Crowns, Laura Wilson

Crowns.
Laura Wilson.
Sewing Project.

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about this piece.
I lost my baby Nicholas in December.  I am now making dress up crowns for children in special need and giving them away in his name.  Each crowns reminds me that each child is special, and each moment of joy I bring to another child adds a drop to the sea of joy my child missed.  You can see all of the crowns here.  Attached are two photos for submission.  You can submit a child to receive a crown here. --Laura


about the contributor.
Laura lost her son Nicholas in December of 2010. She writes about her life and projects at we wilsons. Laura runs an Etsy shop called Wilsons.

Bag, Emily.

Bag.
Emily.
Sewing project.

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about the piece.
Emily talks about her bag, "I made this to deal with my fear of my sewing room. My sewing is mostly craft, but sometimes transcends into art. I don't really use patterns and I kind of let the fabric 'tell' me what it wants to be. I make my bags from upholstery samples mostly. I find great pleasure in repurposing things that would otherwise be in a landfill. When my mom came to visit a couple weeks after Juniper died, we cleaned all the diaper making supplies and baby stuff fabrics out of the sewing room.

"But there was still a terrible sadness in that space.

"I sew a lot. Stuff to sell, stuff for friends. The occasional costume (my secret grown-up, non-mom job is theatrical costumer) and every once in a while something for me. I cried every time I went down there. My therapist suggested to me to try to reclaim that space. To make something for myself. It took a while. The first fabrics I picked out made me weep. Then I realized they were the colors of the diaper bag my husband had given me for Christmas. I had to cry a lot while I made it, even though it had nothing to do with the baby. But here it is, something I made. I carry it with me all the time."



about the contributor.
Emily writes about her journey at the Nature of Balloons.

Madeleine and Maisie Dolls, Jeanette

Madeleine and Maisie Dolls.
Jeanette.
35cm/14" tall
 
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about the piece.
Jeanette describes her dolls, "These are dolls I made in memory of my daughter at Christmas time. While I was pregnant, convinced I was having a girl, I imagined making a doll for her for her first Christmas. As Christmas approached, I felt so very very sad that I couldn't make her that doll, when a pattern for these angel/fairy dolls caught my eye, and I thought I could indeed make one for Florence, it would be her special Christmas Fairy Doll, something we could get out every year at Christmas, and it be a way of including Florence into each Christmas of the future.

"Around the same time, Tina organised a babylost giveaway in the run up to Christmas, so I resolved to make two dolls, and give one away. I like to think of the other doll out there in the world, in memory of Florence, but also giving comfort to another babylost family. I named the dolls Madeleine and Maisie. Madeleine is wrapped in tissue waiting for next Christmas, and Maisie has a lovely home across the ocean.

"I wrote about these dolls on my blog: Day Two, Happy Thanksgiving and Yule Tide Fairies."


about the contributor.
Jeanette, married to Woody, has four living children. She lives near Manchester in the United Kingdom. Florence, her fifth child, was born full term at home with no complications, but collapsed shortly after birth and died six hours later from a massive pulmonary hemorrhage. As Jeanette says, "We are learning to live without her, missing her, and hoping we can bring her rainbow sibling into the world healthy in the summer."

Jeanette sells her creations at Tiddly Bums and blogs at Lazy Seamstress.

Florence's Dress, Jeanette

Florence's Dress. 2009.

Jeanette.
Cotton with cotton applique and decorative buttons.

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about the piece.
Jeanette designed and made this gown in the days after her daughter died. Jeanette describes the process: "I needed her to have a dress made just for her. I barely remember making it. I was in such a fog of shock and grief, but I know it was healing then, and it helps me now to know that she is wearing that dress, made with so much love by her Mummy."

This dress was originally posted on Jeanette's blog last summer.

about the contributor.
Jeanette, married to Woody, has four living children. She lives near Manchester in the United Kingdom. Florence, her fifth child, was born full term at home with no complications, but collapsed shortly after birth and died six hours later from a massive pulmonary hemorrhage. As Jeanette says, "We are learning to live without her, missing her, and hoping we can bring her rainbow sibling into the world healthy in the summer."

Jeanette sells her creations at Tiddly Bums and blogs at Lazy Seamstress.