baby blue

A second dress, to correct the mistakes of the first -- this version has no hidden holes where I re-did the binding, a proper hemline that doesn't come unfolded, and a Thai hill-tribe pompom for back-closure because buttons are so last week.

It's blue, blue completely blue (save for the red pompom) because I love how wearing blue makes Tilly's eyes seem extra blue, and because the fabric looked just like the one Lotta herself used in Simple Sewing for Baby.

So, my apologies to you, strangers in the supermarket who think that even the smallest dot of blue means 'boy', I really hope your heads don't spontaneously implode when you see a baby in a blue dress.

Start Now and Be Ready for the First Birthday

With Tilly just having turned eight months old, you might think it's a bit soon to be thinking about her first birthday. 

But, the list of things I want to make for her to celebrate is as long as she is, and growing at the same speed, so the earlier I start the better the chances are of some of it actually happening!

As Tilly has a lot of friends turning one before her, I thought I'd share our little list of plans, in case it sparks an idea in someone else. Our plans fall mostly into two categories: traditions I want to start now and repeat each year, and things that will be special just for this year.

Traditions to repeat:

• Create a photo book of all the "Tilly Tuesdays" from the year (she was born on a Tuesday)
• Take a photo of Tilly with her favourite stuffed animal each year
• Write her a letter (and hopefully get Justin to do one too)
• Have her colour the same picture each year
• Do something at 7:23pm (when she was born)
• Write a story book, featuring Tilly and Bella
• Take a photo of all three of us in a photobooth
• Record what a typical day in her life is like at this age
• Make a party dress

Special 1st birthday ideas:

• Make a felt crown, a la Soulemama
• Make a felt envelope, to be used for the birthday card/letter each year
• Put together a "zhua zhou" tray -- a Chinese tradition supposed to predict the child's future career

Yes, it's quite a list -- you can see why I'm starting now!

The first thing I wanted to tackle was sewing a dress for Tilly. One of my favourite memories of birthdays growing up is the beautiful rose-covered dresses my Mum sewed for me. Having never sewn any clothes before (except a skirt for our Miko Rabbit!), though, I thought I'd start with an easy pattern. Tilly's gingham dress above is my first attempt, using Lotta's Simple Sewing for Baby. It really was simple, turned out pretty well (it's wearable!), and taught me a lot about fun things like armhole bindings and how not to hem.

I'm working up to trying a pattern from Fiona Bell's Sewn with Love. Hopefully by the time Tilly is five or six, I'll be up to making that lovely dress on the cover, below.

Do you have any special birthday traditions, or favourite memories of a celebration?