Lucy, Finally! (and some other aprony things)

So, I bought this "I Love Lucy" remnant a few months ago.

And my sister-in-law, DiAnna REALLY LOVES LUCY!

So she has been hounding me to make her an apron out of the Lucy fabric.

I told her that I was waiting to give it to her for her birthday in October.

Well, being the wonderful sister-in-law that I am,

and because she is moving in to a new house in the morning, 

I made her apron.

I wanted to get some pics of this set before I gave it to her,

but India was NOT cooperating with me!

I swear, I have more photos of my daughter where she is making

a dorky face, or a weird smile, or just plain being a goober!

Oh, and you see that she is not currently her natural blond, right?

Well this auburn is what we ended up with when the hairdresser

fixed her hair after the bizarre pink, blue, and purple hair episodes. 

I like the auburn. She looks more like me, poor girl.

With the teeny little scraps I had left from my remnant,
I made a potholder and trimmed two dish towels. 

I hope DiAnna likes them!

I have been sewing up several more "Yaya's Aprons" in

various sizes and plan to stock my Etsy shop in a few days.

This little one in darling "Dick and Jane" fabric

is in the child size small, 2-4.

And this one is in the Misses size.

I love how this pocket matches so perfectly. 

And remember, the Yaya's Apron pattern comes in 5 sizes. 

So you can purchase one pattern and make aprons for

yourself, and everyone you know, 

even an 18" doll size. 

You can purchase the Yaya's Apron Ebook either from my Etsy shop,

or by clicking the "Add to cart" on the upper right hand 

side of the blog. 

I will send the pattern in PDF format via email

within 24 hours. 

And if you do not want to sew your own Yaya's Apron, 

you can always order a custom apron from me!

Just send an email to me, using the email address

listed in my profile.

I had better get to bed now. 

I am going to help DiAnna move

Happy Saturday and Happy Sewing.

Getaway with the Hot Rockin Hubby

My HRH took me away for a few days 

for our anniversary.

We said we were going to San Francisco for our little

getaway, but we forgot one key factor.

You see, even though we lived in the Bay Area for 

many years, we forgot that 

you can freeze to death in San Francisco in August!

That MAY be a SLIGHT exaggeration but only slightly.

I only packed a cute summer dress, and two pairs of capris

and a few short sleeved tops.

What was I thinking?????

The weather was like in the 50s in the city!

So, since we stayed in Burlingame near the SFO airport,

(we used Priceline so you never know exactly where you will end up.) and we both have such wonderful memories of our years living on the Peninsula, 

we decided to just mess around down there. 

So Friday night, we ate at our FAVORITE 

restaurant in Redwood City,

Harry's Hofbrau.

Harry's is not fancy, trendy or pricey.

It is just a fun place with excellent food.

We dream about Harry's roast meats and mashed potatoes and gravy.

YUM!

After dinner, we headed down the El Camino Real

to Palo Alto, where you will find the 

Stanford Theatre

on University Ave.

The Stanford runs classic films

from the glory days of old Hollywood.

Before each film, the "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ rises

from the orchestra pit and the film goers are treated

to an organ concert made up of favorite movie songs.

When Don and I were married, one of the staff organists

at the Stanford Theatre played the organ at our wedding.

Don and I were thrilled to see "Easter Parade"

and "Holiday Inn" at the theatre on 

Friday night.

 Cost is $7.00 per person for a double feature

and you can even bring in your own candy and popcorn.

Though if you decide to buy concessions there, 

the prices are really, really reasonable,

like $1.50 for popcorn!

The whole evening was a huge treat!

Saturday morning, we had planned to go into
The City
which, if you live in Northern CA, always means San Francisco,
but that was when we discovered how cold it was to be.

But Don had been looking around on line for
fun things to do in the South Bay.
Don grew up in San Jose and then
as a teenager moved to Redwood City,
so he loves the South Bay and Peninsula areas.

But Don found this!

The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

What a good hubby!

And it was a bargain at $8.00 per person!

The current exhibit is called
ITAB: International Techstyle Art Biennial 

That sounds really technical, and it is,
BUT each item of art
was an incredible type of quilt or
tapestry or other creation
that combined traditional methods
with computer genius!

I wish I could have taken pictures but the
docents made me promise not to, because
each item was proprietary.

But, if you are near to San Jose,
go see this incredible exhibit!!

After the quilt museum, we decided to head over
to see the San Jose Giants play.

The San Jose Giants are a Triple A team that is a farm club
for the San Francisco Giants.

It happened to be "Italian Night" 

at the ball field, so everyone 

received free t-shirts with the

Giants logo in the colors of the Italian flag.

In between each inning, there was some contest

or game with giveaways.

