Monday, December 31, 2018

We are welcoming 2019 with our new Board of Directors!  From the top down we have Brenda (our much-appreciated outgoing President who has accepted yet another job on our Board!), Melodie, Terri, Roberta, Trena, Beth, Teresa, Nikki, Tawn (our new fearless leader!), and Leda.  Not pictured is Lucy, Debbie, and Linda.  Thank you ladies!!!!! 



Our outgoing President shows off her new ornament!  Our holiday party is always a highlight of the year. 




We always have delicious food!
And sometimes we wear party hats.
And we are happy to gather together!

We had a busy and productive 2018!  Our bi-annual fundraiser is our American Girl doll raffle.  First we choose a current doll and then our members kick into gear with the most beautiful hand-made wardrobe a doll (not to mention lucky little girl!) could ever wish for.  Raffle tickets are $1.00 each and we spend months selling them before our drawing.

This year we chose the new native Hawaiian doll, Nanea.  This doll supposedly "grew up" during World War II, so our chapter outdid themselves with dozens of outfits from the 1940s up to the present day.  Members made swimsuits, hula attire, beautifully hand-smocked day and "dress-up" dresses, play-wear, hats, shoes, and even a hand-stitched quilt for her bed!  As always we included a hand-made clothing rack to hold her wardrobe. The very lucky raffle winner is shown above with the fruits of our labor.  We know that a very happy little girl will have true heirlooms to pass down with her doll.  Below are just a few photos of the stunning outfits.

The proceeds of our raffle fund our chapter's Wee Care program as well as our educational classes for our members.  If you missed our raffle this year, don't worry we will keep you posted on our next one! 



Smocked to the shoulder with rosebuds.
Beautiful geometric on this floral print.
                                          
Sweet lemon with lace.


Beautiful geometric smocking.
Adorable trim with our Hawaiian theme.


Stripes and a ladybug.

The world's sweetest doll coat!

Love & stitches!

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

February Day Meeting

This month's day meeting was a great one! Leslye presented "Fun With Flowers," and showed everyone how to embroider cast-on flowers, as well as buttonhole ones and lazy daisies. Even for those that knew the stitches, Leslye helped them perfect those stitches.

Leslye demonstrates cast-on flowers.

 Members gather around to see the stitches close up. Roberta, Nikki, Barbara, Susanna and Teresa are intent on learning.

 Leslye does an informative demo.

 Leslye answers Linda's questions while Roberta works away on her stitches.

 Teresa always has the best smile on her face!

 The tools of our trade!

 Joanne and Leda stitch in the foreground; Nikki, Tawn & Trena are at the table in the back.

 Tawn learns quickly!

Talking and stitching go hand in hand!

 Once the demo is over, Mary visits with Roberta and Linda.

Leslye's beautiful examples of the stitches she taught

This sweet little pillow was a Gail Doane class at a SAGA convention. After finishing the cast-on flowers, Leslye added the pulled threads and ribbon and then made it into this pillow.

 A beautiful sewing roll, also a Gail Doane SAGA convention class.

 Leslye's monogram hand-stitched on the back.

 The inside of the roll has zippered pouches and pockets that match the trim.

The beautiful trim is a Liberty of London fabric.

 Joanne's lovely dress.

 The top is Children's Corner Sophie and the skirt is Children's Corner Louise, made of Liberty of London fabric.

 Joanne likes to pleat her skirt instead of gathering it, so that it is neater and very evenly distributed. Clever idea!

 Teresa's doll dress made from linen leftover from a granddaughter's dress. The pattern is Simplicity 1484.

 Leslye's adorable dress, made of linen from Wendy Schoen Design's Jeepers Creepers pattern.

 Beautiful embroidery. and bias binding

 Tatting and embroidery embellishment make this collar special.

Mary made these as muslins before making more elaborate dresses for her great-granddaughters. The pattern is Children's Corner Lee and the fabric is microcheck. (The distortion of the fabric is due to the camera, not the fabric.)

 Roberta made this adorable winter set for her granddaughter.

 Both pieces are made of red velveteen and Roberta used Bonnie Blue Designs' Zack & Zoe, although she says she will not use that pattern again because of sleeve issues.
The matching hat

 An Australian Smocking and Embroidery sampler, presented as a MOS program. Lesley finished hers and framed it.
 A close-up of the sampler

 As usual, Susan has been busy making beautiful things. This time it's a sewing set made out of lavender silk dupioni. Susan used silk ribbon embroidery and a pattern from Inspirations magazine.

 The needle book

 The pincushion

Susan is ahead of her time! She's already got an ornament ready for Christmas. This one is a lovely needlepoint stocking made from a design by Annette Mooney. Perfect!