Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Dress Shopping In My Stash



Easter is less than a month away!

Which means, unless I plan to hit the stores to purchase Easter clothing for my children (oh perish the thought!) OR dress them in something they have worn before (On Easter? Are you kidding me??),
I had better get some finery in process!

To make this little exercise more interesting,
Don and I are doing the Dave Ramsey course

And so I am doing my best to not spend any money
that I don't have to spend right now.

And did I mention that I have a perfectly ridiculous stash?
(Let's just pretend this is the entirety of my stash,
since I am not going to show you what is in the pie safe or under the cutting table)

Here is something strange about me.
I tend to purchase fabrics and then
I have to let them "age" a while.
Or as my hubby would say,
" Let them rest until they develop a fine patina"

 Weird, I know.

I almost never sew the new fabrics when they are brand new.

I seem to stare at them, pet them, dream about them,
and then build up a terrible fear of cutting into them!

I really have some lovely fabrics!

So, um... I have absolutely no excuse for not creating
gorgeous Easter dresses for India and Ahnalin 

Completely Out Of My Stash!

India is 18.

And while she DOES wear costumes,
and dresses with rabbits embroidered on them,
I decided NOT to force that on her for Easter.

So, I let her go "shopping in my stash"
to choose her dress components.

I have a huge number of patterns,
and have no business buying any more right now.
So, she looked through my boxes and chose this:

Vogue 8185 (dated 2006)

The fabric she chose is an older Kaffe Fassett print called
Brocade Floral.

I have been hoarding this fabric for quite some time.


Because of India's swayback, she can be difficult
to fit, especially in a style that does not have a gathered skirt.

So, we made a muslin.

And, as usual, the measurements on the pattern
had no bearing on reality!

She was a full two sizes smaller than the pattern measurements
said she would be.

 Do you see my little mouse hiding under the muslin?

Do you also see that nasty snow out the window????

Can I tell you how sick I am of snow???????


Thankfully, I was able to work out all the fit issues
with the muslin, so I am hoping to get the dress done tonight.

The boning still has to go into the lining in the bodice.
I am adding a skirt lining, so India will not need to wear a slip in the summer
if she does not want to.

There will be a ruffle and straps too.

India has already asked for another one of these dresses in denim.

So, I hope to show you a finished dress in the morning.


I have not started on Ahnalin's dress yet.

But her dress will be this lovely pink pima cotton batiste
with lace that was given to me by the sweetest,
most talented group of ladies I have ever met.
The pattern I have chosen is
"Susan" by Kay Guiles.

I need to get it pleated and start smocking as time is growing short!


And on another subject,
here is the quilt top I made of the handprints of
children in Ahnalin's kindergarten class.


I am not much of a quilter, so I just did the top
and another lady will do the quilting.


It was hard to get the squares straight and even because so many of the
children, including my own, wrote their names in or very close
to the seam allowance.


The embroidery is not showing up well but it is a
pair of giraffes.
Her class is called the "Gentle Giraffes". 

This quilt will be auctioned off at Ahnalin's school fundraiser next month.

So, back to sewing for me.

Hopefully, pictures in the morning of a completed dress for India.

Love to you all, and happy sewing!

19 comments:

Martha said...

Oh I think your color coordinated stash is so pretty!!! Your Easter dresses are going to be lovely. Isn't it a good feeling to use what you have and still have something beautiful to show for it? Can't wait to see them both finished.

Lori said...

Can't wait to see the finished dress. India will be lovely in it.

Mona @ la la by mona said...

Seriously. Are you kidding me? Ugh. You get more done in an hour than I have all day!

I love what India has picked out - it is going to be gorgeous. And, I'm jealous of that sweet little pink smocked dress you'll be making - already.

Oh, can I come rummage through your stash? I wanna shop, too!!

I know what you mean - I really have a hard time cutting a fabric that I love! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Ooo, I really like that dress pattern! The purple and orange ones especially - I can't pull off a strapless ANYTHING.

Can I borrow that from you so my mom can make me one or two dresses? And shhh, don't tell her I'm planning on her sewing for me, or she'll make me do it myself. ::shudder::

Christine said...

I love love all their choice. You make such beautiful things!

Michelle said...

How pretty! LOVE the fabric India chose. Oh my.

donna said...

I so admire your ability to sew. Thank you for sharing. It inspires me to try harder to learn. Take care and God bless.

Laurie said...

Can't wait to see the finished dresses on the girls! Your fabric stash is soooo nice and neat - I'm impressed and I wish mine was half as neat!

Jennifer said...

Good Morning...I have been following your blog now for about three months as I am new to sewing and LOVE IT!!!!!! You do some amazing stuff! I also ordered one of the monkey bloomer skirt patterns about 1 1/2 months ago and have not recieved it yet...I can't wait to try it for my four year old!

Goosegirl said...

Hi Jennifer,
Thank you so much. I sent out your pattern on January 30th to the email that Paypal was sent from. But I will send it again if you did not receive it. The pattern is a PDF E-book.
There is not an email listed on your profile, so I hope you see this.
I am thrilled to help you any way I can.

Sivje

Mrs. Bianca said...

Beautiful, beautiful! Thanks for sharing your stash.

Unknown said...

I love your stash of fabrics...it is pretty it might turn me into a hoarder too if mine looked like that...which it doesnt...
I love the dress...she is going to look so pretty in it and the quilt top is great!

April said...

I love it, Sivje! The dress is so pretty and your attention to fitting detail - I admire you!

Jacki said...

I can't wait to see that dress modeled!!!
I love the pic of you stash...mine is mostly apparel fabrics, which don't lend themselves to pretty pictures: all those wools, and cords, and denims...browns, grays, navys, blacks....boring!!
:)

Anne Sutton said...

That dress is just wonderful! I love how you fitted it in muslin and then made the dress. I do that same thing when I'm making a pincushion or something like that. Muslin first, then fabric. Your daughter will be more than beautiful in that dress and what a smart, smart mom!

Mona @ la la by mona said...

Thank you so much for your sweet, sweet comments this morning. On a day when we ALL woke up late ("ACK! - get up, you're late for school. Hurry, hurry, hurry!!!"), it made my morning much better!

Have a great weekend!

hollym. said...

I'm coming shopping at your house for fabric, Siv!! :)

I can't wait to see the girl's dresses. Happy sewing!

Simple Home said...

Your stash looks so neat and organized, I'm feeling a bit guilty at the look of mine. You have some beautiful fabrics and that dress is going to be so pretty! I love your daughter's handprint quilt too. So sweet!
Blessings,
Marcia

Anonymous said...

Nice work, Sivje! I always love to see your creations. LOVE your stash too! One of these days, I'm gonna buy fabric by the bolt....... :)