And how old are you today???

My baby is ONE...today! I'm really not sure where the last 365 days have gone. It seems like just minutes ago that her curly little head made its way into the world (with black hair!!!). And suddenly she is walking and talking and causing trouble. Whoever has the remote for our little world - will you please push rewind, or at the very least, pause? She's my last baby and I would really like some more time to enjoy her soapy smell, wobbly waddle, squishy thighs, and sweet giggles.

In honor of Bee's birthday - A BIRTHDAY DRESS! So your little gal can tell the world exactly "how many" she is:)

1. I used the Tuesday Top pattern from googooagogo.etsy.com. The body is a gorgeous turquoise damask print and has sweet grass green dot flutter sleeve.

2. For just a bit of additional interest, instead of using a solid panel for the back I added a narrow 1.5" strip of the sleeve fabric down the middle. To do this I cut a long strip of green and sewed it between two rectangles of blue. Then I made sure to center the pattern piece over the stripe before I cut the back panel.

3. When the dress was finished I added the applique "1." I played with the direction of the stripes and eventually fell in love with the diagonal placement...kind of a men's necktie style stripe:) I drew the number on paper, then created a mirror image. The easiest way for me to do this is to go over the outline in dark, heavy marker. Then I can just turn the paper over and trace the outline on the back of the paper. I traced the mirror image onto iron-on fusing paper, cut around the image and followed the package instructions to fuse it first to the wrong side of my fabric then to the dress. I used a wide zigzag to stitch around the edges.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEE!!!!!