Olivia's Pajamas

One of the very first things we did when Olivia joined our family back in December, was go to the fabric store and find a pattern to make pajamas. Much to my daughter's frustration it has taken me a very long time to finally get around to making them.

Today, there was a women's craft day at church. Where you could either bring your own project or work on one of the projects they provided. Admittedly the projects there were super cute. A little herb planter made from a mason jar. Some spring themed projects like a little bird house, a garden sign and a floral felt coaster. As well as some Easter crafts, twine wrapped eggs, handmade Easter cards and a fabric cross. Though greatly tempted, I decided to work on the projects I brought, (much to the relief of my husband, I am sure.)

Though there was plenty of space for me to bring my sewing machine, I decided I would just work on cutting out the pattern at church and leave the sewing for home. Of course, even though I remembered my fabric, the scissors and even my marking chalk. I managed to forget the pins at home. It all worked out in the end and I did in fact get the pajama pieces cut out and ready for sewing.

Once home, I did get the pajama tops completed. My hope it that I will have the bottoms finished tomorrow and little Olivia with finally have some warm and cozy flannel pajamas for tomorrow night.

A huge thank you to Martha and Allison for hosting the craft day today. It was a lot of fun and a much needed (creative) time away from the kids.

Many blessings this fine, late night.--Kate

Little Sweater

The day after Christmas, when my girl chose to keep her broken doll, we picked out a pattern to make Olivia a new outfit. It has been a cold snowy winter and Olivia came to us dressed ready for summer. So my girl and I both thought she may like something warm to wear. I found this clever Simplicity pattern that includes a link for knit and crochet patterns too. Sewing, knit and crochet projects in one pattern? It is like it was made just for me.

My girl decided she wanted me to make the crochet sweater for Olivia. Then she dove into my huge yarn stash to find which yarn she wanted me to use. This sweater pattern was probably an intermediate skill level, but thankfully required very little seaming to be done. It was worked from the waist up to the orange/brown rows in connected rounds. Then I work up the front and back panels separately and seamed it at the shoulders. Then I reattached the yarn at the arm holes and constructed the sleeves from the shoulder to the wrist in the connected rounds again. It was finished with a decorative stitch at the neck and waist.

 

Now Olivia has a lovely crochet sweater to keep her warm. We just need to get her some pants.

Many blessings this fine day.--Kate

Make A Girl A New Pair of Boots.

My girl has been asking me to teach her how to sew for a while now. I do have a few simple projects for her to try, but there have been other activities and projects that have been filling our time lately. Then this past Sunday we had a rare day where the whole family was together and without obligation. So we decided to run some errands together. At our Michaels stop I found these adorable boots that you can decorate with DIY charms, tassels and fringe. The biggest step in the project was designing and sewing charms. I thought it might be the perfect introduction to sewing for my girl.

It was a fabulous and fun project for the two of us to work on together. My girl also gained some new confidence and skills for design and sewing. Plus Olivia now has a fancy pair of boots, that can be decorated over and over again.

I love teaching my daughter life skills that have been handed down through many generations of women in my family. I know that this has been a loved and much used skill for at least 4 generations. My grandmother's aunt who did sewing jobs for others. My grandmother, who made baby clothes for all of her grandchildren, many great grandchildren as well as a house full of beautiful collectors items. My mother who sews amazing quilts and outfits for her grand-babies and many other awesome creations. Finally, I have been working as a contract seamstress for the past 6 years and so many years before that sewing. I could not be more thrilled that my daughter is interested in learning how to sew.

Many blessings to you this fine stitch filled (and snow filled) day.--Kate

Broken Toys from Santa Claus

Meet the newest member of the family, Olivia. She joined us through a Santa Claus facilitated adoption.

My oldest has never really been a doll playing girl. So I was rather surprised when in the weeks leading up to Christmas she showed so much interest in this lovely long haired girl. I thought it could be risky, but from the first moment she saw Olivia on Christmas morning she was in love. Olivia also has her own hiking backpack and a ballet recital outfit so she is able to join my girl doing some of her favorite activities.

We did have a harrowing moment with our new little sister when I discovered she was broken. Olivia is a doll from the Our Generation, "From Hair to There" line and her given name is actually Phoebe. These are special dolls that have a section of hair that can be lengthened or shortened by the use of a button on their back. Before the end of Christmas day I discovered the button did not work. Now the dilemma, "What do I do?" Do I try to repair or replace this doll without telling my daughter? Do I try to keep the fact that she is broken from her? If she had been a normal toy that my husband and I had purchased it would have removed some of my personal angst, but she was a gift from Santa. Why would Santa give a broken toy? I was really struggling with what to do and how best to avoid making my girl sad on Christmas.

To understand this moment you need to know something about my daughter. When I was pregnant for a third time she really wanted a little sister. She wanted one so badly I was afraid she would be really upset when we found out it was a boy. (She was not, thankfully, because she is a girl with a huge heart.) Before we found out, we picked out names for either a boy or a girl. I am sure you can guess what the name would have been for a sister.  So when I was informed first thing Christmas morning that the lovely long haired doll was Olivia (not Phoebe,) I knew this was the sister she had been waiting for. She spent the entirety of Christmas with Olivia by her side. Together they went through Olivia's new backpack and she had several wardrobe changes. Olivia had the perfect seat to watch presents being opened. She sat in her big sisters lap to watch Christmas movies. She was even tucked in with special love and care to sleep the night next to my sweet girl.

Oh, what to do!?

I decided the day after Christmas to tell her Olivia was broken and then to take my lead from her. After some discussion she did think she would rather have a doll that was not broken. As I worked to make sure that we had all of the brushes, hair extensions and barrettes, I noticed my daughter whispering to Olivia. We got everything packed up and headed out to the car. My girl asked if Olivia could sit with her. Of course I let her. We had some cold and snowy weather at Christmas so I had to clean the windows before I could drive. I got into the car to discover my girl had buckled Olivia into her own seat.

As we are driving to the store she confesses she had been telling Olivia not to worry or be sad, that once she was fixed some other little girl would love her as much as she did. That she would always love her and never forget her. (Melt my heart.) Before we even left I tried to find if there is a repair shop for the Our Generation Dolls, I could not find one. I let my daughter know we would ask at the store though. At the store they also did not know about a repair shop and they did not have another Phoebe doll. I thanked customer service and said I needed to talk about it with my daughter. She decided she really did not want a different doll. I also gave her the option of a second doll that was not broken. She said, "I do not need a second doll to be happy." After these two very mature choices I give her a third option, to pick out some new accessories for Olivia and to go to the fabric store to find a pattern and fabric for a new outfit I would make her. This one she was happy to choose. On our way home, after purchasing the new treats for Olivia my girl shares a second confession, "Mom, I am glad I get to keep Olivia." I was too.

In my daughter's heart Olivia became an immediate part of our family and broken or not, she is her sister and she will always be loved and cared for.

Many blessings to you this thought-filled day.--Kate

P.S. Be on the lookout for posts about the many projects and outfits we are making for Olivia.