The Easter Dress

The Easter dress is finished!!!! It has been a really long time since I have run this close to a deadline, but it has also been a really long time since we have had babies in the house.

I went for sweet and simple this year. Pink gingham with a white smocked insert, collar, and sleeve bands.

The dress is a size 18 month, so I adapted Little Memories "At the hop" for 6 rows of smocking and only smocked 2 bunnies. I used pattern #131 for the dress and shortened the front yoke to add the smocked insert and lengthened the back yoke to the correct length.

Now to finish the white fancy panties. I should be able to finish them while Emma is busy with breakfast in the morning!

Michie'

A Dress For Spring

Beautiful spring weather and a sweet blue and white print dress. A cool cotton print and a white Imperial Batiste collar edged with a bias strip of fabric and hand bridging. The instructions can be found in pattern #106 and in the Heirloom Embroidery Book.
Tiny hand embroidered flowers add a little color to the white collar.

Michie'

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'