fray check" product would.

In preparing the example of buttonholes above, I was also struck by the appearance of the buttonhole even before use. Notice that the fabric fibers on the right buttonhole were stabilized, and therefore did not shift or stetch as the buttonhole was being sewn.

Another thing that can be seen from the above photo, is that the stess of cutting the buttonhole also was minimized in the interfaced buttonhole. One more little note about interfacing is illustrated in the photo above, and that is the importance of using the proper weight of interfacing for your projects. When the weight of the interfacing matches your fabric weight you will not see the interfacing "shadow" that is evident in the photo above. If you see "where the interfacing has been used", you need to be using a lighter weight interfacing.

I'm running a little short on time here, so I'm going to address how I keep the knots from slipping through the buttonholes in another post.

Hope this helps.

Foto Friday Challenge - Mellow Yellow

The Foto Friday Challenge this week was YELlOW.

I was trying not to get too wordy this week, but the above photo does need a tiny explanation. The man-cub has not taken up a life of crime and vandalism. He's simply displaying the sign that was knocked down by a car that then proceeded to speed through our backyard (driverless). DON'T ASK!!! Long story, and you NEVER would believe me if I told you.

Click on the Foto Friday button above to see other's photos for this week's challenge. Hey, why not check to see what next week's challenge is and add your pics to ours.

Sew Crafty Friday - Great Outfit / Lousy Pictures

I'll warn you right up front that these photos are not the greatest. Everytime I would try to snap a shot, a breeze would come along and spoil everything. However, since I have no daughter small enough to model these. I guess, this is the best I'm gonna' get.

I have become the number-one fan of these little outfits. I think my daughters and I figured out that these three pieces (peasant shirt, knotted jumper, and ruffle pants) could be mixed and matched to a total of six different ways.

Add the little pants and the peasant shirt, it can be suitable for wearing on a cooler morning or evening OR wear the jumper/sundress alone in the hot afternoon.

I've been working on this during the past few days, and shipped it out yesterday morning.

Y Sew glad you stopped by,

Nanci

Pattern Sale at JoAnn Fabrics - First Half of April 2010

Okay, I make a confession here. I love sewing patterns!!! And as you can see from the picture above, I love to horde patterns, too. A close look at these patterns and it is easy to see that the price has gone up and up and up. (Just like everything else!!!)

I can't believe that it's been nearly a year ago that I started posting the pattern sales at JoAnn Fabrics. Since I first learned of JoAnn pattern sales several years ago, I no longer buy patterns at full price. Then I thought why keep this to myself, so that began what has (for the most part) become my regular semi-monthly post.

Well, I finally decided that these little posts needed a sort of logo of their own and thus the reason for the above pic.

And now, on to what you are really interested in. . . the sale dates for April 2010

SUNDAY - SATURDAY

APRIL 11 - 17

McCall Patterns - 99 cents each

MSRP $6.95 - $19.95 each

Limit of 10

No Special Orders

Excludes "Easy Stitch 'N Save"

Vogue Patterns - $3.99 each

MSRP $8.95 - $30.00 each

Limit of 10

No Special Orders

THURSDAY - SATURDAY

APRIL 22 - 24

Simplicity Patterns - $1.99 each

MSRP $6.95 - $17.95 each

Limit of 10

No Special Orders

Excludes "It's So Easy", New Look, Burda

& Simplicity Books

Enjoy It While It Lasts!

Our magnolia tree is in full bloom, or maybe I should say WAS in full bloom. Even now it is starting to fade with the heat. I truly love the deep mauve and cream blooms.

Two (or was it three?) springs ago it bloomed so profusely that it looked as though it had been transported here from Fairyland. It was an umbrella of blossoms and dripped petals so that even the earth beneath was covered with a carpet of mauve and cream. It was beyond beautiful. I have chided myself ever since for not having taken a picture of it. In the time that we have lived here, I have never (before or since) seen it as gorgeous as it was that year.

During a survey of the yard yesterday, I discovered that my old-fashioned Iris have buds on them, as well my Coral Bells and Bleeding Heart. I'm trying very hard not to let myself believe that warm weather is here to stay, but it is very difficult. Each year I am lolled into a sense of false security, thinking cold weather has been banished for good, only to be rudely awakened by a cold snap and a scurry to cover the flowers in a hope to save them. Still, I am enjoying the wonderfu weather. Hope you are, too!

Foto Friday Challenge - True Blue

Welcome once again to Foto Friday

hosted by Rebecca at Renaissance. This week's challenge was BLUE.

I must say that I especially enjoyed this week's challenge. Last Friday evening my daughter surprised me by bringing home this beautiful hydrangea plant. She knew that I had for a long time wanted to plant one in the yard .

As soon as she gave it to me, I knew it would be the "headliner" for my contribution to this week's Foto Friday.

I never realized how much I must like blue until I began to gather some objects for my photo shoot. As I began gathering, I realized that these were some of my very favorite decorations around our house. Since our Magnolia tree is now in bloom, I added a few of the blossoms to some of the shots. I like the contrast they create and the way that they "break up" all that blue.

I took a gazillion pictures. Rather than bore ya'll to death by listing them separately, I stole an idea from someone else, who a week or so ago presented a collage. (I apologize to whoever did this first, but your idea was just too good to pass up.) I wanted to achieve two very different feels to the two collages. I wanted the first collage at the top of the page to feel serene and to have a simple elegance about it. I wanted the one below to have a more down-home country feel. I had a lot of fun playing with and combining the photos until I thought they had the "feeling" that I was trying to convey.

This last shot was from my photo archives. It was taken in January of 2009. I included it because I love the shade of the blue sky and the play of the lights.

We're all just amateurs who are trying to improve our photo skills, and we would love for you to add your pics to ours.

Click on the Foto Friday Challenge button below, and join us for a great time.

History Repeats Itself

Per special request, this post addresses our dear daughter's recent hair cut.

For reference, this is the before shot. . .



5 and these, of course are the after shots. 6
She donated the hair to Locks of Love.


Seven years ago, as a 12 year old she made her first donation after hearing of other children who had lost their hair due to illness. Realizing she had plenty to spare (she's always had VERY thick hair), she asked to have her hair cut to help other children who needed wigs.

Way back then, this was the before shot. . .

and this was the after shot.

I am so grateful to God for her compassionate heart.

Foto Friday - Egg on My Face

Another week has flown past, and it's time once again for Foto Friday! The topic today is eggs, and I really couldn't come up with an original take on the subject. Since I remembered this picture from the summer of 2008, and since I never gave it blog space, I'll share it with you now. If you would like to see pics taken by those who actually put effort into the challenge this week, click on the button below. It will take you to Rebecca's place where you can join in the fun.