Easter Morning, 2014

A long time ago, I attended a smocking convention, and a woman from the South said something like "If you're from the South, and your children are not in a smocked dress on Easter morning, something is very wrong". Of course, I'm not from the South but I love this sentiment so much that this year I tried to dress my children as if we were Southerners (and church-goers, ahem).  

We went to an egg hunt in the garden of a local resturaunt, and then headed to the park for hours playing outside with the other neighborhood kids, who had all just finished up egg hunts in various other locations. It was truly idyllic. Can't you just tell by the girls' faces, below?

Baby Lulu has met Santa and the Easter Bunny in her first half year of life. Go, Lulu!

The bunnies around these parts do not have sore feet:

While Penny went on the swings and the slides, and ran around to her heart's content...

Lulu looked on with a smile, and dozed in her stroller...

Unlike when I smocked a dress for Penny's first birthday, I thrifted both of their Easter dresses. Bought on different occasions, they were less than $5 each.

Then there was the matter of chocolate. Penny has become quite a fan. She uncovered some in one of the eggs she picked up on the hunt, and grinned.

She wanted me to sit down so she could climb and my lap and enjoy it. But not share, of course :).

We headed home for naps - a certain adult got one, too. Can you tell we were tired? 

Hope your Easter was as sweet as mine.

The Birthday Dress

Remember when I took up smocking?  Then I went found the Portland Smockers, and I went to California to learn some more at a national convention?  It was all so long ago.  Yet, smocking has always been at the back of my mind (and this dress always been at the back of my closet).  I decided that for Penny's first birthday I would finish it for her. Really, I think I needed to finish it for both of us. 

I toiled over it. Wow, did I toil. The bias binding almost sent me over the edge. I sought advice from sewing shops and crafty friends and my mom, in town this past week. Penny had many fittings, as I adjusted the back buttons. I chose three different types of buttons before settling on some clear glass ones. I made button loops. Then, the button loops broke. I stressed about all of it, and then I decided to stop worrying and put it on her, and let whatever happens, happen. 

In the end, it was fine.  Maybe it was more than fine. Maybe it was something special. She looked special in it to me (but then again, she usually does).  

She wore it yesterday, at her her birthday party in the park, on Easter Sunday (more on that to come).

It was a wonderful day. Besides getting the dress done, maybe I learned a lesson for sewing: to go for it, and let whatever happens, happen. Just do your best (nothing needs to be perfect)! Penelope Jones, now a whole year old, has taught me this lesson almost daily.

The Smocking SAGA

Recently I've taken what I'm calling a "sew-cation", a trip on my own, to learn new skills and be with people I never would have met otherwise. With my current situation, I have a feeling I won't get too many more of these in coming months/years!

I went to the Smocking Arts Guild of America (SAGA) annual convention. This year, it was in Anaheim, California. I attended the conventions two "pre-days", called 'Aneheim Down Under', taught by Australian smocker Judith Adams and Lyn Weeks. I learned so much, and had a great time!

My classes focused on making a Bishops Dress, named for English Bishops who wore them so many centuries ago. Now a popular style of heirloom sewing, they look so sweet on little girls. I feel so motivated to make one for our future baby.

The first class I took was Intermediate level, though it was originally listed for Beginners. At first, I was pretty overwhelmed. By the second day, however, I was much more relaxed, and it was so much fun to be around women from all over the world, focused on this specialized technique. I came away with two gorgeous kits, and the skills to almost believe I can finish them.

I've been doing a little smocking here and there, so as not to forget what I've learned. There's so much practice I need to do, let alone work on the garments' construction. I'm already dreaming of going to next year's convention in Atlanta, with more experience under my belt. Check out these gorgeous dresses by Judith Adams:

Smocking is such meticulous work that each night I retreated to my hotel room to knit a sweater for myself on giant 6.5mm needles, just for relief. A trip, just for myself, to indulge my interest, is just what I needed to reinvigorate myself when the queue of projects at home got so long and overwhelming. Have you ever taken one?

More photos here.

Smocking Saturday

I had the greatest day on Saturday. I went to a six hour smocking class held by The Rose Trellis, the Portland branch of the Smocking Arts Guild of America. Friends, it was the best day of sewing I've had in a long, long time. The class was taught by Cindy Foose, and the garments she brought along were absolutely stunning.

The class was held at the Presbyterian Church. I made a poppy seed cake. It was put by the organ.

We stitched and stitched. I learned so many techniques, all without the use of my pleater! I'm going to find a reason to to try them all again, in garments.

We had a lunchtime visit from the cutest baby in the world, adorning a stunning smocked dress.

I went from knowing no one who smocked, to meeting about twelve ladies who have been doing it for decades! They were so lovely, and I only hope my friendships with them, as well as my skill level with smocking, will grow.

It was such a unique and inspiring day! (More photos over at Modern Smocking)

Modern Smocking: I Heart Birthdays

Yesterday I turned 35. I had a great day, with only a few snafus (I'll get you next time, IHOP). One of the biggest events of the day was that I wore my first handmade smocked garment, a shirt that has been, according to Mr. Jones, "three years in the making". I call it the 'I Heart Birthdays' tank top, and this is what it looks like:

It has a smocked inlay. First, I pleated the fabric on my pleater with a friend's help (thanks, Jocelyn!) and watched this video on Youtube to learn trellis stitch, and heart cables. Before I got too far on the smocking, I inlayed the pleated material into a basic tank top pattern (New Look 6483)

I finished up the pattern with a button closure at the back and a half lining all around the inside, to protect the back of the pleats.

There were so many hours put into the muslin, the pleating, the sewing, and the smocking, that I won't be making a ton of these garments. Maybe just one per season. This is what it looked like on me, out to dinner last night. Don't I look older?

I've started a new blog devoted to smocking over here. I'll be posting my projects and inspirations , and won't bore you over here, if you have no interest in smocking. Hopefully you'll see more than one item every three years. If not, here's to age 38!

Smocking 101

I've been teaching myself some smocking, and developing some shirt patterns! I'm so excited about this. It's something I've been thinking about for a very long time.

I have a pleater, which I'm still mastering. It's so hard to do on your own, but this video is helping me a lot. I can't wait to show you a finished product. Stay tuned!