Fancy Feet

A woman at church who has 6 boys, just had her last child, a little girl.  I simply had to make her some fancy little shoes.  They were so much fun to do.  I used the sewing machine for parts but did the tiny soles and all the finish work by hand.  There is something so rewarding about working with your hands.
Sewing is much like writing to me.  I generally start with a basic idea, look at some patterns and then strike out on my own, editing along the way until I come out with a final product.  These shoes were no different.  I looked at about 7 different patterns, used a part of two different patterns and added a third pattern's tweak.  Then I adapted another pattern's technique for hiding the lining's seams.  Of course, there were some major erasures, as I ripped out seams that were just wrong, and lots of pinning the draft together before I did my polished finish seams.
When the basic shoe was completed I made ruffles from the same fabric.  Those ruffles were, in the end, edited out.  As with my writing, I had to look at the piece a while, place it in different spots, try shortening it, lengthening it, and finally just tossing it out.  Don't keep a favorite part when it just doesn't work for the piece.  I saved it though, and maybe it will look right on some other piece I sew.
That meant another trip to the fabric store to find something different that would work for the finishing touches.  Lace and embroidered flowers caught my eye...perfect.  Like finding the perfect wording.
I am pretty pleased with the results... such tiny shoes for those precious tiny toes.  They are fancy, but not too fancy.  Just the right dancy fancy for the first girl in their neighborhood.
I do hope they fit...