A New Seamstress is Born

Little Miss SockPixie became a seamstress, and a dress designer yesterday! I am so proud of her. I gave her a little guidance on how to measure herself to size the simple rectangle of fabric that would be necessary to create her first dress, a simple sun dress.

She cut and pinned...

She worked, sewing the elastic thread, to create the stretchy gathered bustier...

She was so focused and determined...

And now she is so proud! Her first hand-sewn dress! She is ready to show it to all her girlscout friends this afternoon.

I have to say, I am impressed!  She now wants to make an identical dress for her older sister, Miss SockPixie, so they can wear them together this summer, when Miss SockPixie comes back from France to vacation with us. I am afraid, with another dressmaker in the house, the fabric stash is only going to grow!

Hello World!

Hi everyone! I am so happy to be back. I want to thank all of you for your well wishes for Little Miss SockPixie. These last few weeks have been difficult for her and of course for the whole family. I think we are finally on the right track.

I thought it would only be appropriate to start my first post in more than a month with Little Miss SockPixie.

A few weeks ago, we gave her a vintage SmithCorona typewriter as a gift. She had been dreaming of owning one for a long time. We told her a computer was in many ways more practical to use for writing but I guess she had already imagined herself writing novels on a typewriter like the great writers of the past, like the heroes of her favorite movies, like Hubbel Gardner in the Way we Were!(Odd movie I know for a nine year old!)

Little Miss SockPixie, her typewriter and her stories have been inseparable ever since. I could not resist taking pictures of her today. It was so wonderful  to see her expressions as she wrote. I had to capture them.

Pensive at times...

Looking for inspiration or for that perfect word ...

Bursting with frustration with every typo...

Furiously typing away...

And most of all enjoying every minute of it...

Thanks Little Miss SockPixie. You and your stories made my day!

A Final Look at Little Miss SockPixie's Dollhouse

I never told you how Little Miss SockPixie reacted to the dollhouse we created for her birthday.

She indulged us the whole time we were working on it pretending she believed our story of it being a submarine for Young Mr SockPixie. She was so sweet.

When the big day came, she could hardly wait to play with it. The night before she had discretly prepared a box of items that would go into the house.

We brought the house to her room while she was still asleep, and she saw it the moment she woke up. She was so happy, and so were we.

The house is now fully inhabited by Barbie, and Betsy McCall, but also by some unexpected guests. I did not really intend the posh decor for them, but they seem quite comfy...

I am so happy the dollhouse is fully lived in, and to see her so happy to play with it fills me with joy every day. I am so happy I am thinking of another house, a fairy house, but who knows who will move in!

"Lace Kerchief": A favorite detail

There is one particular detail I love in the "Lace Kerchief". The little i-cord ties are finished each with a single  delicate Japanese seed bead. If the hair is slighty shorter, they highlight the beauty of neck, looking almost like dewdrops.

Remember that this lace kerchief does not have a name yet. I would love it if you could help me find a name for it. Regardless of which name I select, I will pick a comment at random  to receive a gift copy of the pattern and its video as well as a ball of Rowan Classic Yarns Siena cotton. Be sure to leave your comment by Saturday July 17 at 8 p.m. East Coast time. Click on the link to read about the "lace kerchief" pattern and to leave a comment for the giveaway and to help me find a name: Name Me! . 

A Special Day for the SockPixie Family

Today is a special day for the SockPixie family. First, it is Mr.SockPixie's birthday!
Little Miss SockPixie and I went downtown Boston this morning to get him a present. We picked a lovely pen for him. We can hardly wait to give it to him.

When we got home, a package had arrived for Little Miss SockPixie. Guess what it was! It was her Tiny Betsy McCall doll!

Little Miss SockPixie got dressed for her daddy's birthday, and asked if I could take a picture of Betsy and her together.

It makes me so happy to see her so happy...and thinking about how happy Mr. SockPixie will be... what a beautiful day!