The One Where I Thought "Uh Oh" and Did It Anyway

Aka, Butterick 5639, why did you have to be difficult?

Have you seen this dress? I pinned it 33 weeks ago. It's been sitting in my "clothes to make" board. The link goes to her Flickr site but there are only three pictures of her version, none of which is her wearing it. I did a search and she seemed to be the only one who'd made and shown it. I never thought to look on Pattern Review......

Gorgeous, isn't it?

I purchased the pattern about four months ago. When I got it home and really looked at it, I thought... Uh Oh. 

The pattern front as they show it is kinda meh, but obviously from the picture above can be very cute with the right fabric. I wanted to make the same view, down there, on the left. For some reason, I thought the back view would be similar to the front. 

Then I turned it over. Moo, straps. I so did not want straps. I know, I live in the land of heat and sunshine, but strappy dresses will never be work appropriate for me. You may think that's silly and that's ok. 

So, I said all of that to say, it took me until two weeks ago to try and make this pattern how I wanted it to be. It's made with a linen look fabric from Joann's. I used the same basic pieces from the front bodice for the back. 

I think it turned out pretty well. It did take a bit  a lot a whole lot of tweaking and it is not perfect by any means.

After I finished this today, in preparation for blogging it, I did another search for this dress. That's when I found the link to the reviews on Pattern Review. The beautiful dress I showed you for my inspiration? She says the back was so bad that it was not salvageable. As in train wreck and wadder pile, her words not mine. It was only then that I read the fabric suggestions. Linen or even a linen look like mine was not recommended. Hmmm, I am even happier with my choice to alter the back and how it turned out after reading that. 

 I made my guy take me to the beach this evening for a sunset photo shoot. I guess the next few pictures are as much about me having fun as they are about the dress. It is utilitarian yet feminine. The princess line fit and flare are flattering to my, ahem, shape. The pockets are amazingly usable. Seriously. 

All in all I think it is a pretty and comfortable dress to wear. Appropriate for both beach and office.

Evenings like this make me wonder why I don't go jump in the water more often. 

Oh and no, I do not mind being the crazy person jumping in the water while people walk by wondering why is the crazy woman jumping around in the water in a dress....

Skirt Week!

Just click on the picture for all of the details!

Flicker pools are open!

Straight Skirt

Full Skirt

A-line Skirt

Children's

You can also find some inspiration over on the pinterest boards.

Women's

Girl's

So go get inspired! Make a skirt for yourself or a special little girl. 

At the least, give other sewists some encouragement. 

&

Pinterest Challenge- Spring Edition

It's here again the Spring Edition of the Pinterest Challenge hosted by Bower Power and Young House Love

I have been in desperate need of hooks in the kids room. Preferably over the door ones because I don't want to put another hole in this rental property. The two issues are that they are either ugly and cheap looking or awesome and expensive. I had almost pulled the trigger on some that I could live with (I hate spending money on live with items!) and then I had an epiphany. I had pinned this Letter Coat rack DIY from Oh Happy Day and this fabric wrapped wire 'hello' from A Cuppa and a Catch up. What if I combine the two and make it an over the door hook?! So I got to work and used only supplies I had on hand.

It turned out awesome! 

The fabric is the same I made her peacock quilt from.

So since it was so successful I made one for Micah too. 

I love that it is fun and very Anthro looking. And adds a pop of decoration to a spot in the room that is otherwise blank. 

Hope you all enjoy my project!

Why Hello There!

We have not forgotten about you, though I would not blame you if the reverse is not true. Jess is busy with that little thing called running a household and raising kids. I...... I on the other hand, am just overwhelmed by the amount of things that have happened around here and I just don't know where to start. Problem is, I am not sure where I left off and what I have or haven't shown. If I go back and look though, I'll get distracted and put it off and then the cycle will start again. So, if I repeat anything forgive me. Especially if it wasn't interesting in the first place, HA!

Now I will begin at the end. This is the latest quilt I have finished. It. Takes. Me. So. Long. Seriously. I will start and then it will take me months to finish. So not proud of that. Way back last year during the holidays, some body on IG decided to start a Scrappy Trip Quilt Along. Normally I don't get sucked into stuff like that but I was vulnerable that day and hopped right in. I have a lot of scraps...... good news is, I have less now! This is for my babes. We play outside a lot and they need something to sit on. I backed it in some light canvas/twill that I have had forever. I can't say that I liked quilting through it but it will be durable for play out on the grass. It's also green which I figure will hide a multitude of grass stains.

 This is one of my favorite spots we've created. I'm sitting here, on this quilt, writing this post. I love being surrounded by things my guy has made for us to plant in. The brick wall keeps the plants warm through the winter so all of these plants survived even through the ridiculously-for-Florida low freezing temps.

 If you haven't heard of the Scrappy Trip  Quilt Along, a search will pull up tons of photos. I think it was an epidemic there for awhile.... Quiltville did a tutorial for a scrappy trip around the world quilt a few years back and I believe most people used her tutorial. You can find it here. It really is super simple and quick. I had the top put together in just a couple of days.

 I loved using all of my scraps, putting together fabrics that I would never use together otherwise. As you can see, instead of the trip around the world layout, I went with a zig-zag.

 Jessica, the kids and the grampa went to the beach one morning and these came home with them.

 We were eating pineapple last spring and I decided to throw the top into a pot of dirt. Who knew.

 I quilted this following the zig-zag pattern.

Thanks for stopping in!