My step-by-step tutorial for this dress is posted at Brother’s Stitching Sewcial blog. Please take a look and leave a comment . I’d really appreciate your feedback.
It seems like forever since there has been a new post here, but My! Oh! My! have I been busy! Highlights include time in NC with family, a week at home with 2 younger grands, including hurricane Vivian Rose (good news, we have finally recovered. Whew!), several days of sewing with the two older grands and so much more.  It’s been a wonderful summer.
But I’m back in the saddle now and have a really fun little project to share with you. I do believe this sweet child’s dress would qualify for the “Modern Projects for Old Fashioned Nanas” category. Don’t you?
It started with this cute pattern
and the Finding Dory machine embroidery designs at iBroidery.com. The fabrics are a solid soft aqua Swiss cotton pique’ and a blue Disney Finding Dory quilting cotton.
This flexible curve ruler was used to draw the “waves” on the front panel.
By leaving the curve intact after the first wave was drawn, the following curves were identical. What a useful tool this is.
Like many of you readers, I tend to incorporate some of my favorite techniques in every project possible. The mostly machine made yo-yo, detailed in the Stitching Sewcial blog, is one I include again and again. My granddaughter has used the Clover yo-yo makers for those in her quilts. But even the largest Clover maker was not large enough for the sun on the bodice of this frock. So I resorted to using one of my Blue Willow bowls for a template.
This gave me a jumbo yo-yo sun.
The finished yo-yo was edged with an unusual trim that I always liked but sometimes wondered why I had purchased it years ago. How could I have known that I would need rays for my yo-yo sun? But isn’t it perfect for the sun rays? A big orange button covers the center hole, making a fairly convincing sun, at least if you are the little girl wearing the dress.
For those who have no access to the Finding Dory designs at ibroidery.com, other sealife designs could be used. I just think this any little girl would like this cool, summer dress. What do you think?
This is one of a few projects with which I am generally pleased. Usually, after finishing I wish I had done several things differently. It’s the old “woulda coulda shoulda” syndrome. Do you ever do that?
NANA FUN
Seven year old Alastair just returned from 3 weeks at a fabulous camp.  This is the very camp where my dear husband and I met as waterfront counselors many years ago. Magical as it was when we were there so many years ago, it is even better now. Activities include swimming, fishing, water skiing, sailing, and canoeing on beautiful Center Lake. Every sport from tennis to soccer is on the agenda, along with arts and crafts, cooking and much, much more.
What an incredible experience it was for him! We all were a little worried that 3 weeks was too long for such a young camper. But he was eager to go and is already signed up for the 4 week session next summer, though he would prefer the entire 7 weeks offered!
He looks like a happy camper to me.
His mother, our Rebecca, shared Alastair’s only reservation about his time at camp:
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