It has become apparent to me that one can make an entire wardrobe for a baby or toddler from vintage and mismatched pillowcases alone.

Yesterday I found this pretty pillowcase at a local discount store for $1.97 and was inspired to make it into a little dress for Poppy.  As most of you may already know, I am a novice sewer who becomes easily frustrated when doing so, but felt up to the task for some reason. 

I decided to make it as no-fuss as I possible and cut out a back and front in a simple A-line shape, sewed it up, needed only to finish the top edges as the bottom was already finished, and even had enough patience to spare to add a little wiggly embellishment along the hemline and top seams.  I then threaded a piece of bias tape through the top for an asymmetrical bow to hold it all together.

I must admit I am quite taken with this little dress {not to mention Poppy's first little ponytail} and have 4 more lined up with similar destinies, though I may tweak these a little with some more official instructions from the book Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule.

go gently & be wonderful

e.

a new decade

my thirties begin with a rainy day and a congested teething baby

she sleeps late because the day is gray and had a fitful sleep riddled with coughing

i neglect to make the bed and wear navy and denim

i put Poppy in a coral coloured corduroy dress

and tie my hair back with a green elastic

make my way downstairs to make myself a breakfast of jam filled crepes

we're out of sugar

so I settle for freezer-burnt eggos and drown them in Janet and Dad's maple syrup

a waste of good syrup

a mistake I won't make again

the kind birthday greetings are flooding in and i am touched in particular by a lovely email from my step-mom

I contemplate this decade and what it may hold

turning twenty is nothing

turning thirty is bigger, but by no means badder

it seems to hold some sort of potential and freedom within its landscape

a place where i can stop trying to like brown bread

stop feeling guilty for not making the bed

and take more from life

a place where i can embrace elegance and learn the power of femininity

i hear good things about the thirties

and i feel ready to leave behind the insecurities and mistakes of my twenties

carry only the good things forward

like smooth pebbles in my pockets and windowsills

like a fresh coat of paint or a happy new outfit

new beginnings are good

i hope to fill this decade with soft blues and linen

wisdom and tea

focus and family

skirts and making peace with this body

forgive myself for what i stumbled upon and failed at

be proud of what i have conquered and survived

stop fighting who i am and what i do

allow the freak flag to fly with abandon more often

think less

listen more

become softer and stronger

buy less

make more

but most of all

i will

go gently & be wonderful

e.

feeling

used up

stretched out

tired

gigantic

unlovable

wishing

I could ignore the mess

Mike {my usually very sensitive husband} hadn't found those thin, pre-pregnancy pictures of me and announced it by saying, though rather playfully, that he had found pictures of "Ernsy with perky boobs"

I knew how to stop trying to be and have everything all at once

I could find the balance in blogging again

it wasn't calling for rain and thunderstorms, yet again, for the farmers market

I could find some pretty clothes that fit over this great, growing belly

smelling

chocolate chip cookies & sweet marie bars made for market tomorrow

the mysterious and rather unpleasant smell that creeps out from under the stairs that we have been unable to identify or get rid of in the 3 1/2 years we have been here

loving

that when I ran a bath for myself this afternoon and turned to get something from the drawer, Poppy, as sly as a fox, climbed into the tub and looked up at me, fully clothed, with a pleased grin on her dirty little face

the way Poppy walks around all business-like with a remote or anything resembling a phone talking a new form of gibberish that sounds very purposeful

trying

not to think too much about turning 30 next Tuesday

{pictures in this post circa Summer 2007... also know as the "pre-pregnancy-35-pounds-lighter-perky-boob-days}

go gently & be wonderful

e.

good rain + thirsty earth

cheering our young garden seedlings to life

feeling a deep need to unravel + sprout myself

searching for my words

more purging

aching to see the world with fresh eyes

a change of scenery

retreat

time to look inside + change what I don't like

stop running + distracting myself

in that sly way I seemingly love to self-sabotage

e.