Shabby Apple are one of my favorite Clothing company. Thier dresses are amazing and modest styles too. And so many style, designs for all body types , ages. If you are in the market for a new dress for yourself or your little girl this is the place to go.
They contacted me and said they were willing to donate 5% of sales generated from a link on my page. What a generous donation. So please use the link at the right of this page if you want to check out this great site.
Thank you Shabby Apple you ae the best it will help us so much to be able to mail dresses to other groups in PA and sending patterns to people all over PA. We now have some Mennonite and Amish communitys involved who don't have access to computers so we mail patterns to them. And other individuals without internet access. and we will also use it for supplies.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Great Day at PA Dress A Girl
Sorry I have been lacking in keeping up with the blog. I have been updating on Facebook . But not here.
We had a great day today with our sew along we were joined By students from Bucknell University for part of their Day of service. we sewed, sorted pressed and cut and threaded.
and some students sewed for the very first time.
I was also Interviewed by our local Newspaper too. So I am super excited to have the word spread about dress a girl in the PA area. and hope to have more sewing groups started, and have more groups contact us when they are traveling over seas.
This was my first major sewing event since My Cancer diagnosis, so I am pretty tired tonight. But I am excited to still be able to work with such a great charity.
We had a great day today with our sew along we were joined By students from Bucknell University for part of their Day of service. we sewed, sorted pressed and cut and threaded.
and some students sewed for the very first time.
I was also Interviewed by our local Newspaper too. So I am super excited to have the word spread about dress a girl in the PA area. and hope to have more sewing groups started, and have more groups contact us when they are traveling over seas.
This was my first major sewing event since My Cancer diagnosis, so I am pretty tired tonight. But I am excited to still be able to work with such a great charity.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Blog update. Wow where do I start.
I thought I had better update my Blog. I looked at the date of the last one and it was 28th of March! And then I was just thinking I had back pain and some mild hyperglycemia .
Little would I know that 4 days later my world would be turned upside down.w
When I went to the dr to be checked out as I wasn't feeling good. It blows my mind to think that here I am saying that I have cancer!
It has been a interesting few weeks as I deal with chemo, Medications , blood tests and other medical tests and all the side effects.
But as I take it easy I have still been reading all the posts about Dress a Girl around the world and all the dresses being distributed . We have a group traveling to Nicaragua in May, who will be taking 50-80 dresses .
So all you local sewers I have dresses ready in various stages to finish up contact me if you are interested in taking some to sew.
I will be doing some sewing for me in the next couple of weeks. As I am losing my hair through the Chemo. Which is emotional Journey in itself. I have tried to stay positive through all of this. And I know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me for who ever I am.And Friends and family too who love me know matter what.But I didn't know how emotionally hard the hairloss thing would be.
So Today I ordered my first wig. and the other day I ordered a cotton sleep cap, and some headscarfs. But they can be so expensive. So I thought there has to be a pattern out there to sew them. So I searched and found a mcalls pattern. So when it comes I will be sewing away to have hats and headscarfs for every outfit .
I know I can find headscarfs at thrift stores to, but right now I can't go anywhere my immune system is pretty bad . My white blood count was down to a 1 last friday, ( 4 is considered low) and came up to a 2 today. But I have to be so careful.So can't go to public places and being around a lot of people, and wear a mask when I do go out. My Dr pretty much put me on bedrest for a few days. As my mediport area needed to heal too. My platelets are really low too which means I am more prone to bleeding.
Well I know this too shall pass and I will have the energy and time to sew soon and find some cute head scarfs and hats at thrift stores. So no thrift store shopping for me for a while.
But I count my blessings every day. This could be so much worse. They have caught the cancer early and it is low grade non Hodgkins Lymphoma. And they hope the 5-6 chemo treatments will fight this disease. My next treatment is this Friday the 29th of April..
I will continue to be strong and fight to and Love life and live it to it's fullest and when I have the energy I will Sew Sew Sew!!
Little would I know that 4 days later my world would be turned upside down.w
When I went to the dr to be checked out as I wasn't feeling good. It blows my mind to think that here I am saying that I have cancer!
