Green winter dress, thoughts on five years old

Green winter dress Second winter dress, an inch longer, different collar and different skirt gathering - same pattern (butterick 3200). I like to evaluate the fit of the first one before going on to the next, so yesterday I watched her wearing the other dress and decided the collar could be a tiny bit more open for her, the sleeves (which I worried about) were actually perfect and the gathering on the first skirt was so time consuming I tried this again to save some work. I used to do all of her skirts like this.

I am thinking of a button up shirt next, with long sleeves, and a pair of matching pants. I can whip the pants out in an hour - but the shirt takes more fortitude... This is my last day off for a while. I want to get the Swiss Chard and rutabaga in the ground and we need to put the plastic up on the windows today, as well. Mark just finished roasting pulled pork for the week and it is good... we are hoping for that to be part of our Thanksgiving to bring up to Grandma, with roasted apples and rice.

Esme is watching Emperor's New Groove. She likes the man turning into a camel (llama, really). We watched some Eskimo things on Youtube this morning, building an igloo and catching fish. She watched them cut the fish and said it was Ewww, but also that they could put them on a fire and make them good. I have been showing her how to 'check the weather' for me in the morning in the same way I had her start learning to tell time. She learns to read her numbers that way, too. It's fun to see what she can do and what she is interested in. We played 'train' yesterday where we put pillows on the end of the bed to drive the train and identified stops (sheep world, dragon world, word world etc..) so things could get on, get tickets, get off etc etc... Mark also found a brush yesterday that says it is a teasing brush - but does a very good job on Esme's hair without pulling on it. We want her to make attempts at brushing her own hair with it to keep it in better condition between washings.

We've also been testing her brain lately with logic. It helps to see her try to figure out what to say - and encourages her to think new things. That was what the Eskimo thing was about - she said she was not an Eskimo, she was a person named Esme. I told her about Eskimoes on that note, and how they used to live in igloos and still build them and catch fish. Other logic things : 'Don't get Mouse cat's tail stuck in the door' (she is a Manx), now she makes sure the cat has a tail before she tells me she is being careful of their tail and the door. We also told her to 'Go out and build a tree.' of which she said this to me : 'But, Mama can build a tree - with a door and a door and a house! Mama can make a tree house!' Where? 'Here!' In the house? A tree house in a house would be a house house? To that, she sighed and rolled her eyes and then told me it would be tiny, a tree on the floor, and like pretend, and she would have me build it with sewing tiny so she could put her pretend figure in it. She has repeated that request this morning. The kid thinks I can sew anything ;) Ha.

I was watching Esme sprawled out napping while watching a show last night and also watching Daphne puppy sprawled out on a beanbag asleep - and thinking about how all of our young ones are stretching and growing and becoming all feet and legs. Watching her run to Grandma's house, and then later walk back with Grandma, dancing and swirling around her as she meets Daddy on the driveway.. pulling on arms, spinning, waiting patiently as they talk, waiting impatiently... running, laughing and dashing for the door.... I see her growing in many ways lately - quickly, in spurts.. I walk into her room and find blocks everywhere, figures, 'stories' set up like miniature plays. She is reading and spelling more small words, using bigger words in her speech and working hard at her syntax.

Playing with Poof kitten

Wearing her first new winter dress, playing with Poof kitten I went through the fabric boxes yesterday and washed and stacked the things I will need to make her a few more after this same pattern. I have a green one with white sleeves cut out and ready to go. She will need at least two more dresses this size and a few more pairs of pants.   // Butterick pattern #3200, size 6, only alteration made was shortening the skirt //

The other day she was playing with Poof and her Mr.Frog toy and Daddy caught this shot of her with her tongue out.   This was just after I posted the magic show pics and had went to work.

We went to town today to get some plastic to insulate the windows, and a few other things.  I had her wear the dress and it fit well under her blue knit coat.  She has been watching Martha Speaks on PBSkids.org for days and now 'Martha' the invisible dog is always present and she feeds her steaks and leading her on a leash.





Butterick 3200
1960s, size 6
bought February 2011, and now in good use // Made the second dress today while Esme was at her Grandma's house. It is green with snowflake white sleeves, slightly different cut to the neck and treatment to the skirt gathering, but same everything else. It is nice to make some progress during days off. They take about a half hour or so to cut out, and about two hours to sew - and that can be hard to scrape that amount of time some days. Esme is watching Daddy play Skyrim now and telling him he needs to go to protect the village, she loves her village, it is safe now from the dragon.

Playtime Magic Show

Sitting with Kitty, Sponge bob and an imaginary friend watching 'cartoon' on the magic show box we made months and months ago.

