3.09.2012

Hello Spring! - A Peak at What's on my Queue

For the last two week's or so, we've had warm weather (around 70-75F), clear, sunny skies, and the flowers have begun to bloom. So, despite the fact that we're still a few weeks away from Spring, I've been unable to resist brightening up my sewing queue. Here's a look at what I'll be working on in the next few weeks.

First up, Vogue 2960 in a coral, linen/cotton blend. Actually, this dress is finished
but, I've been unable to take photos and share. 'What had happened was...' I wanted to wear the dress for my birthday, which was yesterday. After the long streak of gorgeous, totally coral dress appropriate weather we'd been having, it never even crossed my mind that this idea might not pan out. But, Mother Nature decided to rain on my parade. I just so happened to be up and at 12:05am on my birthday the skies broke open and it poured...all day. Not exactly picture worthy. Today, contrary to weather predictions, it's once again bright and clear but, we're waiting on a delivery so, today's out too. Cross your fingers for me - I'm hoping to be able to wear this for an afternoon out tomorrow.

Here's my finished dress, showing off her fullness, waiting to be worn.
Next up will, of course, be my Trudy dress for the Mad Men challenges.  The taffeta I ordered came in this week and it is nearly what I was expecting/hoping for.  I think it will suit the dress well.  It doesn't look too polyester-y (much better than Hancock's BFF offerings!) but, it does feel a bit synthetic.  So, I ask you, would it be completely silly to line the bodice with a white cotton?  Normally, I'd like to use a blue but, white is what I have.  The petticoat is white too so, perhaps a white bodice lining would help the top match the skirt?? (Assuming the whites show through a bit...)  I'm torn because I generally line dress for comfort, modesty, and to make the inside pretty and I certainly don't think white against the bright blue will be pretty but, I really don't like the idea of plastic against my skin.  I need a little nudge one way or the other from my lovely sewing friends :-)

To line, or not to line...

Following the party dress, I'm pulling a fabric out of my stash (hooray for de-stashing!) to whip up a TNT pattern, McCall 4440. (You may have seen it here, here, and here... Hmm, I think I have a "One Week, One Pattern" entry in the works!)  I think I could use a brainless sundress project ;-)  One of the Spring Pantone colors is "Cockatoo" which just happens to be the dominant color in the quirky Lilly Pulitzer fabric I've had stashed since last summer.  I need your thoughts on this one too.  I just bought two cotton lace trims of ebay to give the dress a bit of an extra Lilly-esque touch but, I can't decide which to use.  Which do you like better with the fabric?  The swirls or the rows of dots?  (Both are roughly 2" tall.)  I would place the swirls either along the under-bust seam or a few inches above the hem (like I did here).  The dots would go along the top of the bodice, a few inches above the hem, or both.  What do you think?

     

Sitting in an unnumbered spot on my queue is a sudo-authentic vintage shift dress.  Last summer, I purchased three yards of vintage (exact age unknown) Lilly Pulitzer fabric.  I want to do the fabric justice so, I plan to make the shift dress using a vintage pattern which has the details that an original Lilly shift dress would have had. (Rounded neckline, minimal shaping, and a slit at the end of both side seams, each accented with a bow.)  I found the perfect pattern in vintage Simplicity 5309 and finally snagged it from ebay for $2.94.  (Third time's a charm!)  Since my fabric is green, it would have been perfect for the coming week's St. Patrick's Day theme but, since the auction ended yesterday, my new pattern won't be here in time.  But, after pulling the fabric out of it's muslin wrapping this afternoon, I'm quite excited about it again so, I'm fairly certain this one is in my near future. UPDATE: My pattern arrived quicker than expected so, I started working on it this week! It's about half done and I'll have to put it down to work on the other projects above but, I expect this one to make an appearance sometime mid-April. I may even get to enter it in the Vintage Contest over on Pattern Review.

Oh how I do love pink and green!
source
   

Hmm... I seem to be on a vintage kick :-)

Sadly, most of the other fabric in my stash was planned for Fall and will now have to wait.  Guess I'll need to go [virtual] fabric shopping next month.  Oh darn! hehe

So, have you gotten the Spring bug yet?  What do you have planned?

PS.  Don't forget those of us who observe Daylight Saving Time Spring forward this Sunday!  See? Spring really is coming!

