April Program, DIY Bishop

The April program was taken from the July/August 2012 Sew Beautiful magazine.  Claire Meldrum had an article about a DIY bishop with honeycomb smocking.  We were intrigued about being able to design our own bishop pattern, so Diana researched the article so that she could guide us through the process.  We were glad she did all that research, because she found out that several of the directions and figures in the magazine article were in error, and we would have ruined our fabric if we had followed them.  The magazine has published corrections on its website. 

The honeycomb smocking was familiar to several of us who remembered it from years ago when we did that stitch on gingham.  On this pattern, however, we had to draw grid lines instead of putting the fabric through a pleater.

We are looking forward to seeing the completed dresses at the May meeting.

Stitchin' in the Foothills 2013

Stitchin' in the Foothills moved to the Embassy Suites in Rogers, Arkansas, this year.  Twenty wonderful ladies enjoyed two and a half days of stitching with Jeannie Baumeister.  We had a terrific venue at the Embassy Suites.  Our meeting rooms couldn't have been better, and the meals were great.  Jeannie is a talented instructor with unlimited patience in teaching and explaining the skills we needed to have in order to complete the precious little slip and linen hemstitched and embroidered dress.  Door prizes, raffle baskets, and hoo-haws (table favors) all made for a fun experience for all attendees.

Thanks to all of our out-of-town ladies.  You are family to us!  Thanks to all the OFC SAGA chapter members who worked so hard to make this a great sewing experience. Thanks to the staff of Embassy Suites for going above and beyond to make us feel welcome and comfortable.

January Program - Beribboned Baby Bonnet

Our January program was the last in our year-long bonnet series.  The bonnet originally was in an issue of Sew Beautiful magazine and designed by Sara Norris.  We were able to get the beautiful silk dupioni fabric and ribbon at The Stitchin' Post in Little Rock...thank you, Jane and Linda, for always coming to our rescue with wonderful supplies!

Susan taught us how to make the lovely silk satin ribbon roses, leaves, and ruching that decorated this bonnet.  We can't wait to get ours finished.

Stitchin' in the Foothills XV

It's official!  Jeannie Baumeister is coming to Ozark Foothills Chapter, March 21 - 23, 2013, for 2 1/2 days of wonderful classes.  Thursday afternoon, we will be making a little slip to go under the dress pictured above.  For the slip, we will learn to make whip tucks (also known as overhand tucks) along with the hand shell hem.


On Friday and Saturday, we will make the "Rosebuds and Hemstitched Old Fashioned Baby" dress shown above.  Jeannie will teach how to prepare fabric for hemstitching, then the half and whole hemstitch, as well as lace insertion, lace edging, hand embroidery techniques, and construction.  

Cost for this class will be $225, which will include instruction, kits for both dress and slip, and lunches for both full days.  For more information, email ozarkfoothills@gmail.com.

December Christmas Party

Members celebrated Christmas with our traditional potluck and ornament exchange.  After a delicious meal and a friendly game, we each emerged with a lovely stocking.

The theme for this year's ornament exchange was a stocking.  It was interesting to see how each member of the chapter interpreted the design to make a stunning and unique stocking.

Our potluck lunch is always delicious, and this year was no exception.  Some of us remembered past members by preparing some of their favorite foods.  It was a good time for remembering old friends and happy times.  Carol had made a gift of a beautiful poinsettia pin for each of us.

November Retreat

In November, members went on a weekend retreat to a lovely house in Bella Vista.  We each were responsible for one meal for the weekend, so we ate very well!  We brought projects, UFO's, and bonnets that we wanted to finish.  Saturday morning, everyone was up early to go to a local church bazaar, and several members found wonderful bargains and treasures.  We celebrated Tawana's birthday with a cake appropriate to our love of sewing...a sewing machine on top and spools of thread around the outside.

October Program - Sashiko

 Sashiko (刺し子^?, literally "little stabs") is a form of decorative reinforcement stitching (or functional embroidery) from Japan. Traditionally used to reinforce points of wear, or to repair worn places or tears with patches, this running stitch technique is often used for purely decorative purposes in quilting and embroidery.  (Wikipedia)

Diana taught this technique on a little bonnet kit from Wendy Schoen.  The back of the bonnet has a flower outlined with a running stitch with a bullion bumble bee in the center.  The front edge of the bonnet has Sashiko embroidery in a scalloped pattern with lace on the edge.  A ribbon rosette of silk ribbon is used to attach the silk ribbon ties.  Diana completed the ensemble above which is on display at The Stitchin' Post in Little Rock.