This is for you, Ms. Billie!

Spiritual - "It can well be said that there is no divine mystery or truth of faith which does not, in some way, speak of the excessive love of the Lord.  The more we are convinced of this love, the more profound will be our 'loving knowledge' of God; and at the same time, we shall feel an ever increasing impulse to return love to Him who has first loved us so greatly." Divine Intimacy

 

Sewing - Today is the 1st Anniversary of the death of my mother-in-law.  She was a wonderful prayerful woman who taught me more that I can say.  We were very blessed to share a fabulous hobby in common - sewing and machine embroidery.  This diaper shirt set is one of her UFOs (unfinished projects).  I found this in a bag yesterday and decided to complete it for her.  She loved machine embroidery and embroidered a sweet little bear on the center of the shirt and the back of the diaper cover.  I'll keep it in my shop in honor of her.  Thanks, Ms. Billie, for all your love and support.  I love you and miss you.
 

Kay Manuel

Spiritual - "O Lord, Lord, how small and narrow is the house of my soul for You to enter?   Enlarge it Yourself.  It is in ruins; repair it. I know and admit that there are things in it that are offensive in Your sight.  But who will cleanse it.  Or to whom but You shall I cry, purify me, Lord, from my hidden sins?"  St. Augustine


Sewing -  Kay Manuel, retired military, is a SewHealing student who has been sewing for many years.  She is expecting her first grandchild and doesn't know the gender.  Kay cannot wait to find out so that she can really sew!   For now, she has to be satisfied with sewing for the nursery, gender-neutral play clothes, pajamas, and daygowns.  The blue striped seersucker romper is made from an Old Fashioned Baby pattern.  As you can see from the darling monkey diaper stacker, she has a great sense of humor and a talent for sewing.

She and her daughter picked out a beautiful Christening gown from Martha Pullen's Grandmothers' Hope Chest.  They made a few changes in the original design and Kay has begun the long, loving, and sacrificial  process of sewing the gown. We look forward to seeing the process and the finished result! 

Pajamas

 

Kit Eckert

Spiritual - "O divine Paraclete!  You, whose power equals Your holiness, by the love which made You bind me to Yourself, grant me the grace to love You with my whole heart, to adhere to You with my whole soul, and to use all my strength to love and serve You, so that I may live according to Your inspirations"
St. Gertrude.

Sewing -   Kit Eckert, a Sit & Sew student,  made this gorgeous coat using Vogue pattern 8754 and a luscious wool/nylon blend fabric from Promenade Fabrics in New Orleans.  She lined the coat with black Ambiance.   The picture does not do the coat justice!!!  It looks wonderful on her.  Great job, Kit!

Kit, a retired elementary school teacher, now spends much of her time in service to her community and area clubs, visiting her children and grandchildren, and, of course, sewing.  She does beautiful work and loves working with linens, textured woolens, and great knits.

 
This year she has become the grandmother of a little boy, Daniel, and a little girl, Matilda (Tilly).  Besides sewing for herself, she is beginning to sew for them. She has used Bonnie Blue Design's Holly & Hunter pattern to make Daniel a couple of John-Johns.  You can see just how adorable he looks in his grandmother's creation.   I always look forward to see what pattern and fabric she will work with next.

Katie and Mary Katherine Cramer

Spiritual - "O Mary, I put my trust in you; in this hope I live and in hope I long to die, saying over and over: My only hope is Jesus, and after Jesus, Mary"  St. Alphonsus

Sewing - Katie Cramer is a beginning student and is smart as a whip!  Her first project was a John-John for her 18-month old baby.  She just completed a pair of pajamas for her only daughter, Mary Kate.  As you can see from Mary Kate's face, she loves them.  Katie is now learning to do different types of hemming for herself and her family.  Katie has six children, is active in her children's school, in church work, and with her husband, Edward, who is a local veterinarian.

Audrie's Easter Dress

Spiritual - "Stay with us, Lord!  It is the cry of the soul who has found its God and never again wishes to be separated from Him. Let us too, as the disciples at Emmaus, go in search of the Lord.  Our whole life is a continuous journey toward Him, and we are often sad, even as they were, because we do not succeed in finding Him, because, not understanding His mysterious ways, it seems that He has abandoned us."  We are often frustrated because we do not know His ways and sometimes give up all hope, but like the experience of the apostles on the way to Emmaus, "God draws near our soul, makes Himself our traveling companion, and still more, lives in us by grace."  It'll only be when we reach heaven that His ways will be clear to us.
Divine Intimacy

Sewing -  I have to confess that I used McCall's M5838 for Audrie's Easter dress this year AND last year.  Last year I used a linen/cotton blend and a band of Spanish cotton lace at the waist.  It also had a ruffle at the skirt bottom.  This year, I used two cotton coordinating prints.  Audrie wanted a bubble skirt.

