Two Blue Dresses

Spiritual - Did you ever notice that no matter how hard you work on accepting responsibility for your own actions and owning your own faults, we can still  want to blame someone else or something else when we err or fail. It is because of pride.  Adam and Eve did this after their sin and is instinctive for just about everyone who has faults and commits failures.  It takes great courage to look at this self-love head on and to blame only ourselves.  Excusing our faults may satisfy our pride for the moment.  If we are sincerely working at correcting our faults, this will eat away at our soul internally.  Dealing internally with a situation in which we "saved" our pride is not enough.  We must repair the bad example we have set before men, confess it, and accept correction humbly.  Interior and exterior acknowledgment must be there before spiritual advancement will occur.  This is a great cross of mine.

 

Sewing -  A friend of long ago called to order two simple vintage style dresses for two babies she loves.   She wanted blue and needed them "soon!"  The one on the right is a 3-6 mo. dress with a machine embroidered yoke.  The middle of each sleeve was treated the same way.  Lace was added to the neckline, sleeve band and yoke.  A growth tuck was added at the hem.  The one on the left is a 6-9 mo. dress with a tucked yoke and white piping at the yoke and sleeve bands.  Hand embroidery was added to the center of the yoke and on the growth tuck at the hem.  Both are in blue imperial batiste and very simple - just what she requested.

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011

 

Why handsewing as a first lesson???

Students often can't wait to get to the sewing machine, thinking that things will go faster and easier. They sometimes have the misconception that EVERYTHING can be done on the machine. But, on many projects, hand basting is needed to manipulate the fabric to make the project easier to sew with the machine, eliminating mistakes and frustration. Ninety-five percent of the time the last stitches on a project or garment will be handsewing - bias bands, sleeve bands, hems, buttons.

Embroidery is a wonderful embellishment on garments, baby clothes, bonnets, hair accessories, felt animals or dolls.

To many sewists, handsewing is a curse instead of being a pleasurable experience. Handsewing can be very relaxing, calming, and fulfilling. I think the problem is that many sewists didn't learn to enjoy the process and only thought of it as a means to "complete" the project. Learning to handsew first, IMHO, will help to alleviate many frustrations.

What do you think?

Beginner's Handsewing Class

Spiritual - What happens when women give their lives over to God? They become vessels of grace, bearers of healing, consolation, encouragement and strength to a troubled world. Far from being passive, the woman of grace will actively embrace God's will, actively seek out the suffering and lost, and actively bring God's healing love to others. Johnnette Benkovic, Full of Grace

Sewing -  Create one of these lovely hand stitched pincushions in which you will learn 4/5 stitches in this lesson - the back stitch, lazy dazy, french knot, running stitch, and the blanket stitch.  These are made of wool blend felt, embroidery floss, beads, and polyester fill,  It will be completed totally using hand stitches.  This is a wonderful "take anywhere" project and makes a very nice gift. 

  

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011