Vessel

As some of you may or may not know (those closest to me will) I have been running away from something I've been afraid of since I was a teenager.

Long ago, I felt God calling me to make music for him. I felt led to, and dreamed of being in a Christian rock band. Some friends and I formed a band back when I was a senior in High School, but it never worked out. Between that and some other personal struggles I was dealing with, I began to doubt, fear and ultimately, I chickened out from the whole thing.

Down through the years, I felt guilty for "running away" from something I knew that God was calling me to do. But I pushed it away, brushed it off. Until now.

Shortly after I realized I was actually getting better, I started to feel that tug, to hear God calling me again. I felt like I must be going crazy--this is definitely NOT the optimal time in life to start something like this...I'm married, I have 3 kids to take care of and all the responsibilities that come with being a wife and a stay-at-home-mom.

But I can't ignore it anymore, or push it away. I feel like now that I am better, I've been given a second chance at life. A second chance to do what he's asking of me...

I prayed and prayed and prayed about it. I talked with Nick and we prayed about it together. I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone, bite my lip and just go for it. I told God, "Okay. I'm a willing vessel. If this is your will, if this is what you want, you make it happen."

And boy, has he... I recently joined a Christian rock band by the name of "Vessels of Grace." I do not think the name is a coincidence. :-)

I've also gone through some major personal changes--I've decided that I'm going to stop pretending and trying to be this perfect image that I've convinced myself everyone wants me to be. I'm done with that, and I am getting back to my old self. I'm going to just be me--the person who I really am and I no longer care if people like it or not. God looks at the heart and he knows mine like no other ever will. Those who are the most important in my life know and embrace the true me. If someone doesn't like it, then they don't need to be in my life. It's that simple. I know it sounds harsh, but I've spent 7 years of my life striving to squish myself into a mold that I just do not fit. And I'm done with that. I'm going to be happy to be me--the me that God made me to be.

I'll keep you all updated as to the progress of the band. And I promise to put up some more tutorials soon, too. I have several new things I've made but haven't had the time to post. :-)

~Michelle

Miracle.. Part 3

Since I've been totally true to my nature and written WAY more than ever intended in this "tale", I will do my very best to keep this one short and sweet. Here goes...

"Doctor Right" (as I refer to him now) not only figured out what's been wrong with me all these years, he has me feeling BETTER! Yes, REALLY feeling better! Finally!

My diagnosis has 3 parts: Crohn's disease, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (in short, it means my immune system is attacking my thyroid) and Psoriatic Arthritis. (Arthritis from Psoriasis)

He started me on a "cocktail" of medications back in August. The first two weeks were Hell on Earth, but after the initial "yuck", I started to notice big changes in how I felt. There was less and less pain, I wasn't getting sick after eating and even the skin on my upper arms and legs cleared up. (He said that was all part of it, and that I would notice it going away as I felt better)

Unfortunately, during the first month, I developed an infection and needed an antibiotic, which I turned out to be HIGHLY allergic to. My anaphylaxis was so bad that I had to stay in the hospital for a couple days. While I was there, they took me off of ALL medications, save those which treat allergies. Alas, being off the new meds threw me right into a flare up of the Crohn's. After 2 miserable weeks, I went back to "Dr. Right" and we slowly started me back on the medications. And I FINALLY started to feel better....and it lasted.

All my skepticism and doubt has gone out the window. It's been about 3 months since I was diagnosed and started the treatment and I can honestly say that I feel like I am alive again. I am slowly but surely reclaiming my life. It's been a slow process; I still find myself pretty weak and don't have half the stamina that I used to. And I have some permanent damage from the whole ordeal, mainly stuff that is a result of the nasty vitamin deficiencies, osteoporosis, that kind of thing. But I consider myself lucky if that's the worst this whole mess has left me with.

I am improving every day. I can happily say that I am able to eat again, without pain or getting sick afterward. It feels absolutely amazing to be able to plan my day without worrying if I am going to be chained to the bathroom or have to carry a bucket with me.

