Marine Ball Dress 2010 in progress

So after 9 years of marriage, dh has finally agreed to go to one of those fancy balls the military likes to throw. Of course, it might be more that his office has pretty much mandated everyone go.

I figured I'd make my dress. I had planned on using a purple taffeta that I have collecting dust in my stash. I also figured I'd splurge on shoes since I was making the dress. Well my shoe shopping expedition lead to these:


I couldn't resist them. No- they didn't have my size in black. Plus they were not as dramatic.

Okay, so on to the dress. I now needed a dress to match my red shoes out of my stash. Unfortunately the only thing I had with enough yardage was green silk. Yeah, NO. So I remembered that I still had the bridesmaid dress I wore to my bf's wedding almost 6 years ago, also collecting dust.

That dress was a size 22/24ish since I was almost 7 months pregnant with whirlwind #1 at the wedding. There was more than enough fabric with a bit of creative cutting for the dress I had been envisioning. I found a beautiful red silk to use with the brown.

Now I know I'm a few years behind the times but I really wanted an off-the-shoulder dress. I had planned on a super simple off-the-shoulder with a straight bottom and a slit. There was a pattern I could have purchased that would have worked but I decided to give my Wild Ginger Software a twirl.

When I got it almost 2 years ago I had done a sloper but didn't get very far after finding out I was pregnant with my second whirlwind. It was sort of fun finding out that my measurements are almost exactly the same- my hips were actually an inch smaller now! So I didn't bother with a new sloper, for now.

On to the dress:
the shoulder is just pinned for now. I need to go back and iron those seams better, I swear they are not as wiggly in person. I took special care to make sure the front was all on grain too. Uhm...



I'm planning on inserting boning to hold up the down side- I'm thinking thats what is causing the side bunching. But I love this view! See the seams aren't wonky.

And a semi-side view.


What do you think?

Patricia Tunic

This tunic was one of the 3 items I actually finished for my mini swap. It was done when I posted about the mini SWAP but forgot about blogging about it.

Anyway the pattern is Sis & Bloom's Patricia Tunic. Its an instant download on YCMT and is fabulous! The directions are an overwhelming 200+ pages, well really its only 50 pages- the rest is the pattern itself. With these directions a beginner could easily sew this up.

I made the size Medium since I didn't want it too big, at the time my measurements were between Medium and Large. Even so, I found it a bit roomy through the shoulders. Since then I've lost weight and need to definitely take it in through the shoulder area. I'll be morphing the Small and Medium together for my next tunic.

I made 2 other alterations for fit and necessity. I'm still nursing my munchkin so I lowered the front opening to enable that. I added about 3 inches to the front facing and slit, very easy to do.

The other alteration was to help the fit with my sway back. I put princess seams in the back so that I could get a better fit.

The one problem I had with the tunic was the opening. It wants to fold open when I wear it. I'm not sure how to fix that problem. Still I love this tunic. I wore it with leggings and a nursing tank this past summer/spring. I'll definitely be making more for next spring/summer. Actually I'm thinking of using this pattern as a base for a nightgown I want to make.

Buttericks 4668 (OOP)

Nothing has really been exciting me lately so I've been really lax on my blogging- not that that is anything new. I've been working on a ton of stuff. I have the kids' quilts 90% done. I'll finish the Serger Quilt posts soon.

So in the mean time, I got this gorgeous wool jersey from Fashion Fabrics Club last week. Its so soft, dreamy. I decided to make myself a simple raglan tee with it. It turned out a tiny bit long but otherwise fits great! I used this OOP Buttericks pattern I bought at a thrift store for 25 cents. Its a great pattern. This top is the second one I've made. The pattern has darts on the shoulders which I did in the first version but I took out for this one. I like it much better this way. I also bound the neck instead of just hemming it.

Here's a terrible pic of me wearing the shirt with a sweater vest I made as well, but I'll post that in another blog. Not very fashionable but I love it, so cozy and warm.

Oh, and I had enough bits left over to make some tights for my little one. I cloth diaper so these wool tights are great under the wool skirties she wears over her dipes. I think I'm going to have to buy more of this jersey to make us both some more stuff!

Uhm... February is almost done

And I am far from done! I finally got all the patterns traced that I need for my mini-swap. Yesterday the pesky small child slept a good 2 hours so I was able to get 4 items 90% cut out. Still need to cut the linings and interfacing. Both pants are cut so I'm going to start those as soon as I get a chance to sew.

I did actually complete a few things not related this month. I recycled a Hawaiian shirt for ds for Hawaiian shirt day tomorrow. I used one of dh's old ones, even kept the tags and everything. I'll post it later- internet is running too slow right now. I also attached the buttons on my sewing machine! First time I've ever done that. It wasn't too hard, definitely will be doing it again.

I also finished up some random UFOs and parts of diapers (waiting on snaps to finish). I used one of the Made by Mama tags I got from Diaper Diva on ds' jellybean jamma shorts, he was so thrilled. Those have been in the UFO pile since about May. He's worn them to bed every night since, uhm... better do the laundry. ;)

Right now I'm waiting for the plumbers to finish so I can maybe, maybe sew before the baby wakes. Spoke too soon- I'm hearing whimpers. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Mini-Swap for me

I can't believe its already mid-February, eeck! I had decided that February I would do a mini-swap as part of the Stash Game on Sewing Mamas but alas I did not sign up. Turns out thats a good thing since I've sewn 2 items since the beginning of February, well excluding the 2-3 diapers I finished up.

Still I'm going to work on the mini-swap since I find myself back at my pre-pregnancy weight with little to wear. My pre-pregnancy clothes are winter clothes and it is summer here. My summer clothes are either too big or too small, as my pre-pregnancy weight was still 25 pounds over my ideal weight, which is what I was the previous summer. So I just need a few items to last through about mid-April when the weather starts to turn. Plus I'm nursing so all my tops need to be nursing friendly- I do not do the pull up thing, no way my tummy gets exposed!

I've already picked out the patterns and fabrics. I've even completed the first item, the Patricia Tunic out of the linen blend on top of the stack. For the tops, I'm also going to make the Otto nursing top again (I've modified it so hopefully it will work better this time) in the green/blue/cream knit, Vogue 2980 in the cream knit, the Jalie Criss-cross top in the black with grey & white circles/dots, Kwik Sew 3434 in the blue/cream/white with fuschia flowers, and Burda WOF 3/08 #128 in the purple. For the pants I'm making Burda WOF 3/08 #126 in a Navy blue Faille and Ottobre 2/2009 #12 in denim. Everything should work great together. And for a dress I'm planning on making a combo of two of the dresses from Burda WOF 9/09 out of the paisley floral.

I also have accessories and a UFO on my list but we'll see how far I get. I've already been side tracked a bit with Sophie Tunic for my cousin's baby and I have 2 more cut out, one for my niece and one for my dd. I think I'd better just cut my stuff so that I have it ready to sew when I get the chance. I'll post as I can.

Serger Quilt part 3

I'm just putting in a place holder. I'm sure there's some fancy way to move the post back down so they are all together later but I'll just do this.

I came to a stop on the quilt b/c we moved and its now summer where we are. Knowing DS the minute I finish it he'll want to sleep with it and then he'll be plastered in sweat by morning. Yuck. Excuses, excuses!