Feltman Brothers Dress In a Window

Feltman Brothers Dress hanging in the window at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge

The Gift Shops at Woman's and Baby hospitals have great stuff!

I was taken by how much this style looks like the French Acadian dresses found in my area.

This yoke style is totally like the vintage dresses you find here. 

Feltman Brothers has been making baby clothes for decades.  And while some of the workmanship is still amazing, I was disappointed in the stitching on the dress shown here.  I am just generally sad to see quality decline is so many areas of today's products.

This sleeve has tiny elastic sewn in to gather it which makes it quick and also easy to fit different sized baby arms.

Again the hem is so much like the old baby gowns here!!

Over all, the dress is pretty.  Only on close inspection  - by those who know (us) would you see any problems.

I have old Feltman Daygowns and Dresses handed down that I dressed my baby's in.

I would like to hear from you....do you also have old Feltman Brothers baby clothes in your history??

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

Beautiful Vintage Stiletto

Beautiful vintage Stiletto.

A Stiletto is used to  pierce the fabric when embroidering eyelets.

This design has a patent circa 1909.

The mechanism you see on this stiletto was designed to help you control the size of the eyelet by keeping the depth consistent throughout your project.  You can adjust the mechanism up and down.

A rubber knitting needle tip is used to cap the point of the stiletto.

What a nifty idea to keep the point safe (as well as the stitcher who is toting it around in her sewing bag!).

The handle is Sterling Silver.

I love to make eyelets using stilettos and I treasure this vintage needlework tool which is both useful and beautiful.

The lady who gave it to me is beautiful too!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

My Sew Sew's

Beautiful Maline Lace insertion with a pink ribbon inserted behind it.

The Lace/Ribbon is an embellishment on a Bonnet Brim that Lorraine B. is making.

Bonnets seemed to be the order of the day.

This is a Preemie Bonnet in progress.

This pretty Smocked Bonnet is being made to give away to a friend.

Lorraine P.  was madly stitching Bullions onto it.

Bunny's lovely table all ready for lunch.

I have been away teaching so much that I have not made several of our Sew Sew meetings.

I have really missed them.

I love Bunny's centerpiece.  A teapot filled with flowers from her garden.

A view out Bunny's window.

Ahh, it is a pleasure just to be here!!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

A Morning in my Garden

I am reading the latest book in the  "Tea Mystery" series.  I love her books!

I love to eat breakfast in my Garden.

And read a little.  And stitch a little.

I have good company.

And lovely things to look at.

And I am moving along in my hand piecing. Although I am in no hurry.

The stitching of it is the pleasure.

Good Morning to you!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

French Handsewers Saga Guild Finishes Daygown Program

Sweet and Simple Daygown made from Fairy Fabric.

We finished our Daygown Program (and began our Bonnet series).

A few ladies are very enthusiastic and finished matching Bonnets already!

Beautiful!

Suzette pin stitched the edge of the Bonnet Tie.

The tie was folded over and sewn to the Bonnet, then a Bullion was stitched over the thread.

And added a very cute touch where the tie is attached to the Bonnet.

It was so much fun to see all the different Daygowns.

Another matching Bonnet already completed!

Everyone had their own style.

So each Daygown looked different, even though we all used the same pattern.

Bullion Roses between the Buttons.

Baby Daygowns are the perfect garment for babies. They are the most comfortable thing a baby can wear and very practical for changing all those diapers!

 As a friend of mine told her son when he balked at putting his newborn son in a Daygown....."He is coming home from the hospital with a bloody naval and gauze around his newly performed circumcision.....would YOU want to be wearing bluejeans?"

She had no argument after that blunt statement!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

A Wonderful Sewing Room (not mine!)

Love Suzette's seating area by the window for stitching.

With a chair for a friend!

A collector of Scissors - like I have never seen before!

Her lighting is perfect.  Plenty of it but not harsh.

She told me these are the best lights.  They are bright but don't put off alot of heat and fit into regular light bulb sockets.

I love this tea-stained look.

Lots of pretty cabinets to store all our necessary sewing stuff.  

And fabrics etc. are kept dust free.

You can only see half her filled closet here.

Suzette is a prolific sewer and her closet is filled with garments all labeled with the class they came from or the pattern she used.

Suzette is a great seamstress.  

She has taken many classes and then she finishes the project.  Not only does she have a completed garment but she has practiced honing the skills that she took the class for in the first place.

That is so important. You have to practice those skills to improve your stitching.

I like this little ceramic dish by her machine where she keeps handy the feet most used.

Her ironing system is close to her machines.

Cute places to keep scissors at the ready.

Pretty display area.

A bed for her pooch!!

Wouldn't my Brown Dog love to have a bed in my Sewing Room?

Suzette's Sewing Room is really attractive and nice to be in even if you didn't sew.  But her layout and planning make it very functional as a sewing room. 

Thanks for visiting!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

Emma

The fix to the sleeve worked.

Emma is beautiful.  And so is her (barefoot) doll!!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

Emma's Frist Communion Dress. Part 2

While fixing the First Communion dress for Emma to wear, 

I made her American Girl doll a matching dress.

Notice pink around the waist, just like Emma wanted for her own dress. 

Here is Emm'a doll dress all finished and being worn by her cousins doll.

I didn't use all of the trims like I used on Emma's dress since the doll dress needed to be a much smaller scale.

Unlike Emma's dress, I didn't cut the fabric away behind the fancy band of insertion.  This was easier and made it more stable so it can be taken on and off and on and off etc., etc. by Emma.

The fix to Emma's dress was to unstitch the underarm of the sleeve from the armhole all the way down to the Swiss beading.  I overcast the raw edges with a seam binding so it doesn't unravel while being worn and I will remove the binding and re-sew it afterward. The ribbon at the sleeve will keep the sleeve in place.

Since Emma doesn't live here, I will have to wait until they receive the package and try the dress on before I know how it worked out.

This is real life, folks!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister

First Communion Dress

My Granddaughter Emma is wearing her Big Sisters First Communion Dress for her own upcoming First Communion.  I made it several years ago after much consultation with Big Sister and my daughter.

They wanted simple but pretty....and puffy sleeves.

But Emma's favorite color is Pink, not Blue.  So I had to change the ribbon to pink.

Emma trys it on for me last year.

Needs a wash and an iron.

But, she likes it.

The hem is made from several lovely Swiss trims all sewn together.

They go with the center band on the front yoke.

The fabric is Dotted Swiss and I used Angel Lace for all the lace edging.

I changed the ribbon, had it pressed and ready to go.  Then...

Emma broke her elbow.  Nice bright pink cast. 

 But she couldn't get the dress on.  

So it was sent back to me to fix.   More on this dilemma next time!

All Designs Are Copyright Protected copyright 2013 Jeannie Baumeister