bethelbaby

My first experience in the art that is sewing happened at my "Bama's" dining room table. In between the discovery and frustration that we both journeyed through, I (we) produced a one piece romper out of vintage floral material that came from my grandmother's fabric stash that was accented with orange buttons at the shoulder. I was seven years old. To this day, my Bama is in love with the fact that I still love sewing. I blame my fabric habit on her. :)

At age eight, I joined my local 4-H club and participated in the Clothing and Textiles project every spring. There was the measuring and fabric shopping to prepare and then there were six successive Saturdays of communal sewing. As our project leader roamed the room helping moms and grandmothers guide their kids through their projects though cutting to completion, we all learned that she didn't take "It'll do" for an answer. If the seam wasn't right, out it came and we were repeating ourselves. I gained an eye for perfection and adopted her view of what that entailed. To this day, it has to be right or my friend the seam ripper comes for a visit.

Fast forward to 2010. I hadn't sewn in a couple of years. I had made my wedding dress and helped with bridesmaid dresses for my August 2007 wedding. I was tired and burned out when I finished and had so many new things to focus on for a while so in my new home my machine was put in a closet and stayed there for 3 years. I was beginning to feel like something was missing in my life and it took me a while to figure out that I had pushed creativity to the back burner in my new life. Out came the machine. I had some friends having babies and started to create for them. It felt so good! I ran out of reasons to make baby gear but just kept going. Soon I was setting up booths at craft fairs and then ran across Etsy. So, here I am!

One reason I love sewing and designing for children is the fact that I value life and believe every one that is created is valuable and special. Not one life is the same. I want my items reflect the respect and love I have for little lives. My hope is that moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends of each of these unique individuals can find items that reflect the style and personality of the littles they love!

Another way my shop helps with my lifestyle of valuing life is by providing extra income that I can use to support moms and babies. 10% of every sale is given to Compassion International's Child Survival Program. This program trains moms in the care of their infants from nutrition and hygiene to educational and spiritual. I am a big believer in this program. If you would like more information the website is: www.compassion.com/Child-Survival

Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little bit! I would love to hear from you here or on my Facebook page!

Love, Bethany