I would like to say that this week I worked very hard and accomplished a lot. That is not the case. I had great plans for this week. I was going to finish an outfit and get it listed on Etsy. I was going to get my meals planned and grocery shop for the week. Then, on Tuesday, it happened.
They predicted snow. The whole town got so excited. The kids, my kids, were anticipating the calling off of the school day. We woke up. Not a snowflake in sight. At around 11 I got a text from my daughter saying that they were letting the kids out at 12. Seriously??? Once again, not a snowflake in sight. So, off I went to wait in car lines for kids. We came home and relaxed. Well, I took a nap. LOL! Still, no snow. At around 3PMish, there were snow flurries coming down. Well, I would really call it that. You see, I am originally from Ohio. This was more like micro snow flurries. A friend of mine on Facebook described it well. She said it looked like little gnats. She was right. However, it continued and was constant throughout the night.
By Wednesday morning, we had snow dusted all over our back yard. It was not that big of a deal, but the ice on the roads was serious. See, in Ohio, they would have had salt trucks out as soon as the snow started falling. In the south, they do not. Why? Well, it is because we do not get snow that often. They do not use tax payer money to buy up a bunch of salt truck that may or may not be used. That equals icy roads that do not thaw and people driving on them that are not experienced with driving on ice. I was very thankful that they did send the kids home early.
Why?
Well, my sister and her family live south of us. They were absolutely not ready for the storm they received. They schools did not call off early enough. The snow hit fast and hard. They also do not have the snow/salt trucks there, because, once again, snow is rare. She and her husband left for work and picking up the kids at around 11 in the morning. At 5:45PM, I received a text from my sister that she and the kids were finally home. There were also people and kids in other areas that did not make it home until 24 hours later. WOW!
So, I was thankful for my time at home and getting here safe. We relaxed and I worked in spurts. I did accomplish finishing up some smocking and back smocking of an outfit that is still in the making. I hope today to get some work done on the sleeves and put the top together. Be looking for this new outfit on my Etsy shop. Also, if you are need of some custom made dresses or outfits for your little one, or if you need a baby shower gift, stop by Sewing Sweet Tracy or my Facebook Page. We can get started making something special for you and your little one.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Passing on of a Family Skill
Well, I almost forgot to blog this week. Wait! I actually did forget to blog last week. Oops! Well, I will just start this week out right. So, here we go...
Family traditions are amazing. Most families have traditions. They can be holiday traditions, seasonal traditions or just plain old traditions. They are things you get use to doing. Sometimes, they are things you want to pass down to your children. Sometimes, they are things you want to start in your own family.
However, family skills are different than traditions. Family skills are things that whatever you do, you want to make sure someone in the family passes that skill on to the next generation. That is what has happened over the course of a few years in my family.
Several years ago, when my daughter was small enough to sit on my lap, I would have her help me sew. She would come to the sewing room and sit on my lap as we guided the material through the machine. Now, she didn't know, but I was trying to pass on the love of sewing to her. Then, after many times of sitting on my lap, I had her practice. She finally got the hang of sewing simple 5/8 inch seams. I then, had her sew some fabric squares that my Grandmother had cut, but never had put them into a quilt. None of the squares matched or would be the kind of thing you would put together, but it worked for the time. As she was sewing these squares, I was filled with emotions. There was my daughter, sewing together squares that her Great Grandmother had started to use to create something. It was amazing.
Well, after this my daughter attempted to make a pillow case dress. She took a long time to finish, and it was obvious that sewing was not something she loved like I did. However, she really wanted to learn how to crochet. Well, I am left handed. She is right handed. Do you see the problem? So, I had her sit with my right handed sister, and had my sister teach her the skill. My daughter did a few stitches, but never really got the hang of more than just a simple chain stitch.
This past Christmas, she took off. I sat with her again and showed her some basic stitches. She learned to single crochet, to half double crochet, to double crochet, and to turn the work. I was so amazed at how she worked at this crochet thing. She even finished a scarf. Was I proud? You better believe I was proud. After the scarf, she and I started to each work on a beanie hat. She finished hers before I finished mine. Below is a picture of her scarf. We do not have one of the hat just yet. The scarf is listed on etsy for your purchase.
If you follow the link on the picture in the middle, it will take you to my Etsy shop. There, you can buy this great scarf from my daughter. She is so excited to have her first item listed. I am so proud of the work she is doing. She is currently working on another scarf that is pink and she has decided on her own stitching. It should be another wonderful creation.
