One Garment-A-Month Sew Along

I decided to join the One Garment-A-Month Sew Along on PatternReview.com. We're three months into it but....better late than never. It's almost April so it seems like a nice time to start. I'm hoping it will keep me on track for at least one project a month.

Now I just need to decide what to make. I have several choices with the first being Simplicity 2896. Our anniversary is at the end of April and I would like to make a nice dress for the occasion. I was thinking of making the dress in this fabric:

A stretch poplin from DenverFabrics, but I don't have enough. Luckily they still have it and it's on sale (BONUS!). So I've ordered more, but they can be slow so hopefully it will show up in time.

I am also thinking of making my grandniece a summer dress from New Look 6860 in this fabric:

I have plenty of this in my stash and she loves green. So I will probably start this while I'm waiting for the balance of the dress fabric to show up. But I need to get some ric rac trim and a zipper before I can start this one. I should be able to pick that up this week.

Maybe I'll get 2 items done in my first month! Oops I think I'm getting ahead of myself here....it's not even April yet!

Weekly Menu

On the menu this week:

Unstuffed Sweet and Sour Cabbage
Slow-Roasted Pork with Apple-Fennel Jus
Grilled Skirt Steak with Fregola-Orange Salad
Greek Spiced Baked Shrimp
Polenta-Crusted Chicken with Balsamic Caper Pan Sauce

Mixed Feelings

I have finally finished this dress. It seems like it has taken me forever. I have mixed feelings on this dress and am beginning to get a little down on the things I have made so far. I'm not sure if it's the styles I am picking for myself or the fabrics I'm choosing, but I'm not really totally pleased with anything.
Anyway, here is Simplicity 4220 (I made view B):

Sorry, I cut my head off, it has been raining and the humidity is outrageous. Not a good hair day. (And ignore the truckdriver tan, I was working in the yard the other day). I really liked the fabric, it is a very nice weight quilting cotton. I don't like to wear slips and it seemed to thin to me at the time so I lined it. Now it this is obviously a summer dress and it gets pretty warm here May to Oct, so I didn't want a polyester or acetate lining so I used a lt. weight muslin. I made the front and back dress, then the front and back lining and basted each piece together so you had one front piece and one back piece. Then I joined the shoulder and side seams and did the bias arm facings. Doing it this way eliminated the need for the neck facing.

The dress is a little heavier than I thought it would be (apparently the cotton wasn't as thin as I thought) but it's not bad, it still has a nice drape to it, not stiff. I cut a size 12 but added 1/2 inch to the side seam allowances then sewed the seams at 5/8 inch. This worked fine. I had to adjust the shoulder seam for my sloping shoulders. I think I needed to adjust it a little more but it's not too bad, better than the other blouse I did.

I thought this would make a nice summer dress. I was hoping it could be TNT but I'm just not that thrilled with it. Here's another view:

The Husband says I stand funny, with my shoulders back and stomach out, but that's the way I stand. Does this dress make me look fat????? Is it the color, the print (too busy)? What is wrong here? Is there anything wrong or am I being overly critical?

I don't know what I'll try next. I have to finish quilting a baby quilt so that will give me a few days to ponder my next project.

Homemade Ravioli:

The Husband got a pastamaker a few weeks back and has been practicing. Here is portabella ravioli in a parmasean cream sauce with an asparagus custard garnished with tomatoes and basil oil. I like how he tucked the ravioli to make them stand up. Tasty.


Fidos

I think all these dogs do is sleep!