Spring yet?

I'm dying to sew for spring & summer. Ya, it's 29 degrees outside right now and falling...all I can think about is tulips & jonquils, candy colored linen and little girls with white gloves & patent leather shoes.

In TOTAL keeping with my current state of psychicness (wha? You didn't remember I was psychic? Well, ya!) I came home to find the spring issue of Sew Beautiful in my mailbox. It is Beautiful! A real throwback to the "old days" of SB, when the garments were gorgeous heirloom confections, the photography was impeccable, and the projects were varied enough to suit most sewists. True, hot tea or cocoa & a comfy chair eye candy. SB was sold a year (maybe more?) ago to a publishing house, and the quality of the magazine went waaaayyyy down in my not so humble opinion (*insert cheeky grin*). I even decided not to resubscribe for the first time in 9 years.

Apparently either I lost my marbles & subscribed again, or a family member/friend subbed for me, because I have a year's worth of mags coming again! This issue is my first this year, and is truly lovely. There's a sweet little middy dress featured as the "free pattern", size 2-10, I believe:


There is also a really beautiful pictorial by Sue Pennington Stewart, featuring several of her new heirloom patterns for girls & boys. My two faves are Jonquil & Tulip (fitting, ya?):


and here's a snapshot of the pattern envelopes (GREAT size range in the envelopes too, 6 mos to girls 12) :


and there's this pretty, reproduction older girls dress (you'd have to have the right occasion, but it's still lovely):


And finally, there is this absolutely darling baby saque & bonnet, by my favorite heirloom designer Jeannie Downs Baumeister:


I don't think I've ever mentioned it before, as I don't do a lot of heirloom and smocking any longer, but a few years ago I was a contributor to a fall issue of Sew Beautiful. I wrote an instructional article for a little boys shirt with smocked or pieced insets; a technique that I created out of necessity. My first published piece. For that reason alone, SB will always have a special place in my heart (even when it's having a crappy year. Hey, we all have them.)

So go! Buy an issue!

a.
(all pics courtesy of me, my camera, and the Jan/Feb '07 issue of SB).