Mallory... the other dress

You know, after reading yesterday's post, I thought it best that I add a thing or two. I am not super woman and anyone that meets me could surmise that in about a minute. I felt like I came across as kind of snobby if you don't know me well. It's not that my daughter prances around in only homemade clothes that all match perfectly. She doesn't. Every time she does choose to wear one of my dresses it is with various kinds of clothes bought from Target (or handed down if we're lucky.) All of those clothes have been made in foreign countries, plus the fabric that I purchase most likely is too. I don't have my head in the clouds or the sand. My son is clothed in pretty much nothing made by me, other than an occasional appliqued t-shirt. He is one rugged hand-me-down wearing mess and making clothes for him has been totally unnecessary thanks to good friends with sons.

Focusing on two days of handmade dresses is about a shift that is taking place in my life. So, in a crazy way, I am processing. I do not have the time that I once had to do this thing that I love. I have started working part time and have two active kids to keep up with. My life has shifted and wrapping my mind around that is easier said than done. I miss sewing dresses for my girl right now. I even have some sweet fall fabric that has been set aside for some time, but it may not happen soon. Limited time and energy is hard for me to accept. But balance is important, and so is sleep. Short of cutting sleep out right now, there is no more time left in a day. I am accomplishing all that I can.

So... moving on to cover my entire repertoire of dresses. This one is an A-line with a few pleats in front. I love the buttons down the back, but my fancy Bernina makes the holes for me and sews those buttons on. I know, it is cheating and I appreciate this after having a machine from the sixties. The pattern is another from Children's Corner called "Mallory." It is a great dress sleeveless or layered with shirts and turtlenecks. My daughter wears it with tights, leggings, and pants. When it gets short it looks super cute as a smock-like top with pants; she is still wearing the first ones I made her two years later. The pattern comes with 4 separate patterns for the size range 1-4 and 5-8 so you can use it for 4 years! I love the economy of the dress. In this size range I sewed another in yellow elves which you can see in this post.

After this, no more long posts about dresses. It's an easy promise to make since I just exhausted my range of knowledge on two patterns alone. See? I told you I haven't been sewing all that long. My biggest regret would be not starting to sew dresses for her until she was three. These years have passed so quickly.