It has been a interesting few weeks as I deal with chemo, Medications , blood tests and other medical tests and all the side effects.
But as I take it easy I have still been reading all the posts about Dress a Girl around the world and all the dresses being distributed . We have a group traveling to Nicaragua in May, who will be taking 50-80 dresses .
So all you local sewers I have dresses ready in various stages to finish up contact me if you are interested in taking some to sew.
I will be doing some sewing for me in the next couple of weeks. As I am losing my hair through the Chemo. Which is emotional Journey in itself. I have tried to stay positive through all of this. And I know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me for who ever I am.And Friends and family too who love me know matter what.But I didn't know how emotionally hard the hairloss thing would be.
So Today I ordered my first wig. and the other day I ordered a cotton sleep cap, and some headscarfs. But they can be so expensive. So I thought there has to be a pattern out there to sew them. So I searched and found a mcalls pattern. So when it comes I will be sewing away to have hats and headscarfs for every outfit .
I know I can find headscarfs at thrift stores to, but right now I can't go anywhere my immune system is pretty bad . My white blood count was down to a 1 last friday, ( 4 is considered low) and came up to a 2 today. But I have to be so careful.So can't go to public places and being around a lot of people, and wear a mask when I do go out. My Dr pretty much put me on bedrest for a few days. As my mediport area needed to heal too. My platelets are really low too which means I am more prone to bleeding.
Well I know this too shall pass and I will have the energy and time to sew soon and find some cute head scarfs and hats at thrift stores. So no thrift store shopping for me for a while.
But I count my blessings every day. This could be so much worse. They have caught the cancer early and it is low grade non Hodgkins Lymphoma. And they hope the 5-6 chemo treatments will fight this disease. My next treatment is this Friday the 29th of April..
I will continue to be strong and fight to and Love life and live it to it's fullest and when I have the energy I will Sew Sew Sew!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
My Addiction got the better of me! oh my aching Back
So here is something I don't reccomend.
Sitting on the floor cutting.
Let me tell you about the events of my last few Days.
So I gathered up my fabrics on Thursday and sat down on the floor and started cutting some dresses out. Before I knew it 2 hours had gone by. Then there came my problem. I stood up and my back was aching and just not feeling great. So I had dinner then laid down on the couch. Then I went to move a heavy laundry basket into my daughters Room. So I lift it up and promptly dropped it and cryed out in pain. As pain shot down my leg and up my back.
So I slept on it ( not very well) then was very tender. But had already planned to go to a friends house for a couple of days. And thought I would be fine and the break away would be good for my mental health.
My friends kept telling me how pale I was and I just kept on going taking Aleeve and wearing Bengay pain patches on my back. I kept thinking if I sit a while, then walk awhile, then lay down a while all will be good.
Well to cut a long story short my friend who rode with me, had to drive me home in my car .
Then I finally got to the Chiropractor Saturday night ( who is a family friend) . And He was shocked I survived the weekend. I was in bad shape. My body was pretty much in shock that was why I was so pale. He also said he is often dealing with clients especially around the holidays as they sit on the floor and wrap presents.
So let this be a lesson to all of you .
One look after yourselves first. So you are then in a position to help others.
And the biggest thing DO NOT SIT ON THE FLOOR FOR 2 HOURS CUTTING.
So here I am laying around and trying to take it easy for a couple of days. No sewing for me. But who said you can't lay flat on your back and thread elastic in Dresses:-)
Sitting on the floor cutting.
Let me tell you about the events of my last few Days.
So I gathered up my fabrics on Thursday and sat down on the floor and started cutting some dresses out. Before I knew it 2 hours had gone by. Then there came my problem. I stood up and my back was aching and just not feeling great. So I had dinner then laid down on the couch. Then I went to move a heavy laundry basket into my daughters Room. So I lift it up and promptly dropped it and cryed out in pain. As pain shot down my leg and up my back.
So I slept on it ( not very well) then was very tender. But had already planned to go to a friends house for a couple of days. And thought I would be fine and the break away would be good for my mental health.
My friends kept telling me how pale I was and I just kept on going taking Aleeve and wearing Bengay pain patches on my back. I kept thinking if I sit a while, then walk awhile, then lay down a while all will be good.
