Tic Toc...I Love You All The Time

At long last!

This has got to be the oldest 

U.F.O. I have ever completed!

 India picked out this fabric all the 

way back in 2000!

I made a mistake in my last post and 

said I had bought it in 1999.

She was in second grade and just beginning to learn

how to tell time on a clock.

I cut out this dress and 

got it about half finished 

and then we packed up to move to 

New Hope, Pennsylvania. 

Somehow, I never unpacked

this to finish sewing this dress!

Ahnalin found this unfinished

dress in a box in our garage here in 

in Santa Rosa!!!

That means that this box had travelled

through several moves before 

being opened! 

OH MY!

For some reason,

I made the bodice with

facings instead of lining it.

Weird, 

especially since there was more

fabric packed with the pieces.

So, I cut out a lining 

and added interfacing.

And then the bodice looked a little

too  boring, 

so I pleated some gingham ribbon

and added a scrap 

of rick rack.

After all, 

I still adore rick rack!

Ugh!

How did I miss that thread?

I didn't have any buttons

in my stash that I loved 

with this fabric.

And there was no way I was going

to the fabric store to finish a

U.F.O that was 11 years old!

So, I dug through my button jar

and started layering buttons.

I liked this combo.

I had already sewn the hem band 

and pockets onto the skirt,

but I added more rick rack,

because, well, it's me!

Although I prefer button closures,

I had already put in the zipper,

so, out of a desire to just

"get'er done!",

I left the zipper in.

Ahnalin loves it!

She wanted to do "Pretty poses"

for this dress, 

so this is one of those.

Twirling!

And then,

of course,

the "Classic Ahnalin Pose"!

I am so glad I finally finished this little dress,

before Ahnalin grew out of it too!

---------------------------------

In other news,

I am doing well on the "Anti-Inflammatory Diet"

and am seeing results in my hand.

After a visit to the doctor,

and blood work,

we found out that there is some kind of 

auto-immune condition going on,

but we don't know what it is.

So, I am headed to a specialist to figure that out.

And, 

I will be starting the girls Halloween 

costumes this week.

Does this give you an idea of who

both of my daughters want to be for Halloween?

Happy Sewing!

Alterations, Aprons And A Really Old U.F.O!

Thank you, 

so much (!!!)

for your prayers and encouragement!

My hand is MUCH better and I have been 

able to do some sewing!

I am thrilled with the progress

my hand has made since I have been following

the Anti-inflammatory diet!

So, thankfully, I have been able to do

some work!

That has meant A LOT of alterations for 

various clients in town.

And, as usual, that means replacing

a lot of zippers, 

adjusting hems,

and letting out seams.

But I finally remembered to share a tip

that has saved me a lot of frustration.

I have been replacing a lot of invisible zippers lately.

And I truly HATE the little plastic feet by Coats,

that are sold next to the zippers.

Now I know that you can buy a special foot 

for installing an invisible zipper,

but I didn't want to buy one more thing!

So I tried all of my different machine feet 

and found out that my Piping foot worked perfectly!

I was thrilled and feeling rather thrifty as well!

Do you have any idea what this is?

It is the inside of a gorgeous bridal gown

that I am rebuilding for a client.

While I always welcome alterations business,

I LOVE altering bridal gowns!

I have been taking my machine over to 

the bride's home to work on her dress,

because my eager girls would have 

a hard time not sneaking a try-on!

Did I mention that I adore bridal gowns? 

And I have made a few aprons lately too!

I had an old friend order an apron

for her preschool daughter.

She picked these two fabrics

so I made the apron up 

with the same fabrics but

in reverse.

She picked this one!

And this is the other version.

I love them both!

This is a size small (2-4) 

and I will be listing it in my Etsy soon.

And that U.F.O.?

(UnFinished Object)

Well.............

I bought this fabric in 1999

and cut out a dress for India.......

who was in second grade at the time!

A month into the school year,

we moved from Lake Bluff, Illinois,

to New Hope, Pennsylvania.

So I must have packed up this 

partially sewn dress that I had

been making for India,

to encourage her to learn to tell time. 

Guess who found it while

"shopping in the garage"?

Ahnalin!! 

This is just crazy,

because we have moved 

2 more times since then!!

So, now Ahnalin is in second grade

and learning to tell time.

And I am finishing this dress for her!

However, I don't like

that I had made it with facings,

instead of lining the bodice.

So, I have taken off the facings

and am lining the bodice so 

I can attach it to the skirt.

The dress also only has seam

allowance for a zipper,

instead of buttons, 

but I am just keeping that the same.

So, hopefully tomorrow I will have photos of 

Ahnalin in her finished dress!

It feels so good to be able to sew again!

I need to get back to work now.

Happy Sewing!