Sweet Christmas Dress

After the creation of the new Irving the Santa appliqué, I needed to construct a sample garment on which to display the new appliqué. I selected the Lauren pattern from Bonnie Blue Designs. This pattern has been revised and replaced with the Bailey pattern in the Bonnie Blue Designs pattern line. This picture was taken at a recent photoshoot - didn't Maggie do a wonderful job!  Thanks also to Chel'den's for allowing us to use their store since it was so cold outside.

I wanted to share with you the collar technique I used. I began by tracing (with a washable pen) the collar pieces onto white pique fabric. Don't cut out the fabric at this point. Interface the wrong side of both collar pieces. Place another piece of the pique fabric (lining) with the wrong sides together under the collar fabric. Sew the two layers together on the seam allowance line specified in your pattern. Cut a long enough bias strip to go around the outside edge of the collar pieces. For the width of the bias strip, I cut it six times 1/4" (my planned seam allowance) plus 1/4 inch ease for a total of 1.75 inches. Fold the bias strip in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together. Match up the raw edges of the bias with the stitched seam allowance, easing in the fullness around the curves. Sew the bias using a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat for the other collar piece. Cut the collars out on the original seam allowance line that held the two layers together. Flip the bias to the back of the collar and press. Whipstitch the bias to the back edge of the collar. With this done, apply the collar pieces to the neck edge and finish the neck edge according to the pattern's instructions.

I hope you will enjoy trying this technique. We've had plenty of days lately when the perfect activity was to stay warm indoors and to sew. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What's new with us!

I owe you an apology, because I must admit that I am not very good at blogging! When I get to creating and putting new fabrics together, everything else on my "To Do" list starts sliding down the levels of importance. With that said, I wanted to share with you what I have been working on.

There are 4 new Ready-Set-Appliqués that have been released since the end of September. Ollie, the ornament, and Irving, the Santa, have made their debuts just in time for Christmas. The inspiration for Ollie came from my Merry Mischief Makers pattern. The pair of ornaments is just perfect for adorning your special one’s holiday clothing whether they are young or a little older.

Then on Irving I needle felted several of his pieces to give him a greater 3-D effect. I think you will be pleased with the new technique.

The third appliqué is a pair of chickadees, Charlie and Gladys. The names for these came from a godly couple who were very influential in shaping my siblings’ lives through their leadership in Discipleship Training.

The last appliqué is Montgomery the Mouse. He has a spaghetti-bias tail with a knotted and frayed tip that makes him so cute. He’s very special to me because he was named for my grandfather.

Merry Christmas from Olivia Anne Designs!

Mortimer the Monkey Outfit

As promised, I am going to talk about my "Mortimer the Monkey" sample garment that I used in a recent class.  I used Bonnie Blue Designs' Riley pattern (size 3) with a few modifications that I will talk about in just a minute.  But first - when I began working on this outfit, I tossed around several ideas on what to have Mortimer hanging from.  I wanted to create something that I hadn’t designed before. That’s when I came up with the idea to have him hanging from the letter “O” and to embroider “Olivia” on top of the letter.  I drew the "O" and then started looking through my stash of embroidery fonts and didn't find the exact one I was looking for - of course!  So I set off to search on the web and found the "Love" font on this wonderful site, called Embroidery Font Shop. 

Once I figured out this part of the outfit, I measured the total length of the letter with the monkey hanging from it.  My top was not long enough to accommodate this, so I added three inches to the length of the top.  The front pattern piece was a cinch, but the back pattern was a little more tricky since this top has a curved hem at the center back.  To adjust the back length and still have the curve, I lined up the center back edge of the original pattern and shifted the pattern down on this line until the bottom edge matched up with my desired length.  I then used the pattern's original curve to draw out my curved hem on my longer pattern piece.

The pattern has the option of having a single or double ruffle for the shoulder ruffles, but a single ruffle for the bottom edge of the top and pants.  I thought that it would be a nice touch and add more color interest if I added a double ruffle to these edges also.  The original ruffle is cut 4" wide and folded in half lengthwise to end up with a 2" ruffle.  I cut my second ruffle 7" wide and when folded in half lengthwise, it gave me a 3.5" ruffle.  I layered these two ruffles on top of each other and gathered them as one piece.  For the pants legs, it took my 4 tries before I had the length of the ruffle short enough to gather down to fit the leg.  Here's my formula for this: I reduced my length by half.  For example, I made a size 3, which called for 76" of fabric for each leg.  Instead, I used 38" on each leg.  However, for the bottom edge of the top, I did not have to make any modifications to the length of the ruffle.

Finally, I really liked the look of the ruffles when they curved into the center back of the top.  So I decided to have the ruffle edges meet at the center front edge of each of the pants legs; then I placed a 2" covered button at this point.  To have the top ruffle and the pant leg ruffles curved as in the original pattern, I had to draft a new Ruffle Cutting Guide.