I am so blessed, and so, so, so grateful that God led me to "Dr. Right." I know that this isn't "over", that it will come and go, but let me tell ya, I am really enjoying this part and I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. :-)

So, there ya have it. My health "story". You know, for the first time in 12 years I went 3 months between doctor visits. Yep, 3 months. Before that, my longest time was around 2-3 weeks. Woot!

I want to thank each and every one of you who have been there for me over the years. To those of you who have listened to me whine, to those who visited me in the hospital, and to those who prayed for me or kept me in your thoughts....THANK YOU. You will never know how much it means to me or how much I appreciate you. Just wanted to get that out there.

Blessings,

~Michelle

Miracle... Part 2

There was a week in which I had to go to knoxville to do some work with my dad and my client. We decided to go to church on Wednesday with Mom and Dad. It was an awesome, awesome night. The day had started out terribly--I was in the midst of my "illness" and having a really hard time.

Mom's student came, who is also a friend of hers from church. They decided to ask the Elders to pray for me that night if I would come. I felt awful but decided to go. There was a dinner for everyone but I did not eat much because I felt so bad. After the service, they brought me down to the front and sat me down in a chair. I was surrounded by 6 or 7 elders of the church and two pastors. Each one talked with me and read some scripture that they felt would be applicable for me. The pastor took some oil and drew a cross with it on my forehead and they all prayed for me, one by one.

Those of you who know me, know that I am not one to get caught up in a moment and fawn or swoon when it comes to worship or prayer. I've always had a very tough time praying for myself, or asking for something from God. I'm totally happy to pray for others, but can't bring myself to ask God for anything that I need. When I do, I feel selfish, or that I am manipulating God, guilty for asking, etc. I've also been very afraid to go back in a church after what my ex used to do. I've been so ashamed, for years, and so afraid to even set foot inside a church. It has taken me so long to come out of that, but I finally have.

That night, the elders prayed for me. They prayed for peace, they prayed for healing. Most importantly, they prayed for SPIRITUAL healing for me--that I would realize that it is ok to ask God--in fact, he wants us to. They prayed that I would find the right doctor, that God would guide the doctors and give me strength and peace to face and endure this illness I've had for so long. As they prayed, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I felt like God was telling me it was okay, and just to trust him. I just sat there, crying. I couldn't really do anything else--I was just overcome.

I guess you could say that we were at an "impass" of sorts with my health problems. So many things had happened up to this point, and yet we were no closer to knowing what is going on. So many diagnoses had been thrown at me, all these tests and no answers...it's been an uphill battle. My most recent procedure, a liver biopsy (I won't even talk about how painful that was) had revealed that I did not have auto immune hepatitis, there was no permanent liver damage (praise God!) but that whatever was going on with my liver was a "reaction to whatever auto immune process was occuring in my body".

My family doctor, still convinced that it was lupus or something lupus-related, had referred me to another Rheumatologist--this one was at UT in Knoxville. We had received word just that past week that the new Rheumatologist refused to see me because I had already seen another rheumatologist. I never did understand that one-- I highly doubt my family doctor would have referred me there, if he did not think I needed to be seen. But, whatever. I decided to just sit quietly and have faith, God would provide, one way or another.

On a whim, I had decided to look for a rheumatologist on my own, since my insurance did not require a referral to see one. I had found one and called to make an appointment. I was told that the doctor made his decision on a case-by-case basis, and they would give him the information about me and I would get a call if he decided to take my case. By this time I had almost forgotten about it--when I had heard that I figured there was no way I'd hear back from them and move on.

So, back to Wednesday night and the prayer...It turned out that one of the elders was a doctor and was friends with the Rheumatologist at UT who had turned me down. He said he would try to talk to him and see if he couldn't work something out. We got a phone call the next day from him--he had tried, but the doctor was out of town. He had spoken to the office manager and they were waiting for me to call. I felt my heart leap. Here was some hope. I called and the person I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about and said that I would have to get my family doctor to write a letter indicating why I needed to see a second rheumatologist. I called my doctors' office only to find out that he was on vacation that week. Great.

