Colette Hazel V2.0

Oh look, it's me. In front of an ice cream truck.

Yay, Hazel nummer zwei is finished! I knew that I wanted to showcase the bias cut sides with a striped fabric so I purchased this seersucker. I really wanted a blue or pink striped seersucker, but my lfs was out. Of course a week later they had a gorgeous pink but whatev. I like the way this turned out.

 While constructing the dress I kept in mind that I wanted the bodice to be a little closer fitting. I cut the front bodice pieces in a size 10 and the back a size 8, just like I did the last time. I basted the back closed and tried it on before installing the zipper. It was still fairly large....I think I ended up taking out over an inch by increasing the seam allowances in the back.Another little note on construction....this dress is the only one I've made so far that didn't require a FBA. It may have benefited from one but I'm able to pull it off without, so yay!

  When I finished it, I had not added any embelishments and I wore it to a friend's bday party. I intended on wearing this version without a belt and even though it fit much more snug in the waist I still felt like it needed a pop of color and I threw on a red belt as I headed out the door. I really liked the way it look but damn, belts in the humidity and heat that is a Virginia summer are nasty. I was all sweaty and uncomfortable. blech. When I got home, I took the dress off, pulled out my notions and found some red ric rac. After pinning it on I was really pleased and I added the buttons for another pop of color. I wore the dress out again today while shopping with my best friend and it was so much more comfortable.While getting a frappuccino at Starbucks the barista asked me if I bought my dress at ModCloth. woot, I call this dress a success!

I.hate.shoes.

 I do have one complaint about this dress. I don't own a bra that is low cut enough to not show. The bra I'm wearing peaks out only a little but it's got a crazy black and white pattern that can be seen through the seersucker. I have to wear a slip, which you can see peeking out of the top. I think it ruins the look "/  The amount of bra that shows on the back is horrible. 

crazy bra

Also, and this is purely my own mistake, the straps placement on the back should have been adjusted after increasing the seam allowances. Still wearable, but something that bothers me.

  I took these pics at the end of the second day after spending the day outside in the heat and eating ice cream. You must excuse the wrinkles. Also, if you look close enough there is ice cream on the front. I'm a sloppy eater.

Photobombed by John Deere

 Sooo, what's next? I must put all current sewing projects on hiatus and sew for Independence Day. I have to make my oldest daughter a dress and one for myself. I'm thinking a red, white and blue Colette Lily...yes?

Oh no....a haul post?? Really??

Aside from the hundred or so blogs I follow, I also follow quite a few youtube channels. For the most part I love youtube but I have never really cared for "haul" videos. You know the ones...where some person shows off the huge amounts of STUFF they were able to purchase for your viewing pleasure...or in my case viewing jealousy. Yes, maybe I'm just a horrible person. I'm not really angry that the people were able to get all the awesome stuff they have, I'm just reminded that right now, I can't get said stuff because I have to buy $600 worth of groceries this month. Priorities suck.
   Anyhoo, I promised myself I would try to refrain from posts of these types. However, in the past week I've managed to hit up 2 awesome pattern sales that I'm super excited about. I wouldn't normally need to share my joy with strangers, but in this case I just need to share my joy with ANYBODY. When I came home with stack of said patterns (and yes, some fabric also) and I presented them to my hubby I saw his eyes glaze over. The kind of glazing over that I imagine happens to *my eyes when he shows me his latest Transformer.(Have I not mentioned I'm married to a Transformers geek? Oh, well.....yes. I'm married to a Transformers geek. He's also a He-man geek, but that's another post entirely)

  With no one to share my joy with I turn to you, dear readers (heeellloooo? Do I have any yet? ;). I also renounce my right to ever complain about a haul post, ever again. Soooo, without further ado, here is my patterns haul

Simplicity 2215 and 2245 are part of my pledge to make more seperates. Simplicity 1803 has been a favorite of mine for some time and Simplicity 1880 is a a commitment to Sunni's sew along. I don't think I'll be able to follow it live but I do intend to go back and use her excellent advice to make it when I have time. There's a McCall's pattern thrown in and I picked up a couple of patterns for my girls. My sister (a vintage enthusiast) actually purchased the two vintage patterns, Simplicity 4044 and Vogue V8811. 