Where I've been...

I thought I would share with you where I have been lately, and what better way to share than to actually show you!  Last weekend, I was teaching at a wonderful quilt store, named Heart to Heart Quilt Shop, which is located in Trussville, Alabama.

The owners, Linda and Cindy, do a wonderful job of selecting fabrics and offer a wide range of classes.  I taught a mini version of my Introduction to Machine Appliqué class in the morning.  After this, we started working on appliquéing Mortimer the Monkey.

All of my students did an excellent job on their projects.  One of the ladies decided to applique her grandson's name using my  Alphabet Applique pattern, which you can download free from my website.  In her appliqué, Mortimer is hanging from one of the letters.  Next time, I will show you my sample garment that I used for this class.

Marlene the Frog

Last week I was able to spend some time with my sister, Mary Jo.  She was able to move into her newly built house several weeks earlier, but I was not able to be there to help because of my foot surgery.  However while I was there last week, we did the time-consuming and all-important task of moving and setting up her kitchen.  Any woman who has moved knows that this is one of the toughest tasks to do in a new home!  In the midst of the visit, I taught my Introduction to Machine Applique class at Heirlooms Forever in Tupelo, MS.  Since this was my first time to teach post-surgery, I made sure to take one of her barstools to sit on during class!

When I arrived home last week, I had an email from one of my students from the class.  Patricia had sent me pictures of a jumper she had made for her 3-year-old granddaughter after taking the class, and I thought that I would share them with all of you.  I think that she did a wonderful job - especially in doing the applique stitch around the Marlene the Frog's hot pink toenails!  I can only do these in a running stitch!  If you've made something from my patterns and/or appliques, I would love to see a picture of your finished product!

Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion February 2010

For many years, I have been working as a teacher's assistant during the February and July Martha Pullen Schools.  However, the first week of February, I was privileged to teach pre-day classes during the February 2010 School.  On Monday, I taught my Chenille Poncho; Tuesday, I had a full class for Machine Appliqué Techniques; Wednesday, we made the Court Jester Christmas Stocking out of lime green silk dupioni.  Once the School started on Thursday, I was one of the assistants for Kari Mecca.  I always have so much fun meeting the ladies and working at the school.  Don't get me wrong - it is a LOT of work, but I LOVE it! 

Before the School started, my husband Allen and I went over on Sunday to set up my merchandise in the Bernina Hospitality Room.  Robin Parker of Robin's Sewing Shoppe in Birmingham, Alabama was gracious enough to allow me to have one long wall all to myself.  I've included some pictures of our displays.

On Friday night of the School, there is always a fashion show and dinner banquet.  Students, teachers, and assistants can submit projects (e.g., children and adult garments, quilts, etc.) to be modeled during the dinner.  I submitted two garments this time.  The first one is this sweet little dress by Creations by Michie, pattern #131.  The collar has coordinating circles appliquéd around the outer edge.  This technique was one of the techniques that I taught during my Tuesday class.  I also submitted my "monkey outfit".  This pattern is Riley from Bonnie Blue Designs, which I lengthened so that the monkey would fit.  I decided to hang the monkey from the center of an "O" and embroidered "olivia" on top. 

I survived foot surgery!

Well I finally did it!  I had my foot surgery last Friday.  While I knew that I would be off of my feet and not able to move as freely as normal, I really didn't dwell on the "after" portion of surgery!  I just wanted the pain to go away.  I knew from my initial consult with the doctor that I wouldn't be able to put any weight on it for 4 weeks and couldn't drive for at least two, since it is my right foot.  However, I didn't know that I would be in a partial cast at first and wouldn't be able to take any form of shower.  Thank goodness I go to see my doctor today - I expect to feel and look much better once I can wash my hair!

I have adopted Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive!" as my theme song.  I am learning how to navigate around my house on a walker, which has produced many sore muscles.  As a kid, I never understood why my Granddad had to stop for a while when he was going down the hallway - well, I do now!

To be able to have this surgery, I had to clear my teaching schedule for over a month.  My next classes are scheduled for March 19th & 20th.  I hope that between now and then, I will be able to work on new stuff.  I'll keep you posted!

Chenille Poncho Samples

Yippee!! I finished my sample garments for my classes at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion! The school is the first week in February, and I will be teaching pre-day classes for the first time. However, I have been a teacher’s assistant for over five years and absolutely love it!  On Monday of the school, I will be teaching students how to make my Chenille Poncho (pattern #104):

I received my fabrics just before Thanksgiving. But with the Holidays, Christmas shopping, and working on my new appliqués, I wasn’t able to start working on these two ponchos until after Christmas.  Nonetheless, I still had them completed by New Year's Eve!

I always love the surprise of seeing what the ponchos look like after they have been washed and dried – sometimes I’m astonished at how different they can be.  To show you what I mean, here are samples of the “before” fabrics for the two ponchos: