Mendocino Sundress

Mendocino Sundress Front
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I finished the sundress this afternoon. It was a quick project, but the shirring took the longest. I only did 20 rows of shirring because I wanted more of an empire waistline. Other mods I made include adding some halter-style straps and cutting five inches off the length of the dress. I think it's pretty cute! You can see the back here.

Weekend Update

After seeing Mariko's extremely cute sundress, I was inspired to make one of my own. The pattern is from Heather Ross and you can download it for free here. I headed over to Bolt on Friday and bought Rabbit Hole from the Wonderland fabric collection by MoMo for Moda. I had eyed this fabric previously, but didn't have anything in mind to make, so I left it sitting on the shelf. I love the big random polka dots. The project shouldn't take long once the pattern is cut out.

This afternoon, on a trip to Kinokuniya with Mariko, I got these Japanese craft books. I was debating on whether to get the new Machiko Kayaki shirt book when I saw the Pattern Magic books. I had wanted those for a long time, but when they first came out, they were more expensive and I think they were only available on eBay. The other book is all skirts. There are some really helpful technique pictures along with the patterns.

Simplicity 2593 Tank

This is the first completed project using the Cynthia Rowley patterns that I bought. I had wanted to make the shift dress first, but the tank was a quicker project. I sewed this over the course of a couple of days because I started on Saturday night. It only takes a couple of hours to make. I used some Moda fabric I had in my stash that I completely forgot about. I think the polka dots are perfect!

Holiday Break Projects

After work on Friday, I headed over to Bolt to check out fabric and then to next door neighbor Close Knit to look for yarn for the Central Park Hoodie. Here are the great things I came away with. I got one of Amy Butler's new dress patterns, Lotus. I also wanted the Anna pattern, but the store didn't have it in stock yet. I plan to make the cami top with cap sleeves, with the main bodice in purple and the contrasting parts in orange. The fabric is the Loft 1800 Urban from Moda. I got some Cascade 220 in silver spruce heather. Since I'd been working on that plaid wool dress for a while, I decided to start with knitting first and cast on for the back of the CPH Friday night.