Tuesday, June 29, 2010

We're Going to Disneyland!!


The long awaited Disneyland vacation is just 24 hours away!


Ahnalin HAD to have a Dumbo dress.


After all, Dumbo is "Our" movie.


And of course, it had to be a "twirly" dress.


And she loves it!

The pattern was a cross between my old standby sundress pattern, 
Butterick 4715
The fabric was a multicolored cotton seersucker stripe
and the appliques are all colors of Kona Cotton.
The cotton rickrack is vintage and the package was labled
"35 cents".


I love this Dumbo!


I know she says it out of love, but Ahnalin
tells me I am "just like Dumbo's Mama!"
I am not sure if she means I look like an elephant, 
or I am crazy and should be locked up. 
I THINK it is that I sing "Baby Mine" to her.


Isn't Timothy Mouse adorable?


This little romper was vintage Daisy Kingdom fabric and
vintage rickrack.


The pattern was vintage too,  McCall's 8743,  and a size 5 was 
WAYYYYYYY  too short in the rise for my girl! 
So, instead of buttons and buttonholes,
I added wide ribbon for bows. 
This gave Ahnalin the needed length in the torso.


I am not crazy about this little outfit but
she loves it.
It has hidden side seam pockets, 
which she will likely fill with rocks as usual.


And then, of course, she NEEDED a Minnie Mouse outfit.

She requested I use Bonnie Blue "Hallie" as the pattern

Red is her favorite color now.
She told me that "Pink is in the dumps".

What?????

She told me that she NEEDED a picture 
of Minnie Mouse on the front with her next to her
and we found this design!


PERFECT! 
I just changed the colors of the fabrics and threads
and "Voila!"


I think she was tired of me taking pics at this point!


I had intended to make a Snow White outfit for her 
too, but after I got sick I decided that her "Alice"
costume from last Halloween would suffice.

And remember her "not scary pirate" outfit from 
Kindergarten Pirate Day?
Yeah, we are going to call that a Disney outfit too. 
Ok, I know I am cheating, but 
really the kid has more clothes than I do!

And for India......


I made her a t-shirt with Minnie Mouse in a 
graduation cap. 


Yep. That's it.

But she is going to wear capri jeans and Alice in Wonderland t-shirts.

She is taking some of her sundresses I have made, but
poor kid is so ignored by her seamstress mama.

Well, I suppose she could take a ball gown or two.....


Oh, and Ahnalin wanted to take her favorite sweater
for the evenings, but the neck had ripped out.

So, I repaired the neckline with some Michael Miller
polka dot bias tape. 

Perfect fix!

That is all for now.
I have to get back to packing and cleaning.
We leave in the morning.
India has a hospital appt. at U.C. Davis and then we head South!

Next post will be from Disneyland!!!!!!!

Please continue praying that I get well.
I am doing well but still so surprised at how tired and 
worn out I am. 
Please pray that India stays
well on the trip.

Thank you all!!!



Sunday, June 27, 2010

Darling Dancing Princess


Yesterday was Ahnalin's ballet and tap dance recital.


She adores dancing.

And Mama was so proud of her girl!

And so was Daddy.
And Grandma Barbara and Grandpa John John were too!
My best buddy Melissa was there too cheering our girl on, but she 
did not want me to put up her picture. But she is wonderful!
Ahnalin is in the Intermediate Ballet/Tap combo class
and these are her dancing girlfriends. 

Ahnalin's ballet dance is to "Just Around The Riverbend" from Pocahontas.
She is the little one, 2nd from the right end. 
For some reason, she tried to do her twirls as fast as she could.
I giggled every time!

Her tap dance was to "In The Mood" and she 
is the littlest one on the far right.


After the dance recital, my parents followed us home and we 
celebrated my Daddy's belated Birthday and Father's Day.
We had bar-b-q tri-tip and chicken, cantaloupe, 
and yes, STORE BOUGHT SALAD AND CAKE!
Does that tell you how rotten I have been feeling????
I served stuff that came with labels!!!!

Like How I did not even put the storebought, yet very chocolatey,
cake on a cake plate???
Verrrryyyyy fancy!

My mom made me go to bed early so I did not get much sewing done last night
but we had a fun family night and yummy food.

I think I am starting to feel better. 
Thank you for the prayers and please keep them coming.
Back to sewing for me!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Me

Hi Everyone. I am just checking in to tell you that I am still here. I am almost ready to show you some of the Disney outfits I am making.
But I have been pretty yucky feeling lately. I finally went to the doctor yesterday. I have no insurance for me so I actually, willingly paid full price to see my doctor. FULL PRICE!
Anyway, I have cellulitis in my right ear and it hurts like crazy and has been causing flu-like symptoms. I think my fever is finally going down.
My parents are in town for Ahnalin's ballet recital and my  mom is preaching at me to be a good girl and get rest. So, I am not staying up til crazy hours sewing. Which means I have less to show for myself.

