Making Beth's Bapstism Dress

Okay - project posts are starting....

The first one I'm posting this year is Beth's baptism dress. She picked out her pattern back in early September - this was so we could keep our eyes out for it as we don't live in a place that has much for patterns on hand - and only one company at that. In the end, I bought her pattern on-line when The McCalls Company (which includes McCalls, Butterick, Vogue and others) had their Cyber Monday Sale - I got a good deal on several patterns that day.

Going right along with her personality, she chose a dress with lots of flow - much like a butterfly or flower - which has always been the theme of her life. In this case, it was much more like a flower and I often thought how much she would look like those fairies that sleep in the flowers. (She choose the longer one - the big picture - the white dress)

For us, the first notable issue was that this pattern did not have sleeves. In our family, everyone wears sleeves - it's part of our standards. There were a couple of ways to address this - one would have been to make my own sleeve pattern for it - which, to be honest, I was not looking forward to. I had seen several tutorials on how to go about this, but having not really done it before, and seeing that this was a formal dress, I wasn't ready to jump on that wagon. The other option was to take a different pattern and line up the bodice and then use those sleeves. This is what I choose to do (and currently I can't seem to put my hands on that pattern to show you which one I chose).

I picked a pattern that was made by the same company and had a similar bodice fit / look. This way I knew that the size would match and that the sleeve that I put on would actually look nice without having to alter it.When I laid the material out to cut the pattern, I placed the original dress bodice down first, then over lapped it with the bodice that the sleeves came from. For knowing where to cut, I marked the sleeve pattern bodice for the arm side of the shoulders and the arm holes. I marked the original bodice pattern for the waist and neck lines. And that became my new bodice piece. Then I was able to just cut out the sleeves as they already were.

If you do this bodice modification, be sure to follow the directions for the sleeved pattern when piecing the bodice together (including putting in the sleeves) - otherwise, your liners won't be put in correctly. For the rest of it, continue to follow your original pattern instructions to complete the project.

Since I was using crepe back satin - and wanted to use some of both sides in the dress - I decided to make the dress with five tiers instead of six. My daughter takes after me and is short, so this was not hard to do. I just cut the tiers two sizes bigger than what she would normally have had and then attached them at the larger tier marker, completely omitted the bottom tier - I had premeasured the pattern and accounted for hem to know exactly which length to cut and where to sew it. The only difference in sewing the tiers is that I did not sew on a bottom tier, so I had an extra hem to sew - on the stay. I did, however, alternate crepe, satin, crepe, satin, crepe with the bodice and sleeves done on the crepe side.

What I discovered while sewing on the tiers - they are sewn onto a "stay" which is part of what gives it the very ruffled flow - is that it's not as easy as it would appear. I had cut the stay and the liner both from liner fabric. If I were to make it again, I would cut the stay out of something different - either the regular fabric or a lighter weight cotton. The liner was just too slippery for the project (which may also translate into "I'm just not that good with slippery fabric in going around and around without it sliding"). As you will notice, the tiers are not exactly even - there is one section where it is much more obvious then the others. (I would also highly recommend that you not sew the tiers on late at night ... 3 in the morning - you're likely to take it a little slower and have more patience.... I didn't have that luxury as my sewing time during normal hours is severally limited due to my very lovable, all too active, take the house a part, loves the sewing machine little toddler man)

We omitted the cumber bun, as she was going to have a sweater. We briefly considered putting on a thin ribbon at the waist, but opted not to for the same reason. We did put a satin ribbon in her hair though. - And as we wanted her to be able to wear the dress all year (and maybe longer) I did not take in the waist, as I would otherwise have done seeing that she's such a skinny minny! =)



We'll be taking some other pictures - nicer ones, outside, when the weather is nicer and we have a good back ground to work with - I might trade out pictures at that point so you can see the dress better - but for now, at least you can get a general idea.

Take A Look

It's always good to see who the man (or woman) really is before judging how they will do a job.

The following is a direct copy of something posted on Facebook - has validity and is worth reading:




Regardless of who your current favorite candidate is, this is interesting.

