December 16, 2002
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HISTORIC SNIPPET FROM The Delineator, December, 1908
Christmas Presents Girls Can Make (Part two)
A gift that finds a ready welcome in these days of jumper and guimpe dresses is a set of yoke and sleeves made of tucked net. Choose a heavy net, either plain or dotted, as taste dictates, and tuck it neatly by hand. Make a high stock collar, and bone it well at the back and sides, finishing the top either with a fold of soft silk in blue or coral color, or with an edge of Honiton lace braid in a color matching the net. The sleeves may be either long or short, and shoule be finished like the collar with folds of silk or with lace braid. The yoke should be tucked to match and made deep enough so that, if desired, it can be mounted on a fitted lining.Naturally, such a gift can be given only to a relative or intimate friend whom one knows well enough to fit by guess. But this is not so difficult as it sounds, and the yoke may be altered very easily should it not be quite right.
SEWING TIPS FROM Claire Shaeffer, author, Couture Sewing Techniques. Fitting Tips
At the garment centers, the lengthwise grain should be perpendicular to the floor.
On the "average" figure, the measurement of the front waist is 2.5 cm (1") larger than the measurement for the back waist.
When measuring the length on pants, measure and mark each leg at center back 12" from the floor. Mark the finished length only on one leg. Remove the pants, and measure the distance between the 12" mark and the finished length. Beginning at the 12" mark, measure and mark an equal distance on the remaining leg.
The hemline should appear parallel to the floor, but it is generally 1/2" longer at center back.
On the "average" figure, the measurement of the front waist is 1" larger than the measurement for the back waist.
SEWING TIPS FROM JULIE MANN OF KANSAS
Dear Martha, Thank you for the weekly inspirations. Your newsletter is a refreshing change to the "spam" in my mailbox each week. It has been two years since I met you and was introduced to heirloom sewing. I attended the East Tennessee Sewing School put on by Best Sewing in 2000. I have truly been inspired to sew so much more than I have in the past 10 years since I attended that school. I was sorry to miss this year, as they fill up before I even got notice of it. I have included a couple of sewing tips and recipes for you to consider sharing in your newsletter.
Being a full time engineer and mother, I don't have loads of time to sew. So, I am always looking for sewing shortcuts. I have a trick I like to do for gathering material. Instead of sewing two rows of stitches, I cut my time in half and use a twin needle to sew only once along the edge to be gathered using a heavier bobbin thread. It works great, and I get fewer thread breaks! You just sew and pull the bobbin thread. I do have a gathering foot, but sometimes I want more gathers than it produces.
While sewing coordinating outfits for my sons (Justin, 6 and Henry, 3) from Jack and Jill, I had a clever idea. I was sewing the casing closed for the knickers waistband. I wanted to sew from the right side along the seam that attaches the waistband on. I was worried about staying as close to that edge as possible and not wandering around with a crooked sewing line. I got out my bind hem foot, the one that has the guardrail in the middle of the foot. I placed the guard right next to the seam and adjusted the stitch width to put the needle closer to the guard. I stitched a perfectly straight and close line for the casing.
PERSONAL LETTER FROM MARTHA
Dear Friends,
The trip to England was more wonderful than I ever dreamed it could be. I thought about all of you, my newsletter family, all day and tried to write down everything to tell you so you could share in this trip. I even had the traveling team remind me of things to share with you. We have so much to share I am going to tell you over the next few weeks things we did.
Joe and I went to England a day early. We went to Westminister Abbey and were walking to the London Eye when we noticed a barricade and loads of policemen. They would not let anyone pass by. We asked and found out that Tony Blair was on his way to parliament. Soon his car drove by; we could not tell which one was Tony. After the car drove into the parliament houses, they lifted the barricade and let us walk by. We rode on the giant "ferris-wheel-like" London Eye and had a wonderful conversation with a woman from Italy whose mother has a baby shop filled with lovelies.
The next morning Lynne and David Hoyoake had arrived and we went to Harrod's. Joe had a good book and preferred to stay in the hotel and read than "get in that madhouse Christmas rush" as he so expertly put it. Lynne and I saw a 36" Christening dress for $1800. It was made of an eyelet, not even Swiss. We also saw a brocade dress with absolutely no lace for $2000. To put it mildly, we purchased very little at Harrod's.
