Perkala's 2nd Annual Outdoor Market

Spiritual - "The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ.  It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God ...   Christian iconography expresses in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by words.  All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ; as are sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well.  They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them.  They make manifest the 'cloud of witnesses' who continue to participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations."  CCC, 1159-1161










Sewing - Saturday was Perkala's 2nd Annual Outdoor Market.  Perkala is owned by Donna and Ben Soileau of Ville Platte and is located on the corner of LaSalle and Coreil Street.  It is an espresso bar, antique, and gift shop.  They started this event last year to celebrate and promote the artists and craftsmen that sell in their shop and who live around the area.  There were 20 vendors this year who brought their art/crafts   and set up shop outside for the morning.


There was plenty of snacks, coffee, tea, and entertainment.  This year we were entertained by an Elvis impersonator, a harpist, and Father Mario playing his fiddle. I was so busy with my stuff and visiting with all my Ville Platte friends that I was only able to get just  a few pictures to share. The day was beautiful and we all had lots of fun.  I think we are all looking forward to next year!

Gigi's Easter Dress - Another Gail Doane Design

Spiritual -   "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold,  Oh Lord, 

                       You know the whole of it

                  Behind me and before, you hem me in and 

                       rest your hand upon me.

                  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

                       too lofty for me to attain.

                  Where can I go from your spirit?

                       from your presence where can if flee?

                   If  I go up to the heavens, you are there; 

                       if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.

                   If I take the wings of the day, 

                       if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

                   Even there your hand shall guide me,

                       and your right hand hold me fast.

                   If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall hide me,

                       and night shall be my light'

                  Truly you have formed my inmost being 

                       you have knit me in my mother's womb.

                  I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;

                       wonderful are your works.

                  My soul also you know full well;

                       nor was my fram unknown to you

                  When I was made in secret,

                      when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth

                  Psalms 139, 4-16

Sewing - This took me a long time...but, I had to do it.  You may remember a similar outfit I did for Gi from the 12-16-10  post.  This bishop and swing jacket is from Gail Doane's "Sew Cute Couture"  book.  I did use the designs from one of her ideas and the colors from another - my own way of mixing it up.  I will be carrying this book in my sewing studio and it comes with the patterns for a bishop dress, a yoke dress, this swing jacket, a jacket with bound edges or contrast bands for the older girl,  a wrap skirt, and several purses.  The size range is 6 months to 12 years, making this book a great buy for the patterns alone.  The instructions are clear and precise. These are classic patterns that will never go out of style.

Audrie's Easter Dress

 Spiritual -  Just think, on the first Holy Thursday, Jesus suffered in the agony in the garden, Judas betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver, Peter denied his master, and all His disciples abandoned Him.  What was the answer to all of this treachery and black ingratitude?  He instituted the Holy Eucharist.  "...He exhausts the resources of His love, and offers Himself to man, not only as the Redeemer, who will die for him on the Cross, but also as the food which will nourish him.  He will feed man with His own Flesh and Blood; moreover, death might claim Him in a few hours, but the Eucharist will perpetuate His real, living presence until the end of time."    That night, He also gave us a new commandment,  "that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13,1-15)  By washing His disciples' feet, Jesus showed us just how we should humble ourselves to serve our neighbor - the good, the poor, the betrayer, and the lowly.  "He revealed to us the perfection of fraternal charity on the same evening that He instituted the Eucharist, as if to indicate that such perfection should be both the fruit of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and our response to this great gift."  Divine Mercy, Fr. Gabriel

Sewing -  An all white Easter dress with a ruffle on the bottom.  That was the order.  She also wanted straps and some type of embellishment on the yoke.  Strapped for time, I found McCall's 5838 in my pattern stash which I thought would do.  I used a cotton/linen blend and found a piece of old lace and buttons from an uncle's mother's stash that I had been given. The dress calls for a zipper, but I prefer buttons, so I did have to do some alterations to the pattern in the back. (She did want a side zip!)  She looks like a doll in it.  I hope to show pictures of her when the Easter pics are taken.  I'm still working on Gi's dress!

Old-Fashioned Communion Veil

Spiritual - "And how many gave You over?  The heavenly Father gave You for us, and You gave Yourself, as St. Paul joyfully says:  'He loved me and delivered Himself up for me.'  What a marvelous exchange?  The Master delivers Himself for a slave, God for man, the Creator for the creature, the innocent One for the sinner.  You put Yourself into the hands of the traitor, the faithless disciple.  The traitor handed You over to the Jews.  The wicked Jews delivered You to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, spit upon, and crucified."  Divine Mercy, Fr. Gabriel    This is the horror of all of our sins, for each one of us is the traitor, the Jew, and the Gentile.  But, the great truth and the good news is the inexpressible love of Christ for His creatures that made Him willingly accept this Passion and Death.  Would there have been any other way He could have shown us who He is and how much he loves us?  Would we have believed Him?  Do we believe Him?

Sewing - I was asked to restore a beautiful Communion dress worn by the mother of a very dear friend.  This dress is to be worn by his daughter on her First Communion day this May.  I had to remake the veil and thought you would like to see it.  It is so old fashioned.  The headband is covered with flowers dyed to match the rather fading dress,  now slightly ecru. The veil is two pieces.  There is a cap that is pleated and attached to the headband.  The lower veil is trimmed in lace.  Where the cap and lower veil interface, they are gathered and attached wrong sides together to make a ruffle on the outside ... so sweet.  You should see it on the beautiful dark-haired child!

