The Dress

This past weekend I played about two hours worth of music (violin and singing) for a friend's wedding. All in all, I think it went very well, but it's very nice to have that hurdle done and out of the way. Sunday, the following day, I just crashed completely and slept for a couple of hours.

Then I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and realized the house was in a state of disaster worthy of a war movie.

But we won't talk about that. Today I'm determined to be cheerful (and ignore the growing pile of laundry in the corner . . . wait . . . did it just move? Perhaps I've discovered another species - the elusive "Laundry Pile Monster" that breeds at rapid speeds . . . )

Nope. Today I'm just going to post pictures of the dresses I was able to sew when I had a brief day of motherhood emancipation. I needed a new dress for the wedding, so I opted to sew one (since the simplest method is never my first choice. I'm ALL about complications . . .).

I have this horrible weakness for floral prints. I blame it all on genetics. My grandparents were florists, so it's all their fault. Passing on the blame, that's me! (Also, please notice and admire my serging technique. My serger worked the whole day without a glitch. I think that's a record.)

I have a weakness for sparklies and bling, too, but that's just due to my feminine nature. It's the prevailing weakness for half the human population, I think.

The stole I just made on a whim, since I had enough fabric left over from the trim and didn't have the heart to throw it all away. I just love adding extra sparklies. Perhaps it's over the top, but "understated" is just not my fashion sense. If I'm going to dress up, I like my outfit to positively scream "LOOK AT ME, I'M CLEAN, I'VE SHAVED, AND THERE IS NO BABY SPIT-UP ON ME!!!!!"

I have this lovely jewelry set from my sister (she made that!) that goes nicely with the whole ensemble, too.

When I was finished with my dress, I had enough left over to sew one for Banna Boo. I didn't have a pattern, so I just decided to wing it. When I was a little girl my mom showed me how to make my own patterns for my American Girl Doll (that was way back when there was just one, Samantha. Yes, I know, that's ancient. Stop smirking.)

Incidentally, that's also when I first learned to sew.
- - No, sleeves don't go on the neck.
- - Sewing your fingers together isn't smart.
- - Don't cut your doll's hair, because no matter how real you think she is, it won't grow back.

I learned all sorts of interesting things from my early sewing experience.