I do it for love

My daughter is in a phase right now. She is infatuated with trains. I got a 1/2 yard of this Thomas the Tank Engine fabric to make a little pillow or something and she fell in love. Unprompted she came over to me and said so sincerly, "thank you for the beat-iful Thomas fa-fric mama." So how could I not go back and get some more to make a quilt for her when she asked? Before I started the quilt she just had to sleep with every piece of fabric draped over her instead of her regular quilt. That's my girl. So this is a rush job and all other projects are on hold. I have to finish it before the phase passes you know.

Sparkles

No gown is complete without the proper jewels, right? So here is the necklace in progress for the Middle Ages dress. This was a great find on ebay. It came with a different chain and I have embellished it quite a bit, adding pearls and these dark blue beads. (Sorry the picture is a little fuzzy - the flash was washing out the color too much) I think it will be very pretty when it is all together. I will probably try to pull in the blue somewhere else as well. Maybe in the crazy hat.

It has begun

I dove into the Middle Ages gown the other day. This is the "easy" gown right? We shall see. So going into it I knew that I would be using 3 different patterns to merge together into this one look. I have ended up mocking up my own bodice pattern and am happy to say that it fits better than almost anything I have made, so far that is. Because I am petite I ended up taking about 2 inches out between the shoulders of the back piece and that was a revelation! The shoulders stopped sliding off. Beautiful! I am so glad I have started to make my own pattern modifications before sewing. Way less frustrating! I pinned, pinned, pinned to get this to fit right before a single stitch was sewn. I guess this is the way to do it. So I have my pattern made and a mock up completed, which I will be able to use as the lining. This might be a little work up front, but it may live up to my hope of being an easy project. That said, there are still a few hurtles ahead of me, however, the idea of something that will fit perfectly is such a big motivator. I also still really love this fabric and the concept. It will be a while before the loathing sets in. Maybe I can get it done before I reach that point.

Inspired again

I have really been wanting a new Ren Fest outfit, so I have been looking all about me for inspiration. I have a few potential dresses on hand already, but they are Major projects. I have been looking for something easier. I'm sure it won't be easy, they never are, but it should be less hard. This yellow fabric just spoke to me. I knew right away that it needed to be in this Middle Ages style with brown fur. I already have a pattern of sorts that will need some adaptations, but it has a pattern for this crazy hat.

Royal Shawl

This was such a lovely project. It also stands alone as one of the largest, quickest knitting projects I have ever finished. This is a lovely shawl pattern taken from Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders. I immediately knew when I saw this pattern that it was just the thing for the Blue Sky Royal Alpaca that I had been hording for a couple of years. I had a few issues here and there, but overall it was a lovely simple pattern. The yarn was amazing to work with and once washed and blocked, became even more soft and lovely. Also pictured is a sneak peek at the white regency dress.

Projects on the horizon

Lounge Wear Part 1: I was inspired by some great fabric finds at Mill End Textiles to make and remake some summer lounge wear. I have been looking for just the right fabric for this Kimono Bathrobe pattern taken from this great Amy Butler pattern book. I will use the peach floral for that with the dragonflies as an accent. The blue will be for drawstring pants taken from the same pattern book.

Lounge Wear Part 2:
I am also making over this top using this lovely dragonfly print as an accent fabric. The original trim is a lovely silk ribbon, but it hasn't worn well and has become frayed. While I have this top taken apart I have also taken the opportunity to make a pattern so I can copy it and possibly use it as a base for other patterns. I will also be making a pair of pants out of this peach. I have a feeling these are going to be great clothes for project nights!

The Woman in White

It has been a while since I have done a post. In part this is because I have been doing projects rather than writing about doing projects! At the prompting of a friend I have decided to do some updates. As stated in previous blogs I have been vacillating a bit about my sewing projects. Patience paid off again as I decided to take up the nearly completed white regency dress. I had enough time to stop hating it for it's difficulty and fall in love with it again simply because it is so pretty. So out of my frustration I decided to take the matter in hand and see if I couldn't resolve the issue of the sleeve which had been too short and very ill fitting. I also was encouraged by the discovery of enough extra fabric to cut not just one, but two different new sleeves. The image of the dress and sleeve all pinned on me was the first attempt. This is the Ballgown sleeve (from the Sense and Sensibility Elegant Lady's Closet pattern) attached to the long sleeve I already had. After fussing and hand basting everything together I decided to try the elbow sleeve as well and see if I liked it better. In the end the elbow sleeve won. In part because it just felt right, in part because it was a probably going to be quite a bit less hand work. As much as I have been enjoying this final push toward completion, I don't want to, as they say, "press my luck." A bit more hand sewing ahead of me, but I am close!