Making Simplicity 3744 - for my Mother

It's been a while since my Mom gave me this fabric that she bought (she wanted me to make a dress for her)--I was busy yes, but I think it took me so long to undertake this project because it was a new pattern, and frankly this dress wasn't for me.  Is that bad?

Before you think that this fabric is too loud, remember that most older women look great in jewel colors and my Mom's no exception.  On the other hand, pastel colors can wash out your complexion and make you look tired.

Anyway, what finally got the ball rolling is I had this butterfly sequin fabric, and I thought how fabulous it would look on a purse with this aqua tie dye fabric.  I wanted to show off the butterfly and what better way than to put it on the purse flap?

I made this bag with the pattern for my large Princess Purse line in my Bridal Evening Bag Shop on Etsy.  I love that the fabric around the butterfly had enough contrast, otherwise, it would've been too matchy-matchy with the main fabric.

After I made the purse, I was finally excited about making the dress.  Yes, that's how I work, backwards.  I used Simplicity 3744 and I made view D, which is on the far left, the black and white dress.



I thought this pattern was a good choice because I loved the details on the dress (the belt in back, sleeves, neckline, etc.) and this aqua tie dye fabric irons with a sharp crease, perfect!

My only concern about the pattern was that the pocket sits across the entire stomach and I thought it would add too much bulk.  So I made sure to use very thin, matching aqua fabric for the pocket insides. Otherwise, I thought the pockets were a cute touch.  Plus, I had some shell buttons that went with the aqua perfectly and look cute on the pocket front.

I like the neck because of that sharp crease from the fabric.

You have the same crease and V shape on the bottom of the sleeve too.  And the matching button decoration.  

When you have details like this, by the way, they show up best on a plain, one color fabric like this aqua. Otherwise, if the fabric is too busy, you wouldn't be able to notice the pocket or sleeves, etc. and your hard work was for naught!

I think the band across the back is cute with the button decoration.  You wouldn't be able to see that with a busy fabric either.

Well, here's the finished dress and bag!  My Mom is going to look fantastic!!!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers Custom Pouches

I had a really cool custom order in my Gypsy Girl Shop the other day:  a custom order for two pouches patterned after pods with flowers from the movie, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

These were really fun to make and I think they turned out really cool.

My New Old Quilt

My sister is one of those sewers who is such a perfectionist that the stitches themselves are beautiful, much less the project.

About 34-35 years ago (wow!) I made her a quilt before she went to college.  Well, she just mailed me the best present in the world!  She literally took apart the old quilt and resewed it into another quilt with new backing and stitches throughout to make it usable once again.  What a great gift!  isn't it beautiful?!

I thought I would show you closeups of some of the fabric squares I remember--some of these fabric pieces make me think of the garments we made out of them, like cheesy summer shorts, Easter dresses or pants.

I remember Easter dresses made of this purple flower heart fabric.  For several years my Grandma made them for the girls in my family, when she came to visit us from Michigan to Florida.  All of us 6 girls got a dress, but with slight variations.  Someone would have white ric rac on the hem, or different sleeves or neckline.  We were adorable!

My mom had a pair of shorts made of this blue red fabric.  Hmmmm.

I would love to make a purse out of this fabric!  I remember some sort of summer short set made of this--but I don't think I wore it...

 I remember this butterfly fabric!  I wanted to make a dress out of it but there wasn't enough so I settled on putting it in the quilt.

This is the new backing fabric my sister used.  See all the swirly type stitches she did?  Really cool!













So, I want to give a public shout out to my sweet sister and tell her how much I love and appreciate her kind, thoughtful gift!

Love you, sis!