Drawing on the Powers of Heaven
When Elizabeth was asked to prom I immediately felt stress over finding her a dress...one that would fit & one that would be modest. In looking for a dress on-line I quickly realized there are lots of modest dresses out there if you have lots of time to have them shipped. We only had two weeks, so the shopping then went to which dresses could be easily altered to become modest. She settled on a beautiful dress that would simply need the bodice lined. I reached out to a dear friend who is an amazing seamstress who could accomplish the task much quicker and with greater skill than I ever could.
When we picked up the dress and Elizabeth tried it on, it didn't seem to lay just right. The sleeves seemed to be shorter & arm holes fit tighter. The lace of the bodice seemed bunchy. It looked fine, but didn't fit how it did before we added the lining. I mentioned to my friend that it seemed to fit a little different that before and wondered what she thought. She felt it looked fine, and not wanting to be a pain or hurt her feelings but also wanting Elizabeth to feel comfortable, look fabulous, and be modest I began to look at what my talented friend had done to see what was going on. I noticed that it was just how the lining was attached to the bodice.When I began to undo the beautiful and carefully done hand stitching I realized that the lining was actually smaller than the dress bodice and the only way to have the bodice lay & fit correctly was to completely start over...just two days before prom, Ahhh!
Where was I going to get fabric? I had purchased the other fabric for the lining in Bullhead, an hour away. I did not have time to go there. Walmart was my only option...I had casually looked when I was there earlier that day and noticed they did indeed have lining fabric. I made a late night tromp to Walmart to discover that the color of their lining fabric wasn't just right. As I looked around a little more I discovered the most perfect fabric...not sure what kind it was...it had no label, but it was the perfect color, perfect weight & they had plenty.
Once I got home I set to work to create a lining for Elizabeth's dress from scratch. I know how to sew, I took four semesters of sewing classes in high school after all, but it had been years since I have used those skills. I kept a prayer in my heart, "Heavenly Father, please help me! Guide me! This is all so that Elizabeth can have a modest dress" I did not have a master plan of how to complete this task. I jokingly, but kind of seriously, told Elizabeth, "I'm just making it up as I go." With each step I repeated my little prayer and a miracle began to unfold...with each step things worked out smoothly & her dress turned out beautifully! It fit great, she could move, she could dance & she was modest!
I was telling my mom about my experience with the dress & was feeling bad that I had taken up my friends time, only to undo all of her hard work. But, I never would have had some of the ideas for the process of how to create the bodice if it wasn't for seeing how she had done it. I was also telling my mom, how I prayed and felt I was guided along with each step. My prayers had been answered!! I gratefully knew that I had received heaven's help to alter Elizabeth's dress. My mom kindly asked me about Paul's Grandma who had passed away several years ago and suggested that she was there helping me. Yes, Grandma Westergard was quite a good seamstress. In fact there are many of Elizabeth's ancestors, Great-Grandma's a number of generations back, who were very accomplished seamstresses.
I immediately felt the spirit confirm to me that indeed there were others from beyond the veil who had helped me and guided me to do a task that was far beyond my ability. That these sweet ladies love their grand-daughter, Elizabeth, and were all too happy to help from the other side of the veil!
When we picked up the dress and Elizabeth tried it on, it didn't seem to lay just right. The sleeves seemed to be shorter & arm holes fit tighter. The lace of the bodice seemed bunchy. It looked fine, but didn't fit how it did before we added the lining. I mentioned to my friend that it seemed to fit a little different that before and wondered what she thought. She felt it looked fine, and not wanting to be a pain or hurt her feelings but also wanting Elizabeth to feel comfortable, look fabulous, and be modest I began to look at what my talented friend had done to see what was going on. I noticed that it was just how the lining was attached to the bodice.When I began to undo the beautiful and carefully done hand stitching I realized that the lining was actually smaller than the dress bodice and the only way to have the bodice lay & fit correctly was to completely start over...just two days before prom, Ahhh!
Where was I going to get fabric? I had purchased the other fabric for the lining in Bullhead, an hour away. I did not have time to go there. Walmart was my only option...I had casually looked when I was there earlier that day and noticed they did indeed have lining fabric. I made a late night tromp to Walmart to discover that the color of their lining fabric wasn't just right. As I looked around a little more I discovered the most perfect fabric...not sure what kind it was...it had no label, but it was the perfect color, perfect weight & they had plenty.
Once I got home I set to work to create a lining for Elizabeth's dress from scratch. I know how to sew, I took four semesters of sewing classes in high school after all, but it had been years since I have used those skills. I kept a prayer in my heart, "Heavenly Father, please help me! Guide me! This is all so that Elizabeth can have a modest dress" I did not have a master plan of how to complete this task. I jokingly, but kind of seriously, told Elizabeth, "I'm just making it up as I go." With each step I repeated my little prayer and a miracle began to unfold...with each step things worked out smoothly & her dress turned out beautifully! It fit great, she could move, she could dance & she was modest!
I was telling my mom about my experience with the dress & was feeling bad that I had taken up my friends time, only to undo all of her hard work. But, I never would have had some of the ideas for the process of how to create the bodice if it wasn't for seeing how she had done it. I was also telling my mom, how I prayed and felt I was guided along with each step. My prayers had been answered!! I gratefully knew that I had received heaven's help to alter Elizabeth's dress. My mom kindly asked me about Paul's Grandma who had passed away several years ago and suggested that she was there helping me. Yes, Grandma Westergard was quite a good seamstress. In fact there are many of Elizabeth's ancestors, Great-Grandma's a number of generations back, who were very accomplished seamstresses.
I immediately felt the spirit confirm to me that indeed there were others from beyond the veil who had helped me and guided me to do a task that was far beyond my ability. That these sweet ladies love their grand-daughter, Elizabeth, and were all too happy to help from the other side of the veil!
Comments