a little dress

stella had a violin recital this weekend and earned her "twinkle certificate," meaning she successfully completed all of the twinkle variations and theme in the suzuki method. we were very excited and proud of her, as she has worked very hard, practicing so much (even on vacation!) i felt she deserved a new dress for the occasion, especially since lately she's been growing like a weed and the ones she has are a bit short! i've been hoarding this great linen print i had grabbed from superbuzzy for awhile and planned on making up a dress to be similar to the girls dresses on the fabric. this is what i came up with on saturday night before the sunday recital. maybe one day i'll make a pattern or give some kind of instructions. it was fun to just make it up as i went along. love my little girl...

the fabric...

the front...

the back...

the faced hem...

the performer...

the awards - twinkle certificate and mcdonald's coupon for listening contest...

the little guy who wants to be just like her (on the american girl violin!)...
this last one was taken today amidst toys, blankies and pjs. unfortunately, after an amazing recital, we tried to celebrate at friendly's but spent an hour in their bathroom with stella throwing-up in the trash can. eli followed suit in the car...so today is a sick day at home. thankfully, we're all on the mend!

weekly update

so that blog malaise is lingering...

truth is, my mind has been overly occupied with not so creative, more contemplative thoughts that don't lend themselves to blogging, ya know?

so...i thought i'd let you in on the mundane in my life:
1. we did switch totally to gdiapers and i love it. feel good about flushing it away and not piling it up in the landfill...sigh of relief!
2. we got some klean kanteens and a sigg for chris (inspired by rachel and others out there in blogland) i plan on making some kanteen kozies to spruce up the look (stella wishes for a sigg now because they are so cute!)
3. just finished watching season one of curb your enthusiasm. pretty funny. not stellar though.
4. also just watched grizzly man. bizarre and disturbing.
5. happy to find routine these days. i need it to keep my mind from spinning.
6. i'll be posting some photos soon of the apron and tea for 2 set i made for the women's auction at my family's church...happy to say it brought in some good cash thanks to a devoted fan!
7. has anyone ever done sitemeter or the like? you can see who visits your site when and from where and how they found you. interesting at first, freaky after you think about it for too long...but interesting nonetheless.

and here's an idea...maybe y'all should leave a comment saying hi so i can "meet" the people visiting my little blog...that would be fun, wouldn't it??? and i don't think i'm being sarcastic...really...

okie doke. hopefully fall will arrive here soon with crisp cool air and refresh my brain and spirits...needing some rejuvenation these days...so send some light my way, think happy thoughts, pray for some inspiration...

so dramatic, aren't i!!???

thanks for keeping me going girls...i'm still loving the updates on your blogs!!! makes me happy!

ich bin ein hausfrau...

...und ich habe ein hausfraukleid!

apologies to any real german speakers...

as i was making my latest project, this phrase kept running through my brain...so there it appears! i wanted a smock/apron/housework-dress-type-thing. i got inspired by this japanese magazine i ordered from superbuzzy (and love, by the way). so made up a little smock/apron/housework-dress-type-thing! one pocket left to sew on, and details need to be added to the pocket, but the whole motto behind the dress is: simplicity, enjoy the little details, take pride in the process. therefore, the hand stitching on the bodice, handsewn pockets, lace trim, etc etc...i love it and feel like i will be inspired in the house a bit more. i've already decided that when we have a house (which hopefully will be very soon!) i want a shoe-free home. so i will make little "house-shoes" (aka slippers) for all visitors to don when they arrive. chris actually loved the idea too! the slippers were inspired by this book here!

so...next project...to finish my t-shirt embellishment for the Project of the Month and then the doll quilt for the dollquilt swap! i'm very excited about this!! still time to sign up, folks!!! i am thinking about doing the pincushion challenge, but don't feel very inspired, yet! we'll see. i do have to make a baby shower gift, a bridal shower gift and finish my musicianship work for the walden course i've been working on for OVER a year now!!! yikes!!! i think that's enough work for right now.

so here is the hausfraukleid...