Sewing Student Wins Second Place Red Ribbon at the Kentucky State Fair!

In June, I started teaching private sewing lessons at Austin's Sewing Center in Fern Creek, KY.  I have such a love of sewing and now I can share that with many more sewing students.  I am loving it!

Two weeks ago, I had an interesting experience with a lovely 10 year old girl.  She had committed to enter into the Kentucky State Fair an outfit for her American Girl doll, but had only cut out the pattern for the tunic, leggings and shoes.  Time was running out to get it made before the deadline to submit the entries.  I got the call on Monday that her lesson needed to take place right away so she'd be ready for the deadline on Saturday.

We got the two-hour lesson scheduled and got to work at the designated time.  The young lady was already familiar with her sewing machine.  She had taken lessons at another sewing dealership, having made two projects there, so that was a huge plus.

At the end of two hours, there was still more to do.  I was asked if I could work with her for another hour.  I said, yes, so we continued to work.  After another hour and 45 minutes, my young student had all of the machine work finished.  All she had left to do was to hand-stitch the trim on the hem of the tunic, sew on buttons for trim and glue some hook and loop tape on the opening in the back of the tunic.  We decided the leggings could be finished with a drawstring instead of elastic in the waistline casing, which made the finish work on them quicker and easier for her.  She had already planned to sew the shoes by hand.

At the State Fair last night, Lee and I made a special effort to find out where the junior sewing department was located.  Well, as we were walking toward it, I spotted the lime green tunic top on a doll in the top row of the display case from far away.

As we got closer, we could see that the American Girl doll had a red ribbon pinned on it.  My student had been awarded second place on her creation (pictured here)! 

Instead of hemming the bottom of the tunic and putting in a neckline facing, we decided to use pinking shears to finish the edges.  The doll's tunic was made from polar fleece, so a hem and a facing would have created way too much bulk in those areas.  I think it was a good decision!  It not only made the finish work easier, but quicker!

Here is a back view:

I'm really proud of my budding, designer 10 year old sewing student and can't wait to call her and let her know what great work she did!  Her doll looked fabulous, dressed in her lime green tunic and printed leggings outfit!  I can see that she has a love of sewing even at her young age.

State Fair Entry Winners: Sweatshirt Makeover and Ribbon Purse!

Two of my three Kentucky State Fair entries have won a blue and a red ribbon!  I almost didn't enter anything this year, but decided to go ahead since I had some items ready to go.  The sweatshirt makeover that I've been working to complete off & on over the past two years became my last minute "hurry up and finish" project!  Here it is with its blue ribbon.

My second place entry is one of the ribbon purses I made a year and a half ago for the craft shows and for the Koi Gallery at the Galt House in downtown Louisville.  I added a layered flower with an embroidered, covered button center placed on top of the bow that was already on it.  I think because it's in the red/black/white combination, it looks like a University of Louisville Cardinal bag and that may have caught the judges' eye!  Oh, well, I'm not going to complain about a second place, red ribbon award!

The display at the Fair isn't very attractive, so I've included the photo I took of the purse just before I took it to be entered.  The second photo shows it off better.

Recycled Necktie Purse Project

Sew What! Community Sewing group is working on this recycled necktie purse project for our May & June project.  We thought it would be quick enough for only one month, but as it turns out, we need two months to get it completed. 

The purse project is from my Master Clothing Volunteer annual training last October.  It's made from (You guessed it!) a man's necktie.  An old one that's been washed or dry-cleaned will work just fine, or a new necktie that hasn't been worn would also be a good idea.  It turned out to be a really cute little purse.

This small evening bag-type purse doesn't have any pockets and only has the flap you see here as its closure.  A sew-on snap will work to close the flap, or hook and loop tape would also work.  If the latter is used, a large decorative button would be a great way to cover up the stitching on the outside of the purse flap.

Obviously, I don't have the closure put onto the purse flap yet.  But, it will be added before this month's class.  Also, I'll add some more photos of my purse step-by-step samples.

