Dress Up

A couple weeks ago I read Lily a cute little story from The Friend and afterward she wanted to play dress-up. I had this costume all ready to return to my sister-in-law Rebecca unworn, because we didn't end up using it last Halloween...and Lily just hasn't been into dress-up before. I grabbed it out of the bag and seized the moment! Here are some pictures of my adorable butterfly princess! (Just my favorite 21...) Too bad she wasn't wearing this in her ballet :)

Lily says she wants me to sew her a ballet outfit now. I think a sampling of dress-up clothes would be such a fun birthday present... A tutu, and other various items - maybe a Red-Riding Hood cape, and now some Rapunzel hair...(Love that movie)! Trouble is - it is hard to make time to sew. Especially the way I do it. I always like to think things through step by step before I buy any materials or cut into them. I over-think things. Nice for avoiding mistakes and not wasting materials, not so nice for quick decisions or deadlines! Even months away deadlines... I do have other things besides sewing going on... I also have to think over (over-think) what exactly I'd want to make, what it would cost to make it, mixing and matching, conserving and combining -- and whether the whole project would really be a good use of our resources... I know, sometimes I should just seize the day, and go for the girly...it's just there are a lot of factors to consider! Like - do I even want to let myself get started thinking about it? Decisions, decisions... I kind of want to make Lily an Easter dress. We'll see.

I have actually been doing a little sewing in the recent past. I made Mike a long fleece zip-front robe for a Valentine's day/early birthday present. I've been wanting to buy him one for years. I had to improvise a pattern because what I wanted just wasn't out there. I like zipper front robes because they do a better job of covering. All the men's robes I've seen for sale are overpriced, silky, and short - and what's the point of that? Not Mike's style definitely. And the nice thing about a robe - especially when you are sharing a house and don't have a private bathroom - is that you can throw it on for middle of the night bathroom trips, or to walk to the shower, or even wear it like a walking blanket over your clothes when you're cold. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of Mike in it to post. It will give you a better visual for the bee swatting story. :)

I did take photos of some new bibs I finished sewing for Lily just the other day! I got the pattern from a friend in Colorado and made a variety of these when Lily was first starting solids, and they've lasted pretty well! I made most of them with the top layer out of calico instead of flannel so the fronts didn't pill, and they were still plenty absorbent. I love the style and simplicity of the pattern and Lily has never managed to get them off by herself - so we are still using them for particularly messy meals. Saves clothes! Over the years a few got lost or thrown out, so we'd gotten low - and Lily has grown so tall it just made sense to lengthen them.

The new bibs - I just made 3 of each of these fabrics this time:

 

Some of the old ones that are left: (A little stretched out and faded, but not too shabby for being 2 years old! I like the cherry and cupcake ones, but they were out of the fabric at the store.)

 

The difference:

 

 They look so long on her, but I'll get used to it - at least they're keeping the yogurt out of her lap!