Nearly There

So I'm just past middle of my dress making extravaganza~ I feel really good about my progress! I was able to finish Dulcie's new Analise dress last night. It was the wee hours and quiet. I was happy for something to do while the DH was at work.
I was so happy with myself that the moment she woke up this morning, I cajoled her into it! Today was terribly rainy, and with little else to do; I worked on the next dress. Since I definitely could see making another Analise dress--I did. This time I'm using some Sandi Henderson Ginger Blossom and Amy Butler Love. I received both pieces from swaps this last week. They are gorgeous. I feel lucky to be able to make dresses for my baby with them.
Construction is going smoothly. The pattern is fresh in my head from yesterday. It also helps that I've made this dress a handful of times before. To be fair, it is a beginner-friendly pattern. I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone wanting to make a little girl's dress. All I have left to do is the skirt. It would be amazing if I could finish tonight. If not, tomorrow will do.

My Crafty Christmas [2]

The last few days (except yesterday, I was just lazy) I've been working on my niece's Christmas present. I decided to make her something for the spring, the Analise dress by Sandi Henderson/Portabellopixie. I am nearly finished. I just need to gather the skirt and attach it to the bodice. Hopefully, I will be able to do that today.
The thing about this dress is this: I completely LOVED the fabric before I started cutting it. As it came together as a dress I don't know how I feel. I used a fabric I had enough yardage in (one I had originally planned to use for my own DD), but I am now beginning to realize that it needed a solid to break up the pattern. I used the same fabric but in yellow for my DD's dress, and it was fine. I think maybe the purple is just too strong? I don't know. I'll figure it out.

Here I am--Again

I'm not sure I mentioned it, but I was gone for the month of April, and when I got home; I was plum tuckered out on quilting. I just wanted to relax after jamming two quilts into one month. I decided, instead, to try and make my girl some clothes! And that's what I did (sort of) for May, June, and this lovely month of July (a dress a month). I'm a complete novice at clothing construction, but I had fun anyway ;D

This latest dress was made with Flutterby by Tula Pink for Moda (the other two feature Marie Webster's reproductions from Windham and Whimsy by Fig tree for Moda) with some Kona cotton in Earth for accent (it actually matched really well). I *really* like this line. The range is fun, but then most of Tula Pink's designs are fun, imo. I was lucky and found these prints for only 2.98 a yard. The Kona cotton came from my stash (I used it to bind my Nana's quilt).


The pattern I used was Analise by Sandi Henderson (I also bought her book, and another pattern, Claire). Let me start by saying the instructions are clear, as are the pictures, which make this pattern easy for a beginner (like me :D) And even though this was the third time I'd made this dress, it didn't stop me from making some rookie mistakes--like sewing the strap into the seam for the armpit. Nothing a seamripper and patience couldn't fix, though.


I love that this dress is so easy (usually) to construct. It takes me 2-3 days (or sometimes more) to complete only because I have a small child. Anyone else would probably complete it in a day (if the fabric was already prepped and ready), or a weekend, easy. I love how it turned out, too. I added some flare and tacked on a ruffle to the hem. My girl is tall for her age (she isn't even 2 yet and she's a little over half my height) so it was a nice way to add some length to the skirt. I already have my fabric prepped for the next dress, now I just need to find the time! I want to finish it before August, though. It's always nice to have a deadline to work with ;D