Ice Cream Dress

I wanted a gift for a young friend and decided on the Ice Cream Dress. It's the first time I've used this pattern. I love Oliver + S patterns and this one is no exception. 

 The fabric is Fleur d'Paris for Henry Glass.

I hope she likes it!

A Remake

A few years back while traveling in Italy I saw this dress in a window. It was cheap and I thought it was a perfect summer dress. 

I didn't try it on.

My bad, because it didn't work for me. Guess I was channeling my 20 something self.....

I showed it to Jessica and she loved it, which is funny because it is much more color than she ever wears at once. Some days I cause her to cringe with my colorful clothing. 

Poor baby.

Before the little guy came along she wore it a couple of times but after little guy, some changes needed to be made. It happens when you are blessed with children, things change. 

Before.

Sorry for the mediocre photos, I think we were supposed to be making dinner?? Poor guys.

After.

Mom friendly but gorgeous!

Even better than the original, don't you think?

My Girl

I think this was one of my favorites that I have made for her so far.

So glad it worked since I was winging it....

Is it wrong to love two things that you've made so very much?

Jess + dress = perfect!

I am NOT a doting mom....... ha ha.

Didn't mean to be gone so long

It was a long week. It was a good week. It was a not so good week. For those of you who dropped by Wednesday after seeing me here and here thank you! I was hard at work getting more things done but was having some difficulty getting things photographed and posted.

Thank goodness for weekends.

I am not a sports fan but when the world cup happens and the weather is good, it's fun to go sit outside and watch a game or two. It's fun to watch people get crazy. Seriously crazy. This place is a short walk from our apartment. I'll miss it.

 I've had this toile for years (thanks Sherie). I'd been wanting to make it into a skirt but was having trouble thinking of a shirt I had to wear with it. Kelly wore her Cabo halter last week and a light went on. I made mine with Kona Cotton in a shade of blue that I've forgotten.
The skirt is Simplicity 8664. I did a bias trim for the hem because I cut it a bit shorter than I meant to. Mistake? Opportunity?
This detail is around the top of the skirt. I pulled the facing up just enough to make it look like cording. It may never be seen but I know it's there and I like it! By the way, I used my ever quickly dwindling supply of Wonder Tape for both zipper applications. The skirt was a sort of lapped version ( sorry totally meant to take a close up) and the shirt has an invisible zip. It was wonderful for both. Seriously, as Jess said, it changes lives. Well, mine anyway.

Three more of the shirred skirts. Two for Jess, one for me. Hers are out of Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt and mine is Pastry Line voile from Anna Maria Horner.

Last and maybe least is a project that turned out differently than I had planned. Not bad, just different. I took a tank cut it off and attached the voile skirt. I did five rows of shirring around the bodice and skirt to give it a more fitted look. If I had a garden, this would be my gardening dress. Right now I have scaffolding, a dying rose and soon to be very, very bright yellow walls outside.

A Full Weekend of Sewing

This is what three hundred and five 1" hexagons look like. I am out of scraps.

Sunday's additions.

Jennifer gave me some knit fabric a few months back. I made a shirt for Jessica out of some and this is what I did with the left over. I greatly modified an old pattern. It's comfy but not too frumpy....

I promised I'd try using the wonder tape to insert a zipper. I got around to that today. I pulled out some Japanese damask that I'd gotten peices of a couple of years ago. I've been wanting to make something with it. No one was here to tell me I shouldn't, so I did. First though, wonder tape works great!

Tape on the zipper.

Zipper taped to skirt.

Sewing zipper in on the right side of the skirt. Finished zipper. I will definitely do this again.

Photo session with myself. I crack myself up. Look at this hair.... tomorrow it's gone. Well not all gone but shorter.

Hope your Monday has been happy!

Dear Sherie,

Are we old enough to dress like twins yet? No? Oops.....

I found this gorgeous madras fabric in downtown Stuttgart Saturday. It is light and lovely and the fabric was wide enough for two dresses. Since I knew it would also go with my plum sweater (which I first saw on Jennifer and pretty much felt deprived of until I bought my own) I couldn't resist. Sherie, I hope you have a plum sweater too. Yes, it's another shirred dress. No, I don't care that I may over do this. Thank you.

Thanks Kelly for taking my picture!

I made this a bit back and could never get any decent photos. Sorry Jess for all the facelessness. My face just wasn't so hot this day. Anyway, it's reversible, with a crisscross back. Our uniform at work is an apron. We all make our own and put a bit of our own personality into each one. Most of the girls (yes they are all my girls) don't like the straps that tie behind the neck so I got it into my head to experiment. I used a wide grosgrain ribbon for the tie. Much less expensive and much quicker than a fabric tie and with all the gorgeous ribbon out there.... yum. So tell me what you think. Please be gentle with my fragile ego. Say things like, it would be pretty if it weren't so ugly. I'll get hung up on the pretty part and it'll save my feelings. Just kidding, I can take it.

I took the long way home today. Just because I like this view. Today I thought I'd share it with you even though it's kinda blurry.

It's finally top down weather, thank goodness!

I ♥ Nicey Jane

So, unless you live in a cave, or don't love fabric beyond all comprehensible reason, you know about Heather Bailey's new line, Nicey Jane.  I did not expect to like this line as much as I do. None of the photos I saw really did it justice, until Jennifer sent me this link to true up with a dress Ms. Bailey made. Leave it to the designer to do it right.

I had to have this dress.

Or something close to it. Strangely enough I'd pulled out an old pattern just the week before, thinking I need to make this again only updated.....

Mom, Sherie remember this one? Yep, 1985, classic. All ya'll should have seen Kelly's lip curl when I showed her this. Too funny for words. Hopefully I have redeemed myself....

It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but I love it all the same. If I'd taken the time to make a muslin (Lizy, do what I say not what I do) it would have been better. While trying to post this I found other photos of Ms. Bailey's dress here and here. I am thinking I may take the buttons down farther like she did. I truly hope she doesn't mind my copying her dress. It is not by any means the same. I think the front detail on hers is prettier. People will buy her pattern by the truckloads if she puts it out there. I know I'd be the first in line.

I hope everyone was out enjoying some of the blissful sunshine we had today!

Another Dress

Requested by Jessica.

Is it ok if I think it's yummy?

If I keep making dresses like this, will you all insist on an intervention?

The fabric is Joel Dewberry's Iron Work for Westminster.