A Childhood Shared

Like a good nerd, I am into many fandoms these days. But I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the very FIRST fandom I participated in as a little kid, namely Rainbow Brite. I was 4 when the series came out. I watched all the episodes, collected all the dolls, read all the books, and even owned a record or two I think (vinyl, of course).

So obviously when I saw this fabric being offered, I had to jump in. The characters, the color palettes, it was like seeing my childhood books brought to life. And as always I love a good border print!

This time the lucky recipient was my daughter - she'd admired the print a while ago, and she's also a fan of the books I saved from my childhood. She's also fast outgrowing the Care Bears and JoJo Summer Dresses I made her last year. Last summer I didn't *quite* get around to making a Striped Swallow Desert Breeze, and I've been chomping at the bit to use it ever since.

Striped Swallow Designs does do a really nice job with patterns - the instructions can be confusing at times, but the cutting instructions are consistent, and the garments are easy to assemble. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the Desert Breeze came together, especially once I figured out that my sewing machine (a Janome DC2007 LE) would allow me to move my needle over to the side when triple stitching the binding.

And I was also quite pleased with how well received it was! My daughter isn't into Rainbow Brite like she used to be, but she loves this dress - it hasn't made it more than 2 days in her closet without a washing yet.

They say "out with the old, in with the new," but in this case, I think old & new are coexisting together quite nicely.