Lamplighter Theatre meets Technology

Our children have really been enjoying the Lamplighter Books from Lamplighter Publishing. Basically, they're old books with outdated copyrights that have been republished. Plenty of feminine frills for girls and masculine pirates and adventures for boys. We love them!

Recently while perusing our Channel Store (using the Roku box we got years ago via Netflix), we discovered there is an entire section within the Sermon Audio "channel" for some of the audio books Lamplighter Theatre has published - listen for FREE!

It's brilliant with wonderful character building examples for discussion afterwards. So, if you have the Roku or similar box, go add Sermon Audio to your channel selection, and then find the Children's Section. It's found under Mark Hamby's Lamplighter Series.

Or, if you don't have the box - go to sermonaudio.com and you can download them for free, too!

Did she sew?

While much of the world virtually attended the funeral of Whitney Houston today, I went looking to see if there were any photographs of her childhood (those childhood photo montages are always intriguing to me at funerals). I wanted to know what she looked like when she was young -- and probably had no clue that a future life of glitz, glamor, fame and tabloids would ultimately write her destiny.

I saw several photos here and then an older video tribute here where I learned that she used to be a clothes model in the early 1980's - coincidentally, for Simplicity, the pattern company plus many other clothing inspirations and advertisements.

Anyway, thought this would be of particular interest to my fellow Stitchery Friends. You never know who that person is on the cover of that sewing pattern and who they might become!

I wonder if there will be a run on Simplicity Pattern 5344 now - was she featured on any other pattern covers?

Happy Valentine's

Last year my daughter and I worked together in making these little Valentine's cards for her class*. We are homeschooling now but the idea still lingers as we think of family and friends for this year.

The end product was a melding of two patterns. One was from Sew! Mama! Sew! and Moda Bakeshop.

SweetPea would pick out the fabric and buttons to accommodate each person on her list depending on the relationship and then she and I came up with some generic phrases for her to copy using a fabric ink pen. I would finish with hand embroidery following her own handwriting. Granted, I asked for the class list about a month ahead of time so we could have ample time to prepare, but it was quite fun come delivery day.

Regardless of whether you're making a one or two of these for siblings or close friends or for a whole class, it is always fun to have an excuse to play with fabric scraps with your daughter.

* Sweetpea and I visited her old class a couple of months ago and several of the kids came running up to her, gave her lots of hugs and said, "I still have your Valentine!!! I have it on my shelf--- or it's pinned to my wall---- or I kept it for a long time until my little brother got it----- etc..."

Merry Christmas Trinket Boxes

Several years ago I was meandering through an antique store near Seattle, Washington. It was at Two French Hens in Burien if you desire to have a peek there sometime - they have the sweetest offerings!

Anyway, I stumbled upon an old stationery box with various old cards -- in it were these little cards so-to-speak that were delicately preserved with their original ribbons and even their envelopes so as to be mailed! The cards were from the early 1900's with crow-quill & ink penned names ~ there was one for Earle, Glen, Ronald, and H.E. Bailey. The rest of the cards were all blank. Of course the cards were quite fragile, but I determined then and there to replicate and offer them to others. They were just too sweet not to share!

With Christmas around the corner, I wanted everyone to have these to use in plenty of time for Holiday gatherings and gift-giving exchanges.

I am calling them the Merry Christmas Trinket Boxes.... enjoy!


Click on the photo above for the free PDF download and step-by-step photograph tutorial with assembly instructions.

Clothes Pin Dolls

These are so easy a small child can make them!



Step 1: Fold a little edge of a square or rectangular fabric scrap and pin it with the clothes pin.



Step 2: Flip the clothes pin down.



Step 3: Wrap the fabric corners to the center around the clothes pin.



Step 4: Tie a piece of bias tape, yarn, or string around the clothes pin for the neck scarf.



Optional Step 5: (Little Girls like this one, particularly) Draw a face.


You can pink the fabric edges, too, if you want a frilly hem.

Have fun!

Singer Tucker Attachment Video Tutorial

How to sew pintucks using an old-fashioned Singer Tucker Attachment.
Demonstration was with a Singer Featherweight 222 Sewing Machine.

Bias Cutting Tutorial

This bias cutting technique has actually been around for quite some time. It wouldn't surprise me if it was something Mary Brooks Picken discovered all on her own when she assisted with the writing and publication of the old Singer Sewing Book. It's a simple trick, really, and makes use of small pieces for fabric conservation!

Sometimes I have a little piece of fabric leftover from a project, but not enough to cut long strips for bias trim - and it would be tedious to sew several small strips together. Other times I want to conserve every last fiber of yardage because of the fabric rarity or cost. I have a feeling I will be using this technique often for my Liberty remnant prints!

To begin, cut a parallelogram shape from fabric with the long sides being cut on the bias and the short sides being cut on the straight of grain.

Long sides are cut on the bias and short sides are cut on the straight of grain
(as indicated by the grid on the cutting mat)

Accuracy is very, very important, and can make a difference in the end result, so be sure to cut the short (straight-grain) side and bias side very straight like you see in the photograph below.

Turn your fabric piece so that the bias edge is aligned to a straight line on the cutting mat grid and the straight-grain edge is aligned to the bias cutting line on the grid. This will allow you to draw parallel lines spaced evenly (following the straight lines on the grid) for perfectly straight bias strips.

Now you can draw your bias lines using the measurements on your cutting mat. Whether you want bias that measures 1 inch, 1.5 inches, etc.... with a fabric marking pen, you can use the straight lines on the grid as your guide to mark parallel bias-cutting lines.


On the back side of the fabric piece measure and mark your bias strips to your desired width. It does not matter what width you prefer, this technique is applicable for any bias width desired.


Taking the Singer Sewing Book technique one step further, on one *straight-edge side*, make a mark 1/2-inch on either the right or the left side (it doesn't matter which) of each bias line.

In the photo above, I made my marks 1/2-inch to the left of each bias line.

After you make your 1/2-inch marks, transfer them to the right side of the fabric so you can easily see them when you align right sides together in the next step.

Begin matching right sides together with the two straight-edge sides. Make sure that you have one full bias width (as indicated by the pen in the photo above) that will NOT get stitched... simultaneously aligning the bias lines on one straight edge side to the 1/2-inch marks you made on the other straight edge side as you will see in the next photo.

Precisely pinning the two straight-edge sides together, align the bias lines of one edge to the 1/2-inch marks you made on the other edge. This will ensure that after stitching the two sides together, your bias lines will align straight and and continuous despite the seam allowances.

When you bring the straight-edge sides together it will seem a bit awkward, but this is normal.

NOTE: You will need to have one full width of bias (which will NOT get stitched) on at least one end when you pin it together as indicated by the previous two pictures in the tutorial.


Stitch the two straight ends together using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Again, being precise is very important.

Notice the red stitching in the photo above? I stopped just short of the last full width of bias. There is now a full bias width that was not stitched as indicated in previous photo instructions. (the extra little width on the right side is just excess and will get cut off)

When you align the bias lines on one side to the 1/2-inch marks you made on the other side, after stitching the right sides together, your bias lines should run in a continuous line - even through the seam you just stitched.

You can see below how the bias lines are now perfectly aligned running continuous through the seam - essentially forming a fabric tube.

Using a pressing ham or rolled towel, insert it into your fabric tube and press the seam allowances open.

Beginning with the side edge that has your un-stitched full-bias width, begin cutting following the bias line that you marked.

You should just keep cutting with the lines essentially forming one continuous path. Trim any excess.

My 8 x 18 inch fabric piece yielded 82 inches of one-inch bias!