Life went on as usual, I met with my client, did some work for my dad and enjoyed spending time with my parents. While we were still there my car decided to give me some problems. One repair was around 300, the other 200. I had no idea how on earth we could pay for it--things have already been a struggle as it is. I prayed and began looking for ways that I could earn the money. At one point I thought I might have to go down to the daily labor place, but God intervened through my family and I was able to earn the money by doing some extra projects for Dad. It just so happened that he had to get the office set up for some training. I spent 2 days working off and on round the clock helping him set up tables, desks and computers for his tax seminar. I was exhausted but it was so worth it.

We made it home that weekend, spent some much needed time with Nick and life went on as usual. Then on Monday I got a phone call from the Rheumatologist's office that I had called before. He had agreed to take my 'case' and they had an appointment date for me, which was only a week away. Woohoo!

I gathered up all the medical records, test results, blood work, etc. that I could think of and took it with me to my appointment. The doctor introduced himself, explained to me his credentials and how he worked. Then he literally sat there for an hour with me, looking at all my ecords, listenting to my story, and examining me. I must admit that as he looked through them and muttered things like "hmm, normal, and why didn't they do such-and-such, or why didn't they repeat such and such" I was starting to feel defeated. So many times before I'd been to a promising new physician who "wants to get to the bottom of this" and every time they could never figure it out.

He began asking me questions about my medical history. I answered and the more I talked, the more hopeless I felt. He looked at my "intake form" and then asked me about my family's medical history. I rattled off the long list of diseases and ailments that had occurred throughout the family and he nodded every now and then. I was rambling on about my dad and his sarcoid when he stopped me. He grabbed the stack of records and thumbed through it for a minute, then asked me about Dad's sarcoid. Then he asked me if anyone else had anything and I told him about Grandpa's Rheumatic fever and Rheumatoid arthritis. He sat back in his chair, looked at me and said "I think I know what this is. We're going to figure this out."

Next thing I knew, he was flipping like mad through the stack of bloodwork and continuing to grill me about dad and grandpa and my own symptoms and medical history. Then he pulled out a huge book, looked something up and handed it to me. As soon as I read the top of the page, I felt my heart leap.

It was a Medical Reference book or Encyclopedia of some sort. The title of the page was "Crohn's Disease". As I skimmed over it, I realized that I was looking at a literal list of every single crazy symptom I'd had over the years...right down to the "Hepatitis of unknown cause". Woah. I handed it back to him and asked, "So, you think I have Crohn's Disease?" His answer, "Yes. If I were a betting man I'd put money on it." I explained that I'd been tested several times, and been told that I did not have Crohn's. He said that it is more than likely somewhere in my small intestine, somewhere that they have not been able to look. And given the fact that I have been on prednisone for a long time, it could have masked it in all those tests, too. Okay, I'll buy that. It makes sense.

He went on to say that it is my father's medical history--Sarcoidosis--which has convinced him of this. He explained that Sarcoidosis and Crohn's are very closely related, in that they do the same thing, just in different parts of the body. He often referred to sarcoid as "crohn's of the lung", in fact, and both of these diseases, while closely related, are also genetic--I.E. passed down through the family. He ordered some blood tests and wrote me some prescriptions for medications to start treating the crohn's. The medications he gave me were two different antibiotics--Flagyl and Cipro, (yuck!) along with something called Sulfasalazine and an anti-inflammatory called Diclofenac. He was going to do some more blood tests, just to be sure, but he was pretty sure he had "figured this out".

Crohn's explained EVERYTHING--All the stomach pain, sickness, everything I'd been through in the last 12 years or so. Even the strange vitamin deficiencies I've had off and on since Gavin's pregnancy--all could be explained by Crohn's. (Inflammation in the intestine causes mal-absorbtion, which causes deficiency) I felt excited, scared, unsure, relieved, skeptical..all at once.

I thanked him and packed up all my copies of records that I had brought. A nurse took some more blood from me before I left, and I made an appointment to return for a follow up in 2 more weeks. As soon as I was outside, I called my Mom. "You're not going to believe this", I told her. "We have an answer!"

Continued in part 3 (last one, I promise)

Miracle.... Part 1

It's been quite some time since I last blogged, so I guess it's time to do it again.