On Thursday afternoon when the rest of the group arrived, we had tea at the Kensington Palace "Orangerie" and then toured Kensington Palace. One of the thrills of that afternoon was seeing Queen Victoria's wedding dress. She was so tiny and the dress was very simple. It almost looked like a little girl's dress. Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress as well as the Queen Mother's wedding dresses were on display. What a thrill for us to see. We also saw a collection of Princess Diana's clothing and other clothing of Queen Elizabeth's. Debutant dresses from the late 1800's were also on display.
Of course, the day of needlework lessons at The Royal School of Needlework was the highlight of the trip. Our teachers were Hannah, Helen, and Heather and we were greeted by our dear friend, Elizabeth Elvin, the principal, who has taught twice here at our Huntsville school. The teachers were fabulous and even told me my whitework was brilliant. Now I know my whitework, by hand, was not brilliant; however, they were so encouraging they exhibited the very essence of excellent teaching.
Photo by Arleen Balciunas
There were trees in the back of Hampton Court Palace, right out the windows of the classroom, which looked - according to Lorene Dilworth one of our travelers - exactly like huge Hershey's kisses. Even the London cold and rain could not dampen our day at the Royal School. we are most appreciative that they allowed us to come study with them in a group as large as ours. I'll tell you more about the trip a little later.
We are shipping dolls and books like crazy this week. There is still time to get a delivery before Christmas. We have some new "heart" scissors with Martha Pullen written on the leather case. These are so creative and are meant to stick on the side of your sewing machine with the supplied hook and eye tape. They will be ever so handy to just grab and snip.
Go to: Store page for these scissors
I know this letter is a little short this week. I think most of you probaby don't have much time to read a long letter at this wonderfully busy time of year. I am still finalizing Christmas plans and look forward to spending time with family and friends. Almost none of my gifts are wrapped and some of them might not get wrapped at all. And I have decided that is perfectly OK. I need to slow down and focus on the reason for the season which is Christ my Lord.
You are dear to me and I appreciate each of you more than you will ever know. Thank you for everything.
May God Bless You,
Martha
 Anna Christine blonde hair, blue eyes |
 Hannah Grace red hair, brown eyes |
 Susan Marie brown hair, blue eyes |
 Nancy Lea black hair, brown eyes |
 Anna Garrin brown hair, blue eyes |
 Emily Jessica red hair, blue eyes |
 Victoria Elizabeth black hair, brown eyes |
 Ashley Madison blonde hair, blue eyes |
MARTHA'S SEWING MARKET IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JANUARY 9-11, 2003. ONLY THREE WEEKS AWAY!
Our exciting schedule for 2003 begins with Martha's Sewing Market in Orlando, January 9-11! We will teach pre-day sit and sew classes on Tuesday, January 7, and Wednesday, January 8! Call Diane at 800-547-4176 ext. 109 to register and get your early bird discounted tickets. We have a special event on Friday night of the Orlando market. Jinny Beyer will be our guest speaker. Her topic is Color Confidence and the lecture will begin at 6:30pm. She will have her books, etc. to sell after the lecture. The cost of this special lecture is only $3 extra if you hold an admission ticket for the Friday market.
We will also have a sewing contest at this market with very special prizes from Sulky of America, Wild Ginger Software and Martha Pullen Company. The best of show prize will be tuition to the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion in Huntsville! The theme of this market is "High Tech to Handwork" and we will have many classes from digitizing, to software, to hand work, to fitting, to stabilizers, to needles, to crazy patch, to just about everything. Click here to get more details.
FEBRUARY, 2003, SCHOOL OF ART FASHION BROCHURE NOW ON WEB SITE - Click here!
February 2-5. 2003 (Pre-Day Classes) February 6-9, 2003 (Four Day School) CALL 800-547-4176 EXT 105 TO REGISTER! A complete copy of the school brochure is also included in your current issue of Sew Beautiful. We have a large number of students already registered. Please call if you are coming to the biggest and best school ever! Schools are Beginning School, Australian Quilting School, Carol Ahles School of Fine Machine Sewing, Fine Embroidery for Little Ones, Jenny Haskins Victorian School, Mirella Arroyo School, Wendy Schoen Baby School, Creative Serger School, Baby Lock School, Bernina School, Elna School, Husqvarna/Viking School, Janome School, Pfaff School! Wow what a line up!
