Pretty owls summer dress

Hello! Summer is not over yet, so I have taken the opportunity to sew another summer dress for Eva. Dresses have always been my favourite garments to design and sew.

It all started with two fabrics in mind - the pretty owl fabric from "Nested Owls" collection by Addornit (I wrote about it here) and the red mini polka-dot fabric by Sevenberry. I thought they would go well together so I started planning what I could turn them into. They both are 100% cotton and have a little a bit stiffness which is great for adding some volume to a garment.
For a week or so I couldn't decide on the style. I envisaged a little dress, coquette and with an interesting
detail.

For some reason my daughter didn't want to try the dress while still in the making. I would try to persuade her to wear it so I could do some measurements but she wouldn't try. What if she refused to wear the dress once it was all sewn up and ready. It would be a shame to have spent so much time designing, drafting, cutting and sewing something that could never be worn.

Luckily, once the dress was completed, washed and ironed, she willingly let me dress her in it. I was more than happy as believe it or not that little girl could be very stubborn and picky.

To make the dress hang nicely I opted for a decorative finish of the hemline. That was the best I could achieve with my mum's sewing machine (which to put it mildly could be unmanageable at times).

I used snaps to close the side of the dress. They are so practical and easy to sew that I wonder why I haven't used any before. For me one of the most important things to consider when sewing for the kids is the easy wearing of the garment. Because if wearing is complicated, kids quickly get annoyed and they might never want to wear that garment again. I remember when a few years ago my boy couldn't take one of his jumpers off and got panicked so I had to cut through it. After that for a period of time, he was scared everytime he was wearing something through his head.

Christmas time

Christmas has always been special time for me. There is something very exciting about the whole preparation for it- taking out the decorations, choosing the dominant colour to decorate around the house, buying presents and wrapping them..
Then it comes Christmas Eve and it's time to set the table. In my native country of Bulgaria certain traditions are followed when setting the table. The number of dishes on the table should be uneven number, ideally seven or nine. There are foods like cooked beans and rice, dried fruits, nuts, garlic, honey, wine and bread which should be present on the table as it is believed that this would bring health,  luck and profusion in the home. The bread should be with round shape and a coin is hidden inside it. The person who gets the chunk of bread with the coin would be the luckiest in the house.
When the meal comes to an end, the whole family should leave the table at the same time, which is believed to keep them united and close in the new year. The table shouldn't be cleaned but left like this for the whole night. I especially like that part as all you have to do is toss down the last of the wine and head straight to bed for a well-earned rest. Of course the next morning you wouldn't want to get out of bed knowing what a mess you have left.

                          
But let me get back to Christmas decorations and gifts.
Last year I decided to make some felt ornaments for my parents' Christmas tree. My mom has always loved everything I have handmade, so i love making things for her. Here you can see some of them. The funny thing was that once they were ready, I put them aside, ready to be sent (unfortunately we couldn't spend the festive days with my parents so I had to send them by post). Half an hour later they were nowhere to be seen. After spending almost half an hour looking for them, I finnaly spotted them crammed in one of my son's trucks, ready to be "delivered" to his granny (at that time he was 2 years and 8 months).