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How can anyone not have fun with these kids!

What's blooming in my garden

Youth Sewing IS Hip

Here's a nice blog entry of the January Teen Class I taught at Road to California.

This sunday my "regular" ASG - LA teens and I are meeting and we are going to make a t-shirt.  The girls have asked to do sleeves and knit.  I don't want to tell them that both can be difficult because I learned, what they don't know.. is better!  I'll take photos and post next week. This will be our first regular meeting this year as the previous have all been "camps" at various sewing and quilting events.  It will be nice to have the  smaller group of about 4-6 girls.  They are all so talented and fearless.  This year I'm going to concentrate on techniques and give them more instructions instead of just trying to get a project completed.  I want them to end this year with a good sewing base so sewing on their own will be easier.

I've also been working on my Sew Easy Knits  website.  It was transferred over to me and we ended up losing the content and pages, so I've been trying to rebuild it AND learn how to use Yahoo.  I think I got it "good enough for now", but really do want to revamp it a lot more. 

In July, I'll start working part time!  Yea!  I'm really excited because this means I will have more sewing and fun time!  It's a sort of semi-retirement before I actually do retire.  I'm thinking of expanding my teen sewing to weekly, but think I should take the summer and enjoy my half-time before I fill up my days.  And I got some cleaning and re-organizing to do.

My sewing goal this weekend is to finish the mother of the bride and flower girl dresses! 

Wedding Attire Progress

The wedding gown is essentially done!  I really wish I could share it with you... but, I can't.  I also almost finished the flower girl dress, and sadly I cannot share that either since I used the same fabric as the wedding gown. (I promise to share pictures of everything as soon after the wedding!)   BUT, I did make good progress to the outside of the mother-of-the-bride dress, and I can share it with you. This is a close up of the bodice.  I need to add the lining and attach the "sleeve" on your right.  Marfy has no instructions, so I'm just guessing, and playing, and looking, and rearranging, but I think this is it. 

I love the fabric and I love the dress!  I want to make this dress for me!   There will be some sort of bling on the ruched/gather square.  Either a broche or some sort of bedazzling.

Here's a full view.  I love the seams in the front.  I bought some ivory china silk for the lining, but I think I need something closer to the color of the dress.  I think it will be too difficult to make it perfect so no lining peaks out and to make it easier on myself, I'm going to get some lining that closely matches.

Now, for MY dress.  I like this pattern and the version with the twisted peep hole.  I got two fabrics.

and I've cut out the top one which is a silk charmeuse and have basted silk organza underlining, but the bottom one is still calling me. (It looks l ike a water color painting)  The bottom fabric is a sheer silk that I will underling with a lime green so that the yellow and green pop.  I may make the dress from both (I still have 5 weeks) and then choose one.  Which one do you like?

I have signed up for a weekend fitting class with Judy Kessinger through the local ASG.  So tomorrow morning I'll be out of the house early to take an 8AM class on tees, and then sunday on pants.  I'll take lots of photos.

Happy Sewing.. have a great weekend!