Fourth of July Dress

We were rained out this Fourth of July. A storm came through right at nightfall. The local fireworks show was postponed until July 5th, but we weren't allowed to do our personal ones (at least, not in the city limits...we could probably take them up to the Farm and do them, but we aren't planning to). Still, I think Miss M had a mighty fine day. She's always begging me to let her play in the rain, but most of the time there's too much thunder and lightening to allow her that pleasure. This time, however, the rain was warm, there was no thunder, and I let her stay out till lunchtime. Unfortunately, she was wearing the Fourth of July Dress I made her and she had to change into dry clothes before I got a chance to snap her picture. I finally got her to put it back on today for a quick photo session.

I used the "Polka dot blouse" pattern (#16 from Ottobre 1/2008) in a size 98. I really like this pattern because it's cute and comfy and has no buttons, zippers, or elastic! Size 98 is a it big for Miss M, but for this particular pattern it doesn't matter too much...plus, she'll be able to wear it next year! The changes I made were to cut the sleeves short and lengthen the hem (at an A-line) about 14 inches. I added a ruffle about 1.5 times as long as the lower edge circumference.

The headscarf is #40 from Ottobre 3/2010.

I have one more dress in the works for Miss M and then I'm planning to turn my thoughts to fall and winter. Both kids have enough for the rest of the summer, but they'll both need things for cooler weather. I need to figure out what sort of a SWAP to do. Insanely ambitious with one for each kid? A mini SWAP for each kid? Just jackets? What about a bit of sewing for me? Hmm...decisions, decisions.

Comments

Fall SWAP progress

I finally have some progress to report on my Ottobre SWAP. There are actually six garments finished, but I only have pictures of four of them so far. You can see that the brown Maya blouse is lacking buttons. I didn't have anything suitable in my stash, so I'll "have" to go find some at JoAnn's. I'm thinking something to match the medium pink in the trim, but we'll see. I almost never buy buttons...I usually always make do with what I have on hand. The cream Maya blouse is made of a vintage pillowcase I picked up at Goodwill a while back ($0.50). It carries that oh-so-fresh smell that I love on my pillows and is super soft. I have a bit left that I'm going to hoard until just the right project comes up. I'm delighted with how dressy the little skirt came out! It's made of chocolate brown stretch velvet. Miss M thought it was great fun to pet it like a kitten. Modeled by the lovely Miss M...and just before naptime (what was I thi...

Cocoa Krispie Sod House: a model you can eat

Ahh! I just realized I haven't blogged our Adventures in U.S. History since Week 26!! What happened?! We've just been plugging away contentedly at our work and are nearing the end of our school year. So, while I go get myself sorted and whip up the rest of our weekly reviews for you, I thought you might like to see our latest project. A Cocoa Krispie Sod House Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter 6 cups miniature marshmallows 9 cups cocoa krispies 3/4 cup fancy shredded coconut ("fancy" looks more like grass, but any shredded coconut will work) green food coloring extra butter or cooking spray Also needed: large sauce pan (or large microwave safe bowl) wooden spoon jelly roll pan or cookie sheet waxed paper small glass bowl fork knife clean scrap of cardboard popsicle sticks kitchen shears Directions: Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Don't let the butter brown! When melted, add in the marshmallows and s...

12-gore denim skirt

The other evening I drafted a pattern for a 12-gore skirt following the instructions found here . The next day I cut gores from worn out pairs of jeans! Now I have a gorgeous denim gored skirt. I used 1 1/2-inch wide elastic in the waist and designed it to sit on my hips rather than my true waist. I’m so short waisted that if I wore bottoms at my actual waist…well, it wouldn’t be pretty! I plan to reuse some of the original belt loops so I can wear a belt with it…let’s just say that a toddler and an elastic-waist skirt are a recipe for disaster! You can see a few places where I removed pockets before cutting my gores – adds character, don’t you think? And a skirt without a pocket is simply ill-conceived, so I reused a pocket from one of Hubby’s pairs of jeans. Now I can carry my cell phone when I run errands!

CHRISTEPHI

Search This Blog