I call this post "Miracle" because there really has been a miracle in my life...in so, so, so many ways. God has just really taken control over these last few months and so many amazing things have happened. Scratch that...so many things have happened, and are happening still.

I suppose you could say it was my friend Carmen who I have to thank for "starting" it. She and her family have these "gatherings" once a month at their place. It's an awesome time of food, fellowship, worship and prayer. We were invited to one back in May. I took the kids and we just had the best time--we were hooked from then on.

It had been so long since I'd had good fellowship with other believers, and been able to just enjoy worship and basking in his glory. I realized I had a real hunger and thirst for his presence. My life had been so dry lately. Everything seemed to be overwhelming me. I was physically and emotionally drained from all the illness I've been dealing with. I decided to branch out and actively start looking for a church again. I went to a few different ones with some friends and had a great time. We attended Carmen's church, too and really enjoyed it. The kids really loved that they were able to see the same friends they had made from the gatherings, too. It was nice to be back in church again.

We've been going to the Faith Assembly of God for a few months now and I really like it. There are some great people there; you can just feel God's warmth and love when you walk in the place and that is one of the biggest things I look for in a church. Argh...there I go, off on a tangent again...sorry.

So, as I said before, some really special things happened to me over the summer. For starters, when we were at our first gathering, I was anointed and prayed over for the first time. It was really something amazing. I was so overwhelmed and touched. These people hardly knew me, but here they were, holding my hands, calling me sister, praying for me...it was just so much. My heart was so full and I felt so blessed. But, I also felt (this is hard to admit) jealous. Don't worry, it wasn't the "green-eyed monster"...it was what I've heard people call a "Godly jealousy". It was a "...wow. I want what they have. I want to see my husband talk about me like that, and pray for me like that. I want to feel God's presence in my home and in those around me" kind of jealousy.

I thought one way to "satisfy" this need was to get my WHOLE family back in church. I had already been going with the kids, but I really wanted Nick to come. I started dropping little hints every now and then. Sundays went by and it still seemed that he all but ignored me whenever I talked about church. So, since that didn't work, I moved to direct asking. Before I knew it, we were fighting--all because I wanted him to come to church and he just didn't feel ready.

One Sunday morning, we had a particularly nasty argument in which he "tried to put me in my place". He accused me of being "holier than thou" and nagging, and doing the very things that I hated to see people do. How dare he! I'll show him! I hurried the kids and myself off to church, fuming all the way.

When we arrived I got the kids settled in their class and sat down in the nursery all huffy and hot-headed. Carmen and her husband Dale started talking to me, asking about what was going on. I began to rant and rave about Nick not wanting to come to church, sure that they would jump in on my side. Nope. God bless those two for being vessels of the Lord. It was Dale who came right out and told me I was wrong. Ouch. Oops. As Dale and Carmen talked with me, I realized that Nick was right--I was being overbearing and pushy and going about it the wrong way. We talked and I felt better. I decided to apologize to him and make it a point to just leave the issue alone. Dale and Carmen invited us over for lunch, Nick included, so I called him and apologized. We picked him up after church and went and spent the afternoon at Dale and Carmen's. It was a great day and Nick really liked them, too. Later on, Nick and I had a long talk and just got everything out in the open. We agreed to start praying together again, which was something I'd been wanting for a long time.

Over the next few weeks I continued to actively pray with and for my husband. I decided to start being more encouraging and easygoing, instead of picking a fight at every turn like I had been. I know it seems silly but just that small effort really seemed to make a difference. Things between Nick and I really improved. Even when he was on the road, we would pray together every night. I could sense a real change in our attitudes and I started to relax and realize that it was okay if he didn't feel like going to church yet. It was really between him and God.

A few weeks later, one Saturday he just blew me out of the water by telling me that he wanted to go to church the next day. We made plans to attend one he had recently photographed at, and liked. But life happens and the next day we weren't ready on time for that church so we decided to all go to Carmen's church. He said he really enjoyed it and we've been going back as a family. God is so good!

That is one part of the miracle--the spiritual changes that have taken place within me and in my family. The other part has to do with the physical changes. Continued in Part 2....

