Dreams Do Come True!

Look how cute and little Olive was at her first Ballet recital in 2011!  Little did I know how many buns-to-come there would be.

Her heart's grandest wish since she started dancing was to get en pointe.  Those hard shoes that make your toes blister and callus and hurt?  Yes.  That's what she wanted.  She'd make every birthday, Christmas and holiday-in-between a request for her beloved pointe shoes, as if I could magically make her ready for them.

She auditioned earlier this year, but wasn't quite ready.  Her ballet instructor thought that she might be ready early next year.  When I picked her up and she told me the news, she was heart-broken and I held her in my lap, just like when she was so little.  We mourned together.

She spent 5 weeks doing ballet summer intensive classes. 10 to 5, Monday through Friday.  Every night I would ask her if she was still enjoying it...and she was.  She was happy.  She was living her passion.

By the end of the summer, she had worked so hard and developed her turn-out (is that what it's called?) that her instructor deemed her ready to be en pointe.  Miss Mindi called me the weekend before she told Olive to make sure we were on board as well.  It was so hard to keep that to myself! She said, "You knew all weekend long?! And you didn't tell me?!"

We are looking forward to seeing her dance her solo in the Nutcracker next month as the doll.  She makes me so proud.

photo credit: Mindi Mende

Teeth, Feathers, and Storms

Some of you wondered how I get anything accomplished with this chunk of cuteness lying around (or is it laying? I never know).  

I'll tell you.

I've got a whole bunch of little mothers who sometimes fight over him.  I'll even admit to using him as an incentive.  Whoever gets their homework finished and lunch made first gets to hold Drummer first! I yell over my shoulder as we come in from the car: scrambling backpacks and scribbling pencils commence.

In other Dill household news, little miss Olive lost her first tooth this weekend!  At the end of the school year last year, Olive confided in me one day.  I feel lonely.  Why? thinking she missed her schoolmates and the hubbub of 4 sisters wasn't enough of a social fix for this girl.  Because I'm the only one in my class that hasn't lost a tooth.

Yes, she waited long for this moment and, as good sisters do, Pearl helped her finally free it with a bump to the face with her hard head (literal and figurative.)

The tooth fairy was generous and we joked that by the time Drummer got around to loosing his teeth (after he actually gets them, of course) that she'll be dropping a 20 on each one.

Divine gasped, got her big eyes going and then began to madly count her own teeth trying to calculate just how much that would be.  

Yes.  The boy is spoiled and probably always will be,

but I'm sure the spoilage and the torture inflicted by older sisters will somehow balance out.

Pearl was sewing up a storm again this week.  A most wonderfully wild stallion and two black cats.

Miserably, I failed to take pictures before she gave them to friends.  Makes you want to be friends with her.

(Someone else likes orange, too :)

A sandy Sunday stroll brought feathers for flying.

And why does it never get old to chase seagulls into flight?

I did it a few times myself.

I had Drummer strapped and sleeping.

We thought we could outrun the threatening storm looming in the distance.  I love how it looks as though Azure is conducting it.

We returned home curlier with a side of sogginess.  

It felt good. 

Double the Birthdays Double the Digits

Whew.  

Two birthdays were celebrated this week.  Our very first double digit dill daughter, Divine, turned 10!

She asked to skip the breakfast-in-bed tradition…she didn't want to be late for school.  Divine likes routine and punctuality.  

And her birthday cake request was chocolate chocolate chip mint cookies.  No cake this round.

She asked for a pogo stick for her gift.  Ever since Divine was little, she hasn't cared too much for toys.  We thought buying toys was just a waste of money until we had more kids who actually played with them.  Divine prefers to do and make.  Hmm.  Like someone else I know.

She was thrilled.  And yes, those giant calendar pages come in handy for over-sized gift wrapping ;)

Olive put in her breakfast request the night before, and we got to school on time.

Her only birthday dinner requests were artichokes, Ferrero Rochet Chocolates and then crème brûlée for dessert.  My little gourmand.

I found this sweet little necklace for her here.  She's our little baker.

One of Olive's endearing qualities is that she gets absolutely ecstatic about anything given to her.  Pearl made her a fabric snake and Divine gave her a clay turtle she made at school.  Loved them both.

We named Olive with the symbolism of the Olive tree, or peace.  She truly is a happy soul which brings peace to our family.

We are blessed to have her part of this Dill stew chaos.

By the end of the second birthday celebration I thought this baby was going to come.  I was tired, the baby was low, and I was having lots of abdominal cramping.  But then I awoke the next morning…still pregnant.  Again.  And again.  Of course having a September baby after all these August birthdays wouldn't be such a bad thing.  In a few years.

Day of Jetés

What a weekend.  