To make the bubble,  I cut the bottom of the skirt 3 inches below the knees, then made a 1/2"  casing at the bottom edge for 3/8" elastic.  I measured around her legs about 3 inches above her knees.  I cut a piece of elastic this measurement and placed it in a casing.  The elastic bottom is gently tucked under about 3 inches.  This makes the bubble!  She loves it!

Flo Thunissen Rosales

Spiritual - Mary never doubted that her child was the Son of God.  "Witness for example, the unexpected disappearance of the twelve-year-old Boy who had remained in the temple without His parent's knowledge."  Jesus explained his action to his parents, but St. Luke tells us that they did not understand what he meant. "Nevertheless, she questioned him no further.  She believed that Jesus was her God, and that was enough for her; she was certain, absolutely certain of Him.
    Sometimes in our spiritual life, we come to a halt because we insist on understanding and searching into God's plans for our soul.  A faithful soul, on the other hand, does not linger to inquire about God's actions; even though not fully understanding them, it believes, following blindly, if necessary, the manifestations of the divine will.  This is pleasing to God who does not ask us to understand, but only to believe with all of our strength."  Divine Intimacy

Sewing - Flo, a "sit & sew" student, is a delightful and fun person to be around.  When she's not able to come to "sit & sew", we really notice it!  She was born & reared in Belgium so she as such a precious French accent. She loves to sew - for herself, her daughter, her school, her friends, and her home.  She was just named "Louisiana's Foreign Teacher of the Year", is an Arbonne district manager, has two children, and a very handsome, busy husband!  You can see why she CANNOT miss sewing on Tuesday nights!  Tuesday nights are for HER!!!

Junior Meadow Spirit Skirt 

Gigi's Easter Dress

Spiritual - "It seems to me that this free will which You have given us is fortified by the light of faith, for in this light it knows Your will, which wishes nothing but our sanctification.  Then our will, fortified and nourished by our holy faith, gives life to our actions, which explains why neither good will nor lively faith can exist without works.  Faith nourishes and maintains the fire of charity, because it reveals to our soul Your love and charity to us, and thus makes it strong in loving You"  St. Catherine of Siena

Sewing -  Jennie fell in love with this pattern and tried to select fabric patterns that was as close as could be to the sample on the pattern cover.  Luckily, we had the prints in the shop.  The pattern is darling and is as cute as can be in prints.  I think it would be lovely in white or ecru or lace, too.  This pattern is for the intermediate sewer.  The smocking is simple and easy to do.  There is lots of piping and the bodice is lined.  The pockets are also self-lined.  As you can see, Gigi looked like a doll!

Sew Beautiful magazine, issue 131, 2010 has a wonderful article on "The Story of Frannie" by the author, Lyn Weeks.  Lyn writes that she discovered the original inspiration for this patter at an antique mall in 2000 on the East Coast.   She worked on the pattern and published it in 2002 and based many "classes" on this pattern.  It is now part of the Sew Beautiful Pattern Collection. 

One for the boy and one for the girl!

Spiritual -  In addition to giving us His gift of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, Jesus left us "His testament of love-the living, concrete testament of his admirable example of humility and charity in the washing of the Apostles' feet, and His oral testament in the proclamation of His 'new commandment.'  It is an urgent invitation to that fraternal charity which should be the fruit of union with Jesus, the fruit of our Eucharistic Communion.  He mentioned it in precise words at the Last Supper:  "a new commandment I give unto you: 'that you love one another' as I have love you, that you also love one another'."   In agreeable and disagreeable circumstances we must be available to our neighbor, humbling ourselves in service, "even were he most lowly and abject."  Divine Intimacy

Sewing - Remember Carter's knit sacques?  Now you can make your own placing your favorite hand embroidery designs on them.  Better yet, put your embroidery machine and all those stored embroidery designs to work.  A favorite pattern is Children's Corner Bunny's Knit Nightie and Accessories.  It is so easy.  In fact, it can be made almost totally by serger.  I have two samples in the shop, one for a boy and one for a girl.  This pattern is so quick and fun.  It has a darling cap, blanket, bib, and booties.  The knit I used and stock in the shop is Martha Pullen's 100% Cotton Knit and Cotton Rib Knit. It is so soft and washes beautifully, and comes in blue, pink, & white.  It is 60" wide and sells for $12/yard.   For the samples, I used Vintage Baby Stitchin' machine embroidery designs.  I like these because they are basically outline stitches that wash and wear well and are not dense - perfect for the infant layette.  This cd package sells for $20 and contains 15 multi-format 4x4 designs - perfect for baby sacques and daygowns.

Children's Corner - Bunny's Knit Nightie

 Vintage Baby Stitchin'