A coworker's daughter turned 1 not too long ago. I thought making a dress for her birthday would be a great way to start sewing in my sewing room. After looking at other people's ideas online for kids' dresses, I bought some fabric and made a paper pattern.
The mom requested something yellow, since baby M doesn't have very much of that color. This was pretty much the only pattern at JoAnn's that would work for a baby sundress. I bought some lighter yellow to line it too.
As I was cutting out the pieces, I had the great idea to make it reversible. Not just front/back reversible, but inside-out front/back reversible too! This is 4 dresses in 1 my friend, and if that little girl gets all 4 sides dirty, I'll know it'll be worth it!
I finished the dress, minus any flair. Baby M came over to make sure the dress fit and she was fascinated by my fish. I let the mom pick out the embellishments. She was on board with what I suggested - I just didn't want to overdo anything!
The blue belt took the longest - I had to do it by hand, sew in blue where the ribbon had a blue slash, and not go all the way through the dress. I should have done this before putting the dress together, but didn't think this far ahead. The bow is centered, so it can go in the front or the back.
The flower belt is removable for when it's inside-out, and it's held in place with two side loops. I wanted to bring in more of that flower pattern on this side - so adorable!
This dress took me quite a while to make. I loved the challenge and the ideas that came to my mind half-way through making it. With all the work I've put into it, I think I need to start making clothes for me (I have a few patterns & ideas).
...I rode them all in Austin's Urban Assault Ride! That's right, I took my bike out on the mean streets of downtown Austin for a race. This partnered race (my partner was Mike - and we had Virginia Tech biking jerseys - be jealous, Dad) was a scavenger hunt/obstacle course. We rode to nine spots (the scavenger hunt portion) and had to do a silly task (the obstacle portion). Photos are from kruetzphotography.com. (For more photos, click on the "UAR photos" - my bib number was 438 I think.) All these pics here are us are here except the ducks. We must have gotten there before the photographer :( Does anyone want to ride around and take pictures next year? I want my own action shots!
Stop one had giant blow up pool ducks that we had to ride & pull around the duck in the cold lake. Other stops included throwing newspapers, riding a Big Wheel Tricycle, and getting vampire teeth near the Congress Street Bridge, of course.
I laid on a skateboard, and was pushed down the bowling lane to knock over some pins, played piggy-back croquet, unscrambled a puzzle ("fit all these pieces in this square"), added numbers on a beach ball (thank goodness for my math background), and headed to the finish for the final stop. Naturally, this race ended with a giant slip-and-slide, a team photo, and our time was clocked. I'm so happy that we made it within a descent time, and got 66th place for all co-ed teams... that's the 78th percentile!I had so much fun (I still haven't stopped talking about it) and am looking forward to next year. Maybe by then I'll be better on my bike and I'll aim for 85th percentile, top 10%, number 1, what do you think?
Amy's Ice Cream was being tossed in the air, and you had to catch it (with an ice cream cup, not with your hands). That took a while. Eventually, Mike caught some, I grabbed some spoons, and we at least walked while we ate. (Jogging and trying to scoop ice cream that someone else is holding is tough.) At the next stop, there was a limbo and ice pops (which were not frozen). After that, I swore off eating/drinking anything more besides water on the run.
Yes, my mouth hurt from stretching it across that burger. I ate a 1/2 pound burger stuffed with cheese, covered in honey BBQ sauce, with a giant fired onion ring on top - in between 2 pieces of Texas toast. Heart attack in a basket? Yes, but it was after a 5-mile hike, so I worked for it. 
