I've been wanting to sew clothes for myself for some time now. When I first started sewing, that's what I made - a-line skirts, dresses, jumpers. I wasn't afraid of cutting fabric one bit. I was also a teenager with a very different body than I have now, if you catch my drift. In the past few years, I've tried a few items with so-so results and, as such, have been hesitant to jump back in. I get so frustrated when I spend oodles of time and money on lovely fabric and not have it work out. So, I stick with quilts and accessories because in my mind they are fool proof most of the time.

Last week, while the house was upside down, I sewed Jane's costume and some other skirts for the school play. I don't have any photos to share yet - I finished *just* before we had to walk out the door for the first dress rehearsal. The costumes were simple pieces - elastic waist skirt, peasant blouse, belt - but I found myself immensely satisfied putting clothing together instead of a pillow or such.  It made me rethink my adversion to sewing clothing for myself. What I am waiting for? It's just fabric and thread, both of which are plentiful around here. Why am I so scared to make mistakes? I'm often telling the girls to just try something, that they will learn from their errors. Sheesh, I bet I would, too.

Hello, Erin? Would you listen to yourself? Gather some courage and get sewing.

I've had the Evening Empire Dress pattern for a long time now. I wanted to make it last summer and chickened out because of all I said above and because I realized once it arrived here, that it's not going to be the most flattering dress on me.  Yesterday it dawned on me....one of the best parts about sewing for yourself is that you can take something and make it work for you. I thought about the dresses in my closet that fit me well and that I like to wear. I knew that I would have to lengthen the bodice on this dress to flatter me. My torso is longer than average and also the thinnest part of my body - I had to emphasize it in some way while keeping the fullness in the skirt to accommodate my hips.

Melissa convinced me to make a muslin. So I did. (And this is the part where I become brave and actually post a picture of it on me.)

I took some quick measurements with my strapless bra on and went with the size large. I took the pattern pieces and drafted a band under the bust to lengthen the bodice.  I sewed it all up, including the seam where the zipper will go in order to save time. And then I tried it on. I think it will work. I'm going to add an extra 5/8" to the pattern piece so that the seam line will be where the raw edge of the band is now. I may have to adjust the bust seams and/or let out the sides a tiny bit - there's plenty of room to do that with a 5/8" seam allowance.  I will add straps to the dress, too, although I may make them thinner than the pattern calls for.

The fabric is going in the wash today and, with any luck, I'll be sewing this up over the weekend. I will show and tell, regardless of the outcome. I want to sew for myself and figuring out what works and what doesn't is the only way I am going to get better at this.  If I really screw up, I figure the girls will get some lovely voile skirts during Kids Clothing Week Challenge. And if I manage to make this work, well then I have a dress.

Either way it's going to be just fine.

Just popping in to say hello. We're having our floors refinished and our house is all sixes and sevens. I'll be back here soon. In the meantime, enjoy some green.

If you haven't heard the buzz yet, Denyse Schmidt designed a line of fabric that is available exclusively at JoAnn's. I went by my local store on Tuesday, but they didn't have it. The nice woman at the cutting table told me that their trucks come in on Thursday so the new merchandise is out on Friday. Good to know. I went back today and they were there. I was happy to see that they are beautiful quality and gorgeous colors. I haven't bought any fabric this year other than a couple of solids and the backing for the Liberty quilt so I splurged and picked up some of each. I have no plans for it at the moment, but Natural Patchwork arrived this week and man, oh man, there are some inspiring numbers in that book.  I also have my eye on a few projects in Susan Beal's Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  Another awesome book.

I've finished sewing all 54 blocks, each made of 15 squares.

I've laid the blocks out on the floor, moving furniture to make enough room. I didn't fuss too much about what went where - just changed the place of a couple and left it at that.

I ordered 7 yards of fabric for the back.

Now to sew it all together and come up with a quilting plan. This one may have to be out-sourced to a long-arm quilter. It is one huge quilt!

We skipped town last week. The girls were on spring break and we headed South to enjoy warmer temps, salt water and sand. I didn't turn on my computer for 7 days and I read 3 books. We drank beer and margaritas poolside, snorkeled and sea kayaked, went to bed early and slept late. It was the epitome of relaxation - good friends, lots of laughs, not a care in the world. We came home sunkissed and ready to eat vegetables for a week straight. All so good.

Before we left and after I sewed up all the patchwork things, I made the girls some new nightgowns. Sewing pajamas is intensely gratifying for me. The girls will always wear them and if I make a mistake or three, I don't have to worry about the garments being seen in public. I never really use a pattern, but instead make my own. Crazy? Not really. It's actually very easy.  I just take something they already have (a nightgown from Target, in this instance) and trace it. Then I add seam allowances and cut.  This one was only two pieces cut on the fold (a front and a back) and some strips to bind the arm and neck holes.

For these, I used the Oliver + S City Weekend knits - about a yard of each.  This fabric has a lovely hand and the girls confirm that it is super soft. I sewed the side and shoulder seams with the serger, but you could easily do that with a regular sewing machine, too. The neck and armholes were bound using 1.5" strips of the knit, done with the regular machine. On Kate's pink nightgown, I used the serger to make a lettuce edge along the bottem per her request. Jane wanted a regular hem and asked if I could put a bow on the front. Done. It took me about an hour to sew each one up and maybe 15 minutes or so to cut each out. So with the tracing of the pattern, this is about a two hour project.  And now that I have the pattern, it'll be even faster to make a couple more.