What I Did on My Summer Vacation

A few years ago I was shopping for some clothes for Abbie and feeling very dismayed at what the choices were. It seems that little girls are supposed to look like Holiday Inn lounge singers, with the flimsy fabric and sequins, starting at age 7. Or they are supposed to look like they're going to the beach. Or a miniature hippie from the 70's. Little girls don't get to look like little girls anymore. And once you start dressing your child in a more "adult" look, it is hard to go back to a young-girl look, mostly because their consciousness has been raised and they will be the one who won't go back. I've thought about that with the pierced-ear discussion. Enough of Abbie's friends from church have pierced ears that she has started asking when she can get her ears pierced. I told her when she's 18. We had a discussion about earrings. She promised she wouldn't ever wear dangly earring, she would always wear little earrings. But I know that wouldn't be the way she'd always feel. So I'm actually just protecting my energy and our relationship. I'm not interested in fighting any battles that could have been avoided.

The same kind of thing with dresses. There are some really cute Sunday dresses, but they are sleeveless, sundress kind of things, sometimes they have little jackets. I've seen other moms doing the modesty battle with the little jackets at church trying to keep the jacket on their little girl and their hot child not understanding why they can't take the jacket off when they are so hot. And I thought, "Why even go there? Why even get a dress that can be compromised?" And then I had the impression: "You need to start making clothes for Abbie now while she thinks it is fun and she'll love that you made her clothes. And then it won't be a big deal when she's older, and it REALLY matters, for her to wear home-sewn clothes. It will be harder then to introduce the concept of making her own clothes, so do it now while you can and that can just be what we do." So I did start making some clothes, but I haven't made a lot. And I made them big enough that she could get a couple of seasons out of the dresses: the first year on the side of too big, the second year just right, the third year on the side of too small!

Now it is time for some new dresses. So a few weeks before we went to Snowbird Abbie and I were at JoAnn's and we found patterns and Abbie choose the fabric for two new dresses. It was really fun letting her pick out fabric, teaching her about the different kinds and sort of guiding her choices. And I packed up my sewing machine and sewing gear to take to Snowbird. And this is how I spent one day of my summer vacation...

...cutting...

...and sewing...

And this was the happy result!

The bias cut skirt added a fun swirl when Abbie spun around! (the little "earrings" Abbie has on are actually rhinestone stickers for scrapbooking that she bought.)

She was so happy for her new dress and she looked so cute and sweet, like a little girl should look.

And on Sunday she wore it for the first time to church with Gramma.


Now I need to get working on the other dress. My biggest challenge is that I have so little time for this! But it HAS to be a priority. I feel like I so rarely get very specific promptings from the Spirit, and I know this was a specific prompting and I'll be accountable for it. So I really do need to obey this.