W.i.P. - Slow Summer Sewing

On top of work summer is slowing my sewing down a little as I'm soaking up sunshine whenever I can. Now, this isn't a complaint. I'm definitely a summer girl that doesn't even want to mention the w-word before she has to and I am making progress on pretty things even if it isn't as quick as it would be at other times.

Evidence of said progress below (above is last week's work ut aside) - Echo rows I sewed yesterday evening after work. Often I don't feel like sewing then and prefer to wind down over some telly or a book. Not so yesterday! With a little luck I might even want to iron these and assemble them this evening. Or I might not and prefer to catch up with your makings over at WIP Wednesday and my blog roll. Or all of the above? We'll see.

With a second Jamie dress under my belt it's time for new adventures in fashion sewing. The darling ranges dress is up first and I'm looking forward to breathe life into the tiny brown on cream floral from this post.

And here are the obligatory stats.

Finishes - 1
Summer dress 1

Ongoing Projects - 5
Anniversary quilt - see above
Fish & HSTs
square baby quilt
Red Riding - quilting is making progress
cushion cover for the husband

Stalled Projects - 3
Grecian Waters/Emerald HST quilt - finished the top! - stalled until deadline project have been dealt with
EPP hexies
EPP parallelograms/stars - once more stalled

Planning Stage - 2
Summer dress 2 - Darling Ranges
Skirt

Happy sewing!

Summer, Sunshine, Sundress

So I've got a plethora of reasons why these pics aren't half glamorous or many and I've not taken new ones of last year's hen night dress but who cares. They're good enough to give you a glimpse and I'm too eager to share my fabulous sundress as worn on me instead of a clothes hanger.

You can see that it fits better at the waist and the bust. There's only minor pulling in odd poses but way less excess fabric and the waistline seam lies down better as well. In the pic below it rises up a little and can give me a tiny bit of tummy depending on the angle.

It's a good bit shorter and the back is lower which makes it nice and airy.

So does the fashion fabric. It is lighter than the quilting cotton which is perfect in the current heatwave but more prone to being caught by the wind. The quilting cotton yields more body to the skirt and feels more substantial - without being heavy or stiff, though. Both the quilting cotton and the fashion fabric work well for the dress design and I enjoy wearing both of them equally. Well, yes, okay, I'll admit that I love wearing the new one a smidgen better but only because of the still improved fit and, let's face it, it's shiny and new!

I'm sure I will revisit the pattern but now I've got to take the plunge and try something else.

Happy sewing!

T.G.I.F.F. - In Love with My Sundress

Yesterday evening was spent in a soothing yet exciting manner - stitching down the hem of my lovely floral summer dress. So may I proudly present my Friday finish?

Additional changes I made to my personalised version (read about the fitting process here and here) of the Jamie dress: Bodice with a lengthened and smooth instead of gathered waist band...

... and narrower straps with plaits. I also made the skirt a little less full as well as shorter and lowered the back by 2 inches.

Not a change per se but something I'm always proud of - perfectly installed invisible zipper.

Cotton lawn lining and side seam prettily enclosed in bias binding.

Hemmed with bias binding.

More pics will follow as soon as I pounce on a victim for a shoot in the sun. I might throw in a post with side by side pics of my two versions to better show you the differences and write about quilting cotton vs. fashion fabric, too.

With that, I'm off into the weekend. You might have spotted the Echo strips that will keep me busy and entertained when I'm not out and about twirling in my fabulous sundress.

Happy sewing!

Go and enjoy everybody's projects and have a look at that fantastic Broken Herringbone quilt Molli Sparkles made who is hosting this week's TGIFF.