McCalls 6073 - Sundress

 Happy Monday!! I am getting in a little blogging while sipping my coffee, and getting ready for work. I am fortunate to be able to work in a job share position, and in the summer we each alternate working a full week, so we have the next week off. It works out great. This is my week to work, so my partner is off; hoping work and family life doesn't curtail my sewing too much.

I wanted a sundress for summer, with more substance in the bodice than I often see in RTW, so this is the pattern I chose - M 6073. Fabric selection was somewhat limited, this is what I picked - Nice and soft, colour could be brighter. The belt is purchased.While blogging may seem self indulgent to some, for me it is a valuable and visual learning tool as to what actually looks good on my body, and what colours and fabrics will flatter. And I certainly could wear a little more makeup, though at the time thought I had plenty on? Hmmnnnn.....food for thought.

Since I consider my sewing skills as "progressing amateur", I tend to wear sewn clothes with cardigans or jackets overtop, until I am really confident with my finishings. I also will wear them when I am on house visits to my patients, who tend to be elderly ,with less than ideal vision. Haven't received a negative comment yet!Aren't I sneaky?

I did figure out how to use my picture program features to fix my photos, so the next batch should be a little larger, with more detail evident.



Hope Monday is gentle to you.

Steph

New Look -- Polka dots

Today is our "Day of Champions" -- my oldest son ,who is almost 15, just played his final competitive baseball game, and likely this will be the end of his baseball playing days. My husband is out of town on a bike riding fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis. He is with a group, in a pack of thousands of other riders, and they will be riding for 80 km today, then getting up tomorrow and doing it all again back to their starting point. I am very proud of the determination and perseverance he and my son have demonstrated, especially when the going got tough. I am packing up a cooler and my boys and I will be driving up to the end of the bike race tomorrow to watch hubby cross the finish line.

This is NL, can't remember the exact pattern number, but I did post pictures of it earlier. It is a cowl neck top, went together well, but I think I would make the shoulders wider, and the cowl deeper to make it more substantial and less flimsy. I will likely make this again.

Enjoy the Olympic coverage, if that is your thing ( it sure is mine) and enjoy the weekend!

Happy Creating,

Steph

I'm Back!! .... M6355 Nautical Stripes

I have had a few other irons in the fire, so to speak, so sewing has been on the back burner. Those projects are done, so I was able to get to some sewing, picture taking and blogging this week. Nice to have the sewing mojo back. Thanks to my favorite bloggers,I have also picked up some new inspiration, patterns and fabric. I have also re-named my blog to reflect all the cooking and baking I also do!

So... this is my nautical inspired dress, McCalls M6355. It's a Palmer /Pletsch pattern, and this is how I  style it. The fabric was much thinner than I realized when I bought it, so a slip and cami are mandatory! I learned a lot from this dress - how to make bust darts, back darts and put in short sleeves. I was happy with the neck binding instructions, it worked out very well.

If I were to make this again, I would do the side zipper option and also add front darts for even better shaping. Pardon my "flasher" pose

Unfortunately, my red shoes got cut out of the picture, but I also used the tripod and self timer on my camera for the first time, so here's hoping my blogging, sewing and photographing skills improve with time.


Happy Creating!!

Steph