Birthday Dress

July is flying by!!  What a crazy month it has been.  We've been up to our eyeballs in summer camps, cleaning, gardening, and preserving. 

Sweetpea turns 4 tomorrow.  Hard to believe my littlest is going to be 4.  For her birthday, I made her a dress.

I'ts Simplicity 4161 and I have no idea what the fabric is.  I thought it was a cotton, but it may be a rayon or something like that.  It ironed funny...  I made her a size 5, but it was way too big at the top.  I had to take in the seam at the armhole down to the waist by a good good bit.

 (And I need a hook and eye.  That seems to be a downfall of mine - not sewing on the hook and eye.  So tedious!!!)

All in all, the sewing went well.  The pattern was fairly simple to follow.  And... I did my first buttonhole!!!  (Thanks, Nick, for all your encouragement!)  With such cute buttons, who could resist?

I'm hooked!  Or buttoned, rather, since we all know how i feel about putting hooks on dresses.  It was so easy, I can't believe it took me this long to try it out!  Way way way easier than lining up a zipper.

Happy Birthday my lil Sweetpea.

Holding on to 2

Sweetpea is 3 today!  But, if you ask her, she's still 2.  For proof, she shows me her feet and says, "see!  My feet are little.  I not big.  I have baby feet."  So far today she has said "mama, I still a baby" to me several times. 

We gave her some gifts anyway.  I scored this cute little wooden doll crib at a local thrift store for $3, and made bedding to fit.

A blanket and pillow.

A little mattress pad to go at the bottom.

And then, I found this super cute handmade doll from here (I love Etsy) to complete the gift.

She loves it all!  And has even introduced the new baby to her owl friend.

Just this morning, I finished a little dress I was making for her to wear to the party on Sunday.  I was flying along last night, thinking how great it was to be finishing something so effortlessly, when BAM!  The tension got all screwy on my machine.  Drat!  Today held more patience for me.  So here it is. 

I used Simplicity's pattern 2432 and vintage material my mom passed along to me when they moved from the house I grew up in.  The material is great!  Light, fun, summery.

My hubby can't get over the fact that I made something so light for my little girl.  I usually don't put them in anything not dirt colored.  Unless they are eating blueberries, and then they wear blue.

But, I just loved the material and thought it would be perfect for this dress.  (Note:  I still need to attach a hook and eye to the top of the zipper.  Today has not held that much patience for me.)

This is only the second garment I've attached a zipper to.  My first being a skirt I made last week out of this other super cool vintage fabric from my mom's stash (thank you mom!!!).  I didn't really have that much trouble with it. 

You've probably noticed the lack of pictures of Sweetpea in her new dress.  That's because the party isn't until Sunday.  And if I put the dress on her today, it certainly would NOT be this nice color anymore.

So, happy birthday my little sweetpea.  You will always be my baby.  Even if your feet get big!