Rosy Date Night Dress

April Rhodes asked for some pattern testers for newest pattern and I jumped at the chance!  Her first pattern, the Staple Dress was so fun to make and so easy!  I never posted about them, but did have a couple instagram photos of the two dresses I made.  Here is her latest pattern, The Date Night Dress:


It features fluttery sleeves and a box pleat at the back.  You can either cinch in the waist with a belt, some shirring, or leave it loose.  I chose to use a belt.  The photo where I have my hands awkwardly to the side is sans belt so you can see the shaping of the dress.  Since I have almost no waist and a weirdly long torso, I think the dress is more attractive on me with the belt.

The side view shows a better view of the fun parts of the dress.  The sleeves are extra fluttery, and shows how deep the arm hole goes.  You can see a peek of the slip I made to go with this dress.  April was so nice to include it as part of the pattern!  It really is a simple slip.  Really quick and easy to make with just one pattern piece!  I used Robert Kauffman Gold Radiance, a silk/cotton blend, and I love it.  The slip is especially appreciated since this kind of dress really needs a drapey fabric, and my favorite cotton voiles are sometimes a little sheer.  The side view also shows that the front of the dress is a little higher than the back which I think it cute.  I was a little unsure of the trend and this hi-lo is extremely mild.  A good way to try it out!

The pattern itself is a PDF pattern and goes together really easily.  April's instructions walk you through the steps, including finishing all seams (french seams on the inside)!  The only bad part about having the inside look as good as the outside is that I have trouble telling if the dress is inside out or not!

Lets see, technical details.  I cut a size small for both the slip and the dress, but if I were to do it again I would cut a medium in the slip.  It's a little tight in the chest for me.  I used Robert Kauffman Gold Radiance for the slip, and Anna Maria Horner's Turn of Events in Indigo voile for the dress.  LOVE voile.

In summary, it's a great pattern while still being easy enough for beginners.  This dress isn't my normal style, but after wearing it for photos it's growing on me.  Can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve, April!

February Baby Sweater.. in June!!

Quick post with iphone photos.  I finished a sweater for Maren!  Just in time for her 2nd birthday.  It's very cute and hopefully it will fit when it starts to get cold again.  The sweater is from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac and it's the February Baby Sweater on Two Needles.

I used a circular needle instead and made my way through the armpits so there was minimal seaming.  It's not perfect but it works.  Also, obviously from the photo, I am not good at spacing out buttons.

The buttons are very special.  They come from my Popo (grandma).  I think they match the sweater well!

J-1 Josepha's Jonquil

After a 3 + year break these blocks are calling to me again!  Lots has happened since my last block, the biggest is that I got married!  This block was one I finished in 2009, but did not cut down to size until 2013.  Simple applique.

I did not look up the meaning of "Jonquil" until I finished the block, and then learned that it means a daffodil.  I probably should have chosen yellow fabric.  This green fabric does make me happy though.  Not sure where it came from!

109-20-0-2595

Ruby Star Wrapping: 5 Minute Party Pouch

Wow this week I procrastinated on my project for the Ruby Star Wrap Along. 

Good thing I decided to make the 5 Minute Party Pouch!

I followed the example here and made it out of one big rectangle.  Even with having to search for a needle for my sewing machine, this took less than 5 minutes.

It was really quick and easy.  I can see myself whipping these up for baked goods in the future instead of going to the store and buying cellophane bags.  It's Lucy's birthday soon, so she's checking out presents :)

Ruby Star Wrap Along: Chinese Takeout Boxes

Have you seen the newest book from Melody Miller? I saw it featured on Rashida's blog, and immediately pre-ordered it. And now there's a sew along with awesome prizes!

The book is really fantastic, but I had other projects on my mind, so this sew along is perfect.  As long as I make a few things during the sew along I'll have some wrappings ready for the holidays!

This week on the sew along Anna made these really cute chinese takeout boxes.  She said it was easy, so I decided to try it.

They really were easy.  I forgot how fun hot glue guns are!  The best part about this project is that I used scraps.  These were all scraps from my Christmas quilt I made a few years ago.

I have this crazy idea to start making pom poms to use instead of bows since I'm not knitting much anymore, but couldn't get it to work out quite right with these boxes.  I think I need smaller pom poms!

In summary, these boxes were really easy.  I think the hardest part was making sure the interfacing fused completely with the fabric.  I think they'll be perfect for packing some cookies or spiced nuts or caramels (!!) for the holidays.  Even Lucy was intrigued by them.  She kept trying to see what was inside :)

Quilt for Popo

Last weekend was Popo's 93rd birthday party.  I'm similar to her in that we both do not like being hot.  However, recently I've noticed that she likes to have a blanket covering her legs in her wheelchair sometimes.  So... for her 93rd birthday I decided to make  her a quilt!



This is the Summer Sampler Series Quilt Along quilt.  It was really fun to make.  I have to say that I am much happier now that I know what settings to put my machine on for a scant quarter inch.  My points don't all match up perfectly, but it's nice to look at this quilt and see how far I've progressed.



I used Quilter's Dream cotton batting request loft.  I love this stuff!

Chambray Washi

Alright, here is my first wearable washi.

Not bad, right?  I also look pretty proud of myself.


Alright, first I have to say this is a fantastic pattern.  Rae clearly spent a lot of time on the pattern, and it's made very well.  I used her video tutorial to do the partial lining, and it's awesome.  When Rae was making the pattern, she mentioned that she was trouble with the darts.  I should have known it would cause me trouble too!

This is my 3rd Washi.  I will put on the other ones on at a later date and show you, but I had a problem with the shirring.  I used a small stitch length, so when I tried to put it on, the back did not stretch back to the original width!  Once it's on, it's fine, but it was very difficult to get on and off.

For this one, I used a stitch length of 5.0 and a tension of 3 when I did the shirring, and it seems to have worked out.

Now, this will not be my last washi.  If you look closely at the bust darts, you can see that they look odd.  It's not as obvious in this photo, but if you look from the side they are a little pointy.  I think they are also a little higher than my bust apex, but would gladly take some advice and opinions.

For the next one I cut out, I shortened the bust dart by an inch, but didn't realize they look a bit high until I saw these photos.  It seems to be a little better, but we'll see!