Sewing Up A Storm!

We had company here from Chicago,
to celebrate a 50th Birthday &
my DGSon #2 made his 1st Holy Communion

the same weekend, as well.

I was up to my eyeballs making cookies for

the event, but foolishly forgot to take photos.

Duh?!

 Since that weekend,

I have been in the sewing room,

stitching up a storm!

I finished my most intricate quilt EVER &

got it off to my long arm quilter.

I promise to share it with you when

it comes back home.

Then I worked on this little Irish Step-Dance

outfit for one of Ms. C's American Girl dolls.  

 I keep this 'Our Generation' doll,

from Target, at my house,

just for fitting purposes.

They have the exact same body as

the AG dolls.

Only the texture of the hair &

the missing front teeth make them different.

 

 I used the center of a much

larger machine embroidery

design for both the bodice as well as the

 

front pleats on the dress & cape.

The inverted box pleat in the front of the skirt

is lined with a contrasting fabric that matches

the trim on the cuffs & the cape.

                                               She is holding a little shamrock that

came on a cupcake from last year.

"Motherrr, you never throw ANYTHING away!"

 The cape snaps onto the shoulder & again

at the waistline, to hold it in place.

This pattern is from Joan Hinds OOP book,

Sew the International Wardrobe for 18-Inch Dolls

Since I had some leftover fabrics,

I made a second one, too!

 

 And then I made a 3rd one, too!

 

I have a few hints I'd like to share with you.

After a long day of piecing quilts, my right hand

sometimes aches.

I took one of these nifty, plastic spray handles,

that are meant for paint spray cans

  

 and I put it on my can of spray starch!

Much better! 

No more aching fingers!

Then I found out that they made THIS type of sprayer now. 

 They must have copied my idea!

 Another tip I have for you is to save an

empty bottle of Fabreeze fabric spray.

Rinse it out well & fill it with fresh

cold water to keep beside your iron.

It sends out a fine mist that won't soak

your fabrics.  Sometimes you just need

an extra bit of moisture to get rid of a

stubborn wrinkle.

 

  

Another good hint I have it to purchase a

hair coloring bottle from someplace like

Sally's Beauty Supply.

That pointed tip is PERFECT for

refilling your iron with water!

No spills!

My best tip came from my dear friend, Carol,

aka Mamacjt

She is the one who told me about

"Best Pressed" starch alternative.

This stuff is WONDERFUL!!

She & I both prefer the unscented form.

I buy it online from Joann.com  when they

have free shipping.  

http://mamacjt.blogspot.com/

March 4th, is Carol's birthday!

Please run over to her darling blog &

wish her "Happy Birthday"?

Tell her Rett sent you!

Thanks for stopping by The Gazebo House.

I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to

responding to everyone's comments

from last month. 

I try real hard to visit each person

who leaves a comment!

I just think it is the polite thing to do,

but sometimes I just run out of time!

   

I'll be linking this post with

Susan for Met Monday

&

Yvonne for Tutorials, Tips &Tidbits, 
and The Tablescaper for
Seasonal Sundays.
Thank you to all these ladies for hosting
such fun parties!