Daytime sequins

Lost in space

Skirt come to life

Here is the skirt  my daughter dreamt of last Friday -

It is evidently very versatile.  She wore it to church.  Then, she ran in it -

Then, she climbed a tree in it -

She looks like she's a part of the yard.

Child reporter

Look at this cute little girl reporting at Fashion Week.  

I was so focused on photographing the people around her that I didn't even notice her when I was there.  I was trying to take a picture of the red head with the fur hat and coat -

I was also fascinated by the leather sleeves and the blue striped fur scarf worn by this woman in her crew -

...and the girl with the pink cap and army green puffer jacket -

They had evidently just come out of a fashion show.  So, this crew of people took this little girl to a fashion show, and then she reported on what she saw.  I would love know what she said.

Eavesdropping

Don't you just wonder what people are talking about sometimes?

Is God Real?

That is the question my 7 year old daughter asked me this week at dinner.   If she had asked me that 5 years ago, I would have been upset and defensive.  How can she question the faith that I've heard her talk about so enthusiastically in the past?   Five years ago, I would have said that I have no idea how someone can't believe in God.  Isn't it obvious that he exists?  I have had unquestionable faith in God my entire life...except for one week. 

Five years ago, I had just given birth to my second child.  All of my close friends had moved away, and I was exhausted, lonely and depressed.  I felt like I was in prison.  Then, one day I was reading something written by a guy who does not believe in God.  He suggested imagining that God is not real.  I did it.  And just like that, my faith was gone. 

I think I was disillusioned with God and wanted him to go away.  I thought I would feel a sense of freedom without God.  "I can do whatever I want now."  But I only felt emptiness.  I stared out the window at the trees, and they just looked so empty.   

What would I change in my new life without God?  I realized that even without God, I still couldn't do whatever I wanted to do.  My actions still had consequences.  Ironically, the principles that I had learned from the Bible about how to live still applied.  My biggest concern was how I would tell my family and friends that everything I had believed my entire life was gone.

A week later, I was sitting in the same seat in which I lost my faith staring out the window at the same trees, and I had a small thought, "Not too long ago, a baby - a human being - grew for 9 months and then came out of my body.  How in the world do I explain that without God?"  I started thinking about the trees.  How does everything in the world work so well to make trees grow?  I could see God (although still distant from me) in the universe.  It wasn't like my faith came back to me all at once.  In fact, it took a long time for it to grow.  After the initial thoughts about nature, I thought about history.  I wrote in my journal at that time something Paul said thousands of years ago -

"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile."

I thought that if it can be proven that Jesus came to earth and died and rose again, then I am dealing with a God who is real.  So, I started reading books that document the historical reality of Jesus and the reliability of the Bible (Josh McDowell's books Evidence that Demands a Verdict and A Ready Defense  as well as a book by Josephus, a 1st century Jewish historian).  And now I am reading them again with my daughter.

Yes, I believe God is real.  And I believe he cares enough to give me a week of unbelief for the sake of breaking my uncaring, unsympathetic faith... and for the sake of my daughter, who has the guts to ask real questions. 

(The photos in this post highlight another question my daughter asked me this week - "Is it OK to like weeds?  Because I think they are beautiful.")



Conversations with inanimate objects

My dad was so excited when I became an accountant.  He would ask, "Don't you hear the numbers talking to you?"  "No," I would answer while rolling my eyes.  That sounded a little crazy to me.  Well, when I started sewing, I found out that fabric talks to me.  I would buy fabric to make a purse (I was making a lot of purses), and the fabric would say, "I don't want to be a purse.  I want to be a skirt."  Or, "I don't want to be purse lining.  I want to be a blouse."  That's when I knew I was right where I should be.

My older daughter picked out this fabric -

...and wanted me to make this dress -

I want the fabric to want to be this dress, because this dress is very easy to make.  But the fabric doesn't want to be this dress.  It wants to be this -

It's an adorable dress that wraps in the back.  (You can buy it from Amoretti for $136!)  It would be much more difficult to make, but you can't fight the fabric.  However, my daughter latched onto a skirt from the same website that looks like this -

The fabric likes that design, too.  So, we'll see if I can figure it out.  Now, my younger daughter thinks I am crazy.  "Please, mommy, stop saying that fabric talks to you."  I can't wait to see what talks to her.

More checks and plaids

It's a wrap

I finally finished my first wrap dress -

The bright plaid is so happy and Springy, so I'm glad I finally finished it.  However, it doesn't fit perfectly.  Lining a dress like this makes it 100 times more difficult to make and almost impossible to fit.  (I guess that's why experienced seamstresses make a muslin first.)  It's too big in the shoulders (thus the need for the tank top), and the slippery lining was causing it to fall open every time I sat down. 

I had actually given up on this dress.  But after a break yesterday afternoon, I had the inspiration to sew the front flap of the skirt closed.  That simple alteration actually made it much more practical for my everyday life than my store-bought wrap dresses.

As always, I learned a lot about myself and about life while making this dress.  I noticed that I have a tendancy to disregard advice that I feel would take too long to implement.  I can always figure out a quicker way to do it.  I end up learning the reason for "long way" by doing it the "longer way" (meaning my way, which doesn't work, and then their way). 

After I make the dress I promised my daughter, I'm going to start on a new (and simpler) pattern for a wrap dress. 

Polka dots

Polka dots have been around for ages, but the people at NYFW found fresh and bold ways to wear them -

Zig Zag

Zig zag heels.  So cute.

Spring

Ok, so this was taken during the Winter.  But the sun bouncing off her hair makes me think of Spring.

Let the Spring dresses emerge

Even in the middle of the Winter, there were plenty of Spring skirts and dresses being worn at New York Fashion Week.  Now we can start enjoying them without the overcoats and tights -

Spring is here

This morning I can't get this song from "My Little Pony" out of my head - "Winter wrap up, Winter wrap up.  Spring is here.  Spring is here!"  The azaleas are blooming here in Atlanta, and that means (as much as I still long for a winter) spring is here.  So, I'm going to enjoy all of the beautiful flowers and sunshine -

More whimsy

Speaking of whimsical, I think this woman looks like she would be fun to hang out with.  I like the bright colors in her unique hat and orange scarf.  Her coat is cut like a beautiful shawl collar winter coat but has the fabric to endure all kinds of weather.  Overall, she looks comfortable and happy.

Relaxing at the end of a loooooong day

Whoever invented Daylight Savings Time did not have children.  So, anyway, that is why this post is so late today.

I need something lighthearted tonight, so this is dedicated to whimsical outfits that make me smile -

This might be Phil Oh from Streetpeeper