Home Made Baby Gifts

 Early on in the process of recovering from my accident, my physical therapist told me to do small precise movements with my left arm and hand as I was able. I asked about crocheting and he said that would be perfect. So, with all the time I have had not doing other things, I have had time to crochet. It was hard work at first, but is getting easier as time goes by. I just finished the above hat and sweater, and it will be going to a baby shower in October for a baby girl. The mother-to-be is a special friend of my daughter JoAnn and our family.

 

However, it's always nice to see the finished product on the babies the gifts are intended for. Here are Isaac and Elijah, a pair of twins born right after my accident. Their matching sweaters were my first attempt to crochet post accident, and it filled my time up nicely. Such cuties. I also crocheted 'summer' sleeves, just a cap really and that worked nicely. The boys are growing by leaps and bounds and already wearing 'big boy' clothes now.

A Little Something Vintage

 Last week a few of my kids and I did a little exploring at Goodwill.  I don't go that often.  We hadn't been in quite some time.  My kids surprised me.  They are great at finding cool and useful things!  I just wandered among them seeing what they'd found and never even really browsed myself.  One of the fun things that Amelia came home with was this vintage puzzle.  Not only did we like the vintage flower prints, but the unique round shape of the puzzle and the box, as well as the quality and the price (99 cents). 

 Amelia's big brother William is a big fan of puzzles.  They actually picked this out together and plan to assemble it together. 

 I am a big fan of vintage things, especially when they involve flowers.  Isn't this iris pretty?

 Pansies, tulip & marigold?  It will be fun to see it all done.

 Vintage item number 2 is not my 9 month old.  But the little pink shirt she is wearing happens to be one that I myself wore when I was her size.

 She was doing a great job at giving me smiles, but since she can't sit up well without propping herself on her arms, I wasn't able to get a very good shot of the shirt.

The shirt says "Handmade by God" and has a hand print on it.  I thought she was pretty cute in it.  I wonder if Mom could tell me more about the origin of this shirt?

Puffed Sleeves

 You don't see puffed sleeves much anymore...not in fashion for little girls currently.  Just the reason that Mom had some white blouses made for the girls to suit her specifications.

 These adorable blue jumpers are the handiwork of Mom/Grammy.  She sent them with the other jumpers that I posted a picture of here.  I waited to take a picture of them until the blouses that she ordered to go with them came.  Don't they look sweet together? 

 Mom and I both love Peter Pan collars too.

Such sweet outfits for little girls to wear.  Don't you love how they came out, Mom?  I love how the details of the blouse dress up the outfit, but the white shirt is largely covered by the jumper, making it still a practical play outfit.  Feminine, but functional!  I guess I can get away with dressing them "behind the times" for a while longer.  Wish I could get away with it more for myself!

Some happy girls here, Mom.  Thank you!

One More Cap and the Millinery Store

 (Part II from the last post)  Here is the last mob cap, on Bronwyn.  :)  But she is actually trying it on in the Millinery Shop in this picture.

 Here's a better picture of the inside of the shop.

And here is what the outside of this lovely shop in Williamsburg looks like.  A fun stop for all of the girls in our group!

Special Delivery

 Do you know what you are looking at?  Genuine, Grammie-made jumpers/tunics!  These special treasures came in the mail last week and adorned my girls when we went to our annual  homeschool assessment testing this week.

 Mom sent leggings and turtlenecks with the jumpers, making complete outfits.  What a SPECIAL gift it is to wear something made just for you, by someone who loves you.  

We love them, Mom.  They're cute, practical, comfy to wear, sturdy and matching!  Add in that they are one-of-a-kind, made and picked out by you and it doesn't get much better.  Thank you!

P.S.  She sent another set of jumpers too that I'll post pictures of later.

A Macy Sweater

 Joann finally accomplished her goal of getting this sweater finished up and given to her intended recipient, niece Macy. She was aiming for Macy's 5th birthday in September, but decided to put a few more rows on, and added the buttons and strands.

 From the back it's almost a sweater/coat, and it's warm and cozy too. This is all hand crocheted, and JoAnn made up the pattern herself. A first experiment in crocheting a sweater for a little girl. Macy picked out the colors she wanted.

A thank-you kiss for Aunt JoAnn.....

