We took a little trip to some local greenhouses recently, to see actual plants grow. Since Spring around here is just pure mud, it was fun to pretend that things were nice and warm for a little while. My kids went crazy looking at all the plants. They got to help their grandpa repot a few and they were so tickled. :)
Speaking of growth. This girl.
Who said she was allowed to grow up? She's still small in comparison to other kids her age, but she's definitely getting taller and her little mind is growing and picking up on things all the time. I've loved watching her learn to read. And watching her in turn read to her siblings. (mwahahaha) It's the greatest thing.
I made Lila this dress for Easter and gave it to her early since who knows how this year will play out with these babies coming. I came up with the idea for this dress a year ago and I found this buttery soft silky fabric at Joann last year on sale, cuz you know how I do.
I started with the Caroline Party Dress pattern by MHC, then I modified it by taking length off the cap sleeves and drafting my own sleeves. Like I said, Idaho springs are rather wet and muddy....sometimes still snowy, so I wanted the dress to be "springy" without be impractical.
The sleeves have a tiny bit of a puff instead of being "fitted." This gives a little wiggle room in the arm space so my girl doesn't feel like she's wearing a straight jacket. Cuz who likes that?
I also used more fabric for the skirt than the pattern calls for. I think that I tripled it, so that it would have a ton of puffiness. Just for fun. My girls always love to spin and flounce, so it was fun to make this dress twirl.
I also lined the dress and I kind of wish I hadn't. The fabric was a tiny bit see through so I thought I'd put something in, but I didn't use quite as much material, so it kind of ruins the spin effect for pictures....not that that's what it's all about or anything. ;)
Even though I really don't get a lot of chances to sew anymore. (Something or rather 2 something's have come between me and my machine....literally) But I wanted to take a quick chance before things get chaotic. When I actually do take the time, I love to sew something that my kids will love. And Lila does love this dress. So I guess that's my "signature style" right now. (The Project Run & Play challenge this week) I find that I'm less driven by what I would wear or what I like than what I know will make my kids happy to wear. And in this rather crazy phase of our families life, it feels nice for me to give any of my kids something concrete. They can wear it and know that their Mommy took the time to make them something because she loves them. At least, that's what I hope they understand. Because, boy, do I love my little people to pieces.