where it began

I was introduced to smocking when my oldest daughter Karis was 15 months old. A good friend of mine, Ashley, taught me. And I am so grateful to her for getting me started. I had been sewing a little before, but this is when my love for sewing dresses began. I love sewing now and I have come a long way. I thought, if I am going to blog about this I had to start at the beginning. So here you go folks. My first smocked dress. Now do not look too closely at the details...or do, it was my first.

 

The smocking plate is Ellen McCarn's APRIL. It was a good one to start with. It is a "Sew Easy" Design. The dress is a Bishop.

 

why I sew

Growing up, my grandmother always sewed for us. I still remember the way her hands felt as she held up patterns to my body and measured me from head to toe. When I was old enough, she taught me how to sew basic things like pillows and lots of scrunchies. But it was not until I reached college that I really became interested in sewing. When I was pregnant with my first child she helped me sew the bedding for the nursery. She did most of it. Since then, I have enjoyed sewing for my children. And the first person I want to share it with is my grandmother. She is so proud of me and that is a very satisfying feeling. I love my Nannie so much. One of the first dresses I made was a smocked dress. I enjoy smocking for each of my children. It has also been fun creating new dresses for my girls from patterns that I have purchased to patterns I have created and tweaked. I created this blog really for myself. I wanted to write about what I have done and keep track of what there is to come. What began as a hobby has turned into a labor of love. I love sewing. I love creating. I love making clothes for my children and I love seeing how much they love it too. My name is Carly Hall and I love to sew.

What's in a name?

In Genesis 29 a true story is told of two sisters married to one man. Leah was the unlovely one, unloved by her husband Jacob. While he wanted Rachel for his wife, he got Leah by surprise. Rachel was the beautiful one, loved by Jacob. Yet, God's gift came to Leah. Not for beauty, but for grace, God gave Leah children, while He kept Rachel's womb closed. But Jacob still loved Rachel. Through the birth of her fourth son, Leah learns to praise the Lord, naming her son Judah. And through this son would come the King - Jesus. Leah learned that God is pleased to show grace to the unlovely, and to give joy to the broken hearted. She learned that her beauty is in the Lord.
My hope is the same. May I always find my beauty in Jesus because He is pleased to love me...Like Leah.