The Birthday Party

Rubber Duckies were the theme, and a whole lot of family and friends gathered to celebrate your first birthday including all 3 of Mommy's older brothers, Auntie Tif, and Emma!  

The presents were cool, but did not compare to the tissue paper that they were wrapped in.  And since you certainly wouldn't want to waste a good audience, you chose your party to let go and take off walking!  

And of course there was a birthday outfit made my Nana Shay for the special day.  Mommy requested a Jon-Jon made out of Kona cotton that would last all summer long and smocked with Ellen McCarn's "Ducks Ahoy."

I case you are wondering, he did not eat a blue iced cupcake in this outfit.  He ate his cupcake in an old tee shirt, then had a bath, then dressed up for opening presents!  :)

Michie'

How Durable Is Smocking?

"Let them eat broccoli!" would be an appropriate title for this blog!  Yes, we let the babies play outside, eat, and act like normal kids in their smocked outfits!  The smocking is durable and washable and I want these clothes worn out with love and memories.

I like to tell a little smocking story for those who are hesitant about the durability of smocking.  When Anna was in kindergarten I smocked an insert for a sweatshirt with gingerbread men on it.  She LOVED that sweatshirt and wore it at least once a week to school during the winter.  The next year it still fit so it was worn over and over once again.  The next year the sleeves were short so she slept in it occasionally.  She really loved that shirt!!!!  I finally handed it down to a friend and although the sweatshirt was looking worn the smocking looked brand new!

Michie'

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

It is hard to believe that you are 1 year old today!  What a wild ride you have taken us on this past year.  You now have 3 teeth, a few words, and although walking is scary, you are getting closer every day.  We are all blessed beyond words to share your life with you.


Those of you who have been reading the blog for the past year know how thankful we are.


Michie'

The 95 Year Old Baby Dedication Gown

Anna and I both held our breath today as Christian was Dedicated in the 95 year old family Christening gown.  I had done a little repair the other day and although the gown is still a beautiful white pima cotton, the fabric is now so thin that I felt like I was stitching on cotton candy.  The boy did great and fortunately did make any sudden moves that will require more repairs.

The fabric was so thin around the handmade button holes that they ripped out during the last Dedication.  I stabilized the placket with a piece of fabric on the wrong side, but on closer examination, realized that the fabric is also very weak around the buttons.  I tacked silk ribbon at the neck band which not only took care of the problem, but also makes the neck a little more adjustable. As I was attaching the ribbon, I was wondering when was the last time that I used silk ribbon and it dawned on me that it was left over from the flower girl dresses that I made for Anna's wedding 4 years ago this week!  Just a little more history added to the gown.

You can click here to read more about the Christening Gown.

Michie'

A Shirt And Shorts Outfit For The Boy

Using  pattern #110, this dressy shirt and short outfit was made out of mint and ecru pima cotton.  A front pleat gives the shirt a little fullness for baby and the shorts make Daddy happy.  The tatting was attached to the collar edge by hand after the collar was constructed.  Antique buttons add a little detail to the shirt front.

And what is the boy finding so interesting?  A breeze was blowing the trees!  That is what I like about babies, everything is magical.

Michie'

Still Adjusting

A little update on Rex's Vanderbilt test... the three hour memory test showed that he has pretty extensive damage in  every area they tested except for speech.  Unfortunately that only means that his speech is not slurred and not terribly confused, not that he is talkative, which would be nice for a change. :)  The test results were bad enough that driving and going back to work are out of the question.  Yikes!  Not what we had planned for this stage of our lives!  We will be going back the end of the month for the final diagnosis and recommendations to get him feeling as good as possible.  As you can imagine the adjustments to these changes are extremely hard.  Just figuring out what he needs from me is a challenge every day.  

And just a little story, while in Nashville I had an engine light come on the night before the test!  I dropped Rex off for the appointment the next morning, went to the Ford dealership, waited 3 hours, got a call that the doctor wanted to see me, got a ride to the office, and then we took a taxi back to get the car.  I can now mark "Ride in a taxi in Nashville" off of my bucket list!  The reason for sharing this story is to let you know how normal my life is.  Although writing an article for Sew Beautiful Magazine sounds a little glamorous, I thought that you might enjoy knowing that when you read the November issue, my article was written in the waiting room of the Ford dealership in Nashville, while a very talkative stranger tried to tell me about his trip to Alaska!  LOL

Michie'

If I Were Sewing Right Now...

 

If I were sewing right now....I would make this for Christian.  His fat little legs look great in a bubble and at 11 months, we can still get them by Daddy a little longer!  :)  

This bubble using pattern #102, appeared on  http://southernmatriarch.blogspot.com/ which happens to be one of my favorite blogs.

Martha also has a great tutorial for piping the collar which is different from anything that I had ever seen!

Michie'