Duo Artis Moves To Tennessee

 Some extra rehearsal time before

moving to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
to join the cast of the
 Smoky Mountain Opry.

Photos courtesy of
 Meadows Images
   Branson, Missouri

Leann's traveling buddy, 

our grand dog Sadie.
  
Best of Luck 

Leann and Simmone!

Old Fashioned Sugar Panoramic Eggs

I recently got a surprise... 18 years ago I 

made an old fashioned panoramic sugar egg

for my daughter's best friend Leslie.  She has 

kept it in the china cabinet all these years and

kindly posted photos on my facebook page.

It was made with gum paste flowers,
 leaves and lots of ribbons.

Inside is a little Easter figurine.

How sweet that they've kept it
all this time.

This egg is at least 20 years old.  It's quite large, 

about nine inches wide.  Made with gum paste flowers,

 and lots of ribbons.....I was sure into ribbons!  It 

graced the dining room table for many years at

 Easter time and has slightly faded from sun 

exposure.  Securely packed in an airtight  container 

they store remarkably well.

 It has a figurine of a rabbit family at dinner time.
Mom, Dad, son and daughter,  just like us.

 

 This little egg was my very first attempt.
We won't talk about how old it is!!

 
 Haven't made these in many years, perhaps
I'll work on a tutorial.  I'm certainly
in a springtime mood!

Black Sawdust Dolly

The red calico dress, flannel
petticoat and pantalettes belong
 to a black sawdust prim dolly.
The poor dear has been aged
to show kind love and care.

 

She will soon be traveling to her new 
home.  I am working on another
black sawdust dolly in a red dress with
a flannel petticoat, she will
be available at Early Work Mercantile
March 1st.

Flannel Petticoat & Red Dress

Retirement seems to have transformed

me into an utterly disorganized person.

I have several projects going at the same

time and can't seem to finish any of them!

 I have several dolly quilts ready to hand quilt,

dollies to bake, (seriously...but that's a future

post) clothing to hem and a cat house to paint,

just to name a few.

 

I have managed to stitch

a red dress and flannel petticoat for a

 little black doll I am working on.

 I love this fabric.

Flannel petticoats were commonly worn 

by little girls and their dollies.

 

The cat house needs shingles and

 a coat of paint.

 It's been taken over by a critter.....

 YUK!!

 

 Happy Sewing!

How To Make A Buttonhole Loop

I have finished making some pantalettes
for my latest little dolly. I wanted to use an 
antique pie crust button, but didn't want to make
 a buttonhole, so I opted to make a loop. 

You can see below, the button side of the

waistband has been whip stitched closed.

The side that will have the buttonhole loop

has been left open.

I have done that, because I want to hide my knot.
I use buttonhole twist thread that is heavier than regular
thread.  If you don't have it, just double regular thread.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I start by inserting my needle inside the waistband 
edge, coming up at the top center fold of the waistband.

As you can see, my knot is hidden inside the waistband.

Insert the needle at the bottom of the waistband.

Come out, at the top of the waistband,

right next to the top thread.

This makes the first loop.  Repeat.

 Now, there are 2 loops.  Check to make sure
the loops are even and fit around the button.

Loop the thread to the left.  Stick the needle 
through the 2 loops and pull tightly.

 This makes a small knot that looks like this.

Again, loop your thread to the left, stick the needle 
through the 2 loops and pull firmly,

  butting this second little
knot next to the first one.

Continue looping the thread to the left, sticking
 the needle through the 2 loops,

 pulling tightly and
 butting up to the last knot.
Till you get to the bottom of the loop.
Can you see the one stitch below that
 I didn't pull tightly? 
 It makes a big difference on the back of the loop,
 if your knots are not pulled securely & butted
 together neatly.
 Try to use the same tension on each little
 "loop knot"  you make.

Time to secure the thread end.  This can
be done by making a tiny back stitch
next to the thread end. OR

  This is what I do when I have 2 layers of fabric.
Insert the needle right next to the thread.

 Make a loop around the end of the needle.

Pull securely making a tiny knot. 

 Insert the needle next to the knot, come out

a distance away.  (Between the layers of fabric)

Snip off the end of the thread.

 Leaving a only a tiny knot.

Here is my knot,

hidden inside the waistband.

Time to stitch the end of the waistband.

Using regular thread insert the needle inside

the waistband coming out on the top (knot is 

hidden inside the waistband).

Whip stitch the edge together.  Hide the knot.

 Bring the needle out between the layers of

fabric.  Snip off the thread.

Done!

 

How easy is that?
Happy Sewing!