Our morning began with cherry tomatoes, out of season but eaten with relish, the seeds dribbling down a certain someone's chin as she munched with glee.
In her jammies and on the table, no less. She knows dang well she's not supposed to be on top of the table, and my admonishments slow her down not one whit.
Like the crazy bear hairdo? Mother Nature has made her hair as untamed as Little Bear herself, and she has taken to baring her teeth when she's displeased about a motherly order. Here I told her I was going to pick her up and place her two paws back on the floor. That little sucker bared her teeth at me without uttering a word, but I got the message. I was sorta relieved that it wasn't accompanied by a growl.
Feeling juvenile and useless and completely un-motherly, I bared my teeth right back. I am the Mummy! I thought loudly in my head. I will give you the claw! (Flashing a claw is a warning in bear speak.) I thought these things but bit my tongue, maneuvering Her Protesting Squirminess back to the floor. To distract us both from a full-blown contest of wills which I'm not at all convinced that I would win, I showed her the dress I had finished the previous evening.
Ok, ok...it was supposed to be the dress she wore to her birthday party. *cough* Three weeks ago. At least it's finished, right? And Little Bear did seem to like it.
And she's back on the d-a-m-n table again. Where are the park rangers when you need them?
Aren't they the cutest puffed sleeves ever? I'm certain they're the finest ever sewn in all the history of puffed sleeves. Four days before Little Bear's birthday party, I attached the sleeves then stepped back to admire my work. It was the first time I had ever attempted such a thing, and I was quite proud of myself. I showed The Husband and Little Bear, maybe even had the dog look too. I knew he was impressed, because he woke up enough from his nap to open one eye.
As I returned to the instructions and got to the part about button holes (another first for me) I realized that the bodice had no front opening. I had mistakenly cut it on the fold...leaving no (insert curse word) opening. All my soaring pride came crashing down in a flaming ball of...poo. How could I have made such a stupid first-timer mistake? Oh that's right...I was jabbering away in a conversation completely unrelated (I remember something about birdseed) to what I was doing and had only given the layout a cursory glance as I chatted.
Maybe, I thought desperately, it will fit over Little Bear's head anyway. She was sitting on the couch as I approached her with the bodice in one hand, like sidling up to a mountain lion clutching a sandwich bag. Here kitty, put your head in this. Swiftly I had it on her head and gave a tug. "Ouch, Mama," Little Bear said. The protest sounded half-hearted. I pulled harder. "OW, MAMA!" Alright, she was serious. I had to concede defeat and accept a long tete-a-tete with my ripper or settle for sewing the bear an exceedingly floppy sun hat.
So I ripped. And ripped some more. By the time I had dismantled everything, including my outstanding puffed sleeves (sob), I was ready to let the project sit. Not indefinitely. But long enough so that the next time I saw it I wouldn't burst into mad tears. It took me two weeks after Little Bear's birthday to cut out the front pieces again and sew the bodice together. Despite the setback, the pattern was fairly simple, just like it said on the package. Perhaps they should put in parentheses below it: SIMPLE IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING. FORGET THE BIRDSEED.
Duly noted.
The dress is really cute, but what a great story!
Posted by: Cathe | 03/26/2011 at 09:18 PM
oh amy it's so CUTE! And your girl, too, with her aureole of bright hair. Adorable. And hopefully sweeter for you because you FINISHED the dam' thing instead of giving up. And in the teeth of an out of state move. You should be VERY proud of yourself!
Posted by: margo | 03/01/2011 at 08:59 PM
Rebecca, Im not certain it was perseverance. Perhaps insanity with a dash of desperation thrown in?
Posted by: Amy O | 03/01/2011 at 09:31 AM
What a sweet dress! And I am MOST impressed with your perseverance. I'm afraid I would have wadded the whole thing up onto my "Nice Try" pile.
xo
Posted by: Rebecca | 03/01/2011 at 09:29 AM
Oh my goodness there is nothing more adorable than that little bear in that dress!!!!
Posted by: Christine | 02/28/2011 at 11:10 PM
The dress is really cute...love the fabric! As for sewing mistakes, it seems that when learning, you have to do it wrong (at least once) before you do it right. You're making great progress! Maybe there should be a sewing maxim that correlates with the cooking one: "Don't try to cook from the living room."
Posted by: Janet Eisenbise | 02/28/2011 at 10:16 AM
"Now this is the story all about how
My life got flipped and turned upside down"
-begin the lyrics to The Fresh Prince of Belair. Every time I sew, these few lines go through my head. Even when I am not thinking about birdseed, following sewing patterns always leaves me with extra parts because I have had to redo ones that I goofed on. The puffed sleeves look fantastic. The fabric is lovely, it has a vintage look to it. I think the pattern is a keeper. Carolina
Posted by: The Muse of The Day | 02/28/2011 at 08:10 AM