the edelweiss dress

Today I am joining the Hey June pattern tour of the Edelweiss dress. Adrianna of Crafterhours invited me along and I am so happy she did because a) it inspired me to finally get back into the sewing room, and b) I love this pattern! It is just the right amount of sweet and the options are pretty much endless of how it can be switched up with different fabrics, a pieced bodice, or by making it tunic or dress length. I already have so many ideas of different 'looks' I want to sew up.

When I first saw the pattern I knew immediately what style of dress I wanted to sew. It reminded me of this vintage pinafore I had been wanting to try and recreate for some time and so my inspiration was set from the beginning. I found the solid colors in my fabric stash and started piecing them together to make the triangle pattern first. As I went along I decided if I was going to do all of this tedious piecework then I wanted to have the triangles go all the way around the dress for a bigger impact. So, I altered the pattern a little by merging the three bodice pattern pieces into one - that way the triangles could be one continuous piece. I also added a lining to the skirt since I chose white. I am asking for it, I know, but doesn't every little girl need a white dress for summer? ;)

I love the off center buttons in the back and the fact that I can move them over to loosen the bodice so she can fit into the dress longer. 

This just might be my favorite piece of clothing I have made to date. I really love how it turned out, and a great pattern can make all the difference!

a new decade

That guy right there holding an ice cream cake and singing Happy Birthday with gusto while still managing to look totally handsome is a keeper, I tell ya. Today is my birthday, but he surprised me on Saturday with a house packed full of friends and family to celebrate my big 3-0 a few days early. I had no idea he had been planning and scheming behind my back for a full month.

My mom was in cahoots with him to keep me away from the house after I got off work and she played her role perfectly - even when she had to improvise last minute when I got a terrible headache and told her I didn't think I could go shopping. She made us pedicure appointments on her drive over and told me that was my surprise gift, ha! I could certainly sit down and relax, oh, and here are some drugs... ;)

I really wish I got better pictures of the night, but I only got these few I snapped with my phone between conversations. It was a bit overwhelming seeing so many loved ones at once, many of whom I hadn't seen in a long time - high school friends! - and I wanted to sit down and talk to everyone a lot longer than I could, but it was so fun. I couldn't believe how many people showed up, and how hard Husband worked to make it all happen. He even asked everyone to write me a little letter and compiled them into a birthday book for me. It was a wonderful gift I will treasure.

Thanks for a great start to a new decade, honey! And thank you to everyone who wished me well.

our garden

We have been spending most of our days outside. I love weeding (no, really, I love weeding) and the girls have claimed the spaces under and between the lilac trees as their "hide out/tree house/grotto" so we are a content trio out in the yard. I pull and they pretend.

Over Memorial Day weekend we were able to clear out a space for our garden thanks to a neighbor with a tiller. This is the area where the fire pit was located, but we decided to move it since this was the best spot for the garden. The stone pathways are made up from all of the rocks we dug out from around the pit. I am so happy to have such a big space to grow food for my family!

I want our garden to be a family endeavor, so we invited the girls to help as much as they wanted. Lark just wanted to wear my gloves and pretend to plant, LM decided she wanted to put the seeds in the holes. Tending a garden can teach so many concepts from the science of how plants grow, to the rewards of hard work and I hope my girls will learn and grow along with our food this season.