Well to cut a long story short my friend who rode with me, had to drive me home in my car .
Then I finally got to the Chiropractor Saturday night ( who is a family friend) . And He was shocked I survived the weekend. I was in bad shape. My body was pretty much in shock that was why I was so pale. He also said he is often dealing with clients especially around the holidays as they sit on the floor and wrap presents.
So let this be a lesson to all of you .
One look after yourselves first. So you are then in a position to help others.
And the biggest thing DO NOT SIT ON THE FLOOR FOR 2 HOURS CUTTING.
So here I am laying around and trying to take it easy for a couple of days. No sewing for me. But who said you can't lay flat on your back and thread elastic in Dresses:-)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Simplicity Bias maker and other goodies
So I head to Walmart today, because I had a $25 gift certificate to use. So I head to the sewing department ( surprise surprise) and I was actually going to pick up a thread box and some new yarn to knit something.
But what do I see but the Simplicity Bias tape maker! it was $60. So I thought ok I actually will only have to pay $35 so I thought thats not bad.
So I bring it home and couldn't wait to plug it in and try it with some of the strips I cut the other day from Sheets . So there were no seams or anything. So I wind it on the spool, then let it heat up and set it all up and it started running. It had a little bit of a faulty start, but started feeding out great bias tape.
So I go eat lunch and put some groceries away. Then go back to my tape maker. Plug it back in, and let it heat up again, and wind the fabric onto the spool . And I was using the same fabric as earlier. And I let it run. But I had to push down on the top for it to feed through automatically. and it kept getting caught up inside.
Now I am not saying It isn't good I will continue to play with it . And use different settings etc and different fabrics. It's a great concept and I think I like it, But not totally in love yet.
I also picked up the Threading gadget that Janine mentions on Dress a Girl Connecticut.
Now what I am in love with is the Goodwill Thrift store. Although sometimes their prices can be a little high than others on their clothes. But their linens and fabrics are pretty good.
I know what your all thinking right now with all the donations etc why am I still looking. Well because they have some great stuff and I am addicted LOL.
I picked up more white pillowcases to be tie dyed and some other great pillowcases and fabrics, with lots of yardage.
These fabrics are so fun . And with the one on the right I have some great really bright Pink Ribbon for the straps that matches perfectly. What is it with new fabrics that motivates you so much? I just love the start to finish process of taking fabrics and seeing what you can make.
I'm off to sew
But what do I see but the Simplicity Bias tape maker! it was $60. So I thought ok I actually will only have to pay $35 so I thought thats not bad.
So I bring it home and couldn't wait to plug it in and try it with some of the strips I cut the other day from Sheets . So there were no seams or anything. So I wind it on the spool, then let it heat up and set it all up and it started running. It had a little bit of a faulty start, but started feeding out great bias tape.
So I go eat lunch and put some groceries away. Then go back to my tape maker. Plug it back in, and let it heat up again, and wind the fabric onto the spool . And I was using the same fabric as earlier. And I let it run. But I had to push down on the top for it to feed through automatically. and it kept getting caught up inside.
Now I am not saying It isn't good I will continue to play with it . And use different settings etc and different fabrics. It's a great concept and I think I like it, But not totally in love yet.
I also picked up the Threading gadget that Janine mentions on Dress a Girl Connecticut.
Now what I am in love with is the Goodwill Thrift store. Although sometimes their prices can be a little high than others on their clothes. But their linens and fabrics are pretty good.
I know what your all thinking right now with all the donations etc why am I still looking. Well because they have some great stuff and I am addicted LOL.
I picked up more white pillowcases to be tie dyed and some other great pillowcases and fabrics, with lots of yardage.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Fabric, sheets ,homemade Bias tape, sheets, Pillowcases, sheets,dress shirts, Did I mention the sheets!
Yesterday I spent the day tackling my donations of sheets, they seemed to be multiplying. I'm not complaining as they are a great source of fabric. Soft, hard wearing and make some great dresses.