Sometimes, this facet of Romney’s personality isn’t so subtle. In July 1996, the 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner at Bain Capital, had disappeared. She had attended a rave party in New York City and gotten high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was. Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to help find Gay’s daughter. Romney set up a command center at the LaGuardia Marriott and hired a private detective firm to assist with the search. He established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the NYPD, and went through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York, and asked them to help find his friend’s missing daughter. Romney’s accountants at Price Waterhouse Cooper put up posters on street poles, while cashiers at a pharmacy owned by Bain put fliers in the bag of every shopper. Romney and the other Bain employees scoured every part of New York and talked with everyone they could – prostitutes, drug addicts – anyone.

That day, their hunt made the evening news, which featured photos of the girl and the Bain employees searching for her. As a result, a teenage boy phoned in, asked if there was a reward, and then hung up abruptly. The NYPD traced the call to a home in New Jersey, where they found the girl in the basement, shivering and experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a massive ecstasy dose. Doctors later said the girl might not have survived another day. Romney’s former partner credits Mitt Romney with saving his daughter’s life, saying, “It was the most amazing thing, and I’ll never forget this to the day I die.”

So, here’s my epiphany: Mitt Romney simply can’t help himself. He sees a problem, and his mind immediately sets to work solving it, sometimes consciously, and sometimes not-so-consciously. He doesn’t do it for self-aggrandizement, or for personal gain. He does it because that’s just how he’s wired.

Many people are unaware of the fact that when Romney was asked by his old employer, Bill Bain, to come back to Bain & Company as CEO to rescue the firm from bankruptcy, Romney left Bain Capital to work at Bain & Company for an annual salary of one dollar. When Romney went to the rescue of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, he accepted no salary for three years, and wouldn’t use an expense account. He also accepted no salary as Governor of Massachusetts.

Character counts!! (and yes...that's worth reading again!)


Verified on Snoopes.com <http://snoopes.com/>; . Here's the link:http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/search.asp <http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/search.asp>;
On Romney's character....See More

By: Kristi Smith Johnson

Beth's Baptism

Well, after having complained for the better part of six months that it just wasn't fair that she had to wait until she was eight to get baptized because she already had a testimony that was all her own, she was finally old enough to make that sacred set of covenants. Much like with her sister, I have found myself amazed at how much she knows and understands. How she studied it out for herself and made her own decisions about the truthfulness of the gospel. She really is a shining angel - full of righteous desires, truth, and understanding.

Oh, I know, she's still learning - I mean, even I'm still learning - but she knew where to find answers, she knew it was (and is) okay to ask questions, and she also knew that she could (and should) ask through prayer and wait to receive her own answers.

My older sister was able to come out again - and this time was able to bring her daughter with her. This was especially nice as the adoption they had both been longing for for years and years was finally finalized this past December 22nd. It was nice to have them help to represent my side of the family and the love they have for my sweet little Beth in person.



Beth, of course, put together her program - and it was full of the spirit and full of love and full of joy! We even completed her baptism dress - with much thanks to Grandma. It was important (even though my life was very full... and then got fuller) to Beth that I make the dress. As the time approached and it was coming along as fast as we'd liked, I warned her ahead of time that I would likely need a little help. She was perfectly okay with that. I think she just wanted to know that I'd done something on it - and I think it's wonderful to know that there were two women in her life who sewed some love into that dress.

I had also made her a sweater (something I did not do for Gabi as I had figured it would be warmer around Gabi's baptism... though the weather was not necessarily so - and Grandma found one that was purchased for her) - I figured, being in January, it would be cold... and seeing that her dress was short-sleeved, well, I wanted her to be able to wear it comfortably... not to mention I was comfortable with knitting sweaters now. (These two items will have a bit of posting on their own as part of my crafting year - with details of how they were done) - Beth was, of course, beautiful - and truly looked the part of an angel.



We are very happy that she has made this choice, but we also recognize that from here out it's still her choice as to keeping those covenants and learning and growing in faith. We're confident that she will, at the very least, be a teacher to us all her life!

Birthdays

Well - as I've mentioned several times, January was very busy for me! One of those busy moments involved birthdays. More specifically, three birthdays - though really only two were a worry for me. Our traditional family party for Grandpa, Beth and Peter was hosted by Grandma this year (thank you, thank you... one less cake to worry about, one less project to worry about)!!!!!!!

