Sweet Empire-Waist Child's Top McCalls 3417

I'm coming out of lurky land and have decided to join the party over at Elizabeth's, as we share what we are sewing and what we are reading.  Two loves :).  

Elizabeth, I admire you from afar - your zeal for Christ and His Church, your faithfulness to family life and homeschooling, and the love you have for sweet and pretty :).  So I'm quite excited to join this venture, folks, where readers share a photo or blog post of their latest 'needle and thread' endeavours along with juicy reads.  Maybe you want to come, too?  Here goes!

Dug this out of the basement pattern stash, which means ... its old ... which means ... don't get too excited, don't think you can still buy it anywhere.  Take heart though ... a plethora of lovely patterns for children exist!

Fabric picked up recently at JoAnn while in Arizona.

I would have modeled this on Kate, but she wasn't cooperating!

It needed some wow factor.  Enter hemmed ruffle, sewn down in a circle.  Center filled in with bunched-up netting 'cause ran out of said ruffle.

Next up: a gathered A-line skirt with ruffled bottom for Alexa.  Just kinda copied this from an existing skirt that fits her.  Ruffled adornments inspired by everything I see here.

This also needed a wow factor.  Enter the elusive ruffle flower.  Alexa chose the placement precisely over her left kneecap. 

She enjoyed the photoshoot ... see this post for more.

And on the Kindle I'm still perusing and digesting the words of Greg and Jennifer Willits in their new book, The Catholics Next Door (see full review here).   Currently pondering with fear and trembling:  Greg and Jennifer and NFP.  They so truly desire to follow the will of God in their lives, and while they didn't really 'want' another baby at the time, they "lessened the window" of monthly abstinence in attempt to more fully conform with God's will for their family size; and to trust Him a little more.  Wow!  You'll have to buy the book to read the whole story, but it is such good food for thought, especially for us 40-something-Catholics-who-think-we-should-be-done-having-babies-but-continue-to-have-persistent-signs-of-fertility. Ahem.  And like to spend free time sewing.  

God bless your hands and eyes this week, as you sew and read!  Thanks Elizabeth, this has been so much fun!