MARTHA PULLEN'S GREAT LAKES SEWING EXTRAVAGANZA--April 3-6, 2003
For the very first time we will take our Huge Sewing Extravaganza to the Great Lakes Area! This four day event will be held in the Double Tree Hotel, at the Detroit Metro Airport. Everyone will take all 9 sit and sew classes! This event will be underwritten by Husqvarna/Viking, who will furnish machines and sergers for everyone to use! The teachers are Martha Pullen, Dody Baker, Kathy McMakin, Peggy Dilbone, Jody Hooker, Deb Yedziniak, and Connie Palmer.
Your cost for the whole 4 days is $625 which includes instruction for all classes, kits for all classes, four lunch meals, Thursday night seminar "You Can Make Money from Your Hobby," Friday night table top clinics, and Saturday night banquet with special celebrity speaker Sue Hausmann! Please call 800-547-4176, ext. 105 or 106 to register.
SALE SALE SALE SEW BEAUTIFUL SUBSCRIPTION SALE EXTENDED: ONLY $23.99 FOR A YEAR'S SUBSCRIPTION! CALL 800-547-4176 ext. 116 - SUBSCRIBE (at this sale price of $23.99) ON LINE! Don't forget about ordering Video XI for $9.99 when you subscribe. Sew Beautiful Link
MARTHA PULLEN LICENSED TEACHER WEEKS - The next machine groups (which have openings) and dates are as follows: Pfaff, January 13-19, 2003; Viking, Feb 13-19, 2003 (full but taking a waiting list); Bernina, March 15-21, 2003; Babylock, June 17-23, 2003; and Viking, October 2-8, 2003. Call 800-547-4176 ext. 107 or 108 to get more information. Or visit our licensing info page: Licensing Link
TO CONTACT US BY PHONE: 800-547-4176 ext. 2 or 256-533-9586 TO e-mail ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, choose from this list:catalog@marthapullen.com (send your postal address to request a color catalog)
orders@marthapullen.com (for order questions)
subscriptions@marthapullen.com (for Sew Beautiful subscriptions)
schools@marthapullen.com (for School of Art Fashion)
licensing@marthapullen.com (for teacher licensing questions)
markets@marthapullen.com (for our sewing markets)
marthap@marthapullen.com -- MY PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS
SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK
Luke 1:34-38
34. Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
35. The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
36. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
37. For nothing will be impossible with God."
38. Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
Quotation from Experiencing God Day-by Day by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby for December 25.
As many of you know Dr. Henry Blackaby is one of my favorite Christian writers. His writing has been and is and will continue to be a tremendous influence in my life. His lovely wife Marilyn comes to our schools and she is also a very great influence in my life. If any of you are looking for last minute Christmas gifts, my suggestion would be to purchase a Dr. Henry Blackaby book and give it. I love every book that he has written and guarantee the most uplifiting reading ever.
"The angel Gabriel told Mary that God was planning to do something humanly impossible. All human logic would agree that a virgin could not give birth to a child. It was impossible. Yet this is exactly what was to happen. When God speaks of doing the impossible, it is no longer absurd. When was the last time God did the impossible in your life? When was the last time God spoke to you about what He wanted to do and you were scared to death by its magnitude?God still does the impossible! Too often we acknowledge our belief that God can do whatever He wants, then we add a safety clause; "But I just don't think God will do that with me!" We become practical atheists, believing that God can perform miracles but never expecting a miracle in our own lives.
God wanted to bring salvation to all of humanity. It is critical that Mary not only believed God could perform a miracle but also adjusted her life to the awesome work He planned to do through her. The difference between a Christian and a moral person is the divine. The difference between a church and a social club is the miraculous. Some can duplicate the morality of a Christian, but no one can reproduce the miraculous that should be part of the Christian experience. Do you believe that nothing is impossible for God?"
RECIPE FOR THE WEEK
Squash Dressing
2 cups cornbread crumbs
2 cups cooked squash, mashed
2 eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 can chicken soup (broth kind)
1/2 stick margarine
small amount of water if neededCombine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Use extra water if necessary to make mixture soft enough to pour. Pour into a greased baking pan, about 3 inches deep, and bake at 375 degrees from 30-40 minutes until well set and brown on top.