snow, a shower gift, and a waiting game

It's April 20 by the calendar but you'd never guess looking outside the windows today. Though the thermometer says 40, it has been snowing for the second straight day. I can feel that the sun wants to shine but the clouds so far are just a little too thick for the sun to penetrate. It isn't just a dusting, either. I had to retrieve the shovel from the garage. Grrr.
More pleasantly, I am happy to report that I finally finished the shower gift for my niece, whose shower was last Saturday! I don't suppose she'll mind opening my gift late. I just wish I had finished it in time. She'll think I don't care.
I had crocheted the little jacket weeks ago.
But I wanted to sew a jumpsuit to go with it.  I couldn't find snap tape for the leg openings (who wants to wrestle with clothes when changing diapers?!), so on to  plan B,  a little sundress. The pattern I used contains 5 different sizes, all printed together as multiple patterns are, so I had to carefully copy a master,  and then make a copy of each piece of the size I wanted to cut out, so I'd still have all the sizes intact for later. Then I had nothing but problems with the tension on my sewing machine. That shouldn't have happened since the machine was just serviced before Thanksgiving. It's still not the way I'd like it, but at least the seams stay sewn. Then I decided I needed to add some decoration to the simple dress that would hint at my niece's expected daughter's name, Sofia Rose. I made my first 3D rose but without Anne here to help me make the best of it, decided not to use it just yet.

That's mine on the left, next to one of Anne's. Mine looks like a lumpy cabbage rose, not the sort of thing to put on a size 9 months sundress. (I enjoyed the process and know I'll be making lots more, but later.)

So I crocheted 3 "flat" roses instead and stitched them onto the dress with little heart pearls at their centers.

For Amanda's wedding shower I had made a stationery box and filled it with various cards, etc.

I thought it would be fun to make some notecards for Sofia Rose for Amanda to add to the stationery box. I made a couple dozen assorted cards. This is one of baby Sofia's monogram straddling a rose which was hand embossed using brass stencils, a stylus, and a light box.

Of course I needed to add a pair of tights for under the dress. There aren't too many options for finding those out here in the country, but I did manage to find a pair that I hope will fit.
Then I added a children's book which we were requested to bring to the shower. Who can resist Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Sofia will be able to put her little fingers into the holes that hungry little caterpillar made eating its way through each fruit and leaf!

Now all I have to do is find a box for mailing. Whew.

Of course, now that the ground is completely covered with snow, we find out some of our fruit trees will be delivered tomorrow! I wouldn't have minded if they had taken a bit longer. What I really hoped would have come by now are my half-square triangles from the international exchange. I read this morning that the very last group will be mailed out tomorrow. That means mine should finally arrive by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I guess that gives me time to tinker with my sewing machine's tension.....