The purse project goes together fairly quickly.  The necktie is cut into seven sections and are arranged into this cute little purse.  It's amazing how much fabric is in one necktie!

My Online Shop

I have a confession to make to everyone!  I had hoped to get my online shop at www.zibbet.com/sewnsanscottage opened by now.  However, plans don't always get worked out the way we'd like.  Some of you already know that my husband, Lee, fell on November 6, 2012 and broke his hip and wrist (I won't go into all the details), then two days later I came down with vertigo. 

We were both in recuperation mode for about 3 months, missing both our birthdays in November, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's.  It was well into February when I was able to get back to some normal activities, but then my chronic lower back pain and sciatica started getting worse.  I went into physical therapy the first week of March and am now doing much better.  Lee had a much shorter recovery time.  He was doing very well by the end of January.

I didn't even go into my sewing studio until around the first of March when it was time to get ready to teach two classes at the 2013 "It's Sew Fine Sewing Expo" at General Butler State Resort Park, scheduled for April 16-17.  Now that the Expo is behind me, I'm taking another look at getting the Zibbet shop opened up.  Lee & I have had some serious discussion about taking on this endeavor.  Now, comes the confession: I'm not sure sure it's going to happen.

I really think I'd love to give it a go; I have some product already made;I have lots more product ideas I'd like to pursue; I do have the shop set up.  It's now a matter of how much time I will have to give to it and if it will be worthwhile.  Lee & I are looking at taking on some additional responsibilities with our church and a couple of other churches, so we're praying about which way the Lord wants us to go.

I'll keep you posted on what our decision will be when it happens.  Please keep us in your prayers, as well.  I know the Lord will lead us to the correct decision for His glory!

Nothing to do With Sewing! Thank you, Locks of Love!

This post has nothing to do with sewing!  I did something on the spur of the moment yesterday that I want to share with all of you.

I have had very thick, coarse and heavy hair all of my life.  Many times I've said, "I just wish I could give some of this hair away to somebody who needs it!"  So many people would say to me, "You should be glad you have a lot of hair!"  But, no one seemed to understand how hard it is to manage.

Well, I found out about Locks of Love, an organization that takes donated hair for use in making wigs, hair pieces, etc. from human hair.  So, after much thought, I decided that's what I would do with my hair!  Since Locks of Love requires hair to be at least 10" long, in a ponytail, I let it grow for almost two years, since my last full cut.  It was already at the base of my neck at that time.  It was a real challenge for me these two years to deal with how to fix my hair; should I always wear it "put up," and how can I manage that?

I think I've broken three hair clips, even the heavy-duty version!  But, my hair finally got long enough to just double it over with a covered ponytail rubber band.  Yesterday, October 1, 2012, after putting my hair in its usual up-do, and experiencing pain in my left thumb joint, I declared, "I'm ready to get my hair cut!"

I had found out that Great Clips cuts hair for donation to Locks of Love for free, so I made a call to verify that and off we went to the salon!  Great Clips not only cut my hair free, but they will take care of packaging it and mailing it in.

Here is what my hair looked like before leaving home to go to the salon.  I had Lee take photos of what it looked like before, during and after.

I didn't know how this whole thing would work out.  I didn't know by going into the salon as a walk-in, whether there'd be a hairdresser there who can handle my type of hair, so I knew I was probably taking a chance.  There were two hairdressers on duty, one was busy and the other took me without hesitation. 

She was amazing!  She took charge of my hair as if she had been cutting it for years!  She wasn't in the least intimidated!  Here, she had parted the back of my hair into two ponytails and was cutting above the rubber bands.  (Hair has to be banded before cutting so it will stay together while it's being sent in.)

 I guess I'd better not say, "I changed my mind!"

Now, the hair is ready to be sent in.  Wow! What a mop!

Now for my huge surprise!  I had curls under all that hair and didn't even know it!  My hairdresser said, "Your hair is curling in the back!"  What?!!!!  I haven't had curls since I was a toddler.  Another thing I've always said is that I'd love to have curly hair!  Well, God does answer in ways that are sometimes surprising!