Originally we were going to have our two parties separate (the friend parties) which is pretty normal - and with Beth turning 8, well, that's pretty special around here and I didn't want her to feel slighted. So I never mentioned anything different. About a week into January Beth and Peter told me they'd changed their minds about two separate parties and decided to have one combined party instead! That was a huge blessing - one cake to share - really it was cupcakes - one party to plan and execute! It was really nice.


We made a lego man pinata - okay - so he had no arms and legs - but it worked and that's what matter - seeing that the theme was legos. This was accomplished by piecing together a couple of those "slipper" gift boxes from Christmas time, each filled with candy - and then also filling two paper bowls, that were then taped together. Then the different parts were wrapped in tissue paper. The head was attached to the body with wood skewers - then a couple of skewers out each side wrapped with a rubber band, and yarn attached - which didn't slide past the rubber bands - so it could be hung up.

They also spent time making lego creations - and then after the party was over, the girls' legos and the boys' legos were separated again - this is really only an issue because they have (of course) separate rooms and Peter didn't like having to ask the girls when he wanted to play legos - which is where the legos were originally kept. So now we have two buckets - the boys and the girls. I'm sure lego pieces get mixed as they float around the house, but they can at least have legos easily accessible - of course, the boys are learning the lessons of playing with legos - that the scatter easily (even on their carpet) and are still required to be picked completely up before bedtime.



Anyway - I was supposed to make a lego man cake - but they decided on cupcakes from this train cupcake set that I've had since Jeremy was littler. They didn't even want to worry about making it look lego-ish. I did have some extra cake batter, so I made a couple of small cakes and cut and pieced the to form a lego man (more or less)... though my frosting (in my hurry) was a bit on the runny side. Still, they were happy to see it.

I hadn't checked my candles before it was party time. I usually have a number candle for the child because that's what they like. Well, I had two fives, but I didn't have an 8 - so you'll see in the picture of the two kids and the cake that Beth's has a 7 and then there's a regular candle right in front of it.

Anyway - they both had significant birthdays this year.... Beth turned 8, the age where she was able to choose whether or not to be baptized... as you'll see from another post, she made the choice for herself and did indeed get baptized. And Peter turned 5 - so he'll be heading to school in the fall. It's hard for me to think about the last few months that I'll have of him being young enough to stay home ---- can we say: Mommy's starting to realize just how old she's getting to be.

Spell Your Heart Out

Gabi was very eager to join the spelling team this year. It was the first year she was able, and we were supportive. She practiced at school both during team meetings and on her own for recess. She also practiced at home. We encouraged her, but were also realistic with her - telling her that she is a 4th grader in a competition for 4-6th graders. That this year was really a practice year, and that each year she'd get better.

The school held their own spelling bee in the middle of January. She had to do a series of written words, then spelling some orally. I only got to see half of that as I had a meeting I ran off to - late. I was surprised and thrilled to come home that evening to find out she had taken 1st at the school level.

So, off to the county level she went - on January 26th. For her group, they only did the oral spelling. She made the first round, then the second, then the third... my heart was racing as she managed to make it to the last three.... and then it happened... she made the show down - the two left standing going back and forth. Those last words were big - huge - and amazing to even consider at their age. Both girls did really well. Both misspelled the same words... until..... the other girl spelled one that Gabi missed and then got her next word right. Gabi took 2nd... are we disappointed that she only took 2nd... heck no!!!!!!!! That girl was smokin' out there - she was spelling words that I'd choke on (which Bob would likely laugh and say wouldn't take much because I do much better if I can see it... though that's no guarantee either). She was amazing... and you know what... both the first place girl and Gabi were 4th graders!!!!!!!!!

As the second place contestant, Gabi's earned a chance at the state bee. It's optional. We've not yet decided. She is, after all, only in 4th grade.

Orthodontics

Well, this has been one adventure I think we've finally found a way to be okay with. See, I've been so kind as to pass along my massive underbite to four or our five children. Additionally, Bob has an edge to edge - a mild form of underbite - which means that our children may not even respond to treatment the way I did - or the lack of serious treatment. Additionally, there is crowding that has been passed along - and Gabi has two teeth that are in sideways because of it.

