John Deere Wedding and Smocked Dresses

Friday night I began smocking the dresses for the flower girls at my daughters John Deere Wedding.When I think of all the beautiful, lacy dresses with hundreds of hours spent smocking these dresses in the past, the idea of picture smocking farm scenes just seems appalling. But this is what I am doing.

The dresses are a very fine green gingham, 1/8 inch squares to be exact. I found the fabric...........well the fabric screamed out to me and was on the 40% off rack until the end of October. I bought enough for my granddaughters who are in their mom's wedding and thought well if daughter doesn't like I will smock them anyway for summer dresses.

Daughter did like them and this is the smocking plate I am using......

with some changes. The corn is going and I am making sunflowers instead. There are two babies in this wedding coming down the isle in wagons. I cannot smock this depth of rows on a baby dress. So the two babies will have sunflowers smocked across, which I have yet to figure out what I am doing, but that is for a later date. I also am not doing the cabbages below the tractor. One dress is a size three, and 16 rows is quite deep for a small child.

As of Sunday night, this is where I have gone to.....

This believe it or not is 6 hours of pleating and smocking. Picture smocking takes a lot of time. Note the barn door to the right of the large 'X'? Well I mucked it up last night and tonight tore this whole section out and redid it.

This is how far I am at bedtime tonight. Eight hours of smocking. The barn still needs outline stitches in black, which I will do when I have black on the needle for the tractor. So far the wheels have been the biggest challenge. I will start with the big tractor wheel tomorrow.

This afternoon on my way home from the city, I stopped at a friends house because she has been missing in action the last three weeks. She had breast cancer two years ago and I was worried about her. So I dropped in. She was fine, just on new medication that makes her feel awful. Now this lady always meets you at the door or outside, never asks you in. Well today she did ask me in. Said she had fabric she has been wanting to give me but couldn't get to it in the closet. Could I help? Okay now I thought she meant she couldn't reach it in the closet and my tall stature could! Was I wrong!! She is a hoarder!!! Couldn't get to the closet. I must have moved 20 boxes into the hallway to get to the closet. Good news was I came home with enough fabric to make myself 8 skirts and two dresses and the lining. I  felt totally dirty when I came out of there. I stripped at the door of my kitchen and threw my clothes in the wash, and then washed all the fabric. Yuck! How on earth can people live like that? Needless to say, it made my house seem really clean and smelling nice ( food in the slow cooker helped), and gave me this desire to want to clean. Hope that desire lasts into tomorrow!

Baby Smocked Nighties

Daughter has been told to be prepared for a premee baby this time around, as she has had faux labour a few times and has been rushed to the hospital only to come home again. This baby due date is January 23,2013, but who knows what will happen. I have smocked two nighties for the baby.

Preemie Nightie

I have a real busy day here today. I have decided to book two days off in a row to do nothing but what needs doing here. I am not leaving the farm for anything ( except an emergency). It is the end of the month and I promised myself two projects would be completed by October 31st. One the cleaning of the kitchen cupboards which I finished last week. The second, under the back staircase. This is where the homeschooling books are kept, along with other reading material, magazines, photo albums and tucked way in the back is two plastic drawer sets with my threads, machine needles, patterns and knitting needles and such. Today it gets cleaning out. The shelves dismantled as Dearest wants to insulate that wall. It is the north wall, and is cold in the winter. The small downstairs bathroom is off this space and is pretty cold to sit at in the winter. I also want to make turkey pot pie and turkey loaf today for later this week. I have help today as the 21 year old is home until 3pm. So either she can help with schoolwork or cleaning. I'll let her pick.

Last night I pleated two preemie nighties for daughters third child due in January but we are told will be early. My daughter is sending a hormonal signal that is telling her body it is time. But she is only 26 1/2 weeks along. the doctors have told her to be prepared. In the meanwhile she is freaking because she had big babies before and has nothing small. I thought to comfort her with two preemie nighties, smocked.

Off to work!

Working Thoughts

I seem to be living on 5 hours sleep a night. I go to bed exhausted, as I go through an 18 hour work day. But wake up full of vigour and vim.

My thought lately has been on transforming this bedroom that belonged to my 20 year old daughter into a Country Victorian room, that will be used as a guest room. I want it really Shabby Cottage looking, using many items I already have here on the farm.

Here are some photo's of the room at present ( totally uncleaned!)( table on left side folded up was used for seedlings, that are all planted in the garden now)

This is the the room looking in from the hallway. It is lilac in colour and cute but I am tired of the girlie look. The boarder are bunnies from Marjolein Bastin . My daughter loves her work.

This is looking from the window toward the hallway. The room is 11X 14. Where the curtain is there is a closet. Now in these really old houses closets are not deep things but rather for hooks to hang your daily clothes, remembering they didn't have a huge wardrobe. The hooks are still in there, ( very decorative ones)but shelves have been added for books and stuff. However with my book worm out of the house, it has nothing behind it. Thinking I might open it up, or put the wardrobe in front of it.

The bed is an old iron cast with brass on it. A 3/4 size, so hard to fit sheets on. The quilt is store bought when I was first married ( made in China) and is torn to pieces. The bed is missing on of the wooden wheels , which makes the bed creak whenever someone moves on it. This needs to be addressed.

The dresser is a cast off from the 'out-laws'. I love it, even though the top is rather rough looking, a scarf covers this. The drawers are deep and dovetailed.

So no new furnishings are needed. I am fine with everything in the room. I have found a new bedcovering and shams for $125. of roses, and I think plain bedding. I need to replace the pillows on our bed and will move the old ones to this bed. The room will need painting and I am thinking a soft pink and white trim. Nothing fancy. The accessories will bring the room to life. I also want to keep it plain and simple with little in the room.

I also have eldest daughters sundress to complete by the seocnd week in June for a bridal shower,she is maid of honour in. Most is made, but we needed a fitting which happened yesterday. It fits well, so now the zipper can go in.

I also have this:

Which I smocked for youngest this past winter to make a long sleeved dress, but summer is upon us, or so it seems and I shall make short sleeved instead. She needs it like yesterday!

Hot and humid here this morning. I cooked a ham before 8am.Hard to believe we had frost last Wednesday morning and now it is going up to 30C (88F) Hope to get the beans in the ground and the front porch posts painted ( spot painted) which should take about 2 hours and then finish the sundress in the afternoon which should take about 1 1 /2 hours. If I get this done and Dearest fish he caught while camping done, it shall be a fantastic day.