Heirloom Sewing - My First Love

Welcome to Behind The  Monogram! I know many of you are snowbound, but earlier today in south Georgia the temperature was 87 degrees. Yes, shorts weather! Now it is raining and getting cold. Two exciting things are happening to Thomasville, Georgia this week. We have what is called "First Friday Night" here in Thomasville. It is just as it sounds, there is a celebration, street dance (Swinging Medallions this week), and shopping at our participating downtown shops on the first Friday night of each month. Thomasville is really lovely at night. Here is a picture I took a few weeks ago outside Sweet Grass Dairy while downtown at a meeting with friends:

This is the store front at Sweet Grass Dairy.

The second really exciting thing happening is that HGTV is in town shooting an episode of "Restore America". One of the old homes on Monroe street is getting a makeover. Since I drive within a block of it every day, I shot a picture from the car to show you. These guys are hard at work and it is lunch time!

The HGTV crew has been seen at different locations doing interviews, eating lunch, and taking on location shots. Pretty cool!

O.K., enough rambling and onto the blog topic. Since the first of the year, I have been trying to make time for one of my passions, Smocking and Heirloom Sewing. If you have read the "about me" section of the blog, you know I have been doing smocking and heirloom sewing for over 30 years. I've taught it and done custom sewing using the techniques. Life and has been crazy the past few years (can we say 5 - 10 years) and I haven't been able to find time for it. I am so excited to be enjoying it again! Here are a few of my latest projects hoping to make an appearance soon on the website:

Smocked Imperial Batiste Baby Dress with Scalloped Hem

Smocked Roses Daygown with Tatting

Smocked Heirloom Daygown made with Imperial Batiste and French Lace

There are more projects planned and I look forward to sharing them with you later! Until next time, remember to shop at The Polka Dot Store for the finest quality baby gifts and accessories.

Great Gifts For Babies

This week I am getting ready to participate in The Merry Marketplace event put on by the Junior Service League of Valdosta, Georgia. Can you say "Wow, that must be a lot of work!"? Yep, it is but these shows are so much fun and I get to meet great people. Anyway, while I was deciding what to take, I got to thinking about displaying my merchandise. One thing I find hard to do with an online store is show how different items can come together and make a great gift. That got me to thinking...................Blog Post!

I didn't take pictures of all the items together because,
1. It was too dark when I thought of the idea. And
2. I like how the individual pictures can bring together a "whole" picture.

For example, look at this series of pictures: O.K., so you want a cute outfit for Christmas morning. First, take a red gown..........

Then add some adorable socks.........

Next add a big flower headbandor

maybe a polka dot cap. You could finish the outfit with a smocked Christmas bib............

or how about pearls!

Just think, it all started with a simple little red knit gown.

We can do the same kind of thing for a little boy whose daddy loves to hunt.

First take this cute convertible romper...........

add a matching cap (the two really do match in real life)

add a cute little bib to clean up drools and you are set!

It can be a daunting task trying to put together outfits when shopping online but that is where great customer service come into play. Shoot me an email, letting me know what you are thinking about, a price range, and I will gladly put together some suggestions for you!