Blessing Dress

This just may be the pinnacle of my sewing career. I'm so excited with how it turned out.
This is Teagan's baby blessing dress. (A baby blessing in the LDS church is kind of like a christening in other churches.)

I'm so proud of this one because I actually made my own pattern and tatted the lace trimmings myself. It is definitely my most ambitious endeavor. Months in the works.

When I was having major trouble sleeping while pregnant, I thought about this dress. Here are the original sketches from my sketch book that I keep next to my bed:

Thinking about it now, I wonder if it was really excitement and anxiety over this dress and other projects that kept me up and not pregnancy after all.

I love the sunset lighting on the pictures above, but these pictures below are truer to the real color and show better detail.

The tatting on the jacket:

(The pattern for the lace on the sleeves comes from the book A New Twist on Tatting by Catherine Austin. I just added the pearl beads to her pattern. The frog closures are my own creation. If you want the pattern, email me.)

The ruffles on the dress inspired by Butterick pattern B4967 which I just may have to purchase now:

The proud Momma and her baby:

In some ways this dress is a sort of tribute to those who have taught me so much. My mom who taught me to use a sewing machine and read a pattern. My grandma who could whip up a jacket in no time and whose patterns (bought and made) I inherited. I can see her wearing sleeves just like the ones on this dress. My other grandma who taught me to keep learning. Emma Vogel who taught me to knit in exchange for house cleaning. The thread for the tatting came from her as did most of my knitting needles. Caroline Nelson who taught me (and my husband!) to tat just after we were married. Her husband could tat too, by the way, but I'm the only one who's kept it up in our family.

I'm not sure whether Teagan will like to create as much as I do, but at least she'll know and have something to show that I liked to create...for her.

Bolt Costume

Happy Halloween from the cast of Disney's Bolt!
(From left to right: Penny, Mittens, Green-Eyed Man (Dr. Calico), and Bolt)

For Liam's Bolt costume I used Simplicty pattern 2855. It was a very easy to follow pattern and worked up quickly. A costume staple. I highly recommend it. So many options.

To make the ears a little more sticky-upy and Bolt-like I just enlarged the cat ears provided in the pattern and added an extra layer of felt on the inside.

For the tail, I altered the cat tail provided in the pattern making it thicker overall and widening the end even more.

Take away the lightning bolt and the collar and the costume is a dead ringer for the wolf costume in Where the Wild Things Are so we just may use this one again next year if it still fits. Who am I kidding? I'm going to want to make a totally different costume just for fun. Suggestions welcome.