Black Crushed Velvet Bolero

Victoria found the dress online and just had to have it -- and then, after committing to buy, I discovered -- it was coming from China.  We paid extra -- a lot extra -- to get it in time for the Christmas program.

She wanted a black velvet bolero to go with it -- but of course there was nary a speck of black velvet to be had anywhere in town.  We found black crushed velvet at the Hobby Lobby in Norfolk.  I used an old 1950s bolero pattern, revised it a bit, and added pleated ruffles around the shawl collar and the sleeves.

Pink Shantung Jacket

I made this jacket for Lydia, to coordinate with her dusty rose raw silk jumper.

It's her 21^st birthday Monday, the 25^th.

Embroidered Hearts

Hannah is making a dress for Joanna for Valentine's Day. 

Here is the fabric:

She asked me to embroider hearts on the white platter collar. 

I decided it would be prudent to do a practice piece first:

It turned out so pretty, I think I will use this for the

center of a small decorative pillow for Joanna. 

One of the colors in her room is aqua.

 

The darker blue 'ribbon' didn't quite land in the right spot on the hearts at the sides, probably because I stitched it out at only 72% of the original design.  So I upped it a couple of percentage points, to 74%, checked to be sure the design still fit on the collar, and stitched it out.  Here it is, ready for Hannah to turn into a collar:

Sarah's Outfit

This little vest and skirt, sewn in a size 2, is for little Sarah.  I made the outfit to match the little brown boots, with cheetah print on the sides, that we gave her for Christmas:

Fortunately, they were a size too big, so I had a bit of time to sew the matching outfit.  But one mustn't wait too long to do such things, because little kiddos grow mighty fast.

The skirt is brown corduroy; the cheetah-print ruffles are a soft knit.  Those ruffles used to be one entire pantleg from a pair of pajamas.  I got them at a Goodwill Store especially for this project.  I'd looked for fabric both online and in local stores, but any cheetah or leopard print, no matter what type of fabric, was quite pricey.  So when I spotted these, I snatched them up quick.  
 

Today when I prepared to cut into them, though, I hesitated for a moment or two, because they really were nice pjs, and, furthermore, they were just my size.  But cut them I did.  Now there's only one pantleg left, and I'm quite certain it's no longer 'just my size'. 

And anyway, the ruffles are cuter than the pajamas.  

  

Elisabeth's Dress

This is a dress I sewed for a friend's daughter, Elisabeth.  My friend made the pinafore to go with it -- white, with ruffles over the shoulder, and a little Dutch boy and girl hand-embroidered on the bib.