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Sister Holiday Dresses09

For 3 and 5 yr old sisters. Their parents typically have more than 25 guests for Thanksgiving, so I knew the colors would be great. Skirts are of silk duponi. Bodices are stretch panne velvet. Bodice lining is Powerdry®. Both lining and skirt fabrics were ordered from a fabric coop Yahoo site. I used my new serger beading foot to add pearls to necklines. It would have been easier to finish the pearl ends had I placed beads during construction. I hand sewed in both zippers after machine basting the first side.

My granddaughter's dad, Chris called from Sicily and asked if I was free to "Skype." When I got the the computer there were the girls wearing their new dresses. They looked so precious! They kept sitting in their small white rocking chairs and rocking like little ladies. I was so surprised because I mailed the flat rate box on Saturday. It arrived in Europe by Wednesday. Apparently the girls took turns holding the package all the way home from the Navy base. The little one, Eva, carried it from garage level to their door upstairs. One girl said, "Grandma is so sweet!" They are sweet. I'd promised Bri the dress and showed her a photo from a Wooden Soldier wish book. I made up and gave her a doll-sized dress from the fabrics I planned to use. She wore the sample out, but didn't forget. I learned to not promise or give out samples because at first she was disappointed that it took me so long to get the dresses done. I just couldn't give one dress when there are two sisters. I'm slow due to physical difficulties that limit how much time I can spend at my machine. I can do hand sewing for longer.

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Tags: Children's, Cloth, Clothing, Dolls, Dresses, More…Girl's, Thanksgiving
Albums: Linda Lee's Creations for Grandchildren
Location: Linda Lee page

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Comment by Linda Lee on December 4, 2009 at 8:28pm: Birdie,
Thank you! Their daddy received a very nice camera this year. He knows we expect photos and he does a great job. The girls are beautiful. The 5 yr old has brown hair. The 3 yr old has white blonde hair. Both have their daddy's blue eyes. Mom is a beautiful brunette and as kind as she is pretty. Daddy is a big softie regarding his family. Mom is dedicated to a very time-consuming method of tender child training. I've never seen anyone so gentle. She teaches them to obey and plays with them, sings silly songs and can avert most common childish breakdowns. The girls are very well behaved and happy. Of course they are children who are playful, sometimes have melt-downs and their good and bad times.

Living in Sicily is a great experience. The people there adore children. The children are kept as part of all family activities and even home and outside dining experiences. These meals are quite late compared to US standards. The girls just sleep a little later. Their mom and many other American parents teach them as home schoolers. The children get together for field trips, special lessons and classes. Our granddaughters also take dance and swimming lessons. There will be music lessons soon.

Our Ohio grandchildren are also home schooled. They are progressing very well in their annual reviews by a licensed teacher. They also are well-rounded from their gym days, music lessons, dance lessons, special events, field trips and short-term courses, like geology last year. These occur within their local home school group or are sponsored by the group. The children also feed, water and groom two horses and their inside and barn kitties. Lots of responsibilities come from living on a small farm. My nearby daughter is the official Ohio family photographer. We sure love digital photos.

I am very excited because our son has called twice in two days. He is excited about new announcements for government positions my husband qualifies for. He's already met the hiring supervisor. He's been waiting for the jobs to become "Stateside Hires." That means moving our household items-say sewing room- and generous housing, fuel, heating/cooling allowances for the pricey economy there. Otherwise we could not afford to live there or ship our things. We've visited twice for 4 and 7 weeks. We loved it. I will have to fly to see the other kids in Ohio, but it shouldn't be any harder than taking two or three flights from our NW location. It will also allow them to come stay with us for vacations.
Thanks again.

Comment by Birdie on December 4, 2009 at 3:09pm: What beautiful keepsakes. I hope they have their portraits done in them!

Comment by Linda Lee on December 4, 2009 at 12:19am: Thank you!

Comment by Larri on December 3, 2009 at 8:34pm: They're gorgeous! They will always remember these dresses and the loving hands that made them. :o)