[with love Heidi]

I’m making a badminton dress. I’ve made heaps of the skirts (but not the skort). But this is my first go at the dress.

[with love Heidi]

I’m making a badminton dress. I’ve made heaps of the skirts (but not the skort). But this is my first go at the dress.

[Lightning McStitch]

oh how timely, again!!

When I finished my Christmas sewing, which was almost entirely from the Little Things To Sew book I was gagging to make pretty dresses and nice shirts, so the minute I finished sewing I started cutting out.

So, now I’ve got a cut out pile to rival my last one,

there’s: 2 Sketchbook shirts

2 Ice Cream dresses, 1 view A, 1 view B. (pattern bust)

1 Japanese T shirt pattern drafted (pattern bust)

1 Jump rope view A dress

1 Music class skirt

1 LTTS bucket Hat

1 LTTS Penguin backpack (pattern bust)

And then I’ve still got untouched patterns: Fairy tale, Badminton, Field Trip, Swingset……

I’d planned not to start until 2013, but maybe I’ll squeeze a few in before the year’s out…..

[needlewoman]

Although I must also face up to the challenge of making the O + S patterns I’ve never tried yet – Playdate, Puppet Show, Bubble Dress, Tea Party, and Family Reunion; the real challenge I’ve been trying to address the last few days is to find the right pattern, and co-ordinating fabric for some pieces I’ve had for a very long time, and am sick of looking at.

Hardest jobs have been working out what to do with two pieces of pink pique (one v. dark fuschia pink, the other more of a musk. I’ve had several goes and given up/moved on to other sewing jobs but today after many hours, and now very sore feet, I’ve finally done it. AND, the fabric to be got rid of will actually be the right amount. (Quite often, I struggle with a pattern I’m determined to make with a particular piece of fabric, and after way too much time trying to make it work, I have to give up, and either change fabric, or change pattern. Anyway, the pink fabrics are now gorgeously coordinated with two other fabrics each to make skirts with aprons attached but without hem bands. Sometimes sorting out 4 separate fabrics is just too hard, and often less=more. So, I will make tucks above the hem and/or trim with ric rack a la a great tutorial I remember seeing on this forum where the half the ric rack peeped out from underneath a fold.

This is great news because I now know what I will be working on before I go away in a fortnight so I can take the skirts (for a 5, and a 2 yr old) and a Tea Party playsuit, and modified Music Box for an 8 mthr (The baby’s clothes I’ve already cut out for an 18 – 24 mths so they will be in the wardrobe for Spring/Summer next year). So lots of work to do but feel a lot more settled in my mind. We’re expecting a smallish but intense heat wave from NY’s Day on so I’ve wanted to get the fabric wrangling done asap.

[with love Heidi]

Just realised that once I’ve sewn up this Family Reuion dress I’m working on I will have used all my hard copy patterns at least once! And I only have 3 digital patterns to go, sailboat, School days and firefly. Since Christmas and new year I realised I have mainly been sewing unused patterns seashore, Sunday Brunch, School Photo, family reunion and I used the sleepover pattern to add long legs to the tea party playsuit!

How are other people going?

Thanks for starting this challenge Wendy!