Reflections of a Sewing Lady...

Baby Emma Pattern made from Blue Dotted Swiss Fabric. A favorite of mine.

Reflection is good.

I love cute babies in pretty Old Fashioned Baby clothes!

I have enjoyed reading many blogs about the projects and accomplishments of the year just past and I marvel at how productive everyone is!

I have been measuring my sewing tasks a little differently for a while now.

I am in love with my Baby Emma pattern.  I just love stitching it!

Which projects brought me the most stitching joy?  Did I look forward to working on them or was my attitude...I can't wait until this is finished!!

 I always have both kinds of projects going at the same time.  But my desire is to stitch garments that I delight in the making of them.

For me there are different parts of the project that will help make that distinction.

Fine, fine fabric is a pleasure to hold in my hands as I stitch.
And I love old lace!

*  The materials I am using.  

This has been part of my "Have more Fun" resolution and I continue with it.  Who knew how much pleasure it would bring me!  Pick my favorite fabric, lace, trim etc., for my project.  No more waiting until I am doing something "worthy" of the lace I have been hording for 15 years.  The time is now.  

Find a project worthy of the materials you want to use.

And use them!

Stitching in my Garden.

*  The physical environment I am in when I am sewing.

Now, my favorite sewing spots are my Garden and in front of my Fireplace.  I have to plan and set aside the time to sew in those places.  But I can enjoy my stitching curled up in a chair with a good light and music playing too.

And I love stitching with Friends...anywhere!

This little Redwork Bubble turned out to be one of the cutest garments I have ever made!!  And I absolutely LOVE it.

But,  I made it for a magazine article and the deadline was coming at me like a speeding bullet and I had not even decided what I was doing.  So there is tension stitched up in this Romper.  I want to make another....just for the fun of it.  It's really easy to stitch, but it was hard to design!

* The time frame with which I have to sew the project.

I never enjoy sewing a garment when I am behind on a deadline.  It is a tense, hurried affair.  I could change that by beginning my project way in advance but I rarely do that.  So, for me, it is  the little Daygowns that I am making for pleasure, or a baby that is months away from being born or a pattern that is only in my imagination that delight me the most.  I love making something that I know is destined to be worn.

Stitching pretty lace onto lovely fabric!  Sigh...

*  The pleasure is in the Process. 

 I love hand sewing.  I love the feeling of the fabric in my hands.  I love handling the lace and watching the stitching bring it all together.  The way it comes alive with the soft colors of the embroidery thread.

This dress turned out to be an all time  favorite of mine.  And the stitching of it was pure bliss.  It involves one of my favorite techniques - hand hemstitching.  I could hemstitch for hours.

* The Technique that I am using

It is always fun to work your favorite techniques.  For me they often involve hand stitches that are repetitive.  It soothes me and I don't have to think about what I am doing too much.  And the beauty of the stitches evolves before my eyes.  Like Hem Stitching, or Snail Shirring, or the Shell Hem.

Loved doing this little Slip Dress for Sew Beautiful.  I liked everything about it, especially the nifty way the ruffle was attached to the skirt.

* Sometimes I just love the project!


I am measuring my past "stitching" year  by the pleasure I gained from the garments I made.  And I am planning new projects for the coming year with  the same attitude.

So, I am curious as to what brings you stitching joy?

"Behold what I have seen: it is good and fitting for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he does under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his lot; this is the gift of God."
Ecclesiastes 5:18-19

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2011 Jeannie Baumeister