I see trees of green, red roses too

Inspired by Rice Freeman- Zachery, I began a little journal skirt for Daria, who will be seven in just about three weeks. Greta was reading a poem today ("A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot"), and so I decided to do a sort of garden theme. But first I had to sew the skirt, and I didn't have a pattern, so I drew one from the skirt she was wearing (she had to take it off first, of course). I have all these scraps of denim left over from a skirt I just made for myself, but it wasn't quite enough, so I spliced in some other strips on the sides from some pin-striped denim scraps. I guess that is why a fabric freak saves EVERYTHING. Anyway, it turned out very well, so I will use the rest of the pin-striped stuff to make the waistband. I also stamped and hand-tinted a frog and a bumblebee onto muslin, and tomorrow I will root around in my bins and come up with some flowers for the appliques.

I was in a high-end children's boutique yesterday and saw some outrageously expensive things. Who is buying this stuff anyway? But I am not too shameless to ooh and aah a little, pretending to browse while really just checking out new design ideas. It seems that all the rage in little girl's couture is a petticoat under a skirt, with a border of gathered tulle peeping out from under the bottom of the overskirt. Well, hell's bells, I can do that! So I think when it's all said and done, Daria's little journal skirt will feature a wonderfully feminine frill at the hem. She'll love it and look great in it, too.

When do I have time to sew, you ask? Mostly in the early mornings, before the kids get up. And sometimes in the afternoons, when we have finished school for the day and the girls are playing together. I used to just leave all my sewing out, but the chaos gets to you eventually, so now I always put it all up before I start dinner. Only takes a minute, but it makes such a difference in my mood to not have to look at a mess while we eat...

This is Greta this afternoon, playing and singing her little heart out a la Louis Armstrong, "And I think to myself - what a wonderful world." Some of her happiest moments are at the piano, belting out a song. A lovely child.