In her Dear Friends letter in the latest issue of Sew Beautiful magazine (issue No. 140), Martha Pullen included the words to a song by Frances Ridley Havergal, which she wrote in 1874.  The tune to which it is commonly sung is by Samuel S. Wesley; you can hear it here.

At this time when many will be making resolutions and setting goals for 2012, I want this to be my prayer.  I want this to be a year of living for my Lord and fulfilling His desires for me, not focusing on a bunch of goals I might pull out of thin air. 

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

Sunsuit - It's Finished!

It's completed! I stayed up late last night, sewing on snaps and buttons. The only functional buttons are the two for the snaps; the others are simply stitched on top of the snaps. Nice look without the trouble of making buttonholes. (My sewing machine makes beautiful buttonholes, but they can be difficult to execute in tight spaces.) And yes, as I was thinking of doing last night, I decided to put snaps on the crotch; I used different buttons there than on the rest of the sunsuit.

This is the front:
And the back:
Finally, a close up of the front.
Alas, Grace informs me that the little one who will receive this later today is going through a growth spurt! I can only hope it fits . . .

Pleated Sunsuit

This is my version of "Baby's Pleated Sunsuit" from Issue 119 of Sew Beautiful magazine, which I am making for a little girl at church. If I don't get it completed soon, it'll be too late for her to wear it before the cold weather arrives again!
Here's a semi close-up of the front bib. I think the embroidery design is from a Husqvarna Viking disk; I'll have to look it up!
I still have to sew the buttonholes on the front of the bib, sew a snap and button on one side of the "bloomer" section (I'm cheating - the pattern called for two buttons/buttonholes on each side, but I'm making it easier for mom by using snaps; tiny buttons can be difficult when dealing with a squirming baby!), and decide how to close the "bloomers" - snaps or buttons. I'm leaning toward snaps. What do you say, Mom Erin?

There are some problems with this pattern. I couldn't figure out the faux pockets, so I did faux-faux pockets! And the directions said to put aside the straps if they were to be buttoned in the back, but never told you how or when to stitch them onto the back waistband if buttoning in the front. There was also a problem with the crotch placket - the front placket was too short to make the placket the same size as the back, so I spent a lot of time figuring that out. I will visit the Martha Pullen message boards again to see what other people might have done about these problems.

The pattern is sized for 6, 12, 18, and I think 24 months, and can be used for a girl or a boy. Despite the frustrations, this is a cute pattern, and there are many possibilities for embellishment, making it fun and interesting.