Fine Heirloom Sewing, Smocking and Hand Embroidery

"Baby will be well and smiling in little garments made by Mother, Auntie, Grannie and loving friends!"

Please join me as I teach the old fashioned techniques and skills needed to sew baby clothes. You will find lessons that start at the very beginning and take you step by step as we sew little baby clothes together. May you find much joy and pleasure in making them.
It's easy and it's fun!!

Visit My Heirloom Sewing Webshop www.oldfashionedbaby.com




Monday, November 29

I Love Little Girls In Pink!




My youngest Grandaughter.

Oh, my dearest,
I look
into your eyes
and see the Future
shining there!
Joan Walsh Anglund


All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Saturday, November 27

Fun With My Grandchildren!

I forgot to take pictures of the Pillowcases before they took them home!
My out of town Grandchildren came for a visit.
I made them little Travel Pillow cases in Christmas fabrics.
More on that later...

The girls had a Tea Party.  We used pretty  pink and blue Homer Laughlin  dishes.  And each child had their own little Teapot.  I told them the name of my big Teapot was Priscilla so they each named their own.  We had a Sally pot, Gordon pot and an Annabelle Teapot.

Also. taking a cue from a blog I visited, we all spoke "British English", which was fun!

And these little chocolate teddy bears were a gift from a friend in Australia.  If you look closely at these Tiny Teddies, you will see there are many different expressions on their face.  They are called...Happy...Grumpy....Sleepy.....Cheeky
Yummy!



There were heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches and
 flowers from my garden.

We all had a real good time!

Holding hands we are a circle.
Holding love.. we are a family.
Joan Walsh Anglund






All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Friday, November 26

Pie

Yesterday my favorite pie was Pecan.
Peee  can (can as in tin can) - that's Peee can Pie as my Texas Grandma always called it.  And she made the best one!  And I have her recipe.

And it's all gone!


All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Wednesday, November 24

Smocked Baby Dress on White Wednesday.

I love the way the late afternoon sun shines on this white dress!
This little white Baby Dress is another garment that is hanging in the It's Sew Heavenly shop that I visited in October.

Pattern is Smocked Baby Clothes.  It's the Dress Version.
It has such an old fashioned quality to it.  Especially in this light.

There is lace insertions sewn into the hem.  
And lace edging along the front placket and gracing the hem.

A sweet bit of Smocking on either side of the Yoke.  I like the little Rosebud on the Collar.
Love this dress.

Happy White Wednesday!! Join Faded Charm.



All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Tuesday, November 23

My Gardening Apron

My sister, Kathy, made me this gardening apron.
I love this fabric.  It is perfect for me. The fabric is almost like a light weight denim and great for a Gardening Apron.  Notice the roses on the fabric!  I love everything about it! And the brown contrast fabric is perfect too.

And the apron is very useful and practical as well.  See the pocket.  And it slips over my head so the weight of the apron is on my shoulders instead of my neck.  It is also good for the kitchen.  I love aprons and especially this one!!

Fall/Spring flowers to plant.  The colors match my apron, I think!

PS  Fabric was from her stash!




All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Saturday, November 20

Baby Claire

Baby Claire
This is Judith Adams pretty little Granddaughter. Dressed in an Old Fashioned Baby Gown!

Look close and you will see a cute little Duck family Shadow Embroidered on the hem.


I get such pleasure seeing a baby dressed in one of my designs!
See how happy she is to be wearing an Old Fashioned Baby Gown!!  I just know that's the reason.  Wonder who she is looking at with those adoring eyes!



She is a cute little Dolly!

Baby Smiles, Baby Smiles
I just love them!





All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Friday, November 19

Moving Along to My Tucked Daygown!

Stitching down the facing.  Tucks and lace - done!
I have moved on to another design that will be included in my new Daygown pattern. 
I really want this pattern to be ready the first part of the new year and I think I can do it!    I am always optimistic (or unrealistic as some would say) that it won't take long at all.  And I have to make decisions along the way.  And I am a slow decision maker.  I will ask myself  "should I use this design between the buttons?"  ...."No?"... "Well, this one would look good."..."And so would this one!"  But I only need one so then I have to choose between all the ones I've decided will look good.

I have decided decision making is the hardest part about designing, as well as sewing!   Choices, choices.  Choices are the enemy of a simple life!!

I have typed the pattern instructions, using my hand written notes from when I first worked up this pattern.   Still have to draw and replace illustrations for this new pattern.

Using pretty soft green batiste for this daygown!
 Now, I will follow my typed instructions as I stitch my gown to see what needs clarifying.
It's really not an easy job to write pattern instructions!!

I do love sewing Daygowns, though!



All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Wednesday, November 17

White Wednesday - Exquisite Embroidery

Picture taken in the early morning sun.
Click on the Photographs for a close up.

These are two Bonnet Brims that are beautifully embellished.  They were passed along to me.  And I am grateful for them.  They are wonderful examples of workmanship that you don't see very often anymore!

They were made for Mrs Buford Dextor in Warsaw North Carolina who was born in 1902.  She doesn't remember if it was her Mother or her Grandmother who made them for her.  She wanted to give them to someone who would appreciate and use them.  And a Smocking Guild friend passed them on to me.  

