Take Two- Simplicity 4782

This is the same pattern as the Lemon Dress.

The side view shows off its nice A-line shape. I once again did a twice folded under hem to give it more stiffness and body, and hemmed it on the machine.

Front view. I had a half-yard less of this fabric, so I was forced to make this one a bit shorter. It comes to my knees instead of just below.

I love these shoes. I got them at an estate sale towards the end of high school, when I was starting to get over my desperately-caring-about-what-everyone-thinks phase. My mom and I went and the house was just stuffed. I bought a fur and these shoes. The people running the sale said it was the third or fourth straight weekend, and they had only emptied the downstairs and one room upstairs. "Hoarder" was not a common tern (at least in my vocabulary) in 2000, but that had to have been the case. Too bad we didn't go back...

They are made out of some kind of plastic-like substance, and have rounded toes and very high heels, which is why they don't get much play. I think they are super cute, and are navy blue, it's kind of hard to tell in the photos.

I just googled the brand "Salon Debs" but got nothing. It also says "designed exclusively for Block's." I searched for Block's department store, and there was one in Indianapolis from 1896 to 1987. It would be kind of amazing if they had traveled from there to Oregon, but it's possible!

Here's the baby T-Rex being adorable!

Have a good weekend everyone! I know I will- we don't have to turn in lesson plans next week because of state testing, so it's like I was given three more hours of weekend! Yay!!

Procrastinating....

I am procrastinating doing work for school tomorrow... so here are the fruits of my labors:

Look at my lemons! I am glad re-potting it didn't make it angry. You can also see my car down below. Can you see the yellow spot where the paint fell off? That was my latest car surprise when I went through the car wash. lol. I love you, Oldsmobile!

My tiny dills are sprouting.

My asparagus shot up about 3 inches overnight. The lighting is bad, it IS green, I swear!

I finished my blue dress! It's the same pattern as the lemon dress, but tweaked a little to fit better. I shortened the skirt pieces because I had less fabric and because I ended up cutting off several inches last time. I also took about 1/2" on the fold from the front and back (bodice and skirt) to make up for the inches I had to take in on the other finished version.

Overall, I am satisfied!

My week off is winding down...

Here's how my dress is progressing:

All it needs now is a zipper and a hem...

I bought this interfacing at Jo-Ann. I have given up on thinking I will buy hair canvas; it is too expensive and I don't like buying fabric online. Fabric is tactile, the internet is not. This is designed to be a lightweight iron-on interfacing for light tailoring, which I think matches the needs of my cape. See the cape inspiration here: http://mollysews.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-progress-cape.html

Here is the cape pattern: I started this over a year ago, if I remember correctly, I am making the blue/beige version.

I bought this fabric to make a new version of this Advance pattern: see the original here!

The print is very large, and that seems like what I am liking lately. It's not terribly summery, but I like it!

Anyways, now I have to start writing lesson plans and making up activities for this next week- we are reviewing for the big LEAP test in a week. I bought a big tub of candy and am making up team games to review. Hopefully, the week will be fun, and they will all do well on the tests!

New dress and lemon tree

So far I have made the bodice for the next dress:

It's the same pattern, but with a new fabric. Same cotton/poly blend and also a Jo-Ann "signature" fabric.

I also went and bought the dog a new collar, new squeaky tennis balls and pee pads. I have to work long days next week, so I am hoping this will give him an option other than holding it all day. Here he is giving me a "pretty shake":
I also bought five tomato plants at the grocery store and more pots at the dollar tree. My friend came over and helped me re-pot my lemon tree, so now it gets to enjoy the outdoors in its big blue pot. The pot is cool because it looks like ceramic, but is actually really lightweight (since I am weak)

Lemon Dress PIx

The bust had soft tucks, something like that. It has a nice effect.

The front:
The back:
See how the skirt stands out a little? I like it.

Lemon Dress Finished!

The pattern is Simplicity 4782.

Total cost- $27.77

The daylight is fading, so I'll take some picture wearing it tomorrow.

My changes:

I shortened the bodice an inch, which was perfect.

I folded up the skirt about 5 inches, and ended up cutting off three more. I am very short, but I also wanted just below knee length instead of tea length.

I ended up taking in 2 inches from the center back seam, since it was pretty baggy. That fixed that.

I also rolled the hem under twice about 1/2 " each time, and hemmed it on the machine. This was in part because I am lazy and the prospect of hemming a circle skirt by hand bored my brain-box, and to give it some extra body. It now stands out a little by itself. It's too hot in Louisiana for crinolines- especially with my car with the broken a/c...