![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/sundressflipflops.jpg\" "\\"sundressflipflops\\"")
<\/a>Almost 2 year-old Alastair needed daycare this week.\u00c2\u00a0 His mother, my computer engineer daughter Rebecca, was called back to work full-time for a big project so I am tending the little guy on the west coast of Florida while his parents work.\u00c2\u00a0 I love it but his presence adds a new dimension to the challenge of snapping photos for a post.<\/p>\n<\/a>plain jane sundress, unembellished except for cat hair<\/p><\/div>\n
The dresses (one embroidered, one plain) were carried here in a bag, meant to be ironed.\u00c2\u00a0 But Alastair thought that was not a good use of our time and nixed the session at the ironing board.\u00c2\u00a0 Okay, we’ll\u00c2\u00a0live with the wrinkles.<\/p>\n
Then I wanted to sew three tiny buttons onto the bow knot on one shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0 But before they were stitched in place, Alastair snatched them from the leather ottoman where they were resting and ran like the wind with them clutched in his hot little hand.\u00c2\u00a0 As he ran, he squealed with delight that Nana was chasing him.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I finally convinced him to return the buttons to their rightful owner, he dropped them onto the oriental rug where they became invisible.\u00c2\u00a0 I quickly recovered the buttons and sewed them to the bow knot.\u00c2\u00a0Finally, I got things\u00c2\u00a0set up to take a picture.<\/p>\n
Then Bandita, the family Ragdoll cat, saw the photo op as her big break into internet fame.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently, she has heard of YouTube and features herself as the new Fancy Feast cat.\u00c2\u00a0 She hissed\u00c2\u00a0and refused all efforts to step away from the camera.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, the feline starlet-to-be was\u00c2\u00a0locked up\u00c2\u00a0in the\u00c2\u00a0screened back porch, allowing me\u00c2\u00a0to get a few shots of the plain dress as well as\u00c2\u00a0the new and improved version.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>Does this dress make me look fat?<\/p><\/div>\n
I placed the ribbon and flip flops\u00c2\u00a0on the\u00c2\u00a0embroidered dress.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0But just as I framed the picture, the ribbon took off like\u00c2\u00a0fishing line with a big bass on the hook.\u00c2\u00a0 Alastair had the reel of orange\/gold grosgrain\u00c2\u00a0and was headed for the kitchen.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
No amount of begging, cajoling or pleading convinced him to surrender\u00c2\u00a0the ribbon\u00c2\u00a0and there were no cookies –the universal kid currency– in this house.\u00c2\u00a0 RATS!!! Finally, the photo was taken with\u00c2\u00a029 lbs. of\u00c2\u00a0 little boy on one end of the ribbon and more Nana pounds than\u00c2\u00a0that anchoring the little bit of ribbon left in the photo.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whew.\u00c2\u00a0 So while these pics are not great–or even good–it’s all I can do for this blog with cats and kids participating.\u00c2\u00a0 And now about the sundress……..<\/p>\n
I love to see little girls in dresses.\u00c2\u00a0 At least here in Florida, everyday fashion is pretty much unisex–pants for all.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m as guilty as\u00c2\u00a0anyone as I\u00c2\u00a0galumph about \u00c2\u00a0in Capris or jeans or pants, but I still find great\u00c2\u00a0pleasure\u00c2\u00a0in seeing my granddaughter wearing feminine apparel.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d like to make her more dresses, but as always, there is a shortage of time. So I was happy as a big fat clam to find this \u00c2\u00a0little $8 knit sundress.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0With unlimited possibilities for embellishment, it is perfectly good “everyday” quality and\u00c2\u00a0delivers\u00c2\u00a0both the comfort and freedom of movement\u00c2\u00a0necessary for play.\u00c2\u00a0 Six year old Laurel Cade is as likely to be climbing a tree as to be hosting an impromptu\u00c2\u00a0tea party.\u00c2\u00a0 This dress would be suitable for either occasion.\u00c2\u00a0 And if it gets torn or stained, the loss is minimal.\u00c2\u00a0 Flip flops are the perfect footwear for a dress like this and Laurel loves wearing them.\u00c2\u00a0 With my newfound infatuation with bows–thank you www.learntomakebows.com<\/a>!– I planned to make toe bows to coordinate with the dress.\u00c2\u00a0 So I started with ribbon that picked up the colors in the sundress and then matched my embroidery design to the ribbon.\u00c2\u00a0As soon as the flip flop bows\u00c2\u00a0are finished, I’ll post a picture of the complete outfit.<\/p>\n The Lots of Dots<\/em> alphabet collection from Bunycup Embroidery is the source of the monogram.\u00c2\u00a0 Then I added three tiny buttons to the plain bow knot.\u00c2\u00a0 I like this dress so much that I bought another in pink and have decided to go back to buy one in lavender.\u00c2\u00a0 Each will have matching flip flops with bows.\u00c2\u00a0 That will be three similar, easy sundress outfits\u00c2\u00a0for Laurel, but Florida summers are long.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n If you have started sewing for summer, please share your ideas and projects.\u00c2\u00a0 I would love to hear about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c2\u00a0 Almost 2 year-old Alastair needed daycare this week.\u00c2\u00a0 His mother, my computer engineer daughter Rebecca, was called back to work full-time for a big project so I am tending the little guy on the west coast of Florida while … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n