Hello fellow stitchers! Welcome to the Delicate Stitches by Sylvia Blog. I hope you will be patient with me and this process. I am still learning the "administration" of my format. But I am a fairly quick learner, so I hopefully will be sailing with this shortly. My plan is to start having an entry every Monday and we will see how things go from there.

Summer is winding down and so sewing for Back to School is hopefully starting to take shape in your mind. I always loved making a "First Day of School" outfit for my kids. The girls were much more interested in that they little brother! Even though we concentrated on "apples", plaids, teacher things, we still kept the clothes cool and comfortable because we have warm weather until mid October, here in Oklahoma.

One of my favorite smocking designs are the ones with the little "Scottie" dogs. Ellen McCarn's plate "Wee Ladies" is so precious and would make up a darling smocked dress for the start of school. Of course one thinks of black, white and red, but there are other options. The Pima checks are always a great standby and launder and wear so well!!

I also love a couple of patterns by Maja's Heirlooms. She had fun, out of the ordinary smocking ideas. Her pattern "Larkin" was shown in an older Sew Beautiful magazine to shorten it and have it as a top. How cute would this look paired with one of the "Sassy Skirts" by Children's Corner Patterns. Larkin uses an adjusted bishop style smocking, but works well for an older girl who thinks she's grown out of the basic yoke dress or an inset smocked garment. Larkin's smocking would be cute in Julia Golson's "Lighthearted"  in white lawn and add Fabric Finders Floral print #15 for the skirt.

Hope that is a little mid summer inspiration for you to get going toward back to school sewing. Please feel free to respond with suggestions, comments on things you have stitches or products you would like to see added to the website.

Happy stitchin', Sylvia