Ava's Easter Dress

The first version of The Shirt Dress I made for Ava made her look like a sausage. It was so tight! I followed Dana's instructions, and her tutorial for turning a men's shirt into a dress is so clearly written and easy to follow. After the first flop, I decided to use a pattern that I already had instead of using my own (clearly flawed) pattern. Here's what I ended up with:




I was in too much of a hurry to take a before picture, but the dress is made from a jacket that belonged to my mother-in-law that was headed to Goodwill. I love the way the embroidery looks. Unfortunately, the jacket/dress is made of linen, which is not the best for toddler-wear.



Also, it was so cold on Easter that Ava had to wear a turtleneck under her dress. Don't worry, it wasn't the red one in the photo below- that was just for practice.

Yes, those are her socks on her hands. She wouldn't keep mittens on all winter, and now every time she has on socks but no shoes, the socks end up on her hands as "mittsocks."

A Last-Minute Easter Treat:: Bird Nests!

My colleague Marsha made these nests with her students last week, and they are so simple and delicious... this is a great no-bake Easter treat that even toddlers can help with. Here's what you'll need:

1 bag of butterscotch chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
10 oz. chow mein noodles
candy of your choice (jelly beans, m & m eggs, etc. I used Cadbury mini eggs in mine)
wax paper

Melt the butterscotch over low heat or use a double boiler. When melted, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter. Pour in 10 oz. chow mein noodles, and mix well. You may want to transfer everything into a larger bowl to do the mixing so the noodles are coated well. Use a large spoon and a rubber spatula to make "nests" on wax paper. Before the nests starts to set up, push some "eggs" into each one. This recipe makes 15-18 nests. Enjoy!

There's Hank up there, hoping one of those nests falls off the counter...

More Smocks

Ava was sick on Monday so I stayed home from school. During her nap I managed to get two more smocks made for my shop. Both are made from vintage sheets and are super soft.


I've had requests for these in grown-up sizes. Does anyone know of a good pattern for an adult smock that doesn't look like a maternity shirt?

Smocks

I love dressing Ava in these smocks. In the winter, they look really cute over long sleeves and jeans, and in the summer she can wear them with shorts or a pair of bloomers. This one is made from a vintage sheet, and is available in my shop. Look for more of these soon!

Waldeck Dry Goods is on Facebook!

Hi Friends--

I just finished updating my Waldeck Dry Goods Facebook page. I hope you'll "friend" me, because my husband already has over 400 friends and I'm starting to feel a little bit unpopular.

Love,
Addie

Something New + Good Mail

I really needed a new hobby (ha), so when I found out that my local yarn shop was offering a beginning knitting class, I signed up right away. Luckily, Edna, the owner, is super nice and helpful. I've been to see her twice in the last two days for help. I think I've finally got it, and my scarf should be finished just in time for the weather to get warm again.

In other news, I won an amazing giveaway from Lisa at Lazy May. I can't wait to get started on those adorable patterns! Thanks, Lisa!

Edison's Day

I saw this video about Montessori parenting on the sewliberated blog. I really, really want to learn more about Montessori teaching and parenting. Can anyone recommend some good resources?