Farewell

Today, it was with tears in our eyes that we said goodbye at last to Rachel.  It's been wonderful getting to know her better (I moved out of my parents' house when she was only 1-1/2), and we will all miss her so much!

When she first got here, I taught her how to sew the Mendocino sundress, and over the course of our visit, she made 4 of them:







...and of course this one:

The children's bathroom mirror looks like this within 5 minutes of cleaning it.  Fabulous.

I got her an identical fly-fishing box to the one I have, for use as an embroidery kit.  I got her set up with all of her favorite colors of embroidery floss and a proper sharp needle (she'd been embroidering back in NY with all six strands of floss and using a blunt-tip yarn needle -- perseverance, I tell you!) We cut out these cute little thread bobbins to organized our floss.



Rachel's beautiful finished project (an embroidered pillow -- yet to be stuffed) for a friend back in NY:

These embellishments are from Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection by Aimee Ray





During our visit there were fun summertime drinks:


Baby Mocktails






Berry Breakfast Smoothies





A whole lot of cooking and baking:



Perusing cookbooks

And swimming as much as possible:


We love you Rachel, and we hope you can come back to visit with us again!

Project-restyle: men's button-down to baby dress

At last, a thrifting post!  As you might remember from this post, I had intended to write each month about my thrifting finds, but as you may have guessed...I haven't actually made it into a thrift store. Until last week.

Our friends, Josh and Angela, are having their first baby.  Josh is an avid button-down plaid-shirt wearer, so I came up with a personalized gift idea for their little girl:




I sewed the button band closed, then trimmed the top edge of the band down to reduce the bulk (for the elastic casing) and surged the edges.



Yes, it's yet another pillowcase dress (with matching hair-bow).  But this one started life as a shirt!  I am always so inspired by Elsie's "Project Restyle" posts, and I've been wanting to try something like this for ages.  Now I'm imagining a larger one for Lavella.... if only she'd wear plaid!  Maybe if I found a purple shirt...

A few more details: I used a 3 month sized baby dress as a template for the width, length and arm-hole depth.  Only time will tell just how well it actually fits a real-live baby, but it looked pretty spot-on compared to the template dress by the time I was done.  With the shoulder-ties it should be a pretty flexible fit.

Purple Buttercup Birthday Bag

For Lavella's birthday, I made her the dress that I pictured in yesterday's post, along with a coordinating bag (matching inner fabric lining).

Her favorite color is purple, and she loves anything "princess", so I just put as much girly ruffle, lacy trim and tulle-fluff as I could muster into one of my Pillowcase Dresses, and gave that to her on the morning of her birthday (Sunday).  I also made a matching hairclip out of tulle and grosgrain ribbon, which looked so sweet amidst her curls.  I've decided that I am going to start a collection of handmade bows for her -- it's pretty much the most fun and easy accessory that I've ever made.  Also, I love any excuse to dig out my oft-neglected hot-glue gun.

For the bag, I followed the free Buttercup Bag pattern.  Since I used quilting-weight cotton for the outer and inner, I also sandwiched some mediumweight interfacing between to give it extra body and strength (4-year-olds -- at least not mine -- are not all that gentle on things like bags).



I filled it with a large pack of flavored chapsticks, which nearly ended up overshadowing the gift itself.  I'd promised that when she turned 4, she could have her own chapstick (assuming this was old enough for her to no longer feel compelled to eat it by the stick...)  She added a large handful of her accessories, and has had this bag on her shoulder ever since.


Floral lining to match her Birthday Dress, complete with a little interior pocket.

Because a girl should never be caught without her accessories.



Topstitching and pleating detail -- this WAS perfectly pressed, but as I said: 4-year-olds are rough!



Most importantly, she finds it useful and fun, and she loves the fact that I made this, just for her.  A mother's love and time wrapped up in a handmade gift: there's nothing like it.

Happy birthday Lavella

Dear Lavella,

On Sunday, you turned four years old.

You, my precious girl, continue to inspire, astound and challenge me.

Your gorgeous curls, your quirky sense of style, those worried little eyebrows, and the way your mood can turn on a dime...

I love you.

Your silly sense of humor, the way you put your tiny hand in mine when we walk, your tender hugs...

I love you.

I love watching you discover Girliness in a house full of boys.

I love watching you discover the world through your precocious, innocent eyes.

I love your little voice, your made-up words, your gorgeous smile.

I love you.

Happy birthday little girl.

Love,

Mommy

P.S. Dress made along the lines of my Pillowcase Dress Tutorial. Bag made from free Buttercup Bag pattern by Made By Rae. (More detail shots of bag in my next post.)