Flowers for the Resurrection

Our family was recently saddened by a miscarriage. The baby was only about a month or so along, but of course, it was still sad. Fortunately, we have been supported by so many friends. Today I was amazed to receive this beautiful flower bouquet from a group of friends, so lovely that I had to display it on my dresser and post a picture. The delicate pink roses remind me of the new life so recently lost, but the butterfly on the top brings to mind the eternal life where we will hopefully someday meet again. We christened the little baby Timothy, and it is comforting to think that he is with Joshua and the other baby we miscarried, Ann. Many thanks to all of you who prayed for us and grieved with us. When even a miscarriage is memorialized in such a kind manner, it makes sorrow easier to bear. Thank you.

Girl Dresses out of a Woman's Skirt

When we were preparing for a family wedding in July, I was doing a lot of sewing for my girls, and came across this pretty rayon-wool one-button-on-the-pocket gathered skirt in a thrift store. I decided to cut it into a skirt for my youngest girl. I cut the gathered waistband off the skirt at the correct length for a little-girl skirt but wasn't sure what to do with the beautifully-patterned bottom of the skirt, so I put it aside.

Next I had to cut the gathered waistband to the correct width for my toddler girl's tummy. I decided to cut it off at the pocket so that she could have a pocket in her skirt. (Note: I wouldn't do this again: the pocket's really too large for her to really use!) When I was finished, I had one width of skirt about 8" across. Not sure what to do with it, I decided to fold it in half to see if I could make a bodice for a dress. Here it is below. Notice that the gathered top is so much more narrow than the full bottom. (Click on any photo to see the details.)

So, taking a gamble, I decided to see if having a narrow front piece and a wide back could make a succesful bodice. I narrowly hemed the sides of the skirt piece and joined them together at the bottom, leaving ample armholes. Then I carefully cut and hemmed a neckline with a keyhole snap closure at the back. It seemed to fit my daughter, so I reattached the lower part of the original skirt to make the bottom of the dress. It worked like a charm.

Though my original project of a toddler skirt: wasn't as successful (the toddler is wearing it in the boat picture in the post below: click on the photo to see it up close), the toddler dress was a dream! Another thrilling episode in the ongoing adventure of converting adult clothing to child-size wearables!

Picnic Table=Boat!

Autumn breezes swept over our land this morning, scattering leaves from trees and pulling our younger children away from homeschool to the outdoors. And I, trusting nature to be a wise educator of her own, let them go. Among their adventuring, they overturned our picnic table, and we realized (perhaps due to our nightly sojourns with the Horatio Hornblower movies) how much it resembled a boat. In short order I had temporarily erected a wooden pole as a mast, a sail was procured, and the children set sail across a sea of leaf-strewn lawn.

Special Hands Jewelry

Above is a picture of my new favorite earrings, which I bought from a very neat jewelry-maker, Susan Myers. I met Susan when she lived in Front Royal, Virginia. Despite a birth defect that left her with hands half the size of a normal person's, she creates beautiful jewelry with only five fingers. Recently, Susan began a website to sell her creations online, and I'd like to help her spread the word. As she mentions on her website, she can customize almost any design: I asked her for a pair of these red heart earrings, and she made a pair just for me. Check out www.specialhandsjewelry.webs.com and if you like what you see, pass on the link to your friends!

Little Saints of Summer

Happy Birthday Blessed Mother! I thought I would honor her on her birthday by belatedly posting about new saint images by Sophie Cayless. Among the Little Saints of the Summer she has painted are St. Maximiliain Kolbe, who had a great devotion to Our Lady. She also has images of St. Clare, St. Rose of Lima, and St. John Vianney that can be bought as greeting cards or put on t-shirts. Stay tuned for the Little Saints of Fall, which should be coming soon!