The view from where I sit looks rather gray

Another "spring" storm is coming through today and those can make one a bit gloomy. Therefore I am here to make another post on my lack of progress! I have been plucking away at this project, which as usual, is complicate. One white dress, two bodiced petticoats to go under it to make it more versatile; (see below for the other version) for all of those times I will need versatility when I'm dressing up in Regency costumes. (Yes I'm mocking myself a bit.)I keep trying to contrive situations that require costume attire. Yes my dear friends, beware.
It is hard to get a good picture that conveys the true color, especially on a crummy day, but I think this is close. It is more pronounced when it is on, because of the contrast of my pale skin. If you enlarge the pic you can at least get an idea of the cool sheen that the white silk has. That being said however, it seems actually a little... understated (boring). But honestly to make it more interesting would probably require hand work, which I love, but I really just want to get it done. Thanks to the goal setting influence of my DLF I am trying to finish one thing before I start the next. Which is laughable if you have looked at my blog at all, but none the less this is what I am striving for with this dress. Therefore I must finish it, in spite of the fact that I can't stand the sight of it right now.

I'm in the mood for green, simply because it's winter

I have never made a quilt for myself, so I think it is about time. All the greens to the right are in my possession, and the lovely blue birds are on their way in the mail. This is going to be a very simple quilt to let the fabric speak rather than being the compliment to a design. I am excited that it will be quick, easy and hopefully pretty.

Birdy apron

Before:
A quick fun project because I love this fabric. Finally decided it should be an apron!

After:

Progress: the one armed gown

Slowly but surely I am making progress on this regency gown. I had a big push before halloween to get it done for a Chickflix night, but just didn't have time. I'm no good with deadlines. It robs the joy, unless I allow months, which requires planning, which is not a strength for me. Anyway, I have been plucking away at this. Every step forward there is some alteration that is required or some mistake to undo. This is the way sewing goes for me usually. BUT, I think it is looking really pretty, which helps me keep going. This fabric is so pretty, but maddening, it is a cotton/silk blend that is incredibly delicate and much to my chagrin does have a right and wrong side. That took a lot of time when cutting and starting to put together. I have learned from this dress to never allow a long time between cutting and assembly if you are altering the pattern in any way, which I usually do. But now that I have gotten back into it, it is all coming back to me. I have high hopes that it will fit. That is always the challenge. So all that is left is to attach the sleeves, open the back of the skirt, and sewing the top to the bottom. Oh and the dreaded hemming. Of course there is really a lot more to those steps then you would think, including a fair amount of hand finishing, which I generally enjoy. That is a good thing too, or this would probably never be properly completed. I am shooting to finish by the beginning of June. Only time will tell if I have planned enough time for my deadline!

Belle dress

I decided two weeks before my daughters birthday to finally make a Belle dress for her. I had everything for it, I just had to make it! I had to flat line the chiffon fabric, so with the lining the dress ended up being 3 layers. I can't ever make it easy for myself. At this stage I also decided to make it sleeveless and stray from the original pattern.



I learned the hard way as a beginning sewer that it is worth it to do all of the finishing, not to skip the zigzagging and hope it doesn't ravel. It is so nice and clean when it is all finished.






Here I am in the last stages, including some atleration on the bodice to make it fit my skinny tall girl. The fabric behind it is new and hopefully will be posted soon for an upcoming project!

And finally here she is. She has had a lot of fun with it, so mission accomplished!

Birthday Garlands

Using an idea from purlbee and some cute fabric from my stash I made some birthday garlands for Ella. I thought they turned out pretty cute. I have left them up because they make the room feel so cheery!

Progress

This may go down as the fastest I have ever completed such a "big" project. I only have 28 rows to go on this. Granted each row is over 300 stitches and increasing, so it will still take a little time, but I am close! I started this the day after Christmas, so to finish this month would be amazing. That is my goal since it might be spring in a month or two. I want to use this before it gets warm. I really love this pattern. It has been so much fun to work on. It is easy enough that it is do-able and challenging enough to keep me interested. That is the best combo for any knitting project. There is usually a point when I grow to hate something before I get it finished and I can't believe I haven't reached that point yet with this one, so I am just going with it and hoping to get it done so I can use it! It is hard to know what it really looks like the way that it is all bunched up on the needle, so curiosity is a big driving factor. Hopefully the next post on this one with be the finished product!