Busted in Class

One of my Facebook friends posted a funny picture today. I enjoy a good laugh just as much as the next person. But this one didn't make me laugh; It made me angry. Angry and sad.

Here's the pic so you can see the "funny" for yourselves:

Hahahahahaha! Hilarious, right?

Yep, at first glance, it's pretty funny. The kid, forgetting that his teacher is one of his "friends", updates his status in class from his phone and gets caught by the teacher who sees it. Oops!

But at a closer look, you can see there's a much bigger "fail" here than what the kid did. I'd like to give a hearty congratulations to "Mrs. Wallace", for being just a SHINING EXAMPLE of our WONDERFUL education system. It's just SO NICE to know that this is what our tax dollars are paying for.

Call me a prude, goody-goody, whatever you will. But in my opinion, NO KID deserves to be publicly made fun of or humiliated like that. I don't care HOW frustrated a teacher gets, there are just some things you don't do/say to a kid and that's one of them.

If he's "almost as good at getting caught as he is at failing math tests", WHY hasn't that issue been addressed? Hmm?

Perhaps he might be having some difficulty with math, and be afraid to ask for help (which would be OBVIOUSLY understood, given the lovely example we have here) or there could be a learning disability, lack of motivation, any reason...so Why would ANY teacher just let a kid slip through the cracks like that--let alone MAKE FUN OF THEM along the way??

I certainly hope the teacher has a good explanation as to why she said what she did, and that she PUBLICLY apologizes to the kid, his family and everyone else.

It makes me wonder, how many other children does she treat, or has she treated, this way? How many other children went through her class failing to learn and being made fun of or humiliated?

And what about the parents? Why didn't that mother say something to the teacher about PUBLICLY HUMILIATING her kid? If I was that parent, I'd be LIVID. I would not only be having a "friendly chat" with Mrs Wallace, but also with the principal, school board, PTA and anyone else who would listen.

But, then again, if I was that parent, my kid wouldn't have an iphone in the first place, much less be bringing it to school with him.

And people wonder why I homeschool...Let me tell you, every day that goes by, I'm convinced more and more that I made the right choice. You just never do know exactly who or what out there is "modling and shaping your child's future", do you?

I do hope that kid is able to get a decent education despite this disaster of an enviornment he is in. I really feel sorry for him.

Thankful....

I have said it a million times before, and I will say it again: I am blessed, blessed BLESSED! It never ceases to amaze me, how my Heavenly Father takes care of me every step of the way. Every time I turn around he is showing me how much he loves me. This weekend was no exception.

I had the most wonderful weekend. And it was very much needed--those of you who had spoken with me this past week know that it was a pretty bad week, as weeks go. So many things went wrong and on top of it all, I was coming to grips with some emotions and problems that I am facing personally, in the wake of my chronic illness. I spent the evenings of Thursday and Friday in tears and prayer.

God answers prayer in so many wonderful ways. In the midst of all the soul-searching and emotional pain I was dealing with, God just reached out with others' hands and wrapped his arms around me through them.

The first thing that happened was that I received a lovely gift from a friend of mine across the country. I read the card and cried--it said the sweetest, kindest most uplifting things about me. That in itself raised my spirits right there.

But God did not stop there...

My parents surprised me by coming up to spend the weekend with us. My Mom said that she knew I had been feeling terrible over the last few weeks and that I've not been able to do much in the housework department. Here lately, if the dishes are done and the kids' toys are picked up, that's a "good" day around here. LOL But bless her, the woman just took over and helped me clean my entire house from top to bottom. She even scrubbed crayon off the walls where the kids had decided to show their artistic talents and re-organized my pantry for me. She was SUCH a HUGE help to me and it made me feel SO much better. I had been feeling pretty badly lately about not being able to do much around the house and all of this "catch-up" work had really been weighing heavily on me. Suddenly, here it was, all done.

On Saturday, my sister-in-law and her family paid us a surprise visit in which they brought us several great big boxes of food. There was just a ton of stuff, and we had to re-arrange the pantry just to fit it all. It came at just the perfect time...Nick's schedules have been somewhat lacking lately and that just all but filled our need for groceries over the next couple of weeks.

