~ Blessings to all who enter here! ~
My name is Debbie, and I am the sole designer and seamstress for my private label, Elizabeth
Leigh. I’ve been sewing for almost 45 years and designing for 40 of those. The more I sew and
the more I create, the more I learn. I hope I never outgrow a desire to expand my
knowledge and skills. I strive for originality. Just as an author has a voice, I, too, hope my
designing voice is evident in everything I make. I credit whatever designing talent I have to the
great Creator, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who lives in me and allows my handiwork to
bless others. Without Him, I would be nothing.
I specialize in one-of-a-kind, original totes, decorator pillows, and Christmas stockings. From
time to time, I also offer refurbished vintage knitting stands, knitting or project bags, diaper bags,
embellished denim vests and jackets (I started embellishing denim in the early 70s), and other
home décor and women’s accessory items.
Most of my creations have a cottage flair, probably because I love virtually all things vintage,
especially textiles, lace, and buttons. I grew up in the 50s and 60s in a white cottage with pink
shutters and a pink front door and two mimosa trees in the front that produced pink and white
blossoms. I loved that house, so it’s no wonder pink and white are my favorite colors and that
I’m crazy about cottage style!
I am a terrible hoarder of fabric and laces, and I especially love vintage barkcloth, faille, and
crocheted lace. I use only quality vintage and new fabrics, laces, buttons, trims, and other
materials, and you’ll find my workmanship to be quality as well. I guarantee it or your money
back. I never rush through a project. I may spend 30 minutes or more looking for exactly the
right accent fabric, button, or lace, or I may work half a day on something, decide it just isn’t
going the way I wanted it to, put it aside, and start a new project. Quality, not quantity, is always
my goal. I never offer anything for sale that I would not want myself, and I am often sorry to see
things leave. However, the comments and feedback I get from my customers make it all
worthwhile.
Now, a bit about my journey as a designer-seamstress, which I hope you enjoy.
When I was five, my mother’s father died and Grandmother came to live with us. At that time,
we lived in a two-bedroom apartment downtown, right behind a large church and just a block
from the bus station and courthouse, but it was quiet on our street. Grandmother and I shared a
bedroom, the one that stretched across the back and had lots of big windows to let in the sunlight.
I remember how I loved to sit and watch her sew on her old Singer. The first thing I remember
watching her make was a naptime quilt for me to take to kindergarten, which is perhaps one of
the reasons I love patchwork and quilting so much and often incorporate them in my designs.
That fall, my parents bought the white cottage with the pink shutters, which was at the end of a
quiet street in a small subdivision. Again, Grandmother and I shared a room, and I spent many
an hour watching her sew and listening to her quote scripture and Robert Louis Stevenson’s
poetry. At night, when we all sat in the living room and watched TV – in black and white, of
course – Grandmother would crochet. She taught me to sew a bit and tried to teach me to
crochet, but I didn’t get the hang of it as a child. She made all her clothes and most of mine. I’ll
never forget how she could just cut a pattern from a newspaper. She’d take her scissors and snip
it out, then lay it against me, trim it to fit, and voila! A custom pattern. And nothing was ever
plain. She dressed my clothes with lace, rickrack, appliqués, ruffles, fancy stitches from her new
Elna ... whatever she thought would be most appropriate, and the result was always wonderful.
And thus was born my love affair with fabric and sewing machines. By the time I was in high
school, I was making virtually all my clothes and designing most them. I also made most of my
mother’s and my younger sister’s clothes (lots of big sister/little sister outfits!) and eventually
branched out into making hats and home décor items. I worked in a dress shop during college,
and although I bought some of my clothes there, I continued to sew for myself and my family.
After graduation, I moved to another lovely little town not too far away, where I taught high
school English for five years. I was living there when I met my husband, Tawny. We married in
1974 and had our first son in 1976. I’ll never forget making Michael a pair of overalls out of two
pairs of blue jean legs left over from Tawny’s cut-offs. Those overalls were darling! Our other
two sons, Jared and Whit, wore them, too, and they’re now carefully packed away for our first
grandson to wear, whenever we have one.
When Michael was a baby, I decided I wanted to learn how to crochet. There was a nice yarn
shop in town (no such thing as Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby then!), so I bought the materials I
needed, including a sweater pattern with basic how-to-crochet instructions. I worked hard on that
sweater ... and it turned out perfect, just a tad too small for my baby (about two or three sizes too
small!). I gave it to a niece for her doll. But I didn’t give up. I’m convinced anyone can learn to
do just about anything they set their mind to if they persevere. Over the years, I’ve crocheted
many an afghan and doily. I do love to crochet! I also enjoy cross-stitch and crafting.
But I love to sew most of all. When the boys were little, I made them short sets in the summer
and appliquéd sweatshirts for them in the winter. I also made dresses for my nieces. In the mid-80s, I started a children’s customized clothing business with a close friend who was also a
sewing addict and the mother of boys. We offered sweet pinafores and yoke-style dresses along
with appliquéd and reversible shortalls, longalls, and jumpers, which I designed. Some of my
designs were featured in Country Handcrafts magazine.
After my friend moved out of state, I kept the business going for another year or two, but it
became more than I could handle alone. Following several unsuccessful attempts at hiring good
seamstresses, I closed up shop. One of these days, I’m going to have grandchildren to sew for,
and when I do, I have lots of great patterns and appliqué designs to fall back on.
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying designing and sewing for my eBay customers, many of whom have
become long-distance friends.
Another of my avocations (and for ten years, an actual vocation for me) is writing. Recently, I
started penning articles for eBay’s Reviews and Guides site. There’s a link at the bottom of this
page that will take you to a list of my guides. Click on any title to read that guide. If you find a
guide helpful, please take a second to click the YES button at the bottom.
I thank you for taking the time to get to know me a little better, and I hope you’ll continue to
watch my auctions. Do email me <dbh71301@yahoo.com> if you have any questions or
comments. I always enjoy hearing from people who share my interests.
I am honored and privileged to belong to The Cottage Connection Club, a group of very talented
eBay sellers. We have a wonderful, new, totally redesigned website (click on the hat logo below), where
you can meet all our members and see all our current auctions. We invite you to participate in
our forum while you’re there.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and read my page! I look forward to meeting you some time.
Debbie
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