 What trip to the fabric store is complete without heaps of fabric?

 The fabrics on the left were again purchased by my sister for the patterns she picked out (those garments are going to be her birthday/Christmas gift for this year, combined, ha!). The red, white and blue poplin is destined to be a Colette Lily for Independence Day and the seersucker is for my final Hazel. The cotton prints are going in the stash.

  So, that's my haul. yikes. And I'll admit it....it felt GOOD!

Colette Hazel V 1.0

All done! Truth be told, I wish I had saved this fabric for my second Hazel. Despite it being slightly difficult to work with, it's soooo pretty.
 The pattern was easy and came together quickly. As I mentioned, I had some problem with the fabric, but it was my own amateur mistakes.I cut a size 10 for the whole front and a size 8 for the back bodice pieces. I find all Colette patterns I've made to be a bit big in the back. I also lined the bodice in cotton batiste to give it some structure.

   After wearing it for the full day my feedback is this: The straps are too long and positioned a bit too far out, the bodice a little short and hits right above my natural waist, the dress is still a bit on the loose side around the waist.I plan to add a half an inch to the bodice to fix the bodice length and I'll play around a bit with the straps on the next one. I remedied the waist with a belt, but I'd like the option of not wearing a belt so I think I'm going to take in the seams on the side. All in all, I love this dress and can't wait to make it up again.

 A little bonus for this post...my oldest daughter's birthday is the day after our anniversary. Here she is in the dress I made her on her birthday.

Our inspiration was Minnie Mouse. ; )

Just in time...Sew Colette 2.0!

    Friday is my tenth wedding anniversary. It's also the day before my daughter's birthday. DH and I rarely get to celebrate because we are always spending the day before getting ready for her party. This year we're making an exception and spending the whole day before ALONE ::gasp::. I wanted a pretty dress to wear on out little excursion. I had my eyes set on Vintage Vogue 8812. I have the perfect floral swiss dot cotton. Alas, I spent all week making my daughter's birthday dress and there is just no time to tackle the Vogue pattern before Friday. Well, not enough time to make the dress and feed my children. Darn children.


  The girls over at Miss Crayola Creepy, Rhinestones and Telephones and Lucky Lucille are hosting Sew Colette 2.0. This is very exciting for me. I followed the first sew along as an admirer and I think I'm going to join in when I can for this one! The first patter they are doing is the Hazel dress which is really perfect for me right now, since I need an adorable dress before Friday. I have this pretty cotton gauze I picked up from Hancock a few weeks ago that I'm going to attempt to make a wearable muslin out of! Fingers crossed it works out and I'll keep you updated!

Introducing.....

My first post. What do I say without boring you? I've given quite a bit of thought as to whether or not I should just lay it all out there or slowly reveal myself little by little. In the end, I came to the conclusion, that for now anyway, you probably don't care much about me. Not that you don't like me. (I hope you give me the benefit of liking me!) but because you have no need to know such trivial facts as where I was born, who my favorite band is and what I do for fun. I created this blog as a way to showcase that which keeps me sane, my creations. I spend hours a day reading blogs all over the interwebs. Mostly sewing blogs but also fashion, DIY and natural parenting blogs. I feel like I know a lot of you. We're pals (in my head). One day I thought, "I sure do wish I could have a blog that people read and laughed at and made fun of and felt happy and inspired by!" Then I had a somewhat genius thought. Why don't I start a blog? What did I tell ya? Genius (somewhat). Anyway, here I am. Writing in this little white box hoping I come across as someone you want to continue reading about. And comment to. And be friends with! Am I coming across too creeper-like? Ok, sorry, I'll tone it down. But really, I am pretty excited. So here goes. :) My 5 year old took this. Not bad, eh?