Personally, I love Wintertime and snow,

but I do enjoy a little sunshine on occasion! Seems that lately we've all had nothing but cold temperatures, rain and snow so I thought I'd share a few "warmer" things. In case you're wondering, yes - those are pillowcase dresses that Sara and Anna are wearing and they are made from actual pillowcases. Now, I'm usually not a big fan of the pillowcase dress (although I've seen some cute ones) because I always enjoy a challenge, and well, they just aren't very challenging to me. These are even more rare (for me) because they are made from a pillowcase. Occasionally someone will ask me to take a perfectly good garment apart and make something else from it - I just can't! It's not my nature to destroy something that is perfectly good and useful, even if it is to make something else.

A couple of years ago while on a family trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge I found these linen pillowcases with a crocheted edging on clearance for $2.50 in a quilt shop. I must've been in a destructive mood that day, because I immediately thought they would be perfect for pillowcase dresses. They were constructed with seems on all three sides (instead of having been cut on the fold of the fabric) so I was able to remove seams and create a casing for the gold silk ribbon shoulder ties. I removed enough of the side seams to allow for an armseye. The good thing about this is that after my girls have outgrown them as dresses, I can remove my casing seam and sew all the openings closed again, and they can use them for pillowcases (I just love when you get your money's worth!)

All work and no play . . .

We all need a break every now and then. The last day of school for the girls was Friday, and we had to attend graduation on Sunday afternoon (Emily is in the choir, and they always perform the Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the ceremony). Immediately following graduation, my mom, sister and I (along with my three girls and my sister's two boys) left for a mini-vacation to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge.

While there, we took the kids to the new Titanic museum. They were all anxious to find out at the end if they survived (upon entering, you are given a "boarding pass" with the name of an actual passenger, and a brief bio of that person - age, why they were on board, etc.) It was interesting to see why these people were on board what "class" they were in. The museum itself was designed to make you feel like you were actually on the ship, beginning in the hull of the ship with the third class cabins and ending on a upper deck where you could feel the actual temperature of the water on the night the ship went down. It was very educational for me as it was for the kids. Sometimes we have the Hollywood image of things and don't really stop to think about the actual people who were involved. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend visiting the Titanic.

Another Easter Picture

As promised, here is a picture of the Three Sisters on Easter. I'm sorry that they're not all sporting big happy smiles, but their cousins were running around playing and I just felt fortunate to get them together and still long enough for a photo. Sara's and Anna's bishops are made of a lightweight linen that I've had in my "stash" for a while. I smocked them with "Linda's Rosebud Collar", which I have just about decided is my all-time favorite plate - in spite of the gazillion bullion rosebuds! It's so pretty smocked on a collar, a plain bishop (like these) or even on a straight yoke. I love when something is so versatile!

Now to give Emily equal time, her outfit was very cute, although storebought (ya'll just don't know how much it is killing me that she has outgrown my little dresses!) Her skirt is brown with white polka dots and trimmed in a cute brown/white striped ribbon. I guess if I tried hard enough I could still make things for her, but there comes a point when you realize it just doesn't look right anymore. I'm just enjoying being able to still do things for Sara and Anna; they grow up so fast!

The Easter Parade . . .

I'll be honest with you: this Easter nearly wore me out!! I finally finished the last customer project on Saturday morning at about 9:00. I was really proud of myself though, because I had smocked Sara's and Anna's dresses back around Christmas, so I was a little ahead of the game and didn't have to stay up late Saturday night sewing, or so I thought. I went to bed Saturday evening and woke up in a panic at 2:30 a.m. (do you ever do that?) and realized that I had forgotten to hem their dresses! Well, I got up and hemmed them and then went back to bed. They were so pretty!

I'm running behind on uploading my pictures, so I'll have to show you Sara and Anna later. Here are just a few of the customer projects I completed this Easter.

I'm so proud of Emily!

My oldest daughter, Emily (age 12) made this version of Petite Poche's Vintage Baby Bubbles. This was her entry in the textile category for the Alabama Christian Education Association's art competition this past week. I love the look of this bubble - it looks like a diaper set, but when unbuttoned on the sides, is one flat piece. The little chick is done by madiera applique, and for her first attempt at that, Emily did an excellent job. She won a first place blue ribbon among all junior high school students in the state!!