I went out to the porch with my Mother and she gave me some gifts the Great-Grandparents had sent for the children--there were some new outfits, books, stickers and some toys. We were talking about the food and the impeccable timing when I heard a noise. It sounded like a lawnmower, but it was REALLY close. I walked around to the side of the house and there was my next door neighbor, riding her lawnmower through my yard, her kids walking along behind her. I literally burst into tears.

Let me back up here for just a minute and explain why I was so touched by this. We have had the WORST luck when it comes to our yard, this year. The weather and Nick's schedule seem to be clashing horridly--if he's off, it's raining and he can't mow; if it's sunny and nice, he's gone on the road at work. I would love to just mow it myself, but I cannot do it. Last summer, in an effort to "help Nick out since he was gone", I mowed the yard--and I ended up in the ER. I had a SEVERE reaction to the grass--trouble breathing, hives from head to toe and my lips swelled up. I also had a strange skin reaction to the sun--this was actually the "event" that started us on the crazy "auto-immune" roller-coaster. So, yeah, mowing for me is OUT. LOL

Well, fast-forward to a few weeks ago and Nick FINALLY has a day off where it's actually sunny. He got about half the yard done and the mower broke. Ha, just what we needed! He had a friend who had a riding mower that needed a new battery, so he offered to help fix it in exchange for borrowing the mower. The VERY AFTERNOON that they got it fixed, we had yet ANOTHER downpour. And once again, he was due back on the road early the next morning. So, the end result to all this--our yard looked BAD. Everything looked overgrown, the grass was close to a foot tall--or higher, maybe, LOL--BAD.

So back to Saturday evening--here comes my neighbor, on her riding mower. I started crying and went over and told her she didn't have to do that--Nick had actually made arrangements to borrow his friend's mower for the following day. She just smiled and said that God had laid me on her heart, and she knew he was gone on the road, and when he came back he would have only one day off and she wanted him to enjoy it with his family. I hugged her and cried and thanked her over and over again.

I sat down later after everyone was in bed and thought about all the different things that had happened--these gifts I had been given--and how very blessed I am. Even in the midst of all this pain and stress right now, I'm so very very blessed. And I am so thankful...SO, SO, SO, thankful for everything in my life.

My heart was (still is) so very full. I feel God's love all around me, coming through in the smallest of places. I don't deserve it, not one little bit, and yet he just continues to wrap me in that wonderful, peaceful, perfect love. And it never fails--he always seems to know just exactly when I need it the most. HE is SO GOOD. And I'll say it again--I am blessed, blessed, BLESSED! :-)


I tend to get inspired and creative whenever something affects me emotionally. So, sure enough, last night I had that "feeling". I sat down with my sewing/crafting stuff and this was the end result:

I gave it to my neighbor as a "Thank-You". I loved it so much though that I want to make one for myself now. LOL Maybe that will be my next tutorial... :-)


Blessings,

~Michelle

Tutorial: Upcycled Shirt, Part 2: The Dress

As promised, here's how to take that leftover shirt (from my last tutorial) and make it into an oh-so-cute dress for your little lady. It might look a little 'fancy', but don't be alarmed--it's actually fairly easy to do. :-)

You will need:

The remaining shirt and sleeve pieces from the last tutorial. OR, an adult size t-shirt--if you're doing this on its own A dress that already fits the child Sewing Machine Thread Pen or Pencil (or fabric pen if you're fancy) measuring tape straight pins Scissors

Step 1

Let's get started. First, make sure the shirt is turned inside-out. Hold it by the shoulder seams so that the front of the neckline falls to it's natural position (a little lower than the back of the neckline) Now, fold it in half lengthwise and press it flat.

Step 2

Cut a strip of 3 inches in width off the bottom of the shirt. Cut that strip into 3 equally wide strips. You should now have 3 very long loops of fabric, each about 1" wide. Cut the 'loops' open so that they become one long strip and set them aside.

Step 3

Fold the child's dress in the same manner as the shirt. Lay the dress on top of the shirt--Line up the neckline of the dress with the FRONT (bottom) neckline of the shirt, and line up the folded edge of the dress and the shirt as well.

