The Family Get Together

For the first time in 7 years all 4 of our kids were home at the same time for one short but wonderful afternoon. They have added spouses and babies to the group which is of course more fun that we could ever have imagined. One question that had been bothering me....can I still cook for a crowd? Yes, yes I can!

Beautiful weather, lots of fun stories, and some funny faces kept us laughing. This is a pretty innocent looking picture, but I guarantee that someone is either about to get their hair pulled or bit in a minute! Actually, the babies started adjusting to each other after a couple of days and are now starting to play together.

With all we have going on, we are truly blessed. We are looking forward to Rex's appointment at Vanderbilt Hospital this week and will hopefully come home with some answers.

Michie'

If You Can Sneak In A Little Lace.....

If you can sneak in a little lace, it turns a simple bubble into a very dressy Easter or dedication outfit. Made from pattern #111, I used white 100% pima cotton, and ecru lace edging. The bubble features simple tucks and antique pearl buttons.

Besides being the traditional color for Easter or Baby Dedication, white is also my favorite for portraits. As fair and blond as our little guy is, white still shows off his beautiful complexion.

Michie'

Nap Time Sewing

Let's just say that it has been many many years since I had to pray that a little one would take a long nap so that I could sew! I was able to get exactly 1 hour and 47 minutes of sewing time in yesterday. Just enough to finish Christian's Easter outfit!

The blue gingham Jon-Jon is perfect for the boy's first Easter. I added two small pleats under the insert to give it as Anna said, "A little more baby fullness."
I used pattern #107 for the white Imperial Broadcloth shirt. I lengthened the shirt by about 3" for the appropriate length and changed the pointed collar to a rounded Peter Pan collar.
I just guessed at how much to round off the back and front points of the original collar pattern, but you could easily use another pattern with a Peter Pan collar to get the right curve.

Emma's Easter dress is cut out and ready to go. May we have more good naps this week!

Michie'

The Best Week Ever!

Little Emma has arrived and not just for a visit this time! I still keep thinking that this is temporary and forgetting that this is for good. The only time it seems real is when I go house hunting with mommy.

Emma and Christian finally met for the first time. They are now 16 months and 10 months old. It was sooooo much fun watching them figure each other out! Emma kept wanting to pull Christian's hair, but you can tell we also had moments of sharing. Rex and I are thrilled beyond words that we are going to get to watch the babies grow up to be special friends.

And how is Rex? About the same and still waiting for a better diagnoses, but we think we have a pretty good idea what is going on now. Some days are rough, but today he is out puttering in the yard. We are extremely thankful for the good days that God is giving us.

And how am I doing? I am adjusting to his being home everyday and having to take care of everything myself. It is physically and emotionally draining, but you do adjust after awhile. :)

Christian's Easter outfit is now just waiting for buttons. So stay tuned for more sewing!

Michie'

An Easter Sewing Update

A little Easter sewing update. The smocking is completed for Christian's outfit. And it only took a whole week for me to find a little time to sit down and sew! :) The Jon-Jon is completed and ready for buttons. (You may notice that I added a couple of small pleats under the insert.) And the white Imperial broadcloth shirt is cut out and ready to start stitching.

The smocked insert for Emma's dress is almost completed, and since she arrives tomorrow, sewing time is going to be scarce!

What have I been doing this past week? Well, really important stuff such as enjoying absolutely beautiful spring weather, taking Rex back to the doctor after a particularly bad day, sharing in the fussiness and wonder of Christian's first tooth, enjoying Daniel's visit, and playing games with Rex, Tim, and Daniel until way too late last night!

This is the face you make when your tooth is about to come in! :)

I hope that you too are able to enjoy some family time during this next week and just squeeze that sewing in when you can!

Michie'

It Just Occurred To Me....

It just occurred to me.....

1. Easter is only a month away!

2. There are TWO babies that I might like to sew for this year!

3. Emma arrives in a week and I had much rather play with babies than sew!

And so, this is the progress of Christian's outfit so far. The smocking design is out of an old issue of "Creative Smocking" magazine. Sorry, I don't know which issue. Hopefully I can start constructing the Jon-Jon this afternoon, and I am about ready to start smocking Emma's insert. Fortunately, I do smock fast.

Anna picked out what she wanted for Christian's first Easter, but since Emma's mommy is very busy with the move, I am making something suitable for spring in case she already has a special dress.

Also, in my very laid back state of mind that I try to live in and with all the life changes we have right now, I am very aware that Easter will be wonderful whether or not the babies have handmade outfits. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I know you can already guess that I am going for "simple" this year!

How is your Easter sewing going?

Michie'

Free "Cross" Smocking Design!

This all began as a memory game, when one of Anna's friends asked if either one of us knew of a good cross smocking design that was masculine looking. I'm sure that there are some out there, but we couldn't remember one at the time. And so the challenge was could I come up with something quickly that a mommy would have time to do before Easter.

Here is what I came up with and here is what Will's mommy found time to do! She used a ready-to-smock bubble to save time. A great idea for a busy mommy. Great job Amanda!

Click here for the free downloadable smocking design.

Michie'

A Dressy Silk Bubble

To show the difference fabric makes, I used Dupioni Silk and pattern #115 for this dressy bubble. The blue geometric smocking is always a safe choice and small tucks on the yoke and a bow tie give it a rather dapper look.
I had not made a fake bow tie in almost 30 years so it took little work to get it right. Wouldn't this make a great Easter or Dedication outfit?

The boy agreed to the photo shoot on the condition that he could hold his green alligator.

Michie'

Changes

We have had more changes over the past 6 weeks than I care to think about. Rex is now home from work, and although he is feeling some better, it is probably for good. We are back to the original diagnoses that he has probably had a series of mini strokes and we finally have an appointment at Vanderbilt in a few weeks.

And about the time we were getting really down about the whole thing, it was time for Daniel to come in from South Korea for a month long visit! What a nice distraction, or comic relief as we like to call it.

And since all of that isn't exciting enough....... our sweet little Emma along with Mommy and Daddy will be coming the end of the month. Best of all, not just a visit, but for a permanent move! I am so overcome with the very idea that I have a hard time even writing about it. When the possibility of their move came up months ago, we had no health issues going on. I can't believe how God put everything in motion before we even knew we had a need. What a reminder to trust him with each day and not to worry about what is ahead.

With all of that going on, tomorrow is our 35th wedding anniversary. Yes, we did marry really young. You might be wondering what we are doing for this special year? Probably just going out for a nice dinner and stare lovingly into each others eyes. :)

Michie'