A Nightgown for Millie

Amelia and I started this project quite some time ago.  Back in the fall of last year she was really wanting to start a sewing project.  I knew we would be moving and Christmas was coming, but we started it anyway.  :)  She is just begining to show real interest in sewing and making things.  I had the pattern and a stack of flannel fabric to choose from already.  So, she chose the style and the fabric and I began walking her through the steps as I did them, so she could see the process.  We nearly completed it before we moved...when it got put into a box...and we didn't recover it for several months.  About a month ago, we finally found it, pulled it out and put on the finishing touches.  She and I are both pleased we did it.  Even if she is wearing a long-sleeved, flannel nightgown in June.  :)  

I've never really had time to sew for Millie.  I'm pretty certain that this is the first thing I've ever made for her to wear.  I remember how much it meant to me to wear something my mom made for me when I was a little girl.  I was so proud and felt so loved.  I think that memory makes me squeeze in the time now.

She picked the lace at the fabric store with me.  Amazing how special a simple nightgown-project  can be.  :)

Used Clothing?

I know that some people are not comfortable buying used clothing. I don't mind that at all. It means that people like me can clothe my children from the new clothes that they buy and don't end up using, for a ridiculously reduced cost. There is a children's consignment clothing store just down the street. Unlike a lot of these types of shops, the prices at this store are below my expectations. I visited the other day, spent 17$ and got:

Gap denim capris and Old Navy girly overalls for Millie, swim trunks for Ben, white blouse and sandals for Cecily, sandals and pajama shorts for Sam, leggings and slippers for Millie *and* dressy shoes for later (they were .99 cents).

Getting nice quality things for a great price makes me smile. :)

Seasonal Clothing Shift

We're still in the clothing-switch phase. Every spring and every fall, life is full of CLOTHES as I get together everyone's wardrobe for the coming season. All of the clothes are gathered and ready and now we are in the part of the phase where we slowly remove those cold weather clothes and replace them with the warm weather clothes. I have also shifted storage around in the girls' room so that Cecily's clothes all have a place to reside. This little dresser in the closet was the inexpensive answer to my storage problem. The only trouble is that I had to take off the closet door in order to open the drawers. So...I'd like to know what you think. Should I get together a little curtain to cover this space or does it look just fine as it is? Everytime I see her little summer dresses hanging here, I smile. It's still not warm enough to wear them so they hang here in expectation and a constant reminder of the good warm weather that's coming. Lots of seersucker and smocking should make for cute summer pictures.

The Easter Hat

She didn't wear it on Easter. That story is on my other blog. But one week late, Millie wore the little Easter hat and gloves to church. The hat has been worn for three generations, starting with my mom, Jennie. She put it on me and my sisters also and now I get to put it on my little girls. Luckily, Millie likes hats and "mittens." She was happy to wear them and happy to pose. Something tells me Cecily may have other tendencies when she gets this old. We will see.Calvin said she looked like a "town girl." I'm not sure what that means. : )

Dainty Embellishments

This little blouse I bought at a children's consignment sale has the sweetest little embroidered flowers on the collar. When I was dressing Amelia today, I was enjoying them very much and thought I'd share a peek.

Made by Janie and Jack, it's all-around dainty, but the flowers are the crowning touch.

Lavendar and blue, perfect for Spring!

Cecily's Baptism Dress

Cecily was baptized on January 4th. I don't think that what a baby is wearing is a vital part of his/her baptism, yet aesthetics do matter. It makes a difference when things look nice and symbolism is useful. My husband and I found some vintage christening gowns at an antique store when I was pregnant with our first daughter, Amelia. We are not Catholic, but we thought the idea of a special dress, just for the occasion that was symbolically white was a very nice idea. We picked one out and got a little hat to go with it. It's been worn for baptism twice now and we hope the Lord will see fit to bless us again and it will be a well-used dress.

The hat has such a sweet shape and some very pretty embroidery on it.

Detail on the hat.

This was my favorite picture of her in it.

She finally managed to get her thumb in her mouth at the end of her picture session.

Cecily's Christmas dress from Grammy

We have a long-standing affection for clothing from Hanna Andersson. My mom sent Cecily her first Hanna dress for Christmas. It came with this adorable personalized card.Ta-dah! The lovely dress.

Here she is looking at the flowers on it.

:-) Oh, raptures!

She likes it, Gram! Well, I like it. She looked adorable in it yesterday.