Once contest was a free pizza for the fan that screamed the loudest.

The guy sitting next to me won that contest and shared

his free pizza with us!

We did not stay the whole game because we had parked a few blocks

away, which was an industrial neighborhood.

Free pizza man told us that there were often 

robberies in that area, and asked if we were afraid

of our car being broken into. 

Uh.......we had not thought of it until that moment!

So, we left after about 6 innings so we could get to our car before dark.

Sunday morning, 

we drove up to Sonoma county and wandered around.

We used to live there and love it so much!

But would you believe, that I forgot to get the camera out

of the car!!! 

We visited a local church and then went to Joann's Fabrics

because I had an 80% off coupon. 

I bought a bolt of red ticking stripe.

More on this later!

But after that, we took the long way driving home

because Ahnalin was missing me and

would not go to sleep without
"Mama". 

So, that was a little getaway. 

Simple, fun, inexpensive and perfect, because

I was with the most wonderful husband in the world.

22 Years of Wedded Bliss

August 21, 1988

We were so young and in love.

Now we are older,

but still very much in love.

Don, aka the Hot Rockin' Hubby, 

is taking me to San Francisco for a few days.

No kids!

We are going to visit museums, walk in the parks, 

stick our toes in sand,

and eat seafood. 

Yum!

I love him. 

I am NOT taking the sewing machine.

Love to you all,

Sivje

Sweet Dress with Candy Shop Pocket Tutorial

How sweet is this? 

A simple little a-line dress with tucks at the neckline

and candy shop pockets.

Remember this?

I received several requests for a tutorial on this little pocket.

And since I pretty much just made it up, I decided to 

show you how I did it. 

It is much easier than it looks and so worth the extra effort.

I mean, after all, a girly girl needs big pretty pockets in which to carry

her pretty rocks, tiny pencils, and chap stick.

So, the first thing you need to do is to make your pattern pieces.

I used a manila envelope because the paper is stiffer and the right size.

My pockets are sized to fit Ahnalin's dresses, which are

a size 6 in length. 

If you are making a smaller size, you can 

make your pocket pieces smaller.

I apologize that the numbers are so small, but I can't seem to 

resize the font on the numbers here.

The pocket is 8" wide and 5 1/2" deep.
So, draw a rectangle in those dimensions.
I laid a small round plate
on top of the rectangle I drew, so I could round out the lower corners on the pocket.

Then draw your pocket band and pocket form. 

(I have no idea why there is a pink square on each of these!)

The band is 1 1/2 inches deep and  4 7/8" wide.

The pocket form is 4 7/8" wide and 5 1/2" deep.

Lay your pattern pieces on your fabric and cut out
either 1 or 2 of each piece depending on how many pockets you want.
These pockets are unlined.

Sew your rickrack or piping to the band, stitching 1/4" from the edge.

Then, using your longest stitch length, 

sew gathering threads at 1/4" and 1/2" from the edges

on the pocket piece.

Pin the band edge to the top of the pocket piece, with the 

rickrack sandwiched between the band and the pocket.

Now, pull those threads at the top of the pocket 

to fit the band, and stitch in place, using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Now press the band flat, with the seam allowance toward the band.

Then fold the top edge of the band down, 1/4".

Now, fold the band back over to the front of the pocket,

so that the folded edge of the top of the band is even with the sewn

edge of the band.

Pin these in place at the corners.

Stitch the right and left hand sides of the band, with a 1/4" seam and

trim the corners.

Then turn the band right-side-out so that the 

seams are all inside the band.

Now, lay your pocket form piece on top of the wrong side of your pocket,

tucking the top of the pocket form into the folded band.

Pull up the gathering threads around the pocket form.

Now, even out the gathers around the pocket form, so that you have 

a uniform shape.

You can hand stitch the band down, or topstitch it in place.

Now, lay your pocket on dress where you want it and start pinning.

Make sure that as you pin, you are pinning close to the gathers.

You will need to pull quite a bit of the fabric

toward the center of the pocket.

Stitch your pocket in place, stitching at close

to the gathered edge as you can. 

I use my "stitch in the ditch" foot for this.

Because you have stitched the gathered edge down,

the pocket "poofs" out, 

giving the pocket a "bag of candy" effect.

Did I mention these pockets were perfect for collecting rocks?

Ask me how I know....

Ahnalin wore this dress to church on Sunday

and our dear friend Melody gave 

her the CUTEST pig purse that she had crocheted just for Ahnalin.

Thank you Melody. We LOVE it!

When we got home from church, I asked

Ahnalin to let me take some pictures

and she put up with me for about 5 minutes.

Then she started freaking, saying that lizards

were running over her feet. 