This is the brim of one of the bonnets. 
 Notice the two rows of openwork stitches. I thought they were a tiny hemstitch but now I am not sure.  They might be the Pinstitch.   
I plan to make a pattern using the bonnet style.


A close up of the embroidery shows how perfectly the Padded Satin stitch is worked.  I want you to click on this picture to get an up-close look.  The  Satin stitched leaves seem to just sit ontop of the fabric rather than being stitched into it.  These stitches are beautiful and those of you who have worked this stitch know how difficult it can be to make them like this. And I love the tiny eyelets!


The is the second bonnet brim.  The bonnet is the same, with the same wonderful openwork.  But the embroidery design is different.

How many of you have ever embroidered using the Padded Satin Stitch?

I am going to develop a class using the designs and teach the embroidery stitches featured here.  We can reproduce this bonnet in my class. Perhaps I will get it ready to submit to SAGA this summer.  

I also have three little dresses that belonged to Mrs Buford Dextor.  They have  lovely techniques as well.  You will see them in later posts!!

Thankyou Mary M. for finding me worthy of these little garments. And thank you Mrs Buford Dextor for allowing me the wonderful use of them.  

This is my White Wednesday post for this week.   Join me and Faded Charm for other sweet white blogs!



All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Tuesday, November 16

Sew Sew's Get Together.

I have never smocked using ribbon.  I see she is smocking over the ribbon so she won't have to go back and thread it in.  Clever!!
One of my Friends was working on Christmas Bishops.  The little dress in front is for an American Girl doll.  The other is the matching Bishop for the little girl.

This little girl is going to love the matching doll dress!

Another Friend was smocking a Bishop too.  I love the way the floss color is shaded from pale at the neck to darker as she works her way down.  And her color choices are always muted and lovely.

We are very well fed at our Sew Sew's!!  This Gumbo would rival anything you could get in New Orleans!!  Mmmm, it was fantastic.

And this Hostess always has decorations to go with the season.
Desert was amazing.  Baked Custard with a sauce.  I am ashamed to tell you that I didn't even think about taking a picture until I was completely finished and sighing with pleasure!

Find a Friend to sew with, it's so much fun!!
(especially if they feed you)


All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Monday, November 15

My Blue Daygown!

Balance.
I'm happy now.

Just needed that lace at  the hem.  Done with this design!

"Every Design is created
One  Stitch at a Time"
sewing words of wisdom from Jeannie B.




I love blue!
So I am tagging along with Smiling Sally on Blue Monday!



All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Sunday, November 14

Pretty Blue Daygown with Lace Frill

Little Blue Daygown with the lace edging attached.

I love the blue fabric and off white lace!  I am happy with my changes.

Here you can see the original  Daygown behind the Blue revised Daygown.  I only changed it a little and you might not even notice what I did!!  I made the lace design a little smaller.
I thought I was finished but now I am not so sure! 
 I look at this Daygown and I am thinking I might want to do something at the hem to balance the fancy yoke. Making the lace design smaller is somehow influencing me.    So I am off to add something to this Daygown.  Rats!! I already ironed it, too.

 Check in tomorrow for the ever evolving, continuing Daygown Story!!




All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Saturday, November 13

Pretty Blue Daygown.

Fairy Rose from my Garden.
I finished my blue daygown.

Actually, it will have gathered lace around the lace yoke.  But I wanted to show you before I stitched it on.

I like the simple look with just the lace insertion.  Very Boy, I think!

And love the sleeves.

With a pleat in the back.  And a Fairy Rosebud stitched on the pleat.

Will show you how it looks with gathered lace next!  Gotta go stitch it.

The Fairy Rose
Sprays of tiny, double, rose pink flowers against petite, dark green  leaves combine to make "The Fairy" a tidy , handsome, and useful shrub.  Antique Rose circa 1932,  disease resistance is better than that of most roses in its class.
from Antique Roses For The South by William C. Welch

Anyone can grow this rose!!  It is like a thorn bush with flowers!



All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister

Thursday, November 11

Friends.

You can see the threads with-drawn and ready to Hemstitch.
Miss Eula still sells her Bonnets, Daygowns and Christening Gowns. 
 Email me if you are interested.
Miss Eula is working on an order for Hankie Bonnets.

I like to visit her because she is just such an inspiration to me.  She has stitched hand made baby clothes for over 60 years.  She starts a project and she finishes it, without all the flutter that seems to surround me when I sew one project from start to finish.

Always a smile on her face. 

And she made us Pralines.  
She is one of two people I know who can make the best pralines in the world. (Lorraine P. , you know who you are!)

The sun shone in her through her kitchen window.
I always get home from a visit with her and I want to de-clutter my own house. Hers is so tidy. 

With a view of Sugar Cane out her window.  It's Sugar Cane season here in Louisiana. 
There is just something about being in the country that is fine! 

"Only one thing matters-
That wherever we go
And however we go
We hear the music of life."
Theodor Fontane




All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2010 Jeannie Baumeister
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