Family traditions are amazing. Most families have traditions. They can be holiday traditions, seasonal traditions or just plain old traditions. They are things you get use to doing. Sometimes, they are things you want to pass down to your children. Sometimes, they are things you want to start in your own family.
However, family skills are different than traditions. Family skills are things that whatever you do, you want to make sure someone in the family passes that skill on to the next generation. That is what has happened over the course of a few years in my family.
Several years ago, when my daughter was small enough to sit on my lap, I would have her help me sew. She would come to the sewing room and sit on my lap as we guided the material through the machine. Now, she didn't know, but I was trying to pass on the love of sewing to her. Then, after many times of sitting on my lap, I had her practice. She finally got the hang of sewing simple 5/8 inch seams. I then, had her sew some fabric squares that my Grandmother had cut, but never had put them into a quilt. None of the squares matched or would be the kind of thing you would put together, but it worked for the time. As she was sewing these squares, I was filled with emotions. There was my daughter, sewing together squares that her Great Grandmother had started to use to create something. It was amazing.
Well, after this my daughter attempted to make a pillow case dress. She took a long time to finish, and it was obvious that sewing was not something she loved like I did. However, she really wanted to learn how to crochet. Well, I am left handed. She is right handed. Do you see the problem? So, I had her sit with my right handed sister, and had my sister teach her the skill. My daughter did a few stitches, but never really got the hang of more than just a simple chain stitch.
This past Christmas, she took off. I sat with her again and showed her some basic stitches. She learned to single crochet, to half double crochet, to double crochet, and to turn the work. I was so amazed at how she worked at this crochet thing. She even finished a scarf. Was I proud? You better believe I was proud. After the scarf, she and I started to each work on a beanie hat. She finished hers before I finished mine. Below is a picture of her scarf. We do not have one of the hat just yet. The scarf is listed on etsy for your purchase.
 |
| Brown/Blue Scarf |
If you follow the link on the picture in the middle, it will take you to my Etsy shop. There, you can buy this great scarf from my daughter. She is so excited to have her first item listed. I am so proud of the work she is doing. She is currently working on another scarf that is pink and she has decided on her own stitching. It should be another wonderful creation.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Ruffles, Ruffles Everywhere
So, here it is the end of the week, and I have not posted a blog. Oops! I almost forgot. Have I been busy? No. Have I misplaced my computer? No. I have just been lazy.
My work this week has centered around one of my favorite customers. She is always pleased with my work even when I am not. The task this week was to make some denim ruffle pants. She didn't ask for a monogram on the ruffle, but I thought I would give it a try. It turned out great. The pants were so very cute. I had a hard time seeing them go. She also wants a darker pair of denim pants. So, next up is the darker pair. Denim is such a great fabric for pants. Denim goes with everything. So, without going on too much, here are some pictures.
You can pair these pants with just about anything that I make. All of the bishop dress that I make can be shortened to a top and be paired with some cute ruffle pants. If you like these, you can customize your order. Just post a comment here or on my facebook page. You can also send me a message on Etsy.
The other news for the week is that I started a Twitter account. You may follow me there if you would like. @sewingsweettrac
My work this week has centered around one of my favorite customers. She is always pleased with my work even when I am not. The task this week was to make some denim ruffle pants. She didn't ask for a monogram on the ruffle, but I thought I would give it a try. It turned out great. The pants were so very cute. I had a hard time seeing them go. She also wants a darker pair of denim pants. So, next up is the darker pair. Denim is such a great fabric for pants. Denim goes with everything. So, without going on too much, here are some pictures.
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| Come in sizes 6 mo. to 18 mo. |
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| You can customize them to your liking. |
You can pair these pants with just about anything that I make. All of the bishop dress that I make can be shortened to a top and be paired with some cute ruffle pants. If you like these, you can customize your order. Just post a comment here or on my facebook page. You can also send me a message on Etsy.
The other news for the week is that I started a Twitter account. You may follow me there if you would like. @sewingsweettrac
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Baby It's Cold Outside
So, today it is currently a whopping 16 degrees. The high for today is supposed to be 25 degrees. Yep, that is a little chilly. Do we have snow? Absolutely not, but we do have cold. What about where you are? Is it cold? Did you get some snow? Enough to build a snowman or play? Let me know.
