A Dash of Rainbows!

This was another fun weekend project - and it took almost no time at all! Little A is a My Little Pony fanatic, so when some pre-shirred MLP fabric showed up in my local Hancock's, I just *had* to figure out how to use it.

It turns out there are a ton of tutorials for making sundresses out of pre-shirred fabric on line, and after reading a few I was ready to strike out on my own. The straps are 8" x 2" strips from my stash folded over twice and sewn, and I went for the two-side-seam model on the body itself.

The whole thing took *maybe* 45 minute to whip up, and little A *loves* it. In fact, the hardest part of sewing it was getting the dress back from her once she tried it on for "strap placement" purposes. Here's hoping for a summer where it gets a lot of use!

And thanks to A for being my lovely little model.

How (not) to sew a dress expediently

Step 1)
Receive a lovely handmade gift for your daughter on her second birthday (which she is crazy about and wears all winter), and decide you'd like to repay the giver with an equally thoughtful gift for *her* daughter.

Step 2)
Identify adorable Octopus Panel online (for friend, who is octopus-crazy), and pore over pattern books at local fabric shops. Select the perfect one to show off the octopus. Round out the supplies for this dress with a some lively coordinating prints from your LQS.

Step 3)
Conceive Child. Get kind of morning sick. Ugh.

Step 4)
Push through to make dress anyway. Pull pattern out of envelope and discover that - surprise! there's a big pleat in the center of the apron that gives it its shape. Ooops; that's not going to work with the octopus! His head will get chopped off.

Step 5)
Panic. Search through PDF patterns on Etsy, downloading 2 or 3 potential candidates, and ultimately and decide on the Baby Peasant Dress by TieDyeDiva.

Step 6)
Realize that fabric selection is a little... less appropriate for new pattern/style, and order more fabric online from Gee Gees Quilting.

Step 7)
Wait for fabric to come. Get EVEN MORE Morning sick. 

Step 8)
Fabric comes, yay! Decide at this point that you are better served making the dress in size 18m than size 12, since steps 1-7 have taken you until well after the child's 14-month natal anniversary.  Cut into fabric.

Step 9)
Realize you made a mistake. Blame morning sickness. Order more fabric anyway.

Step 11)
Third Purchase arrives! Tie Dye Diva pattern is simple and straightforward; make it in a day.

Step 10) Make a complimentary diaper cover the next day (from another TDD Pattern).

Step 11) Mail the goods to friend a mere 4.5 months after child's birthday, and 6 months after your initial fabric buy.

And... That's how I spent my hiatus from sewing. Honestly, once I got on a roll the dress was short work, but getting all my fabrics and patterns lined up took most of the time. I am pretty excited about this dress though - It was easy to put together and turned out really nicely. Incorporating the panel took a little bit of doing, but now that I've done it once, I wouldn't blink at doing it again.

I will admit I was a little sad that my first project in over 6 months (and actually the project before it, now that I think about it) won't be sticking around the house. But it's always exciting to send a handmade gift to its recipient, and I'm glad to have this "late" first birthday gift off my conscience!

Works in Progress: Accidental Hiatus

I have been away from the sewing machine for far too long. But, it's been for a pretty exciting reason; my biggest work in progress these months past is a person! 

In November, Mr. RLQ and I learned we were expecting our second child, and in February the ultrasound technician told us we are having a boy! Cue visions of snips and snails and puppy dog tails, of dinosaur quilts and little homemade vests. 

Of course, those things have had to remain mere visions for quite a while - starting in Mid-December, I got a case of all-day "morning" sickness that knocked me down until well after the first trimester was over. In fact, I'm in week 26 now, and still on anti-nausea meds (admittedly, a smaller dose than I was on at week 14). But just as exhaustion followed me around with baby A, "occasional morning sickness" seems to be my nagging companion with our as-yet-unnamed baby boy. 

But, despite the setbacks, I was able to get unbury my sewing machine this weekend, long enough to make a (much belated) birthday present for a friend. Below is a preview: the gift itself is still in the mail.

The collection is Under The Sea for Northcott fabrics, and I can't wait to reveal the finished product. It sure was refreshing to sit in front of my sewing machine again.