Mommy and Me

You might remember from a previous post (here) that our youngest granddaughter chose fabric recently for a sundress for herself and her doll. While she's been vacationing with her other grandparents in another state, I managed to get their dresses done and ready for their return back home. 
The pattern is shown here, it was a great pattern and easy to follow; however, I would add two suggestions if you're going to make this pair of dresses for a little girl (and her doll) in your life. The first suggestion is one that was given to me and proved to be extremely valuable: make the larger dress first! That way, you learn the pleating method for the bodice front and back, after that the smaller doll dress is a snap! The second suggestion would be to cut the skirt sides with pinking shears so that there aren't raveling raw edges on the side seams. (It's easier to cut them that way than after those side seams are sewn, believe me!)

Here is the dress front and back. I love the way that the bodice is fully lined and the shirred elastic straps and back casing will assure a comfortable fit without straps sliding off the shoulders or the dress gaping at the sides while being worn. Plus, these patterns are great without any zippers or buttons so that little ones can easily dress themselves. I hope to get a photo of little Mommy and her doll modeling their coordinating dresses when they get back later this weekend. Stay tuned~

Life is Good! 

 

Dress Update

The dilemma has been resolved; I have a dress to wear, and a spare*! Talbots to the rescue. Thanks to one and all for your suggestions, and your empathy, I will now
happily attend our son's wedding, fully clothed;
in a dress I feel really good about wearing!

(* although I wouldn't be caught dead in it.)

Life is Good!




30. Sit on your ego.

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6: 31

"So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?'
or`What shall we drink?' or
`What shall we wear?'

It's right there, in the book of Matthew. I shouldn't worry about what I wear, I know that. But, it's my son's wedding! It's taking place in less than a month; and this morning, here I am, without a dress to wear to his wedding. It all started innocently enough. I went to the bridal shop, months ago with my future daughter in law and my daughter. The bride was veil shopping. One thing led to another and I chose a few dresses to try on. I found one that I liked, and ordered it. The model dress that I tried on didn't fit, but the owner used some dressmaker clamps to cinch it in and took my measurements. I ordered it from a fabric swatch the size of a postage stamp and quickly crossed the chore off my 'to do' list. I didn't give the dress another thought until last month when the shop owner called to say they were having problems with shipments from the manufacturer of my chosen dress and they wanted me to be aware that it could come in close to the wire, if at all. I had a chance to back out and get my deposit back. I didn't take it. I decided to wait it out, after all, I just loved that dress! The bridal shop owner called this week. My dress came in. Hallelujah! I went by yesterday for a fitting. My dress was hanging in the center of the store, in a place of prominence. I didn't love it when I saw it, in fact, quite the opposite was true, I was hoping that it was someone else's dress. It wasn't. I tried it on, willing myself to fall in love again. That didn't happen, in fact I felt sick when I saw myself in the dressing room mirrors, reflected three ways. The dress fit fine but looked all wrong. I felt old, heavy and, well... exposed! Not exactly the feeling one desires to have on the day their baby is getting married. The shop owner was ready with pins to mark the hem and I dutifully stepped up on the platform, all the while my head was spinning with thoughts of ripping the dress off and fleeing from the store before anyone else came into the shop. I'm going to call the owner first thing this morning and tell him to stop the alteration process. I'm not going to wear that dress, I can't. I need to regroup, and stop worrying, I need to remind myself that the clock is ticking and that there are hundreds of other dresses out there waiting to be bought, one of them is perfect for me. I need to remind myself that happiness abounds and it's only a dress! I need to remind myself that:

Life is Good!
How do I sell something on e-bay?

27. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.