Is anyone surprised by my next choice of print?

AKA, more florals. No, not surprised? Okay, good. I like to meet expectations, of course. 

This is my second (successful) version of Butterick 5748. My first one turned out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. My second one (unblogged) was a couple of inches too small. Even though I used the same size. Even though I haven't gained that much weight. So for this version, because I loved this print so much and didn't want to ruin more fabric, I added quite a bit of room all over. And then, of course, had to take out all of the extra room, and then some.

This was 2 yards of some fairly slinky gray/blue floral print from Hancock Fabrics, which I probably picked up for about $1.50 per yard. (Side note - I can't imagine myself ever caring enough about type of fabric to do a burn test. Sorrynotsorry, you'll have to settle for my ridiculous descriptions. :) I really only care about the print, always and forever.)

I love the back of this dress (along with a beautiful view of my healing sunburn). However, I can't imagine the back of this will ever be seen in real life, because...

While I was putting the finishing touches on the inside (aka serging some seams)...I made a big boo-boo. I cut a HUGE hole in there, and this was my lazy effort to fix it. It probably won't last for long, I'll have to go back and find a longer-term solution. That hasn't stopped me from wearing it so far, though...and my mom even said she likes this one! Something about it being more "subtle," ha.

What's your most recent disaster? Or "make it work" moment?

Flowers to the max!

(I am really really sorry about that title. Not sorry enough to change it, but...sorry.) For once I've got a seasonally appropriate garment to share, woohoo!

Although I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with this pattern lately, my "tried and true" Simplicity 4070 bodice came through on this one! All in all, this dress only took me a couple of hours, and was the perfect palate cleanser after a recent sewing fail.

I picked up this fabric last year after I fell off the wagon with my 2014 stash bust, and before I signed up for this year's try. It's a pretty sheer cotton with swiss dots and, of course, flowers! I think it was only $1.50 a yard at the Vogue Fabrics warehouse sale (minus an extra 15% off coupon!), and I'm glad it hasn't lingered in my stash like some of the other goodies I've picked up there over the years. (The spring sale was this past weekend, and I'm immensely proud of myself that I only picked up 2 new pieces (okay, okay, aside from some Simpson's quilting cotton for my mom (FINE, it's mostly for me))). 

As usual, I had to do my cross-back straps - these things really are a lifesaver that prevent me constantly needing to pull them up. The skirt is basically a big pleated tube, but after wearing it for a day, I realized it was kind of hard to walk quickly or take long strides in it, so I added a slit (which I did completely wrong, honestly, but hey, live and learn).

The top's completely underlined in mystery white fabric from the stash, but the bottom's only underlined to the knee (which didn't show up in any of my pictures, oops). 

 

I love maxi dresses, I really do, but I kept catching glimpses of myself while we were out shopping and was worried I looked frumpy. I think the pictures look fine, but...I don't know. Does anyone else ever get that feeling?

(Also, though I have not managed to take a single picture of it (outside of new posts), Me-Made May is going well! I've got a couple more pieces to throw into rotation before the end of the month, but I'm confident it won't be a problem.)

I'm never very good at being seasonally appropriate

I try and I try, but when the mood strikes and I want something, I want it now. 

A little background story (haven't you come to expect and even love these?) On my last business trip, I made it a point to go to Village Wool, a cute little knitting shop with some fantastic sales. While I was there, I picked up a book containing a pattern for a Square Back Wrap, and 2 skeins of gorgeous merino/silk 50/50 blend (for 1/2 off!). Well...me and that little wrap didn't get along very well, unfortunately. I've never done any lace work, and so I took the yarn and the pattern to a monthly knitting group I recently joined. They tried valiantly to help, but most of us were out of our depth. After a few false starts, I decided to just give up on that pattern altogether. (I've been trying to find a similar wrap/shawl pattern that doesn't look frumpy, but no luck yet.)

 [Too hard!]

Needing something a bit simpler, I decided to give Andi Satterlund's free cropped sweater pattern a try. I've heard great things about her patterns, and this pattern, though free, is no exception. I love the cabling on her Chuck pattern, but I actually like the shape of the cropped sweater better.

[Sorry, it's hard to photograph black.]

However, because I like to make things difficult on myself, I decided to add some cool cabling to the front. After knitting and frogging too many rows of a different cable pattern several times, I switched to a latticed diamond cable with some cool borders on the sides. That one knit up much more easily.

All in all, this took about a month to complete, and only 2 of the 5 skeins I purchased. Just in time for 80 degree weather, of course, but at least I'll have it handy for chillier nights, and for next fall! What should I do with the rest? 

In other news, Me-Made May is going well! I haven't taken any outfit pics, but I have worn me-made every day (except the first day because I forgot it was a new month). It's also motivated me to sew sew sew. I've now finished a floral maxi dress, another floral dress, and am almost done with a stretchy floral knit skirt. (Is anyone surprised by all of the florals at this point?) Pics to come soon! How's your (me-made) May progressing?

Housekeeping

Literally, housekeeping is why I've been so quiet. I've been working on getting my front porch into shape, planting grass and flowers, doing a bit more deep cleaning, etc. etc. etc.

This porch really took a beating this winter. I swear it didn't look this bad last year! I've been wanting to fix it up for a while, but had to wait for the weather to start cooperating.