On this cold day, I am thinking of ways to warm up. You can have hot tea, hot chocolate, coffee, soup, grilled cheese(yes, that was my lunch today), and many other things. One thing that keeps me dreaming of warmer weather is some of the bright clothing that I have made in the past. So this blog will be a view of some Spring and Summer colors. Here is Sewing Sweet Spring and Summer in pictures:
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| Drawstring Cinch Sack |
If you follow the links on the title of each outfit, it will take you to Etsy.com. You may purchase the items with titles there. You may also post a comment here and I will get in touch with you for pricing, sizing, and material choices.
Stay warm today and enjoy the colors of Spring/Summer.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Happy 2014!!! So, we celebrated the New Year the same way as always. We watched the ball drop on Fox New channel. It was pretty uneventful, but it was a blessing to watch with my family. I pray that you were able to spend the New Year with your family. I also pray that 2014 brings you a year full of blessings.
So, this is the first blog of the New Year. Hmmm...What do blog about??? That is always the question.
Today, I am going to write about my creation yesterday. For a while now, I have been making some Infinity Scarves, or Tube Scarves, or Endless Scarves. They have so many different names. When I make these, I notice that there is several inches of material left over. Well, being me, I can't help but think, "You know there is something that can be made with that left over material" For a long time, I had no ideas. This Christmas, I was making some of these scarves for my mom and mother-in-law. It finally hit me...HEADBANDS. A headband is just simply a smaller infinity scarf. WOW! I seriously can't believe it took me this long. So, yesterday, I began creating a headband.
It started out pretty simple. Then, I tried the first one out. Bummer! The first one looks good, but I can barely get it over my head. It is so very tight. Well, maybe it is just my big head. So, I gave it to my daughter to try out. She couldn't even get it on at all. So, back to the drawing board.
It seemed to be that the material stretched, but the stitching kept one side from stretching. OH! That is right. I was using the wrong stitch. DUH! A straight stitch doesn't stretch. So, out comes the manual to the sewing machine. Did you know that there is a stitch for stretchy material(LOL)? Yes, I know dumb question. I did know this, but I had forgotten.
After changing my stitch, I had better success. The next 2 headbands turned out great. One was still a little small, but would work great for a young girl. The other one was good for an adult sized head. I do still need to work with the size a little, but I have a good start. Check out the pictures, and post a comment here about what you think. Enjoy!
Other colors and styles to come. The other big news of yesterday is that my daughter finished her first crocheted scarf. She had decided a while ago that she wanted to learn to crochet. We had some bumps in the road in the area of learning stitches, but she has got it down now. Here are pictures of her first finished product. I am a very proud momma.
So, this is the first blog of the New Year. Hmmm...What do blog about??? That is always the question.
Today, I am going to write about my creation yesterday. For a while now, I have been making some Infinity Scarves, or Tube Scarves, or Endless Scarves. They have so many different names. When I make these, I notice that there is several inches of material left over. Well, being me, I can't help but think, "You know there is something that can be made with that left over material" For a long time, I had no ideas. This Christmas, I was making some of these scarves for my mom and mother-in-law. It finally hit me...HEADBANDS. A headband is just simply a smaller infinity scarf. WOW! I seriously can't believe it took me this long. So, yesterday, I began creating a headband.
It started out pretty simple. Then, I tried the first one out. Bummer! The first one looks good, but I can barely get it over my head. It is so very tight. Well, maybe it is just my big head. So, I gave it to my daughter to try out. She couldn't even get it on at all. So, back to the drawing board.
It seemed to be that the material stretched, but the stitching kept one side from stretching. OH! That is right. I was using the wrong stitch. DUH! A straight stitch doesn't stretch. So, out comes the manual to the sewing machine. Did you know that there is a stitch for stretchy material(LOL)? Yes, I know dumb question. I did know this, but I had forgotten.
After changing my stitch, I had better success. The next 2 headbands turned out great. One was still a little small, but would work great for a young girl. The other one was good for an adult sized head. I do still need to work with the size a little, but I have a good start. Check out the pictures, and post a comment here about what you think. Enjoy!
Other colors and styles to come. The other big news of yesterday is that my daughter finished her first crocheted scarf. She had decided a while ago that she wanted to learn to crochet. We had some bumps in the road in the area of learning stitches, but she has got it down now. Here are pictures of her first finished product. I am a very proud momma.
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