I'm really bad at documenting the things that I make for the girls (and for myself). Partly because my house is a mess and I never know where the camera is when I remember to photograph my creations and partly because I'm just too caught up in the moment of seeing my kids in the things I've made to remember to take a picture. What I really need is a photographer to follow me around and document this stuff. Or to have the camera attached to me permanently somehow.
I came to this conclusion while sorting out clothes that no longer fit Gwyn and filling the closet with things leftover from Maeve. Yes, I saved almost everything that Maeve wore, since it was all still in excellent condition, with the hope that I'd have another girl who could wear it. So now pretty much everything Gwyn has in her closet is hand-me-down from Maeve. The wonderful thing about this is that a lot of it is good-quality children's clothing from H&M and C&A in Germany, so usually it's interesting in design and/or fabric choice in addition to being well-made. I have an outfit for her to wear at Disney in October - red and white polka-dot capris and a t-shirt with Minnie Mouse embroidered on it- that came from H&M and only cost $12 or some ridiculously cheap price. In the States it would easily cost $25.
Anyway, as I sorted these clothes I was remembering Maeve wearing them and thinking about the places we'd gone (France, Holland) in them when I came across a dress that I'd made for Maeve when she was 3 or 4. I know I made it in 2004 because I ordered the fabric from eQuilter.com and distinctly remember that it came the day I was leaving for Amsterdam to spend Easter at my aunt Karin's house. It's purple linen, embroidered with vines and flowers in aqua, purple, orange and magenta - really lovely.
This pattern is Burda 9845, which is probably out of print by now, given that it's at least 6 years old. The style is classic, though, so I'll probably use it again. It's very simple - puffed raglan sleeves with elastic in a casing, drawstring neck, slightly flaring body, but not too much. The linen is a bit thicker than I would have liked, so the casings are a bit wonky, in my opinion, but all in all it's a wonderful dress. Gwyn clearly loves it:
As I was writing this, I realized that I have another dress that I made for Gwyn (also Burda) last year that I didn't really document. These are the only 2 photos I have of her in it - taken at the Maryland Renaissance Faire last year:
This is Burda 9583, made up in a fabric called "Citronella" that I purchased on ebay (sorry, don't remember the manufacturer) and a 2-tone yellow Campan stripe which is still available at Banberry Place. The Citronella fabric was an impulse purchase - I had to get it but didn't know what I was going to do with it. The stripe had been in my stash and was used for Gwyn the previous year as a puff-sleeved onesie-type shirt. I had enough left over to do this dress and it worked out perfectly. The day the photos were taken I'd had several people stop me to say how cute it was and ask where I'd gotten it. I wish I had better pictures of it but, alas, it is packed away with the things that were outgrown already.
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