What am I going to do with all my free time?

Shhhh! Don't tell anybody!

I made it through my crazy months of January and February, and all my huge projects are done! Things culminated on Sunday when I led our 45-voice Stake Primary choir in stake conference. They were beautiful! It was a completely amazing experience to see all those weeks of hard work end in a final performance that was breathtaking!

But I am not really wondering what to do with my free time. I have plans! I've had plans for weeks, and now I am just praying that nothing comes along to get in the way of my plans, because now I get to do something that I really, really, really want to do!

Two years ago when Sariah was sealed to us, I fell in love with this dress:

I know the picture doesn't do it justice, and I can't find my disk that had tons of close-ups of the details. It was an heirloom-style dress, looking just like something a baby girl would have worn decades ago. Even the ladies in the temple nursery asked me if it was an antique. It was quite different from what most of my friends little girls have been sealed in, but I loved it. Shortly after buying it, I came across Sew Beautiful magazine, a magazine devoted to heirloom sewing--a magazine where people were actually making dresses very similar to the one I had.

At that point, I decided that heirloom sewing was a hobby I wanted to explore. Sariah was sealed in February of 2007, and I decided that when our next child was sealed, I wanted to make the outfit myself. I knew I would need some experience, so I decided to start by making Sariah an Easter dress. Well, that plan never really got off the ground. I ordered a pattern, but discovered the fabrics and other materials to be hugely expensive, and then I got busy, and somehow heirloom sewing got placed on a very back burner in my life.

But for some reason, this past winter, thoughts of heirloom sewing came back to me--forcefully. And this time, I decided that FOR REAL I was REALLY going to do this. Instead of just letting it be a far-off dream, I had the ability to make it a true hobby, so why not? Why wait any longer? It came as I pondered things to do to pass the time while waiting to adopt another baby, things to create for this new child. I wanted to be able to put my time and energy into making something very special for a new baby who would be joining us.

Once again, I needed a beginner project. I need some practical experience before I delve into making coming-home outfits or sealing gowns. So I've decided to finish the project that germinated in my mind two years ago: I'm making Sariah an Easter dress. I now have my pattern and materials, so I have no excuses!

This really is a very simple dress by heirloom standards. Just a bit of lace at the bottom, fairly simple pleats and tucks, etc. But--that is hand embroidery on the front, and I haven't embroidered in probably 25 years, since I was a young teen attempting to make a dresser scarf for my mother, a dresser scarf that took probably 2-3 years for me to finish.

I am so excited that I can hardly stand it! Finally, instead of dreaming about being able to do this, I will be doing it! Sariah is very excited too. Almost every day she begs me to start making her dress. And of course, the pink fabric is in honor of Miss Pinkalicious herself!