more pictures

I got word that my pictures weren't going through so it discouraged me from recording more of my sewing adventures.  Ill try to post a few pictures now and see what happens.  This dress was such a tender experience.  I was asked to create a tiny gown for a little baby girl out of her mamas wedding gown.

the next few I am working with

The next two donations just happened to be very similar!  So awesome
  I have some great plans for these dresses!

A donation of two more gowns- one black- one black and white

  I didnt know how to use these gorgeous gowns!!  Often times the scale of the dresses are only for a grown person, not so much for a tiny tiny person.  I ended up using the black beading  on the dress on the right for tiny vests.  They were beautifully beaded and worked up nicely for the vests, and the white fabric from the gown on the left was used for the body of the tiny gowns. 

Angel Gowns for Dignity

When I was first starting this project, I was contacting different organizations to see if I could sew for them.  I contacted Angel Gowns for Dignity and was contacted by Jen.  We eventually met up in American Fork and she gave me two wedding gowns to work with.  I actually had a stash of tiny gowns to give to someone, so I gave a few of my finished gowns to Jen that day.  The first wedding dress was made from a knit fabric and I wondered if I could work with it,  The sencond dress had some beautiful window type applique cut outs in the skirt.  They were both awesome and beautiful.
  

 

March 10- approx.
Another donation came right to my door!  Such a sweet lady.  She brought me two dresses as well.  Here is her dress and the tiny gowns created from it
 the second gown made these

The second of two gowns

Here is the other gown that was donated.  It is so beautiful and so elegant in its simplicity.  The lady that brought the 2 donations told me she had lost a little boy baby.  I hadn't made her gown into any boy gowns, so I dedicated my work with this other gown to her little boy Dakota.

This is the first of the 2 donations.  The beading was so gorgeous and the fabric so soft.






I made all the gowns for little girls. This was such a feminine dress it was difficult to know how to make little boys gowns.  I did create a few tiny pouches and wraps for any little tiny sweetheart that needs one, boy or girl.

A donation that turned into 2 donations!

A gal near by heard of my collecting efforts and told me she would bring her gown by.  She ended up bringing two!! She had told a friend about the cause and her friend wanted to donate too.
I started on the first dress and I am working on it now.  The dress is gorgeous and had lots of beading and a lot of cut outs.  I could tell already that this dress would be best used for more feminine angel gowns.  I would need to be clever and try to do some pouches to be used by either tiny boys or girls.  I am almost finished working with this dress.  I actually made the angel gowns in the largest size to best use the beautiful cut out and beading designs.  I will post pictures soon.

February 25 the hand off was at Joanns fabric store parking lot

This was such a great gown to work with.  The tiny flowers were perfectly proportion for angel gowns.  I used the tunic pattern to make small gowns.  Such a beautiful donation.
  

Working with a beautiful gold cotton dress- Feb 7

Hi Connie,

I found your email address on the Facebook page for angel dresses.  I live in Linden, Va.  I am wondering if you would be interested in receiving my wedding dress to create an angel dress.  

I was so happy to get this email.  I think I am getting addicted to this kind of sweet offering.  This gal sent her dress registered mail.  I knew that was because she loved her dress so much.  This dress was a little different as it was cotton with gold threads in creating the print.  It was beautiful.  Here it is and the little angel gowns that came from it.  I also made a few small buntings and wraps for little ones too tiny for the gowns.

I am always so honored when others trust me with something so special.

Early February- a nurse donates her dress

In search of more sources of wedding dresses, I put an add on KSL classified ads under Charity- Soon I got a text message from someone wanting to donate.   She is a home health nurse, a profession I consider completely angelic.  When she came by she mentioned she used to work in NICU and as we talked she said American Fork Hospital was not a high level of care hospital for deliveries. They would send any suspected problems to another hospital. The bottom line being that American Fork Hospital probably would not need 10 angel gowns a month.  (She also mentioned that generally little boy gowns are more needed over girl gowns, which is tricky since wedding gowns are mostly feminine)
  That made me think maybe I need to know of more places I could donate the angel gowns. Here is the gown from my friend the home health nurse and a few of the tiny gowns that are ready to donate.

The anonymous donor

In January I was still looking for organizations to partner with to donate my sewn gowns to.  I contacted a group that I found on FaceBook Utah Angel Gowns.  They are in Tooele Utah, but helped me set up a wedding gown drop off event at my home.  During the three day drop off, only one dress came in. It was left at my door step and I don't know who brought it.  It was very kind and I wish I could show the donating person what became of her dresses.  Here are some of the pictures from that gown.
  

     

Two Sisters donation and a little bit more

In December my mentor told me she wanted to simplify her operation, and asked me to choose a hospital to donate to and wing it on my own.  She said she had plenty of donated wedding dresses for me to use, but I figured it was time to start finding my own donations.  I found a few nation wide angel gown organizations, and asked if I could be part of their Utah team.  That means I would be on their list as a place to mail wedding dresses to.  I was able to get my information on a few of the web sites.  The dresses started to trickle in.  The first one was from Northern Utah.  Then I got a dress from a gal north of Salt Lake.  I made her gowns, with a promise to send her pictures of the creations.  After the tiny gowns were made, I sent her the pictures and the next day I got an email from her sister.  They had worn the same gown to be married in and she was happy that the gown had been used for angel gowns, but asked if there were any remnants I could mail back to her.  She wanted to make a little something for her daughter and niece from that fabric.  I said I did and that I would be happy to sew the remnants into anything she would like.   She asked for two small drawstring bags.  Here's the response I got after I had mailed them to her--

Connie,

There are not enough words to say how I am feeling. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. The bags are absolutely beautiful. They are exactly what I envisioned, and more. Your work is breathtaking. I understand that you aren't particularly comfortable with being paid for your work, but these are just too incredible to not compensate you in some way. N and I will come up with something that we see fitting. Unless, of course, you have decided to accept cash. Ü I would like your permission to post photos of these keepsakes on my social media. I would put that we commissioned you for the project, as I wouldn't want people who donate to expect such items. Would that work for you? I will happily tag you and sing/type your praises. 

I will take Ns over to her tonight, with both of our kids present. That way, we can pick the right one for each of us. I am ecstatic. This is such a wonderful way to share a part of our wedding dress with our children. Thank you is just not enough, but I will say it over and over. 

I will follow up with my friends about donating their dresses. In addition, I am wondering if you take donations of other types of dresses (bridesmaids, prom, etc.)? There may be friends that have these types of donations too. 

My heart is super full today. I am so grateful for you. You do amazing things, Connie. You are blessing many people's lives by being you. 

Much love,

B

OH MY GOODNESS!!! could that be any better??    Here are the pictures 

    We commissioned Connie to use our wedding dress remnants to make something for K and E. Sweet Connie outdid herself yet again. Not only did she make a beautiful jewelry bag for each of our daughters, but she also made one for each of us. Such remarkable skill. My heart overflows with emotion; decades of love and hope tied into 4 little satchels. Who knew there was so much love stored in this flowing fabric? —

December- my first donation- mailed to me!- turned into angel gowns

Working with my Mentor

For about 3 months I worked with the gal in Springville.  She asked that I bring back 10 gowns every month made from the dresses she provided me.  She asked that use felt to make the little boy gowns a bit more boyish...  So I followed her simple pattern and very much enjoyed the process.

a few of the first donations

 

I made this weighted little doll for gown size perspective