The Easter Outfits

For all of my growing up years, each Easter was the same. Here is the scenario that played out year after year:

My mom would sew my Easter dress--sometimes matching hers and Grandma's. Of course, true to her personality, it was almost always done last minute. The Saturday night before Easter was the same. Mom would be in the sewing room hurrying to finish my dress, while I would be in the adjoining kitchen dying the Easter eggs that she had signed up to bring for the next day's egg hunt at church. I would invariably have stained hands to go along with my new dress. (Mom always told me that is why the tradition of Easter gloves.)

After my egg dying was finished, and I could no longer keep my little eyes open, I would guiltily recede to my bedroom while my mom continued to burn the midnight oil. The next morning I would awaken to find my new Easter outfit hanging from the poster of my canopy bed.

We had purchased an ivory dress for Bethani some time back that needed a short jacket. It seemed perfect for Easter, so I decided on Wednesday that I should sew Bethani’s jacket. I went to my closet and found nothing with which to make it. I did, however, find a piece of salmon colored silk dupion. So, I made up a dress. Of course, it was a sleeveless dress, so now instead of ONE jacket, I needed to make TWO. I apparently didn’t help my cause any.






Thursday we went to the store and bought material for the ivory jacket. Friday I made the second jacket and helped Bethani make her American doll her own matching dress.






Saturday morning I woke up and wondered, “Hey, what about me and my needs???” So, I went to the infamous closet and found a nice piece of blue linen, picked out a pattern, and by midnight had a new suit for myself. It was totally unplanned, but typical of my Easter weekend--in fact it wouldn't have seemed normal any other way.

While I was upstairs sewing, Bethani was downstairs dying eggs. To her dismay, however, the next morning she could only find one glove for her stained hands.

Today, Bethani sleeps in the bed I grew up in. There have been several years when she too has awaken the next morning to find her dress hanging on the post of her canopy. This year she asked if she could hang her Easter dress on the post even though it was finished 2 DAYS EARLY!

Memories, sweet memories...

(The ivory jacket still isn't made. I wonder what the aversion is? I really need to get busy.)