Take your pen or pencil (or fabric pen) and trace around the shape of the dress onto the shirt. Leave about 1 inch or so around the SIDES (not the top or bottom) for seam allowance.

Note: If your child's dress is frilly or wider than the shirt, just make a diagonal line from the bottom of the armhole to the very edge of the bottom of the shirt. The dress will still have PLENTY of room, don't worry. :-)

Note: In this photo, you can see I cut close to the neckline. I did that because this shirt originally was a turtleneck and I cut it off before starting. If you're using any other shirt though, you can use the neckline of the existing shirt as the neckline of your dress--it's already "finished" for you. So when you are tracing your dress shape, be sure to avoid cutting the neckline off if at all possible.

Set the child's dress aside now. Pin lightly around the INSIDE edges of the dress shape and Cut out the dress shape from the shirt. Remove pins. I cut mine a little bit shorter because I wanted more of a tunic top than a dress this time, but for simplicity's sake we will keep calling it a dress. :-)

Step 4

You should now have two pieces to your dress--the front and back.

Take the pieces and line them up at the shoulders, with the RIGHT SIDES of the fabric facing together. Pin and sew them together at the top of the shoulders ONLY.

Step 5

Now for those little extra pieces of left-over sleeve. We'll call them "caps" for now.

There are 2 ways to do the caps--you can do them flat, or you can gather them and give them a bit of ruffle before you attach them to the sleeve. If you want to make plain caps, skip ahead to step 6. If you want to make ruffly sleeve caps, keep reading...

To gather (ruffle) the caps, simply make a long, loose stitch along the inside edge of the cap the inside edge of the cap.

Cut the tail threads a little long when you free it from the machine. Take the tails on the LEFT END of the cap and tie them into a tight knot. You might want to knot it more than once just for good measure. Now, Grasp the bobbin tail thread with your right hand and pull it taught. With your left hand, slide the fabric toward the left, away from the thread tails. Keep pulling the tail thread taught and sliding the fabric. As you slide the fabric, it will bunch up, or "gather", creating a ruffle. Keep sliding the fabric back from the end until the amount of 'gathering' you want has been achieved.

Once you have the ruffle you want, tie each set of tail threads into a knot and cut. Repeat with the other cap, and make sure to try and keep the gathering at the same amount so that the caps are the same size.

Note: I cheated a bit here and gave my sleeve caps scalloped edges before sewing them. So if you're wondering why my sleeves look different in the next few pics, that's why. Come to think of it, I think I will do a tutorial later on how to do a scalloped edge...it's actually pretty simple.

Step 6

Ok, back to the caps...Take your sleeve caps and fold them in half, width-wise. Place a pin to mark the fold (center) at the INSIDE edge of the cap. Unfold and lay them flat, leaving the pin as the marker.

Step 7

Turn the "dress" rightside-out. Open out the "dress" and lay it flat so that the neck hole is in the center and the bottoms of the dress are opposite eachother. (Is that clear as mud? See the pic below. LOL )

With right sides facing eachother, lay the cap onto the shoulder of the dress. Line up the INSIDE edge of the sleeve cap with the OUTSIDE edge of the armhole, matching the pin in the center with the shoulder (armhole) seam. Pin in place and sew cap to top of armhole.

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Turn the "dress" inside-out again. Pin and sew the side seams. Turn it inside out. Hey, now we have a dress! Remember not to sew the armholes shut--I've done that when in a hurry and not paying attention. LOL

Turn the dress rightside-out. Hey, it's beginning to look like a dress now!

Step 8

Now, once again, we come to yet another "optional" part of the dress--"finishing" the armholes. If you want to keep the dress quick and easy, you can leave the armhole edges raw. (Knit fabrics just roll, so it won't fray) If you're leaving the edges raw, skip down to step 10. If you want to finish the edges of your armholes, read on...

To finish the armholes:

First, you're going to need just a bit more material, so check your scraps from the cutting earlier. You should have enough to make two 3/4 inch wide strips that are about 10-12 inches long. If you don't have enough scraps, cut another thin strip off of both the bottom and top of the dress. (Make sure you take the same amount from both ends or it won't line up evenly later.)