It's pretty far from done, but I think the white makes it look a lot better, no? I can't wait to get those steps done, though. I figure I've already spent almost 9 hours on this, and I've probably got at least 4 more in store. I think I can, I think I can!

I also made some creme brulee recently, after having wanted to for years (literally). Doesn't it look mouth-watering? I'm definitely going to make this again. It's probably a good thing that this takes 2 hours to set - should keep me from making it *too* often!

But since you (probably?) don't come here to hear me talk about housekeeping or baking, I've got a quick sewing project to show you.

The chevrons have been on my Pinterest to-do list for a while, and I was in the mood for something quick, so I figured I'd throw it together. They were actually more complicated than I thought! But I figured it out in the end, that's all that counts, right? The back side is from a re-purposed skirt. I thought this pillow would go nicely in my monochromatic guest room, which it does!



Also, Me-Made May is coming up! My pledge for this year is: 

I, Alicia at forwhoitsfor.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavor to wear at least one handmade item each day (that I leave the house) for the duration of May 2015. Additionally, I will make a special effort to wear every handmade item I have at least once.

Are you taking part in MMM? What's your pledge?

That 70s Dress

Is it just me, or are the days racing by? I can't believe how fast this spring is flying already, or how lucky we've been weather-wise recently. When I was home for Easter I took advantage of said weather to get a few pictures of one of my latest makes:

I really can't decide if I love it or hate it. My mom's first reaction upon seeing it was, "That looks like something my mom would've made me wear." Gee, thanks! ;-)

I grabbed about 2.5 yards of this border-print linen at a garage sale last year. (I'm now regretting some of the things I passed up, considering how cheaply they were letting them go for.) This fabric was clearly from the 70s, and there were quite a few sun-damaged spots. I had to get a little creative with my cutting, but overall there was more than enough fabric to work with.

I wanted to have this done in time for my Puerto Rico trip...last October. That obviously did not happen, ha. I used Simplicity 4070 for the bodice, which I've been thinking of as one of my TNTs, but considering the fitting issues with this one (way too big!) and the last one (way too small!), I think it needs to be stripped of its title.

Along with using the border print for the simple pleated skirt, I thought it might be a nice touch to use it on the straps, too. Kind of pulls the whole thing together, at least theoretically.

Looking at these pictures made me realize just how bad some of the fitting issues are. Honestly, though, I don't know if it's worth fixing. I'd love some honest opinions here - too kitchy, or potentially cute?

UFOs and Pretty Insides

My goal this year has been to finish more of my UFOs (unfinished objects). I have quite a big box full of them, most of which I don't have the energy, the creativity, or the skills to finish. This skirt, however, was not hiding in that box, which was probably why I'd forgotten about it!

I cut it out last year in the midst of my Cascade kick, and when I rediscovered it, I couldn't remember why it ended up as a UFO in the first place. I decided to pay special attention to the inside finishes so that I could parlay this into participating in my first Monthly Stitch roundup: pretty insides.

The side seems are finished using French seams, and since the hem turns too tightly in some places to do some of the fancier finishes, and I can't find a rolled hem foot for my machine, I just did a basic hem, but cleaned it up using fray blocker and trimming it down. Even the inside waistband looks pretty!

[Awkward picture, but it's the best view of how the skirt really hangs - I chose a *really* windy day for these pictures. Also - isn't that mural awesome?]

Well, after finishing it all up, I realized it was in the UFO pile because the waist ties are a bit short. Oops. Oh well, it's definitely still wearable!

On my way out of work that day, the landlord's wife made a comment about how spring-y I looked, to which I had to respond, "Thanks! I made this!" She was sufficiently impressed, ha, and started grabbing at it to feel the fabric. I love getting to brag a little, don't you?

Spring has sprung!

At least on my dress...If I can't have flowers in real life yet, at least I can have them on my clothes. Floral prints seem to be the only things I want to work with these days, and I know I'm not the only one. Glad to see that trend continuing this year!

This dress actually has a bit of a back story. Last...May, maybe? I cut out B5748 with about a yard of this pretty quilting cotton that I picked up at a *major* estate sale. (I'm honestly still upset at myself that I didn't get more while I was there/have a better look around. This lady was the ultimate fabric hoarded.) I didn't have enough floral fabric to cut the bodice on the fold, and the skirt had to be pretty tiny with what was left over, but I got it all sewn together pretty quickly (using more quilting cotton to line the bodice). I was so excited about it that I even cut out a second right away. I wore this to work one day, and then had my mom take some pics for me to post over a long weekend. It was only when reviewing and editing those pictures that I realized just how SHORT the dress was! 

I definitely didn't feel comfortable wearing it out anymore, but with all of the craziness going on last summer, this got thrown into the UFO bin for me to deal with later. Well, later ended up being a bit longer than I thought, but I finally pulled this out last weekend, when I was in the mood to sew but didn't quite feel like starting anything new. I found some matching red quilting cotton and added about 4-5" to the length. I was worried it wouldn't look right, but I think it looks pretty meant to be here, right?

Obviously quilting cotton gets pretty wrinkly, but all in all, I'm happy with this dress. I even got a compliment from a random lady on the street yesterday!

Here's my awkward back view. I like that it's cut a little lower - although I'm really not sure I'd wear it without a cardigan...

Has spring sprung where you are yet? If not, what "cheats" are you using to deal with it?