Preparing kits for Embroidery 101

Spiritual - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.  For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God." Heb 12:1-2  Hebrews 1-13 gives me such comfort knowing that Jesus chose to know pain and suffering for the sake of each one of us.  This inspires me and gives me deeper faith and courage to endure the trials and crosses in my daily life, because glory awaits me, too.  This passage seems to state that we are to look at these trials as "disciplines" because a good father disciplines his children.  I look back on the many hardships and painful trials I suffered due to selfishness, self-centeredness, etc.  I didn't always want to own up to my part.  Thank God, through the eyes of a growing faith, I see them more clearly now. They have made me a better person. Now, when difficult situations occur, I am quicker to see them as loving discipline which helps me to avoid mistakes, make amends, and forgive others for their transgressions.  Thank you, Lord, for your loving mercy.

Sewing - Life has been very busy lately and I haven't been able to get to the machine as much as I would have liked.  But, today I am getting all the kits for the hand sewing embroidery class ready to go.  The wool felt feels so good and looks so pretty.  I'm now a distributor for wool blend felt in this area.  If anyone is interested in this luscious felt, let me know.  I'll be offering childrens' hand sewing classes starting this summer and using this felt for those classes.  The kids will eventually move up to machine sewing.   I'm also trying to complete an order for seven daygowns for a baby boy due soon.  The client wanted them white or blue and very simple.  As soon as I am finished, I'll take pictures.

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011

Martha Pullen's Heirloom II Licensing

Spiritual -  "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  Day pours out the word today, and night to night imparts knowledge... Psalm 19  God is always speaking to us, letting us know of His love and His mercy.  He has unlimited grace and gifts to give us, just for the asking.  He knew us from the beginning. As it says in the psalm, He is perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure and true.  "Though your servant is careful of them, very diligent in keeping them, yet who can detect failings?  Cleanse me from my unknown faults!  From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me.  Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin.  Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."

Sewing - March 16-23 was another one of the greatest sewing experiences of my life!  I attended the Heirloom II Licensing program.  I've been making heirloom clothes for a long time, but l learned SO much.  This is a program to learn how to teach heirloom sewing.  Not only am I licensed to teach heirloom sewing under Martha Pullen's name, but I own the co-copyright of and have a full curriculum for all of the projects in this particular program.  There were 25-27 projects this week and these pictures show a few of them.  Last July I attended the Serger II licensing and will attend another one next year.  The instructors are fabulous!  The fabric and laces are to die for. Every detail is taken care of and you are pampered the entire week, from personal instruction time, fitting, food, snacks, ability to buy wholesale, to time management. The program culminates with a barbecue dinner at Martha's lovely home in Huntsville.  I have been a dedicated fan of Martha Pullen since I started sewing heirloom and baby items 30 years ago and never dreamed that I would get to spend time with her, much less have dinner in her home.   I am a blessed woman! 

Tablemate & BFF

 

 

Martha's Attic

 

Ladies looking through Martha's Vintage Treasures!

Needle book for my pincushion!

Spiritual -  Lent.  This lent I have to change my attitude about confession.  I  have studied what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is and what that unbelievable sacrament has to offer.  So, why don't I go as often as I should?  That is the question I will tackle this lent.  In a sincere confession to a priest, acting in His Person (in perona Christi), I receive the grace to make a great effort to "sin no more" and the "promise" of hearing those words again, "I resolve you" when I commit the same sin again.  Pride, assumption,  lack of preparation, and habit are all areas I will think and pray over.  I have known the transforming power that comes with consistent prayer and the Holy Eucharist.  To grow more fully in Christ, Confession, on a regular basis is essential.  God, give me the grace to identify the root/cause in me that prevents me from experiencing You even more fully.

Sewing -  I have made this little needle book to go with the yellow wool heart pincushion.  Pincushions are great for pins, but not so great for needles.  Because needles have no head, they can get buried in the fiber.  You can find them later ("ouch") or you won't find them when you need them.  A needle book solves the problem and is great for taking to classes.  I put a little pouch on the inside front cover for needle threaders or even a small pair of embroidery scissors.  There are also little ridges on each page at intervals to place the needles. The needle book and pincushion are both made of wool blend felt and fiberfill.  Wool felt flowers, leaves, beads, and embroidery are added for embellishment.  These are completely hand stitched and is a perfect beginner sewing project!

Spiritual - During prayer this morning I read from Divine Intimacy this sentence, " O Lord, why should I confine myself to crawling on the ground among the thorny roots of my passions, when You have created me to soar in the heavens?"  Wow.  Was that written just for me? I'm always in a stew about my attachments to comfort, honor, pride, hobbies, point of view, etc. God has so much more to offer me and I wallow in the thorns.  This preoccupation with myself distracts me from union with God, deprives me of interior peace, and causes me to fail in  charity.  For me, prayer is the only answer.  It is only through prayer that I  have half a chance of staying focused on God and the abundance of graces He has just for me.  I want desperately to tap into those graces to be attuned to the inspirations of His Holy Spirit.  Any advance made through His gift and my cooperation overwhelms me and encourages me.  Thank you, Lord.  I will continue to try.  When I fail, please give me the grace to get up again. 

Sewing -  Onsies with a flair!  I saw this one morning going through sewing blogs and had to copy it.  The blogger had gotten the inspiration from a t-shirt from Anthropology.  The "semi-circles" are attached with Lite Steam a Seam II, pressed to the knit and sewed down using a machine blanket stitch slightly lengthened.  I thought the onsie needed matching booties and a pacifier clip to complete the ensemble.  One pair of booties is a ballet type slipper with a strap that closes with Velcro.  Those are "felt" buttons tacked to the strap.  I found them at Hancock's in the button section.  The other pair is a slip-on with an elastic back.  The embellishment is a layered felt flower with tiny beads in the center.  I got the blank onsie at a local store.  This will make a cute gift.  When Jennie was born a friend of mine gave her a onsie with beautiful hand embroidery and had made hand embroidered booties to match. Jennie wore it often and I loved her in it.  I'll have to look for that. 

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?