Hello, lovely Hivers!
Hope you are all well, Wishing everyone a blissful week.
Sometimes life throws challenges at us so can become more appreciative of things we took for granted, there is a popular story about a man who felt bad and depressed because he had no shoes and thought life was worst for him, not until he saw someone without legs did he realize how ungrateful he has been, he doesn't have a shoe today doesn't mean he won't have tomorrow, but the man with an amputated leg can't grow them back, yet, he is grateful to have life.
People often wonder why I am so emotional about birthdays especially that of my first child, I became more appreciative about life through my daughter, growing up, I was lucky to be in good health and never had any reason to get admitted to the hospital, the only periods I visited was to get my updated medical records for my school clearance, during pregnancy and her birth, which was more like a maternity home. She got very ill just right before her 1st year and almost gave up on my arms if not for the quick response of the medical team on ground and God grace, that was when I had to stay with her in the hospital for months before she was discharged,
The experiences from those few months changed my view about life and how delicate it can be, now, I'm more thankful, she had her first birthday in the hospital, on a sick bed, battling for her life, and as a mother, you can imagine how traumatized I was, still, her dad insisted we share some birthday cake, biscuit and sweet to the children in the ward we were in as long as the doctor permitted, and so we did in her unconscious state, and even sang happy birthday songs.
These memories are the reason why I'm always grateful for every birthday, especially in good health, a healthy man doesn't know how wealthy he is until sickness strikes, so we should be thankful for life, you can even go ahead to give yourself or loved ones special treats on their birthday.
One creative thing I love doing on birthdays is making a beautiful dress, I bought 6 yards of African print which I used in making my daughter's birthday dress I shared here two weeks ago, one of us here in the needleworkmonday community was keen enough to observe my reflection in one of the pictures I shared, so I thought to share the inspiration behind the dress.
After making the dresses of my daughters out of the six yards of ankara fabric, there were two yards of fabric remaining, and I thought to make myself something at die minute so I could twin with my daughter on her big day, it was late already, so I didn't get motivated to take pictures of me making my tube dress, in summary, it's a bustier tube pattern above and a straight skirt pattern below, joined at the waist and sides, then a zipper to close up the back. thankfully I am a size 8, so I could manage to make a long-length tube dress, I thought of using a scarf or an old jacket to cover my shoulders since I would be wearing the dress to church, and by morning I was done making the dress, but finding a jacket that matched, Even scarf became a daunting task.
Then I thought of finding a creative way to cover my shoulders, I have nothing against wearing tube dresses, but my local church likes a woman's shoulders covered, so I had to dress as expected, I almost gave up the idea of twinning with my daughter on her big day, not until I remembered a style I had overlooked on the internet some months back, I can't remember exactly how it looked, but I had an idea of what to do, thankfully, I had a white soft crepe fabric, as white was also part of the colors on the African print, so it matched.
I went on to draft a basic bodice, making the length stop right above my busy area on the side, and made an upward curve on the front, to give it a keyhole illusion with my tube dress.
I added a short white zipper to the back bodice, I exhausted my white threads, so I had to make do with the black thread, it felt funny joining the ranks of seamstresses who use whatever thread is available on their own dresses. š
For the sleeves, my drama queen instinct kicked in forgetting I had less time to prepare, and I gave in, with a free-hand sketch, I drafted this mutton sleeve pattern
Here is how it looks on fold, next, I pleated it around my mini jacket armhole, just in time for church, and also give thanks to God for adding another year to my first fruit Elena.
Birthdays, once ordinary, now carry a deep significance as moments of thankfulness for the gift of life and good health. What are your thoughts on finding gratitude in challenging times and celebrating life's milestones with creativity and appreciation? Have you ever experienced a situation that made you reevaluate the importance of gratitude and celebrating life? I'd love to know your thoughts as well.
Thank you for reading.
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All images used in this post are mine