Have a great weekend everyone! x

8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, so much goodness going on here. HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY JENNIFER! I am loving what I am seeing of your coral dress. I've now got my fingers crossed for good weather, because I really want to see more pictures of this dress.

    With your Trudy dress, you could always dye the white fabric (you've gotten quite good at that). But I think it is pretty normal to have a white underlining on a dress - so I think it will work. I also don't think you will have to worry about the white showing through, just cut all of your facings from the main fabric.

    I have that same McCall's pattern! It will make a lovely sundress. Not sure which view you are planning to make up, but I love the fabric choice. Deciding on the trim will be difficult. I love swirls because they are so unique and I haven't seen anything like that before. But I think the dots are really fun too. If it were me, I would save the swirls for a more special project because they are so unique and fun, and use the dots for this one.

    Pink and green is one of my favorite color combinations, so naturally I think this is an excellent choice for your shift dress. I've never heard of Lilly Pulitzer before (I sometimes feel like I live under a rock) but it sounds like you know what you are talking about, so this is sure to be a great dress.

    And now that my comments are nearly as long as your post, I suppose I should just end with "have a great birthday weekend" :)

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    1. Aww, Thank you Annabelle! So far, the sun is shining so I do think I'll be able to take a few pictures later today.

      Hmm, oddly, I hadn't even considered dyeing the white cotton. How silly! Though, I don't think there's enough time to order any and our local selection is really quite sparse (even of Rit). If a white underlining is normal, I think I'll do that. I'll be sure to use facings and cut them from the blue fabric as you suggested.

      The McCall pattern is great! I'll probably use view C again but move the trim. I was leaning toward the dots as well. I agree the swirls are quite unique. (Now to find a fun project for them...hmm :-). )

      Pink and green is one of my favorite combinations too! It's just so bright and cheerful! Lilly Pulitzer dresses are very popular back home in Virginia but, very few seem to have heard of her here so, you're certainly not alone. She's best known for making shifts for Jackie Kennedy in the 60s. She does use a lot of pink and green though :-)

      Thanks so much for offering your opinions!! I sincerely appreciate your input! I hope you have a great weekend too! :-)

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  2. Happy Birtday week, Jennifer. I'm anxious to see your coral dress, I'm sure it is lovely. I also have a finished dress that I could not photograph this week because of weather issues (snow, not rain!)

    My vote for the trim on your sundress is the dots. I love the swirls as well, but I agree with Annabelle, that trim might be better used on a special garment since it is unique.

    Lastly, there is nothing wrong with white lining on your Trudy dress. I can't imagine that it would show through, and I have seen contrasting lining on garments and it adds a touch of individuality (is that a word?)to the project.

    Have a good weekend.

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    1. Thank you, Pam! Ugh, shame on the weather for spoiling our picture plans! Hehe. I'm looking forward to seeing your new dress too! I certainly can't blame you for now going out in snow though!

      Thanks so much for helping me decide on the trim and lining. It's so nice of you to offer your thoughts and you've both suggested the way I was leaning anyway, so you've made the choice quite easy! Dots and white it is :-)

      I hope you have a good weekend too!

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  3. Oooo - love the look of your coral dress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sunny photo-friendly weather for you as I can't wait to see it on!!!

    I vote for the spotty trim, it's really cute!

    And I'm surprised to hear that US time changed this Sunday. It wont be changing in the UK until 25th March! How strange!

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    1. Thanks Suzie! The weather held out for one day so pictures are on their way :-)

      Thanks for voting! I'll definately be using the spotty trim on this one.

      Hmm, that is interesting! The 25th would make more sense, spring wise. But, I can't argue with getting the extra hour of daylight in the evenings a few weeks early ;-)

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  4. Happy happy birthday! Sorry you had a dark day-- hope your celebrations were lovely despite the weather! Can't wait to see you model that coral dress-- it looks gorgeous!

    Hmm... I like both the trims (not much help, am I?). And the green fabric for your 60's shift is FAB!

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    1. Thank you, Ginger! It was a great day despite the weather! Brandon even made me dinner :-)

      Hehe, that's my usual answer when someone posts a question like this. I'm terrible at decisions! I'm glad you like the green fabric though! I can't wait to whip that one up!

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