It's been a wonderful summer so far! My daughter's 11th birthday was the last day of school and we had a big Hawaiian Luau party/sleepover. I think everyone had lots of fun. There were lots of giggles and smiling going on so I suspect so. That kicked off summer for us!
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| Kaeleigh (front/center) with friends. |
Then the very next day, we were off to the Cape for just about the next month or so. We are very blessed to be able to spend lots of time in a beautiful spot in Cape Cod, MA. Every year we have the most amazing time away and form the most precious of family memories. Not only with our immediate family, but with extended family as well. Nothing beats it! This year included surfing lessons for the kids and lots of time with local friends-new and old! Our scrapbook from the Summer of 2011 in Cape Cod will be very full indeed! It was a wonderful escape from the everyday routines and responsibilities.
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| Kaeleigh, Andrew & Ryan taking a break from surfing to watch the seals. |
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Now we are back in Connecticut and settling back into a routine here. Reaching out to friends, setting up playdates and just getting caught up. Back to tending to gardens, working on finishing the basement and oh, Dress a Girl! I brought some things to work on to the Cape and had the best of intentions to work on making double bias tape while on vacation this year, but we were having too much fun in other ways and I was just too beat at night to conquer it!
Two days ago I was talking to a friend about my guilt in not have done anything for Dress a Girl in the last month (except answer a few emails). She told me it is good to have a break from something you love-that when you go back to it, you will enjoy and appreciate it all the more. I think she's right!
Yesterday, my mom came down for the day to help me get a jump start to getting back on track with making pillowcase dresses. What a blessing that was! She was the one who got me into sewing in the first place and when I saw her last on Father's Day, I sent her home with a huge bag of donated hospital gowns in cute colors and patterns. Yesterday, she brought over about 20 dresses that she made from that material. They are even cuter than I imagined!! That in itself got me excited to get moving again! We finished about 35 dresses that were started and got about 20 more moved further down the road to completion! I made about 20 yards of double bias tape and ironed in labels in alot of dresses! It was a great day with Mom and great for cranking through the dresses as well!
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| Dad & Mom |
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Now I am ready to go! I really want to get through alot of the donations I already have to make space for new donations! I have lots of fabric and sheets that I need to get cut into dresses. I am looking for people to help me. I will provide you with supplies and fabric to make the pillowcase dresses. I will give you step by step instructions if needed and even show you how to construct the dresses. The long and short of it is this-- I need more helpers! I would love company so if you'd like to come over for a few hours to help, I'd welcome it! If you like it and want to continue helping at home, that would be great! But I know how busy life gets. So if you can just donate a few hours to help, I'll take it!
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| Haitian girl that just received a pillowcase dress-This is why we sew! |
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As much as I miss the Cape, it feels good to be back in Connecticut & good to be back on track with Dress a Girl!
