Sew, Snow and Blessings

Earlier this month, I became a great-aunt again, to a sweet little girl living up in the gentle hills of Tennessee.  I wanted to make something for the wee little one, and decided to pull out my favorite pattern for a little girl's dress.

 I used three different pink fabrics that I've had for years.  I think two of them may have been purchased from Stampin Up! when they were selling a fabric line.

My favorite part of the dress is the cute little flower I created for the dress.  The idea for this little flower came from my days as a Stampin Up! demo, and combines both sewing and the Big Shot die cutting machine.

Any die cut machine will do this, but I really love my Big Shot, as it requires no electricity, just a hand crank, and it works amazingly.  It will cut just about anything that is thin enough to pass through, even tin!

I have this large scallop die cut that I believe is no longer sold through SU, and it is one I will always keep.  It is so versatile and has so many uses.  I simply cut the scallop out by passing it through the die machine 2-3 times to get a nice clean cut.

My next step could be done by hand, or by machine. I chose to do it by machine. I just sewed a smaller circle in loose stitches around the scallop edge.

Then I just gathered the stitches together until it "scrunched' up into a little flower shape.

And lastly, the easiest part, and one which truly just adds a very special touch, I hand sewed a shabby fabric rose to the center of the scallop.  You can buy these fabric roses at Hobby Lobby in the lace/ribbon section.  It comes in a roll, and you just cut them off one at a time.  I love these shabby roses, after being introduced to them by Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose.  

I also made a second scalloped shabby rose and finished off the back with a small cut piece of fabric, and glued on a little clip for the little one to wear in her hair if desired.  

Now there is something very special about this little dress, that I have never had before when making them.  Can you see the difference in the picture below? 

 I now own a serger! 

A precious friend of mine called me back in October to tell me she had come up with the perfect surprise for Christmas for me.  She gave me some clues, one of which included "you will have to go back to school", and "you will scream when you see what it is"...  I was quite perplexed, and shared her clues with my family, and they all agreed with me, it was a puzzle and a surprise all in one.  

This dear friend of mine is an immigrant from the Ukraine.  Her daughter and my daughter became close friends in high school, and because of their friendship, we became friends too.  It was a win-win!  She has an amazing grasp of the English language, but still there is a bit of a language barrier there, and we often spend a lot of time laughing together, as we try to understand what each of us is trying to say. Sometimes we just use hand signals, or facial expressions to convey what we want to say.  In other words, any time we get together, laughter and fun fill every moment of our time.  She is a precious dear soul who is generous, fun and loving beyond words.  

In her country, every time you go to someone's house you bear a gift, and so, her generosity each time we get together is a precious thing.  I'm so thankful the Lord allowed our paths to cross.  She doesn't believe in the Lord or that there even is a GOD in heaven, and we've had many conversations about that too.  I feel great hope that someday she will learn to love HIM as I do, but for now, I just love her, and am so thankful for what her friendship means in our life.  

So, I shared all that to tell you this... my dear sweet Ukranian friend and her daughter bought me this amazing serger for Christmas!  She showed up at my house a few days before Christmas with this big box wrapped so prettily, and inside, was a present I could hardly believe.  Did I scream? Yes, with delight!   

And the clue about having to "go back to school", yes indeed, owning a serger has caused me to delve into videos and how-to's to learn just how to use this amazing machine.  But thankfully, my dear friend T knows all about sewing machines and sergers, because she is a clothing designer, and has amazing skills with both the sewing machine and serger.  She told me that after she saw my work making little girl dresses that I needed a serger, and she was going to make sure I had one!  Such a huge generous heart she has, I feel overwhelmed by her sweet and generous spirit!  

I'm so proud of her too!  Just this week, on Monday, she became an American citizen!  She studied hard for the citizenship test, and made 98%, passing with flying colors, an honor for her to become a citizen of this great country.  She is the kind of immigrant that this country thrives on, one with a generous heart who is not afraid of working hard, and doing all she can to make the world a better place that she lives in.  How blessed we are to have her in our lives! 

Would you pray with me that the Lord would continue to work in her life? I have seen moments where her heart has been touched, and she has allowed me to pray with her many times, but there is something there, I'm sure having something to do with her past in the Ukraine, that keeps her from knowing HIM as Lord and Savior.  She has asked me to pray with her many times, yet she says she does not believe in a god.  So, I know it is just a matter of the Lord's time for her to know Him in a beautiful way! {smiles}

And speaking of the Lord's timing... as I was writing this post, the mailman came and dropped off a large package to me today!   Blessings upon blessings!  

As I opened the package, my heart was in complete amazement at the amazing generosity of another friend of mine!  

A precious card inside told the story... my dear friend Cheryl who blogs at Homespun Devotions sent me this large collection of fabric, as she is currently downsizing, and reducing, and she wanted to bless me with all this fabric!  She knew that I enjoy sewing, especially these little girl dresses, and wanted to bless me with this generous gift of lovely fabric pieces.

Oh the possibilities!

All the beautiful possibilities for different fabric combinations that she sent me!  And I think I shall have some help with it all, although probably not the most productive kind of help.... {smiles}

Did you think I could have a post without our sweet little girl in it? LOL!  No, I'm afraid not. She has made herself known in every part of our lives now, and when she saw me enjoying the fabric, she just had to see it too!

I think this one shall be a pillow.... let's try it out! 

"No, you can't have it.  It's mine now!" 

"What... you mean I can't play tug-o-war with your pretties?"

"Hee hee hee... we shall see about that... "

"Oh Grandmommy, it's so fun, please, let's play".... at which point the camera drops, and a certain fur ball is scooped into my arms and told no, she can't chew up my pretties!  LOL. Riley and I both thank dear Cheryl for her generosity in sending me this delightful package today!  

In other news, we are getting a snowstorm here today, and are expecting about a foot of snow today, and then rain tomorrow... ick!  You know me, I love the snow so much, but the rain is going to mess it all up!  So, we are enjoying the snow today, while it comes down so prettily. 

Annie, has become comfortable in her role as "momma" to Riley, was watching over Riley, and enjoying the snow coming down too. 

Here we have Riley holding the turkeys hostage!  They are not happy with her keeping them away from the feed block.  They call out to me as I watch, begging me to do something, lol!

We are having just too much snow fun, enjoying it while it lasts!

Have a blessed and lovely weekend,  

from our snowy world to yours!