Take one strip, and line up the end of the strip with the bottom of the armhole. With the RIGHT SIDES of the fabric facing together, line up the edge of the strip with the outside edge of the armhole. This strip will go on TOP of the cap sleeve, so that the cap is sandwiched in between the armhole and the edging strip.

Pin the entire strip in place, stopping about 1 inch from the end. Overlap the starting end of the strip about 1/2 inch. Fold the remaining end of the strip under and pin it close to the fold. Trim the excess strip to about 1/4 inch or so. Finish pinning the armhole. (Once again--if this is clear as mud, just see the pic below. LOL) Once it's been pinned in place, carefully sew it all the way around--about 1/4 inch from the edge.

Remove the pins. Now, take the free edge of the strip and fold it back down into the underside of the armhole, so that the seam and cap sleeve are facing outward. Smooth/stretch the strip to conform it to the shape of the armhole and pin it in place every two inches or so. (See the picture on the left below)

Once it's pinned, turn and smooth the armhole so that the good side of the fabric/armhole is facing you. sew all the way around, about 1/4 inch from the edge. This makes the armhole edge look nice and finished. Repeat with the second armhole.

Step 9

Now, we're going to get frilly. Take one of the 3 strips of fabric you cut at the beginning. The same technique we used to gather the sleeve caps will be used here to gather (ruffle) the strip. In case you skipped it, I'll do a quick re-cap:

Sew a long, loose stitch down the center of the entire length of the strip. Tie a tight knot at the left end of the strip. (Secure it more than once to make sure the fabric doesn't slip past it.) Grasp the bobbin tail thread from the RIGHT end of the strip and pull it taut. With your left hand, Gently slide the fabric back away from the end. (toward the left) Keep sliding the fabric until it bunches up and creates a ruffle. Once you have acheived the amount of ruffle you want, tie the tail threads into a knot at each end and cut. You now have a long ruffled strip. Repeat with the second strip.

Step 10

Here's the fun part--adding these ruffalicious frills to the dress! Pick up the first strip. Starting at the center of the back of the dress, line up the CENTER of the ruffle to JUST BELOW the edge of the neckline. Place a pin or two to hold it and take it over to the sewing machine.

Make a small starting stitch and grasp the tail threads at the back of the machine. Pull gently to keep guiding the strip back. As you sew the strip onto the neckline, stretch JUST THE NECKLINE out a good ways. Don't stretch the ruffled strip, JUST the neckline underneath it. This will make sure that the neckline AND RUFFLE will both stretch to fit over your child's head.

Once you get to the end, turn the edge under a bit and pin so that it overlaps the beginning end of the strip. If the strip is too long, cut it off about 1/4 inch past the pin. (Make sure you pin it before you cut--if you don't, the ruffle will unravel--ohnoes!) Finish sewing the end of the strip to the neckline. Test the stretchiness of the neckline. Both neckline and ruffle should stretch quite a bit.

Now you have a dress with an adorably rufflicious (I'm really liking this word!) neckline.

But we're not going to stop there--this dress needs just a tiny bit more frou-frou, don't you think?

Step 11

Take the remaining 2 strips and pin them together at one edge, right sides facing each other. Sew them together about 1/4 inch from the edge.

Repeat the same process you used earlier to gather this super long strip.

Again, starting at the center back, pin the ruffled strip close to the bottom edge of the dress. Pin the ruffle all the way around the bottom and then pin/fold the strip to overlap the starting end, just like you did before. Sew the ruffle to the dress--go directly down the middle of the ruffle, along the same line you stitched for the gathering step.

Step 12

Remove the pins...aaaaand...you're done! Fastest step ever, right? :-)

Now you have a sweet little dress to match the leggings we made earlier.

Here's some more pics of the entire outfit in action. Excuse the messy face; Mommy was in a hurry to get some photos of the outfit and overlooked the fact that my princess had just finished eating a fudgesicle....LOL.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you like it, I hope you will show your friends. And keep checking back, I'll be posting lots more! Sew Happy!

~Michelle