santa's little helper

sitting at the sewing machine again for a couple of recent projects felt really great.  i've missed it a lot.  so when an e-mail from the bean's teacher said that they could break free of the uniform and wear something festive for their christmas party, i knew exactly what i wanted to do.

i found a good chunk of red knit material in my extensive fabric stash (which i'd already cut into for this quickie santa scarf for last week's chapel sing) and then decided to use the dress she wore on thanksgiving as a model.

it's a simple design, and using the basic skillz i learned online, i managed to draft a pattern and cut out the material.  i was so focused that i had the bare bones of the dress all sewed together in an hour or so, and had her try it on to make sure it fit.

adding the faux fur trim was a little challenging, as was the neckline.  working with knit fabric isn't really as hard as i'd expected, but trying to figure a few of the details out was tricky.  in the end, it all worked out and the next morning, we had this:

the christmas party was really cute.  the kids did a small gift exchange:

and then we made them pancakes, which they got to cut into fun shapes and then decorate with sprinkles, whipped cream and chocolate chips.

we got lots of great compliments on her dress, and she had a great time with her friends.  and now we have two whole weeks of fun together at home celebrating the holidays!

now...what to have her wear for valentine's day?  i only have a small window of opportunity here before she starts refusing to wear things i make for her, you know.  i'm taking full advantage.