Having a magic show.  Abracadabra, and he is gone! (not really, he is behind her back) 

Concentrating on her lego mini figures 

Oh, and she wants a pony, that talks... gotta record when that first happened ;)
I had to be her new friend Sponge bob and talk for him while she gave him the 'tour' of the room.. although he has been there for months.  She gave Sponge bob a great description of her room, that he was on Earth now, and not in Bikini Bottom, and that Mr.Krabs can't reach her piggy bank because he is no taller than her and she can't reach the shelf it is on either.  She showed Sponge bob the Earth map she had (Solar system poster) and told him all about her birthday party and Dreamlite and when Gwennie came to play.

Planning Winter dresses - first one

How to spend a Tuesday night sewing a dress and talking about the azimuth of the sun, axial tilt and how it pertains to day length and solar radiation...  Mark and I decided that Esme needs a better science book, as hers only gave half the story when we went to look at it.  I should have called my Mom - I have been hearing her voice in my dreams, her symbols - telephone everywhere in my subconscious.... this always happens.  But, I wanted to do this, and I didn't think it would get done.  Also, my sister and sister-in-law were having a catfight on my facebook page, so I decided to delete the message they were fighting over and have some peace and quiet for the night.  Esme began playing a weather dressup game on pbs along with her SuperWhy - and that led Mark and I into a scientific discussion about the weather.

Butterick pattern 3200 circa 1960, girls size 6 

Almost done, needs the sleeves finished, hem at the bottom, zipper in back.

This is the first for the winter, and if it fits well, several more will follow.  If it doesn't, I'll try another pattern in the box and see what gets me there best.

Homefront

Esme has been playing Super Why all morning on my computer, doing quite well on her spelling practice.  She is sounding out more in both her many pbs kids games and also in her forays into Daddy's Skyrim playing around the town, reading the 'talks' as she calls them and learning the commands.  I also had her trace the words 'giraffe' and 'spaceship' into her letter to Santa yesterday.  She did okay, but she needs more practice and gets antsy quickly.. but because it was a letter to Santa she paid a lot of attention to it.  She says he lives at the Christmas House and she lives at the Green House.  Sending this letter out means 1.) she can't change her mind (much) and 2.) we have time to collect the Santa presents and then choose a few extras from Mom and Dad. 

I've been sorting cloth for winter dresses and making a flat sheet for her bed.  I have enough cloth of that to make her a second one, too.  I put several of the things harvested from the garden into a lunch to take to work.  Glad to have a nice house and warm things, crafts to make for the 'homestead' etc etc...  Esme is playing Ring around the Rosie with her puppy and foot wrestling.  We had a talk first thing this morning about her keeping her kitten locked in her room and being mad when she escaped.  It was the 'if you love something you can't keep it in a cage because it is not fair to it - it needs to run and play and eat food and all of the things you like to do when you run around the house.'  She cried a bit longer on the stairs and then came to me saying she 'I understand.  Mama, you said the right words.'  I hope she did understand.  And I know that is a lesson for me, too -- watching her play at the park and trying to keep an eye but let her run free at the same time, that was resonant.

Cleaning out the Garden

  Dancing with Daphne puppy
Mark looks like he is dancing, too  

  Filling up the water dish  

Beans in hands

Mark says we'll look back on these pictures and say: 'were we ever this young...'  

Found these again after had already been through it... going to leave this plant for a bit longer  

Putting beans in the pocket of the skirt

You're throwing sticks, now?

Esme saying: 'Look at me!' beyond the fence

Red Marigolds

Plowing up the garden with an audience

The Cub Cadet was still a good investment, it just took a little bit of fighting

 and it started up and went right to work.

Yellow Marigolds

I have not been able to identify this.. but it is prolific I love the slight rose tint to the beans when they are dried... there are a lot more drying on strings and I hope to replant them next year as well.  

Yesterday's haul.. there was more today but not as spectacular of a spread.   I took Esme out to the park yesterday after a short session collecting in the garden. It was such a nice warm day, and I took some knitting to bide the time. Esme had a great time with the children, and showed great social skills. Her language is improving here and there - I am surprised by many things lately. She told a toy it's mom was 'not even home yet, she is at the store' when it was crying during one of her pretends.. 'not even' was something I had never heard before. She also told the Simpsons children figures to get into her truck because they were all going to Alaska (like in the movie), she pronounced Alaska very slowly and deliberately - and then proceeded to tell them about the snow and needing coats and hats and building a house there.

I've been out in the garden today winding up fences and wires, pulling stakes and poles up and also cornstalks and sunflower stalks. I found one good ear of corn from the last bed of sweet corn we planted, and one from the last field corn. I replaced a tiny bit of the sunflower seed that had been demolished in our drying room by a mouse. I put it in a canning jar with a lid this time, even though Mark is sure that was the only one.

 I am headed back out to the garden in a bit to do some more work... Mark thinks we could till an area for winter crops this week or so, and then scrape the west field down and put vetch over it. Ambitious.. we will see.