Bob took the girls for a consult in town back in the summer. He came home with a bunch of information and I felt nothing but sick with what I was hearing. That particular orthodontist wanted to put implants in the girls' mouths to speed up the process. That's the short of it. Needless to say, we didn't feel comfortable about that and decided we would see what some Orthodontists in Reno had to say before making a decision. Well, before we got that set up, the Orthodontist in town left and someone brand new took over. Now new is not in itself a bad thing, but with what we were dealing with and with the track record of Orthodontists staying in this small area, we figured we needed to look elsewhere.

So we did....

We saw two different places in Reno. The first was most definitely designed to help make kids feel more at home - has great incentive programs to help the kids stay clean, care for appliances, do well at appointments, etc. Just over all friendly kind of set up. The second was your traditional office. Nothing really wrong with that either, seeing that you go to get work done and then you leave.

The first looked at the girls, showed me what they were talking about and what needed to be done. And though with Beth, her underbite is severe already, he indicated that there is still a high percentage of a chance that she can avoid surgery. The second place wanted to do braces on the bottom for Gabi in addition to braces on the top and said there was no way that Beth would have a chance at not going to surgery, so his take on treatment was not to do much until she had all her teeth and was grown. (That's the very basic comparison - there was much more that we looked at, including finances - but these are the things that were most different).

In the end, we choose the first place - we just couldn't pass up the chance that we could prevent the need for surgery - recognizing, of course, that it's not a guarantee. The girls were very excited because - as I mentioned before - it's very kid friendly and they are super excited for the wooden nickle program (60 of which translate into $10 at Barnes and Noble).

The one thing these two agreed on that stood out was that a child with an underbite should be seen no later than age 5. The general recommendation for a consult is age 7 - all kids - but there is an exception, and that's underbites. Had we known that with Beth and had gotten her in three years earlier, her chances of correction would be much greater!

Needless to say, the boys both went in too. Jeremy is at an edge to edge right now, but has a little crowding on top - so he's got a quadhelix for expansion right now - and might be able to avoid braces all together since it's before his permanent teeth come in. Peter is looking like Beth all over again - but three years earlier. He'll be getting a special appliance that is a quadhelix plus something else that requires turning. Additionally, he'll be getting reverse headgear. Beth is getting the same stuff - she'll just have to use it for longer, most likely. Gabi has four braces on the front top teeth and a quadhelix for expansion and straightening.

Getting impressions was hard - as our children have also inherited our easy gag reflex. Beth and Peter more so than the other two - and they needed the full impression more so then the first - which could have been done, though not as accurately, with a bite instead. Beth screamed, (her mouth is also really small) and really had to fight back being sick while they got the impression. But they got it the first time - YAY! Peter, well, I wasn't there to help him as I was working on paperwork - and he did get sick. Not only that, but the plate was out of his mouth before they had a chance to get it set. Afterward, he wouldn't let anyone in his mouth again - though we got him worked up to trying and he started to open only to panic at the last second again. We came home and Daddy went with him to get it done at our local dentist the next day. He was a pro - did it perfectly the very first time! I'm so proud of that little guy - I'm sure it wasn't easy.

Jeremy and Gabi got their appliances in on Monday - and have been sore ever since - Gabi more so than Jeremy - apparently those braces really hurt. Because Beth and Peter's appliances are more complex, they take a week to make - so they will be getting them on the 13th - which happens to be a day off from school, so they've got a date with Daddy for that one. (That was the request of the orthodontist and just happens to work out well - the hope being that with Daddy there things will go smoother for Peter)

The good news is that Gabi is the projected longest time right now - up to one year - so it's still relatively short. But also that instead of just one or two kids who can't have hard or sticky foods (including popcorn) that all four are doing it at the same time. I think that will make it easier than trying to adjust for two and then another and then another.

And even better - Jacob does not have an underbite. He may still have to deal with crowding, we'll watch that, but at least he won't have to deal with the underbite part of things!

So here we go on an adventure of Orthodontics - all at once!