But I decided I would take the day and cut some of them up to make pillowcase shapes ready to make dresses.Some I cut up using a dress pattern . And some I cut up to make homemade bias tape. I used my handheld little Clover brand bias maker. It Actually works pretty good, but I still have to iron it my self ( not my favorite job :-) . But I just keep thinking each yard I make is one more strap for a dress for a girl , so it's worth it. And also the money saved from buying ready made is also worth it.
I am still Coveting and dreaming about the Simplicity Automatic bias maker and am saving my pennies. But now I am hearing mixed reviews . So I need to get it for a good deal for it to be worth it.
I also cut up some dress shirts, to make some cute dresses and some I cut into bias tape.
Often friends ask me how I can make multiple dresses so quickly. This is what I do.
1 I take the time to cut out a bunch of dresses at once, either pillowcases, or from a pattern that I have.
2 Then I sit down at my serger and serge away,to make the side seams for the dresses. If I have used fabric instead of pillowcases. Or serge the tops. The serger is the best invention ever!
3 Then I press all my casings at the top for the elastic and press up any seams I may need to do, if I didn't use pillowcases.
4 Then I go back to my sewing machine with my stack of dresses. And sew the casings and hems. For those that quilt you will know what I mean when I say , I chain sew them. Basically I sew across one casing then feed the next dress through continuing to sew and then the next and the next etc etc and don't trim threads in between dresses until the end. I do sew a back stitch at each end of each casing though.
5 Then I find a good movie to watch or TV show and sit and trim threads and thread elastic and pin the ends.
6 Then back to the machine to tack the elastic in place . I actually have started to not do this now and wait until I have the straps pinned on then sew back and forth where the end of the elastic is where the strap is attached.( hope this makes sense.)
7 Then I cut all my straps to match dresses .And just use one pin to attach them to the dresses for me to carry them to the sewing machine.
8 Then I sew on the straps. I separate my dresses into piles according to what color thread I will need for the straps. At the beginning when I am cutting out the dresses I try to think about the thread color needed ,so I am not switching colors every dress. For example yesterday.
I chose fabrics that will have red straps, and white or light colored straps, That way I only had to change thread colors once. and it worked good
9 Then this is the stage when I sometimes embellish the dresses with lace or Ric Rac or pockets.
Well this is what works for me when making multiple dresses. I know it's not any mind boggling news to most sewers and you probably already do this . But people asked me so I thought I would share. Of course I still love the process of making an individual dress from start to finish. But some day I want to make a bunch and use my time wisely.
I am excited to be working with a group of youth at our church on March 30th. Young men and Women aged between 12-18. It is only 1 hour and 1/2 long activity. So I am trying to prep some ahead of time. So we don't have to wait on those cutting before we start sewing. So this was my system I'll let you know if it works out on the night.
I have
30 pillowcases un cut
15 dresses sewn ready for the elastic to be threaded and pinned
10 dresses ready for the straps to be sewn on.
So basically while some are still cutting the pillowcases, a few can be threading elastic in the top casings, and some can be sewing straps. Then when the pillowcases are cut, they can then be passed on to someone to press the casings down at the top . Then passed to someone to sew the casings, then threading elastic etc etc.
I am trying to have a rotation system working so that all the youth have something to do as soon as we get started and there is plenty to keep them busy. You know teenagers their minds seem to wander sometimes. I realize we probably won't get them all finished that night. But I am trying to make it fun for them , by doing the rotation system. So they can encourage each other each step of the way.
So keep those donations coming, while you are spring cleaning ,think about donating your un wanted linens to Dress a Girl they will be put to good use. Clear out your fabric stash to, you know we all have that fabric we had to buy for a project sometime that never happened :-).
Thats how I got started by using my fabric that I was going to donate somewhere. Now I am making Dresses for Cute little Girls all over the world. And I have never been happier.
But I decided I would take the day and cut some of them up to make pillowcase shapes ready to make dresses.Some I cut up using a dress pattern . And some I cut up to make homemade bias tape. I used my handheld little Clover brand bias maker. It Actually works pretty good, but I still have to iron it my self ( not my favorite job :-) . But I just keep thinking each yard I make is one more strap for a dress for a girl , so it's worth it. And also the money saved from buying ready made is also worth it.
