The Knit Dress

I made really great progress on this dress for two days! Taking a break from the unpacking and hoo ha was just what I needed.

I sped along through the pattern and nearly finished it. The only thing remaining were the armhole and skirt hems.... then the organizing bug hit again!

I'm not really liking the dress. It fits well and the knit was easier to work with than I anticipating. The problem for me is the style vs. my figure.

It's much more of an empire-y waist than I thought from the pictures on the envelopes. I thought the slant of the midriff would come down the sides to my waist. However, they are much higher.

That combined with the gathering in the front makes the dress hang rather unflattering on me. It feels like a maternity dress, which quite frankly gave me flashbacks and sent me into a cold sweat!

I'm pear shaped. While the free skirt is good for hiding my generous hips, I like to accentuate my waist and flat stomach. So I now have a dress that shows off (oh boy!) my small boobs, hides my one good feature (my waist) and does nothing one way or another for the hips. This design is just not suited to me.

Having said all of that, it is a well drafted pattern and was easy to sew. The directions are clear and if your figure type likes this style, I'd highly recommend it.

I'll post pictures in the next day or so... In the meantime, I've resumed "getting-the-house-in-order" duties.

Knit Wit

My sewing room is semi-finished: The main area is basically ready. The extra area looks like a disaster zone. But it was good enough for me to get in there and fire up the machine.

Two days before the packers came, I prepped and cut a pattern. One of my goals this year was to try knits. Apart from the anti-fabric Catwoman costume and some knit velour for a costume, I've never worked with knit... Also, I've only ever made two garments that weren't a costume or vintage (pajamas for my son and a shirt for my husband).

So in a recent pattern sale, I picked up Vogue 8489 to use with some knit I picked up on sale at JoAnn's on clearance. I'm not a pink person, but I liked the muted tones, batik background and brown paisley pattern. The design looks like it can a large print.

I'm hoping this project will get my sewing mojo going. Since knits are new to me, this pattern hopefully won't be too complex. There are two reviews on PR and both are favorable. I've progressed a bit today and the only problem I had was that the bottom layer of fabric got swallowed in the feed dogs on a few occasions when starting off... I'm using a three step zig-zag set rather narrow. The seams so far look nice.

This project will probably be one of those that either turns out really, really well or will look positively hideous. It just doesn't seem have "OK" written on it! We'll see what tomorrow brings!

We're In!

Yes, that's right! We're in the new house!

Thanks for all of your kind comments. Overall, the move went well. There were a few little *things* like the screws for my son's bed disappeared, a few light scratches turned up on the kitchen dresser and the hot tub tipped and fell on the inside of the truck after it was loaded. The relo company will send a furniture guy out to patch up the dresser. The fact that all of the china, crystal, kitchenware, antiques etc. made it in tact is amazing.

The super-duper great news is that we sold our Chicagoland house in the final hour. People wanted to get in (really get in) the day we vacated. The showing was set for 7:00 p.m. We finished vacuuming and cleaning out the sinks then locked the door behind us for the final time at 6:55. The offer came in the next morning and after relo and buyers negotiated for a day, a deal was made. This means we not only got our buyout price but a 2% selling bonus.

We were stunned and felt sooooo lucky.

On this end I've been plugging away at getting things organized. I don't want to just shove things into closet and cupboards. I did that at the last house and it never got done properly. This time, I'm taking my time.

Last night I was surprised when my little brother and his buddy from work stopped by. I knew he travels to this area a few times every quarter so it was nice for the visit.

The kitchen, sunroom, dining room and both boys' bedrooms are sorted out. Today's task is...... THE SEWING ANNEX !

I know I won't get it all done. But if I can at least get the main area complete, all systems will be GO! And I'm ready to GO!

Thanks again for all of your kind wishes!