Thankful Sewing Blog Tour

Hi guys!

Each day in the month of November, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, bloggers will share a thankful post, and today is my stop on the Thankful Sewing Blog Tour! The theme was wide open for our interpretation so it was hard to choose what direction to take with this blog post. On one hand I wanted to talk about all the people, all the things, and all the opportunities I’ve been fortunate to be blessed with on my sewing journey, and on the other hand I wanted to share my latest Holiday sew, and how thankful I was to have been able to create these memories for #thespiritedone and I. I decided to go with the latter.

Truth is, I’m not that outdoorsy mom, that takes their kids to the zoo or to the park or on a picnic all the time. In fact, I’m terrified of driving and because of my anxiety and being sound sensitive, I don’t like large crowds or being anywhere with loud noises. Because of this, we don’t have many of those types of shared moments or memories together, BUT being able to sew has allowed me the gift of creating a different type of bonding experience with my kids, especially #thespiritedone – and for that I’m extremely THANKFUL.

My most recent sew is a perfect example: Have you ever sewn something for someone, that you were so proud of you couldn’t stop staring at it? I mean, it’s sooooo good that your heart swells with pride and gratitude that you’re thankful for having experienced the joy of making it and the joy of the person receiving it??

I experienced exactly that with my latest sew. I decided to get a head start on a holiday dress for #thespirtedone so that we could actually take family portraits early this year. She asked for “a dress with gold and long like a princess”, and so I went in search of fabric and pattern to match these requirements.

I spent a good amount of time googling “fabric with gold” and came across this stunning Cotton + Steel Rifle Paper Co. Les Fleurs Metallic fabric on Fabric.com and just had to have it! Finding a pattern to pair it with was a lot more challenging than I anticipated, but as soon as I came across the Hourglass Dress by Rabbit Rabbit Creations I knew they were a destined to be together! *insert romantic violin music here* 

When we had our final fitting for this dress I literally had to bribe her to take it off. She said it was the “best-est most perfect-est dress” I ever made. (I know I know, she’s said this before but it never gets old, and it always the most rewarding thing to hear). And I must admit, seeing her in this dress, took my breathe away. Take a look…she looks like something out of a fairy tale in the Victorian Era.

I did modify the middle bodice pattern just a bit so that she could get a little more coverage across her chest.

And of course I had to add inseam side pockets, because she wouldn’t wear it if it didn’t!

I really do love everything about this pattern, the front bodice has a stylish and sophisticated side panel shape…

The back has an effortless back button closure….

But the elastic side panels are what really makes this such a great pattern. With elastic side panels she can grow with this dress and still have a fitted look. I’ll probably cut and hem it at tea length at some point once she gets too tall for it to be a maxi.

And well you know, a photo shoot is not complete without a twirl picture!

I’m thankful that my passion has purpose and that I know it makes her happy. I’m THANKFUL that by creating this dress,  for a brief moment in time, I got to be “the best mommy in the whole world”. I’m thankful that I can do these things for her, and create these special mother/daughter moments. I’m thankful that in the years to come, we’ll have these pictures and these memories to look back on. And I’m thankful that I can share this post with you!

Whats a blog tour without some surprises and giveaways right? As an extra special surprise, we also have a couple giveaways during each week of the tour. Share your thanks with Petite Stitchery who has a new pattern to share with us, a free pattern giveaway from Sew by Pattern Pieces, and a chance to win a shop credit each week from Simply by Ti! This week’s giveaway is a Simply by Ti $20 shop credit, you can enter for a chance to win by clicking the rafflecopter link below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Again, Thank you for stopping by today, and be sure to check out the other bloggers and learn what they are thankful for each day! (list below)

Intro to the tour

November 1st:

mahlicadesigns

Sewing with Sarah

Week 1:

Nov 1st: Tenille’s Thread

Nov 2nd: Candace Ayala

Nov 3rd: Hazelnut Handmade

Nov 4th: Musing of a Seamstress

Nov 5th: Sewing Portfolios

Monday Nov 6th: mahlicadesigns

Nov 7th: Seams Sew Lo

Week 2:

Nov 8th: Margarita on the Ross

Nov 9th: Stitched by Jennie

Nov 10th: Sewing with D

Monday Nov 13th: 5 outof 4 Patterns

Nov 14th: Tales of a Southern Mom

Week 3:

Nov 15th: Hazelnut Handmade

Nov 16th: Octaves of Color

Nov 17th: Kainara Stitches

Nov 18th: Kutti Couture

Nov 19th: The Petite Sewist

Monday Nov 20th: My Heart will Sew On

Nov 21st: Needles to Say

Week 4:

Nov 22nd: Back 40 Life

Nov 23rd: Lovemade Handmade

Nov 24th: Sewing by Ti

Nov 25th: On Wednesdays We Sew

Nov 26th: Paisley Roots

Monday Nov 27th: Mermaid Mama Designs

Nov 28th: Sew Haute Blog

Nov 29th: Ma Moose Handmade

Nov 30th: Everything Your Mama Made & More