Show & Share

I love to hear from people who have used my patterns and designs and are happy with them. I heard from Donna M., from Claremore, OK, on Tuesday. She had this to say:

Hi JoAnn,

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed both patterns.  The E-book layout is delightful.  I love the vibrant colors and also the clean lines & understandable organized instructions.  The tips are a pleasant surprise & so helpful.  It makes you want to dive right into sewing.  I can hardly wait for your next pattern!

Thank you,

Donna M.

Last night, I received pictures of her creations using my "Out & About Zippered Wristlet" pattern. These are great!! Donna told me that she made them for her four granddaughters and is filling them with treats for Easter. I love the candy colors and and the cute holiday print. I know Donna's grandduaghters will love them, too!

Thanks for sharing, Donna!!

Aprons Aplenty!!

This past Christmas was the first in many years that I had made up my mind to sew gifts and followed through with that decision. And I had a blast! I made aprons for my sister and 4 sisters-in-law. They really liked them! Instead of making a pattern, I used one from the book "More Retro Aprons" by Cindy Taylor Oates and modified the pocket of style B by making it bigger and lowering it to the waist. I also left out the darts because I was a little lazy but in hind site, wish I had used them. Sewing for a living sometimes makes sewing more "business" than "pleasure" but this project was just fun for fun's sake! Here's what I ended up with:

You Can Make This!

I am so happy to have my patterns available now through YouCanMakeThis.com!! Sisters Kim Christopherson & Kris Thurgood of the DIY Dish offer designers/patternmakers a bright and cheerful showcase to highlight fun and creative patterns.

More patterns to come!!

Sara May Allington

I posted this on another sewing site a while back, but I wanted to start it back up here. I plan to post other examples from my collection.

A year ago this past June, my dear dog Emmie, whom I love dearly, spotted a rabbit in the corner of our back yard. Unfortunately, she and I were both on the top step of my back porch and her leash was looped around my wrist when she took off after said rabbit. I went air born down the six steps to our driveway, breaking my right ankle. That’s my driving ankle, so I was pretty much house-bound and then some complications made me couch-bound for the entire summer. I couldn’t even make it down the basement stairs to my shop, so no sewing got done all summer. What’s a rabid stitcher to do?

Well, let me tell you. I became obsessed, thanks to my laptop’s ability to connect me with the rest of the world, with vintage sewing books. Ebay and Etsy became my best friends. I amassed quite a collection. Unlike many book collectors, condition was not an issue – I have come to love the dog-eared pages, stained covers and hand-written notes – all signs of a well-loved and eagerly used volume. If it includes pattern drafting, I’m sold.

At first I limited myself to those published in the 1940s and 1950s. I love the quaint attitude and near-reverence toward sewing that they reflect. But then I came across an earlier work, “Practical Sewing and Dressmaking” by Sara May Allington, published in 1913, that absolutely stole my heart. Sara devised the “Allington System of Drafting” and this book STILL had the original two-piece, hinged cardboard drafting ruler tucked inside. From 1913!!! The book is divided into "Lessons" instead of chapters, including "Utensils Needed fo Sewing and Dressmaking", "How to Take Measures", and "Women's Circular Drawers".

I plan to share and showcase little bits of my collection for those of you who might find them interesting. If anyone else out there shares this passion, I’d love to hear about your collection!
Happy sewing!!
Jo :)

Welcome!

I’ve spent so much time following wonderfully creative blogs that I’ve decided to dust off my own and try my hand at it. I love sitting with a cup of coffee and hopping from one blog to the next and I‘m always amazed and inspired by what I find. I’m an embroiderer who makes my living designing and writing about embroidery. I've owned Garden of Daisies Embroidery for about 13 years now. I'm excited, too, to announce that I'm just about ready to launch a line of patterns -- Seedlings Sewing Patterns. I'll keep you posted about the launch date.

So please keep my blog in mind. It will take a little while to get some real content going and hopefully, I’ll post things you’ll find worth reading.
Happy Stitching!!
Jo