While I was blogging...

While I was writing the previous post Maisie emptied about 4 vials of beads into a business card holder, which she called a couch. I guess it IS kind of couch shaped. Here she is with her brother picking up the ones that ended up all over the floor.

ETA: While I was blogging this entry she scotch taped the faceted ones to my OmniGrid ruler at 1" intervals. Do you see the piece of boning on the floor beside the card holder? It HAS to be there (as in "I NEED IT MAMA!"). That is her "puppy leash" for her imaginary puppy. I wish we didn't lose the imagination we have as a child.

Easter Dress

Maisie with Boy. I don't make him much, so he doesn't get much air time here.

On Easter Saturday, as Maisie was being readied for bed, she reminded me of the promise of an Easter dress. I had embroidered out the bunny (from http://www.emblibrary.com/ ) on a leftover piece of cotton already. It was supposed to be a practise stitch out, but I found another piece of the fabric and had enough for a pinafore style without sleeves. The bodice is a from pattern I used for my now 14 year old niece, but no pattern pieces remain. (Yes, I have had UFOs for that long.) I used a full width of the cotton for the front and another for the back, dividing the scrap in half to determine the length.

I found a strip of acetate satin bias for the neckline and decided to use bias to finish the armholes as well. I had cut a lining in satin ( I don't remember why I chose satin) and used it to underline the front section. I should have just lined the bodice as I would have gotten to bed a lot sooner.

The design looked like something was missing and I thought I would embroider some flowers by hand on it but the design was too dense to get a needle through. I gave up and added a little green satin ribbon bow and did a row of green stem stitches under the bias at the neckline to make the colour look a bit more cohesive.

The dress is really a sleeveless jumper and the top underneath was a birthday present from Nana. The tights were a gift from my sister and even though they all came from disparate sources, the end result looked pretty put together.

On Easter Sunday morning, after the egg hunt, we all got ready to go to Church.

As we walked up to the church we saw the sign with the new Mass times, realized Mass was about to let out, and just kept walking around the block and home again. It was our own private Easter Parade!

Birthday creations

Maisie's third birthday is coming up in February. When asked what she would like, she always replies, "A purple cake with candles and Smarties." With Christmas just past, I don't think she really expects to get any presents. That leaves it up to us to figure out what she would like and would play with as well as what we actually have room for in the house. We don't need any more junk, clutter or any toys that aren't used.
Something she loves is to dress up. Any kind of a costume will do, including her brother's katate gi and sparring gear and anything that seems like a hat.

So I have decided to make her a costume collection and not only because it appeals to me. Over the last year I have tucked away a little sheer ribbon skirt and a pair of fairy wings. She will need a princess dress (who doesn't) and, of course, a cape. I am waiting to get some more fabric for the dress, so I cut out and sewed the cape. When her brother comes home from school each day, he checks in with me and I show him my progress. He even picked out the trim for it: a sequinned pink stuff that was chosen for it's contrast, sparkle and comfortability. He even tried it on for me so I could check the lining. He really is a good big brother.

I always ask him not to stand behind me and read over my shoulder when I am on the computer. I ask this, not just because it drives me crazy, but also because I might post something like this:

What a good sport!

Canada Day

Yesterday was Canada Day. We dressed in red and white and took the kids to a local park for a walk and picnic. I wore my very comfortable new tan pants.

Maisie enjoyed the Merry-go-round and wouldn't get off after the first ride. It was a good thing I had purchased some extra tickets.

We had to change horses from "Baby black one." to "Brown one.", then finally onto the "BIG white one." Everything is either big or baby.

Notice the mismatched socks. Leo did it first and Maisie had to copy. This pose is actually uncontrived, despite the face that Leo pulling.
Maisie is wearing a pair of shorts I made her brother ten years ago. They have certainly held up.