She is standing on one foot here because she thinks

she has "lizard gunk" on her feet. 

So, we were done with pictures!

About the dress,

my friend Janet Gilbert, a smocking genius, 

and fellow "China Mom" sent me this darling 

cupcake fabric.
I had been saving it for just the perfect dress,

and managed to squeeze this simple "A-line" style

and pockets out of just 1 yard.

I cut the neck several inches wider than normal so that I could 

sew the tucks in the bodice area. 

I used some vintage brown rick rack, 

and then the pockets were the only other embellishment.

I LOVE this little dress.

I hope this tutorial for my "Candy Shop Pockets" is 

helpful to you. 

They really are fun to make. 

If you have any questions, 

please leave your email address in your comments and 

I will do my best to answer you. 

HRH and I are going away to San Francisco this weekend to celebrate

his birthday (yesterday) and our 22nd wedding anniversary (Saturday).

So if you don't hear from me right away, I will get back to you on Sunday night.

Happy Sewing!

First Day Of First Grade

Do you see this big girl?

That is my baby! 

My baby started first grade today!!!

I did not cry until I got in the car to drive home.
 

She wore red patent leather Mary Janes.

When India was little, she always wore red Mary Janes

to school in the Fall.

If I was president, I would make a law that

all little girls should have red Mary Janes for school.

I am only half-kidding. 

Heehee!

Ahnalin's teacher is Mrs. Thibodeau and Ahnalin was

so afraid to meet her. 

Ahnalin does not like change and she misses her Kindergarten

teacher, Ms. Mass, who she adored.

But Mrs. Thibodeau is a really nice lady and she worked hard to make 

Ahnalin feel comfortable.

After checking in to the classroom, Ahnalin wanted to go out to the playground.

She climbed on to the Monkey Bars.

And her eyes started to twinkle again!

 We call them her "Rainbow eyes" when they twinkle. 

And once again, the Monkey Girl is at home
on her beloved bars. 

We heard the school bell ring, so we headed back to the classroom.

I did not get any more pictures because my camera broke.

Sigh......broken camera, broken sewing machine.
Mama crying in the car because her last baby is a big first grader.

So, my best friend is taking me to lunch today.
YAY!

In other news, India did GREAT at the Disneyland
casting call, but she got cut about halfway through the day.
The casting people were very encouraging to her and told her
that the position that she REALLY wants will be casting in a few
more months, so she should come back and audition again then.
She had a wonderful time!
Thank you for the prayers!!

Happy Sewing.

Sivje

My Fair Ribbons!

So, here they are!

I have posted each of these items before, so I won't be a pest and 

post them all individually this time.

But I entered 14 items in the "professional" division,

and I received 1st place "Blue" ribbons on 10 of them. 

I received a 2nd place "Red" ribbon on the Dumbo dress.

And a 3rd place "White" ribbon for the 

child size Yaya Apron.

And here is the funny little thing.

I was not going to enter this little doll sized Yaya apron, 

but Ahnalin insisted that it needed to be entered.

Well it did not receive a ribbon. 

It did not deserve a ribbon, so I was not expecting it.

It is cute, but hey, it took probably 20 minutes to sew!

Oh, and the little Teacup Minnie outfit also received

the "Best of Division" Purple

ribbon and certificate. 

The funny thing is that I don't think that outfit deserves

to be the "B.O.D.".
I mean, it is cute and well sewn.

But it is NOT as well sewn as the "Dumbo" dress that won a 

2nd place. 

Really.

I mean, India's dresses, either of them,

were made MUCH better. 

They were flawless inside and out AND had all that

boning (yeah, it is always about the boning...)

And then, I realized something else.....

Oh the shame.....

Oh the scandal!!!

I did not enter ANY smocked items. 

But NEITHER DID ANYONE ELSE!!!

There was NOT ONE smocked item in our fair this year!!!!!

I am mortified!

I had better just sit right down and FINISH some

 of the UNFINISHED smocking projects I started this year. 

So, I am pleased with my ribbons this year. 

I am grateful.

But I am disappointed in myself for not entering some 

smocked items and for not really showing 

some fabulous sewing.

I pretty much entered simple dresses and aprons.

I am capable of better, but I was lazy. 

Ok, enough beating myself up here. 

I think I will sit down with some orange and chocolate sherbet 

and watch last nights "Project Runway" that is

saved on my DVR.

Oh....and if you think of it, please pray for India. 

She is in LA tonight preparing to audition for Disneyland tomorrow.

Yeah, really. 

She really, really, really wants to work there as a character. 

Really.

Thank you all for your kind encouragement. 

Ahnalin GLOWED with pride when I read each of your comments about

her ribbons.

Happy Sewing!