So, about one-third of the way through the cutting process, I said that I already felt lighter.  At the end, I said I must have lost half a pound.  So, this morning when I got on the scales, sure enough, I had lost half a pound since yesterday!  (I've been wanting to lose some weight!)

My hairdresser suggested a "bob" cut, even though I had taken in a picture of a cut I had four years ago that I liked.  I told her that I had actually thought about that kind of cut and style, so let's go for it.  She worked some kind of magic in the way she cut it and the tools she used to bring back my childhood curls!  I'm happy!

No more curling iron, no more extensive blow drying, and no need to get a perm now!  Blessings do come in batches!  I think I'm going to love this new way of gaining back some of my time.

Fabric Gift Bag or Treat Bag Custom Project

Several days ago, I finished a custom order for fabric gift or treat bags.  A teacher friend saw a post I made on Facebook about some fabric bags with embroidery and a ribbon drawstring, and she was intrigued!  After contacting me and us communicating back and forth for about two weeks, we settled on a size of 4" x 6" with a drawstring.  I suggested we do embroidered first name initials for her 24 students in the school's colors of royal blue and white.

The bag in this photo is the prototype I made with the teacher's first and last name initials just so she could see how the stitching looks on the bag.  The bag is made of unbleached muslin, so I think the royal blue shows up on it nicely.

We decided to put the solid blue ribbon on the boys' bags and sheer royal blue ribbon with white polka dots on the girls' bags. I switched the teacher's ribbon to the sheer version (since she's a girl!) - it's the one in the upper left of this photo.  I used the Curlz alphabet from Hope Yoder, which lends a fun flair to the project. 

I'm thinking about adding these cute fabric gift bags to my product line for craft shows this Fall.  If anyone out there has an idea on other fabrics I can use, please leave me a message below.  I'm going to experiment with some organdy and some cotton Christmas fabric.  The person who inspired me to make these bags is making hers out of a sheer fabric with a pretty flower embroidery and has started a business making them for bridesmaid favors.  Hmmm.....

Sew What! Community Sewing Group Sews Cute Flowers

Yesterday was another day of sewing class for our Sew What! Community Sewing group at the Jeffersontown Library.  Our regulars are so faithful in showing up month after month, and yesterday was no exception!

The class centered around making "Cute Flowers" from a class that I taught at Austin's Sewing Center in March of this year, and at the Bullitt County Cooperative Extension office in June.  These flowers are all made by hand and are great for embellishments on headbands, on purses and tote bags, as brooches, or any other application your creative mind can envision.  The rick rack flowers are taken from Kari Mecca's book, Sewing With Whimsy.  The book can be purchased on her website at www.karimeaway.com., or if you live in the Louisville, KY area you may purchase it at Austin's Sewing Center in Fern Creek.


Sew What! students had a fund workday learning new techniques on making three different flower projects: felt flowers, sheer ribbon flowers, and rick rack flowers.

 We made four layers of petals cut out of felt, then stitched them together in the center to make a pretty flower to use as embellishment on headbands, totes, purses, or as a brooch with a pinback sewn onto the back side.

This flower was made complete when some black eyelash yarn was added to the center behind the button.  (I forgot to take a photo of the completed flower - sorry!  It really looked finished with the yarn.)

 Here, students are working on cutting the felt flower petals and layers of organza to place in between the felt layers for their project.

My students are so very creative and I really enjoy seeing what ideas they come up with after I've given them some hands-on instruction!

This felt flower is the sample I made as I was going over the printed instruction sheet.  I layered the felt petals with some organza and some sparkle bridal tulle to give it a different look.  It will look good on a lilac knit top I have, or on my pink one, don't you think?

 This student had just completed her rick rack posie flower project from Kari Mecca's book.  We ran out of time to complete the other two rick rack flowers I wanted to teach, so we'll continue this class next month.

If you'd like to learn how to make these cute flowers, please join us on the fourth Thursday at the Jeffersontown Free Public Library from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.  We'd love to have you join us!