So far, so good

So here we are. I have to say that I am so glad I have discovered the whole
"making sure the pattern fits you first" thing. It sure makes it easier to have a successful project. It really doesn't look very pretty right now, but I pinned it on and see potential for pretty. I am also glad that I have discovered how important it is to pin and try on before sewing. That is where all the work is. The actual sewing is nothing really. That is the fun part. I feel like I'm making good progress so far, but there is a lot of cobbling ahead of me. Especially with that crazy hat!

In Process

So now that I have finished the Thomas quilt I am already moving on, or back to, the 1400's gown. I have another deadline. Me and deadlines... huh ah. A good idea in theory, but whew, it makes me sweat. So I am diving right into this one because I only have about 5 weeks to finish it. Not a lot of time for a mom who does this in her free time. Especially when I am making the pattern up as I go. That is the catch. I am further than I remembered however, so I am encouraged. I already have the bodice pattern made and the sleeves cut. I cut the bodice today, so I plan to do a little sewing and a little scheming and see how far I can get!

It always takes longer than you think

Here is the completed Thomas quilt with a happy E already making use of it. I debated about hand sewing the binding and about 1/4 of the way through it was wishing I had decided to do it with the machine for a less than ideal finish. That would have taken an hour. The hand binding took a week, but it looks very nice and she is very happy to finally have her quilt all for herself.

Kimono Robe

This is one of my "on hold" projects. It is all cut and ready to sew. Hopefully no snags and it will be done before the summer is over!

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.