This fall our family was completely obsessed with Dancing with the Stars. I know we were late to the game - it was all the fault of Misty May Treanor. And then she was injured and we kept watching Cloris and Cody and Lance.
So when the time came to write letters to Santa, Aidin asked for ballroom dance shoes. With high heels. In silver or gold.
And I figured, if Santa delivered, she'd need a fancy dance dress to go with the shoes. I mulled over making this dress for weeks. Thinking about all possible designs of dresses, fabric choices, length, skirt type..... blah, blah, blah. I finally settled on using this pattern as a rough guide and sewed it in liquid gold fabric that my Aunt Sherry gave me in the summer of 2007. (Thanks, AGAIN, Aunt Sherry!) It was my first experience sewing with that kind of fabric, and one I won't quickly repeat. Much swearing ensued. And the craftsmanship was less than stellar, but my dancing star was thrilled anyway. Whew!
I added godets to the two sides and center back and a slit in the front. The bottom is edged with a ruffle. It's pretty puckery, but it works.
And Santa did come through with the shoes. Real ballroom shoes with the special ballroom buckle and padded insoles. She has hardly taken then off.
I thought the stars had aligned when our local Parks & Rec offered a Dancing with the Stars class for kids 7-11 starting in January. So enrollment in that class was also a Christmas gift, but sadly only one other kid signed up, so the class is canceled. Darn it.
The other thing I made for Aidin, per her request, was a hair wrap like the one I use every day. That was simple, made from a dollar store hand towel, a button and a hair elastic.
And for Eliot, well he's a boy of simple tastes. Legos and trains and Power Rangers and Pixar movies. So when I stumbled upon Wall-E fabric in his favorite shade of green it just begged to be made into pajamas. I still have no picture, but trust me, they were cute. Green pj pants and a Wall-E applique on a black t-shirt.
I still owe Aidin a coat for Kit - it's cut but not sewn - but that folks, finally brings an end to "what I made for Christmas". Thanks for hanging with me to the end. Now I just need to re-cap the boy's birthday party and we're ready to move on to 2009. Have a great weekend! ~L