Stitching with Elli

This was another project that was sitting in my work area for a long time. I stitched the embroidery on the skirt January 2nd…..and now it is May 20th. Welllll ya know some projects take a little longer 😀  There was a twofold reason it took so long to do…1. A lot of baby showers came up…I got distracted making things for babies. 2. I didn’t realize when I picked the pattern (Simplicity 3520)  that the waist band was supposed to be a lace covering. I couldn’t find anything I wanted to do for the waist! no fabric looked quite right…no ideas came to mind. So it sat there…and sat there and SAT there…..

This week I had determined to finish up projects…the Fancy dress for the giveaway ….. this dress…..and an Apron for a friend. It has been a busy two days of sewing!  I have finished the Giveaway dress (just waiting for a chance to get pictures!), this doll dress and the Apron is about half done.

I still wasn’t exactly sure what to do on the bodice for this dress.  Until two days ago I had the perfect idea (I just love perfect ideas 😉 ). The skirt was a Kathy Harrison embroidery design (see her site here, they are kind of pricey but AWESOME!) Kathy Harrison designs are gorgeous and intricate…PLUS she gives the added bonus of giving you detailed designs and then individual designs of all the elements as well. There was an embroidery file of just the large floral spray. I took the floral spray, made a duplicate…mirrored it…and took a individual flower and stuck it in the middle. Viola! I had my bodice design! Embroidery software is amazing 🙂

I wasn’t sure how it would look embroidering it over the lace but overall I think I liked it!

The skirt embroidery design had lovely scalloped edge. The decision was made to cut it out around the scallops and the have the underskirt with a ruffle peeking out. The original patten did not have this….but it did have a underskirt. So it wasn’t a huge alteration.

There is still a few stray whispy threads to clean up…oopsie!

It was finally a lovely day after all the rain. Joesfina thought it would be a great day to go pick blackberries….

Only after the blackberries were picked did I get her to pose for me in the garden.

Then she decided she wanted a “picnic” on the grass with blackberries…..”But Josefina, you can’t have a picnic with just blackberries to eat.”

“This is a breakfast picnic. So it doesn’t matter if it is only blackberries.”

I hope she doesn’t get any blackberry juice on her new dress!

See Josefina’s first dress I made her here plus several other of her friends.

Or you can read about her gardening adventure where she planted a whole garden with just one other doll friend to help!

I love comments so let me know what you think Josefina might do next!! 🙂