I am still Coveting and dreaming about the Simplicity Automatic bias maker and am saving my pennies. But now I am hearing mixed reviews . So I need to get it for a good deal for it to be worth it.
I also cut up some dress shirts, to make some cute dresses and some I cut into bias tape.
Often friends ask me how I can make multiple dresses so quickly. This is what I do.
1 I take the time to cut out a bunch of dresses at once, either pillowcases, or from a pattern that I have.
2 Then I sit down at my serger and serge away,to make the side seams for the dresses. If I have used fabric instead of pillowcases. Or serge the tops. The serger is the best invention ever!
3 Then I press all my casings at the top for the elastic and press up any seams I may need to do, if I didn't use pillowcases.
4 Then I go back to my sewing machine with my stack of dresses. And sew the casings and hems. For those that quilt you will know what I mean when I say , I chain sew them. Basically I sew across one casing then feed the next dress through continuing to sew and then the next and the next etc etc and don't trim threads in between dresses until the end. I do sew a back stitch at each end of each casing though.
5 Then I find a good movie to watch or TV show and sit and trim threads and thread elastic and pin the ends.
6 Then back to the machine to tack the elastic in place . I actually have started to not do this now and wait until I have the straps pinned on then sew back and forth where the end of the elastic is where the strap is attached.( hope this makes sense.)
7 Then I cut all my straps to match dresses .And just use one pin to attach them to the dresses for me to carry them to the sewing machine.
8 Then I sew on the straps. I separate my dresses into piles according to what color thread I will need for the straps. At the beginning when I am cutting out the dresses I try to think about the thread color needed ,so I am not switching colors every dress. For example yesterday.
I chose fabrics that will have red straps, and white or light colored straps, That way I only had to change thread colors once. and it worked good
9 Then this is the stage when I sometimes embellish the dresses with lace or Ric Rac or pockets.
Well this is what works for me when making multiple dresses. I know it's not any mind boggling news to most sewers and you probably already do this . But people asked me so I thought I would share. Of course I still love the process of making an individual dress from start to finish. But some day I want to make a bunch and use my time wisely.
I am excited to be working with a group of youth at our church on March 30th. Young men and Women aged between 12-18. It is only 1 hour and 1/2 long activity. So I am trying to prep some ahead of time. So we don't have to wait on those cutting before we start sewing. So this was my system I'll let you know if it works out on the night.
I have
30 pillowcases un cut
15 dresses sewn ready for the elastic to be threaded and pinned
10 dresses ready for the straps to be sewn on.
So basically while some are still cutting the pillowcases, a few can be threading elastic in the top casings, and some can be sewing straps. Then when the pillowcases are cut, they can then be passed on to someone to press the casings down at the top . Then passed to someone to sew the casings, then threading elastic etc etc.
I am trying to have a rotation system working so that all the youth have something to do as soon as we get started and there is plenty to keep them busy. You know teenagers their minds seem to wander sometimes. I realize we probably won't get them all finished that night. But I am trying to make it fun for them , by doing the rotation system. So they can encourage each other each step of the way.
So keep those donations coming, while you are spring cleaning ,think about donating your un wanted linens to Dress a Girl they will be put to good use. Clear out your fabric stash to, you know we all have that fabric we had to buy for a project sometime that never happened :-).
Thats how I got started by using my fabric that I was going to donate somewhere. Now I am making Dresses for Cute little Girls all over the world. And I have never been happier.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
This is why we sew!
Faythe sent me a email telling me how she was involved. She is the Executive officer for Orphan Grain train. But in Real life she is a quilter and had seen a TV show talking about the pillowcase dresses.
this is an excerpt from Her email and I am sure she wouldn't mind me sharing.
"One in particular…..a lady on our Board of Directors (Kae) took a few dresses in her suitcase when she visited Russia with one of our missionaries. We cannot ship into that country due to the government restrictions. She gave one of the dresses to a little orphan girl in one of the orphanages. The little girl followed Kae around all the while she visited there and wanted to go home with her. It as heart wrenching as you can imagine. This little girl had never had a dress before and she was about 12 years old."
And all I am going to say is
This is Why We Sew!
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