Some updates from around here

Amy and Sarah had their first, open-ended assignment in March. I gave them an outline and let them go to do whatever they chose with the project. Sarah chose ladybugs and Amy chose dalmatians. Below is a picture of them after their presentation to the rest of the family last week.


I just finished up a very satisfying project of my own yesterday. I offered to make a christening gown for the little guy who will be baptised tomorrow at Mass when Theo and two others receive First Holy Communion. When I was thinking about how to customize the gown for this family, I asked them if they had a family bible verse and their anniversary date. Since they plan to use this gown again for the rest of their babies it needed to be gender neutral, and D asked that it not be fru-fru, but rather simple and classic. the fabric is a cotton shirting with a bit of a texture, and washed up beautifully; crisp but not stiff, and soft, but not limp.

I chose their verse from their wedding vows, Song of Songs 2:16 and used it in the body of the gown instead of embroidering it on in words. A tuck requires two threads to make one tuck---man and woman joined as one in marriage, and man and woman joined to make a new life. Across the bottom of the skirt there are two large horizontal tucks (Song of Songs, chapter 2) and on the bodice there are eight tuck son either side of the center (verse 16). I added a tiny bit of blue ribbon to the boy's cap and after Easter will make a girl's bonnet with pink ribbon and a bit of lace so they can use the gown for either. Below is a photo of the set.



When the girls and I were shopping at the Catholic bookstore on Saturday I found this lovely baby pin with a four-way medal for the center of the bodice. I think it turned out to be just the perfect finishing touch!