Back to the Maxi Dress

March 2014
A close friend of mine showed up at the playground wearing the cutest maxi I had seen yet, and I wish I had a picture (I think it was a Lilly Pullitzer), but anyway I fell in love and wanted to try to recreate it. I found this pattern Simplicity 1420 View C, and the cut is very similar.  So I found some jersey knit at fabric.com, and dove into a much more difficult pattern.  I struggled through several steps, and even had to stop for a few days to figure out how to do one step, but I completed it, and I think it turned out pretty nice, even though the pleats are on the wrong side of the skirt portion (oops).  The best part? No zippers! Unfortunately the colors and print don't really work on me, so I've only worn it once:

Learning to Sew: First Dresses (aka Fail Dresses)

February 2014
When I set out to learn dressmaking, I was all about the maxi dresses at the time.  So I found this very easy pattern - McCall's 6559.  I headed to Joanne & bought some stretchy navy blue fabric.  I didn't know much about fabric, so I ended up with something that just didn't work well for this style... not that it mattered, because my execution would have destroyed the dress in any fabric:

No problem, I'll just get a heavier fabric, and maybe try a higher neckline.  It's ok from afar, but far from ok:

This pattern has not been attempted again.

So scratch the maxi, and go for a sun dress.  I can never find a good basic strappy sun dress, and I could wear them all the time in the summer.  So I found another easy pattern: New Look 6459 and went for view E with no belt.  My first attempt was horrible.  I love the concept I had in mind of navy blue with pink straps and exposed pink zipper, but a. I thought using bias tape for straps was a good idea (not), and b. this was my first zipper. The last thing I should have done is tried to expose it :/.

I made myself a pink tail!  And check out that sexy bra.  Yeah this one went to the fail pile, but I tried again, in a cute cotton poplin.  I did better on the zipper (still not very good), but I don't much like the way poplin works on this dress.  I'd like something that drapes better around the waistline:

I'll probably give this pattern another go sometime.

So I tried another sun-dress style pattern New Look 6557, view C.  This one has a cute waistband, which I think I was drawn to after the waistline issue with the last dress.  Unfortunately this didn't work for me at all.  I love the drape of this fabric (rayon challis), but it didn't work well at the waist. Maybe I needed a thicker interfacing at the wist or something.  It just seemed so flimsy and unnecessary, and really just messed up the bust for me.  Still working on those dang zippers. Also, I made it a little too short, so with that low neckline it's totally hoochie (ok, maybe if I was 18, but I'm very much not)... off to the fail pile:

Sure, I'll make a blog. Why not?

Ok, so .... blogging.  I never thought I would get around to this, though I have long wanted a place to collect all of the things I have done, and will do, in the creative world.  I have an addiction to creating, and to trying new things.  I have a hard time focusing all of my energy on one outlet, because I just have too many things I want to do.  There are some things that I always come back to, and some things I feel a stronger connection to, so my thought is that eventually I will narrow it all down into one medium and really find where my heart wants me to be.

Current passion: Sewing
I should have gone to fashion school, as I planned in my late teens, but cancelled for a more secure career.  I spent a large percentage of my childhood drawing fashion and making Barbie clothes.  I got a sewing machine in my teens, but it didn't work very well, so I gave up way too soon. I came very close to entering a program at a Fashion Institute in Miami, but I chose another path. I started to pick sewing up again in my early 30s, but then I became a mommy, and all of my focus went into my babies.  Finally I have found a little time to give it another try, and I find myself completely obsessed.  It started with wanting to wear more dresses, but never finding what I wanted.  Everything was either the right color and fabric, but wrong design, or vice versa, so I decided that's it, I need to make my own.  So I made a handful of really crappy dresses that I would never wear in public, but little by little I am finally getting the hang of it.  So maybe I will never own my own dress shop, but I can at least make some fun things to wear, and some really cute things for my sweet little girl :).  So this is where the blog will mainly focus for now anyway... my sewing projects.

Other Interests: Pottery, painting
I am also very much in love with clay... always have been.  I may be getting close to actually calling myself a "potter" because I'm getting pretty decent at it.  I don't have nearly enough time to do it though, and I know I could completely lose myself in it if given the chance. I have a set studio time at a community center once a week when I throw on a wheel.  That makes it hard because the time doesn't always work with my schedule, and it's hard to make yourself be in the right creative mindset on a specifically planned day and time.  I really need my own wheel, but really for pottery there are so many things you need for a good space, and it will be a while before I can build that up, but I do think I will get there some day.  And then there is painting.  Ahhhhh... This one makes me crazy.  My grandmother was an amazing oil painter, and I have always wanted to be able to do that. It's a huge goal of mine, but it has never come naturally to me.  I have actually painted a few pretty nice things, but it is not something that just happens. I'm hopeful that I can find some hidden master painter inside myself.  Maybe I never will, but I'll probably always try.

Past: Lots of things
I will probably throw in some other creative things I have done in the past, just because.