Sewing Projects

The weekend after we dropped our daughter off at college, I came home to sew. It's quite therapeutic, actually, as well as being constructive. I've had this fabric forever. I called it my watercolor fabric; it makes me think of Monet's Waterlillies. Anyway, I finally found a pattern that suited the fabric. Before I made this one, back in May, I used the same pattern to make a dress that I wore to our son's college graduation in South Carolina. My dearly beloved loved it, so I knew it was just the thing for my watercolor dress. Since I didn't make this until late August, I've only been able to wear it about twice; the weather's against me. It does give me something to look forward to in spring (besides flowers, birds, warm weather.....)


I was searching for something on the internet for my darling computer illiterate husband, when he
decided that I needed to see if I could find fabric for a new summer dressing gown. When we saw the movie Mulholland Drive a few years back (heck, it's at least a decade now), I loved the dressing gown Kim Basinger was wearing. Why do robes and jammies have to be ugly to be comfy, I wondered? So I started sketching, and came up with a pretty, functional, and comfortable design. Too long in the back, to stop drafts from attacking my ankles while I sit: a "train", if you will. Leg o' mutton sleeves, to give plenty of room to bend my arms and move around, while having a somewhat tight cuff to keep the sleeves out of the way when I'm cooking, cleaning, making coffee, or whatever. And not too baggy. I surely don't need any more weight added to me visually. This is the third one I've made from lightweight fabric. Shockingly enough, we found this on ebay. This is a semi sheer fabric which has sections of ribbon woven in. I used lace for the sleeves, because I only had 6 yards of the fabric, but I had an exact match in color. I also put a fake fur collar on this one, because my husband wanted his wife to look like a movie star.

Finally, the fabric to match the "No Shoe Left Behind" shoes. It's really lightweight and "floaty", so it was hard to decide what to do. I started working on this project the weekend we had to take one of our daughters to the airport at 4:30 AM to catch a 6AM flight to Denver (so what was the point of
going to bed), and left the fabric and partially finished projects on the table when I finally went to bed at 6AM. Two of my sons, who got up before I did, reported that they saw the pile from across the room, and came to investigate because they thought it was a big pile of ham. Thus, this is my ham skirt. I put godets in the skirt to give it a little pouf below the hip, taking advantage of the fabric's natural tendencies. I made this pink cami to match, and, taking Lori's suggestion, made a scarf to tie my hair back. I also made a halter type dress from this fabric, which I've not had the warm weather to wear, and which didn't photograph well. I guess 5 yards of the fabric was overkill, but it is pretty.

This weekend I'm beginning work on a red velvet winter dressing gown. We'll see if I'm inspired enough to finish it, or if it will have to turn a little colder.