McCall's M6923

I made a dress. For myself.



I know. Weird.

I'm not even a "dress person." But I sooo would like to be. I guess I grew up a little bit tomboy and now when I wear a dress I feel like I'm over-dressed. Like dresses should be saved for special occasions. I'm trying to reset my thinking. Watch out co-workers-- I might be wearing a dress soon! And no, I'm not going to a funeral after work.



The fabric is $3/yard clearance rack stuff, I didn't want to spend the big bucks on nice fabric in case this little dress experiment was a total failure. So, although i don't mind this fabric, it's definitely not my fav.

I expected to be using a size or two larger than my store-bought clothes. The size I went with was 3 sizes larger than my norm, but all my measurements were pretty spot on with that size, so I went with it. (Do you like how I'm not actually telling you what size I used? *wink*) Well, the first bodice I made was comically large. It was pretty ridiculous. I tried taking it in more than an inch on each side seam, but was still way too big. And it did weird things to the fit.



So I cut out another bodice two sizes smaller and it was a much better fit (thank goodness I bought extra clearance fabric!). It's still a bit gappy up by the neckline, but I think that's because I don't know how to make the proper pattern alterations for The Girls. I've read that patterns are made for b-cup sized woman, which I am definitely not. Perhaps I'll read up more on alterations before I try the next dress.



Trying to take photos of yourself is awful. Asking your husband to help you take photos may lead to divorce.

All in all, I'd call this first dress a success. Now, the real test is whether or not I'll actually wear it!

Desert Rose Dress & Tunic

I fell in love with the Desert Rose Dress pattern by CailaMade as soon as I saw it. I first spotted it months ago on Pinterest, before it was released. So the fact that I actually remembered to go buy it a few weeks ago when it was made available shows you how much I liked it.



These Park Slope prints are among my all-time favorite fabrics. I started K's birthday dress tradition with a dress made from these two fabrics. I had to make the tunic length of the Desert Rose pattern because, sadly, I didn't have enough fabric to make the longer length. Not to worry— I'm well on my way to making a full length dress version in some other fabrics!



I'm a sucker for cute buttons (who isn't?). I love when I have the perfect buttons for a project just waiting in my stash.



Seriously, I couldn't love this pattern anymore. You should make one too!

Terrain Star Mini Quilt

Little bit by little bit, I'm whittling away at my beloved Terrain layer cake.



Now that my youngest is in kindergarten I've got a few quiet hours to myself a couple days a week, so it felt like I whipped this up in no time!



I had fun piecing together a back with the extra HSTs from the front. Sometimes it's hard to decide if I like the front or the back better!



With the last few quilts I've made I've been in a hurry to finish and opted to machine stitch the binding onto the front of the quilt. With this one, I went the old fashioned route and hand stitched it to the back. I like the results so much better! I've got to remember that it's worth taking your time with the finishing.



I made this quilt as a gift for our realtor who helped us sell our old house and find a new one this past spring. We've been in the new house almost 3 months now (how can that be?!), so I've been a bit slow in thanking her. But I hope she likes it nonetheless.