This adorable dress sewn by Tina Wood and modeled by her daughter Mara won 1st Place in the Children's Sewing Contest.

"This is my daughter Mara wearing her birthday dress, which I made for her 2nd birthday. The pattern is Sunrise Designs #249 - Cherish, with a few modifications of my own.

I added bands on the long sleeves instead of elastic and I also smocked the front instead of gathering it, which required raising the yoke line about 4 inches. For the pantaloons, I left the bottoms straight and put in four pintucks and edged them with lace.

I used white pima cotton for the collar, cuffs and pantaloons and a Liberty of Llondon copycat fabric for the dress. I purchased these online at Fabrics Unlimited which has great prices on quality fabrics. I designed the smocking myself, which is easier for me than trying to follow a graph.

Mara lover her new dress and gets lots of compliments on it at church! So much of a mother's work is "undone" by day's end, I love spending time creating things that will last!"

Caroline wrote:

"My daughter Diana (4 ½) and I have been reading Heidi. Every night, before bed, I read her a chapter. This is the first chapter book (very few pictures) that she's had the attention span for. It is very exciting to see her mind develop!

When I saw Cherish (SD#249) by Sunrise Designs, I knew the Heidi dress would be perfect for her. This is the first little girls' dress I've ever made. I went into my voluminous quilting stash and found some blue calico I'd purchased for $1.79 on sale and some blue gingham scraps from a recently-made quilt. Yippee! I had enought for the dress. Diana couldn't have been more thrilled. She and I are both very pleased with the dress.

I found the pattern directions precise and easy to follow. The entire dress cost perhaps $8.00. It is so much fun to make a little girl's dress with mnay ruffles and ties. As you can see, she looks adorable in it. She is very proud of it and tells anyone who comments on it, "My Mommy made it.

" Thank you for your great patterns and excellent website."

The Best Nursing Photo award for this quarter goes to Marcie Kinney. In this photo Marcie is nursing her son Jacob while modeling a pink knit dress she fashioned from NC#204. Marcie made the nursing pillow with the TLC nursing pillow pattern! The embroidery is really a nice touch!