But I will finally have something to post tomorrow.

And if you think about it, please pray that I start to get better. We leave for Disneyland on Wednesday and I don't want to be feeling this sick.

Thank you all.

Sivje

Saturday, June 19, 2010

India's White Batiste Dress

Last week was so crazy busy that I forgot 
to post more info on India's graduation dress.

Notice her gorgeous cameo and matching earrings.
They were gifts from her Aunt Hrisula and Uncle Lee.
They are antique and vintage and perfect for our girl!
She is crazy about them!!
She wanted her dress to be kind of a cross between Maria from
West Side Story and 

And since the India was to be wearing her
graduation cap and gown over the dress and sitting 
in the hot sun on the football field during the ceremony,
I wanted to make the dress as light as possible.

So, we made the dress out of white Swiss embroidered batiste 
and lined it in white Pima batiste.
I added a lining to the skirt and used 
two different kinds of Cluny lace.

I am kind of on a Cluny lace kick lately.
It is so soft and pretty and vintagey looking.


You probably can't tell from this picture,
but I added another layer of lining to the bodice and 
included boning. 
 India loves boning in her dresses,
so I have boxes of it around all the time.

Notice my "new-to-me" mannequin?
A local dress shop is going out of business and 
let me buy this lovely one.
I am so sad they are leaving but glad I have this dress form 
to remember them by.

The pattern I used was discontinued McCall's 5095. 
It is one of my go-to patterns and I have made it for India several times.
-----------------------------------------------
I am working on Ahnalin's Disney outfits and hope to have something finished
to post tomorrow!!!

Happy Sewing!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Guess what I am working on!



So, guess what I am working on now. 

Well.......we leave for Disneyland in 12 days!!

So, this is the beginnings of Ahnalin's Dumbo outfit.


Dumbo is Ahnalin's favorite movie. 
Ahnalin relates a lot to Dumbo, 
and "her" song is "Baby Mine."
I have sung that song to her every day since she was placed in my arms.

So, I had better get back to sewing. 
Much to sew in just 12 days.
After this one is done.....her Snow White outfit will be on the machine!

Happy Sewing!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Ahnalin's Graduation and Pirate Day


Ahnalin graduated from Kindergarten!

What a big day!

 We are proud of our baby.

Yes, I know she is a big first grader now, 
but she is still our baby.

Ms. Mass was the very best Kindergarten 
teacher in the whole world!
Ahnalin has already cried because she misses her.
We hope to meet at the park for picnics with her this summer.

Nana came to see Ahnalin "cross the bridge"
from Kindergarten to First Grade.

One of the Kindergarten moms put together
all of the best artwork, poems and pictures
of the year into a book for each child. 
We will keep this book forever.
An interesting tidbit is that in every picture of Ahnalin 
in the book, she is wearing a "mama made" outfit. 
I am so proud of me!


We are so very proud of our girl for graduating Kindergarten.
She is not so hip on going to first grade though.
She wants to be in Kindergarten with Ms. Mass as her teacher
FOREVER!!
We love you too Ms. Mass!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Since last week was so crazy,
and our internet was soooo messed up,
I got behind!

So here are a few more Kindergarten things
that I did not get to post.
----------------------------
Last Tuesday, the Kindergarten classes
celebrated "Pirate Day."

Ahnalin is NOT into skeletons or scary stuff.
And due to her sensory issues, she did not
want to wear any of the
more traditional "pirate-y" things.

So, we found this fabric.
It had pirate ships, maps, "X marks the spot", etc.

She insisted that her blouse have
"sleeves that are open but with no stringies hanging down."

Ahnalin was honored as a "Student of the Month" for the
Kindergarten class.


India got to be at Ahnalin's class for the Pirate Hunt!

Since Ahnalin has a summer birthday,
her teacher let her celebrate her "Un-birthday"
a few days before school let out.

Ahnalin chose mama-made chocolate chip scones
and strawberries as her "Un-birthday" treat to share with the class.
And she picked out wedding plates from the dollar store
to serve her treats on! LOL!!!!


And just because they are so cute,
here is Ahnalin and her baby doll Beth.
Ahnalin decided to put on a play, 
starring herself, and her baby doll,
called "All Orphans Are Welcome Here."
Not kidding!
She read a story to Baby Beth about
how everything was smiling when she was born.
And she told her that she would love her forever
because that is what adoption is all about.
Made me all teary.

So sweet.

The star took a bow at the end of her play.

She has been clomping all over the house lately in my lime green heels 
and my straw hat. 
It is so normal "little girl" and I just love it!

So, that is Ahnalin lately.
We are midway through Vacation Bible School and
will be back there again in the morning. 

Oh, and did I mention that we are 14 days from Disneyland???