There was:

• snake wrangling
• super-glued fingers
• big fat horned-worm hunting [and subsequent flushing]
• toast on fire and
• a marathon ballet recital...3 hours!

Of course we thought our ballerina was the cutest of them all,

and knew the dance steps better than anyone,

and more graceful than even the seasoned dancers.

We might be a bit biased, though.

But just a bit.

It was Olive's first ballet recital and she soaked up every spotlight and applause.  My mind began to wander through the modern dance numbers, imagining designing dance costumes and the fabric that would suit the movement necessary.  I think I'd enjoy the challenge.

I told her I used to dance when I was little [and complained every single time, right, mom?]

She asked if I ever became a famous ballerina.

I laughed and said no, and that she had a much better chance at it than I ever did. 

A Big Splash! Swimsuit Tutorial

I'm sad swim lessons are over.  It went all too fast for me, sitting poolside with my crushed ice and reading material.  Sigh.  My little Dills are learning the ways of the water quite nicely, however, and making their mama and papa proud.

There's no shortage of need for swimsuits, though.  We still have the rest of the summer full of pools and sand and ocean, making the swimsuits work hard to earn their keep around here.  I decided to line Olive's swimsuit and I am so pleased with the sturdiness it provides.  Swimsuit lining can be found in the "Dance/Costume" section of your fabric store and you a little goes a long way, so it's completely worth it.

I took one of Olive's old swimsuits that almost fit and cut it out a bit bigger.  The bottom front piece is slightly shorter than the back piece by about an inch.  You'll need to cut lining out of all of the above pieces except for the front center strap and shoulder straps.  I didn't take measurements, just kind of eyeballed it, judging by the size of her previous swimsuit.

Start by sewing the top front piece to the lining, right sides together with a slight zig zag stitch.  Stitch the front center strap in half, creating a tub and turn right side out.

Next, thread a double needle and stitch the top of the top front piece and both sides of the top front strap.  Not sure what a double needle is and what it does?  I knew you'd ask.  Last month Chris over at Pickup Some Creativity asked if I would share a sewing tip as a part of her Sewing 101 series.  I've put together little tutorial on how to use a double needle that you can hop over and see if you're not sure how to use one!  She has a collection of other posts from bloggers sharing their Sewing 101 tips that are helpful if you're new to sewing, and fun to browse through regardless of your sewing experience.

Now attach the front top piece with the front bottom piece with a slight zig zag stitch, pinning the center strap...in the center!  Make sure you have included the lining of the front bottom piece as well.

Using your double needle, topstitch both the bottom of the top front piece [you should have already stitched the top of it, but you can do it now if you haven't.]

Stitch lining and back piece, right sides together with a slight zig zag stitch.  Turn right sides out and topstitch with your double needle along the top.

I cut my strap in one piece and assembled it before I cut it in half to use on the swimsuit.  It was about 5" wide, 2" wide finished.

Going back to the front of the swimsuit, stitch to rows [do not use your double needle for this] of basting stitches on the top front and gather.

Sew side and crotch seams with a slight zig zag stitch to retain fabric stretch.

For added strength, I use clear elastic found in the notions section, around the leg holes.  Fold openings over elastic and use the double needle to stitch in place on the right side of the fabric.

Take a small tuck in the center of the top center piece and stitch straight across, making sure you catch the lining in the tuck as well.

Adjust straps on your child and pin in place, stitching over the double needle stitches to blend.  Fold the center strap over top front piece and stitch on the front, just under the strap.

And if you're wondering how I was so fortunate as to have not a single soul in the background of my photo, you can thank the child [none of mine] who threw up in the pool moments before we got there.  Nice.

We had time to play photo shoot while the pool was being sanitized.

And of course, to practice our froggie swimming.

My mom says she keeps forgetting I'm pregnant, so I thought I'd remind her that, yes, I am still baking this baby dill, grandchild number 15 of hers and dreaming of holding him/her in my arms ;).

Enjoy your swimsuit making!

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Edit:  So, I'm sorry and sad to say that the fabric was purchased many years ago on the $1 table.  Not designer fabric and not expensive fabric.  I agree that there are far more hideous prints out there than something simple like stripes.  Maddening.  If you know of a good source, leave it in the comments.  I would recommend using a solid fabric with a contrasting solid fabric for the edge or straps or other detail.  Solid swimwear fabric is very easy to find and much more enjoyable to look at than awful florals and animal prints.

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Post Edit Edit: Elizabeth found a really great source for swimwear fabric-spandexworld.com.  While they don't have a "swimwear section", if you look under "usage" on the description of each fabric, it will tell you if it is suitable for swimwear use.  And though they don't have any orange striped :( they have some pretty cute things like these polka dots and stripes:

Thank you Elizabeth!  Let's all make new swimsuits!  Hooray!