A Sewing Review

Last year I had a goal to spend quality time developing talents, and I had such a fulfilling time sewing for my home and for Brynn. This has really encouraged me to stop and think about some of my best and most favorite sewing projects, not just from last year, but from my whole beautiful little journey as a developing seamstress. 

This is the first dress I finished for Brynn--and, I think, the first article of clothing I ever did totally by myself! Look at that sweet baby in the yellow floral and pink rickrack. Sigh. Why do babies grow up? 

But, here it is, folks. The dress that started it all. Brynn's baby blessing dress. It's hard to see with the white, but this was a lined dress with a Peter Pan collar and flutter sleeves. I think I finished this dress on the day I went into labor (3 weeks early!) Turns out that it's hard to know what size your newborn will be, and the dress was a little big. But my sweet mother-in-law Geri helped us make it the right size by tacking a ribbon around the middle. Now I can't remove the ribbon because I want it to stay just as it was. 

I forgot how she used to always stick out her tongue like that. 

Now this dress hangs on Brynn's wall with my old pointe shoes. Cute decor, yes, but also a daily reminder of my love for my daughter and how much we anticipated her coming. That's one of the reasons I love sewing. Sewing is an act of love. It's creation and creativity that allows you to give something meaningful and beautiful to a person who is beautiful to you. 

For Brynn's first birthday, I made her this sweet little duckie out of the same white material from her blessing dress. I hope this toy gets passed down for years to come! 

Which brings me to the quilt. Ah, my first quilt. A little bit of frustration involved, but quilting taught me to be more precise than ever. Yes, there are a few mistakes I couldn't quite fix, but that is what makes it special, right? I did the big stitch quilting all by hand. 

I started another quilt in October or November thinking I would for sure be done in time to decorate for Christmas, but...maybe next year. Here is a square just for a sneak peek. I love the Nordic theme: 

And, last year, I discovered Building Block Dress! This book is a wonderful idea, and I've learned a lot. I can basically make any dress I want for Brynn now. 

Here is her sweet mint and pink empire waist dress with flutter sleeves and a square neckline. Perfect for our beach family photos. 

And here is our little girl modeling the dress I made for her second birthday. Wouldn't that be a fun tradition, to always make her a birthday dress? I love the placket with red buttons in front, and Brynn loves the pockets. "TWO pockets!" she says. It was the first time I had ever done a yoke silhouette like that.

And this is the dress that I finished just today! Another Building Block Dress from Oliver and S. I knew I had to make this cute gray fabric into a dress for Brynn the minute I saw it. I changed the collar shape from the original pattern, and I also added a cute inverted box pleat in the front and some pockets with a fold detail. Doesn't the blue look so nice with the floral pattern? And how cute are those little cuffs? 

There is just something about sewing that I love...how I can get lost handling the cotton and matching the colors and just sitting with a needle. How I feel like I'm part of a heritage of people who create beautiful little things out of love. I really want to go somewhere with this, and I feel like there are good things on the horizon. It's important for me to be the kind of person who participates in a culture of learning and creating and growing, and sewing is giving me that right now. 

Books - Last 2017 Post!

I read 47 books this year, HOORAYYY. Maybe 14 of them were classics I had never read before, which is cool, plus a lot of others were more current event-y books that I think are really important. Best book...hmmm....The Poisonwood Bible, but there were lots of good ones. What else are you reading?

Here are the rest of the books I read in 2017!

Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson. I don't know. It was funny I guess. Memoirs/comedy of touring the UK. I kept thinking Why am I reading this? But also I couldn't stop reading it. So there's a totally useless review for you.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare. A book club re-read from my childhood. A great book.

Company Man - John Rizzo. Memoirs from one of the top lawyers at the CIA. Gave interesting background about the decisions to waterboard. Rizzo argues that President Bush did not know about specific interrogation techniques, but that Bush said he was aware so that he could take the fall, and that makes him a "stand-up guy." Anyway, interesting stuff. Also I appreciated his nonpartisan approach (Rizzo left when Obama was elected due to the fallout over the Torture Memos, but personally voted for both republicans and democrats based on how capable the person seemed and how upheaval would affect the atmosphere of Washington).

No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington - Condoleezza Rice. I don't know WHY I keep reading all these Bush era political memoirs but whatever. Liked it, like her.

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah. One of the big books of the year. I was glad I read it. Humor but also brutal honestly in talking about South Africa.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride - Cary Elwes. Listened to this on audiobook and couldn't stop laughing. I wish Cary Elwes was my uncle and Andre the Giant was my, um, larger uncle.

The Monuments Men - Robert M. Edsel. I kept looking up stuff about famous artwork and I feel like I learned a lot. So many aspects of WWII I don't know about yet.