Valentine's Day. Poignant and heartfelt when there are littles in the house.
Such a flurry of activity to get cards and goody bags and teacher gifts together for two rather large classrooms. So much self-imposed pressure to be fabulous and organized and generous.
And... then this. The real deal. The true meaning. A Valentine personified.
Stella is still in pre-school. Unlike her brother, she can choose to go or not. Most days she goes for the sheer love of the experience. She is well cared-for and nutured there, and she dearly loves it.
But then there are the days that belong to us. Three generations of girls, stealing time in the middle of the week to celebrate the enormous gift of each other.
Stella recently got this dress at H & M. All of the profits went to Unicef, and we loved the idea of that.
And, even though this is Southern California and most days even in February are warm and pleasant in the afternoon, there is still a chill in the air in the early hours as well as the evenings.
A coat was in order. I have daydreamed about this coat for awhile, although I knew there would be many hours of handwork involved, and time is always the struggle when special projects are involved.
This past week, the time finally arrived.
The coat itself is a basic, classic shape, sewn in ivory fleece with a satin lining. Stella has inherited a slight allergy to 100% wool, so a good quality fleece substituted quite nicely.
The embellishments were chosen with Valentine's Day in mind, although there are no hearts.
Hand sewing is like prayer for me; a meditation on love and comfort and relationships. The luxury of time spent stitching something special for a precious child, adding memories with every thread.
A coat seems especially appropriate. Creating warmth and softness... hoping that she will feel wrapped in love and know how much of a treasure she is to me.
A twirl in the park is always a must. It's how Stella likes to test-drive a new outfit...
She seems pleased.
A velvety millinery flower and palest pink rumpled seam binding. Our favorite tarnished silver lace trim.
Large lace medallions, painstakingly sewn around the major details with metallic silver thread, and then cut away in the center.
Pink leaves, cut from a piece of lace and appliqued on. Rosebuds created from 100% wool felt, dyed the palest pink and hand-formed. Pink beaded leaf details.
We are not afraid to sit in the leaves. Nothing is too precious to be truly lived in.
It all brushes off nicely, ready to leave the park and head to a special Valentine's Day girls-only luncheon.
Where we will feel the love, and the comfort, and the threads that stitch our lives together so beautifully. We are blessed.
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Dress ~ H & M
Boots ~ Baby Gap
Tarnished Silver Lace ~ A Gilded Life
Pink Lace for Leaves ~ A Gilded Life
Millinery Flower ~ A Gilded Life (listed soon)
