Inspiration: A Princess Bride

I'm not usually the kind of person who gets swept up in the media mania of the minute.  As a pre-teen, I was one of the few girls I knew not completely in love with one or all of the New Kids on the Block.  I was too busy being in love with Patrick Swayze.

But since I love just about every facet of weddings - from the paper items announcing the engagements and ceremonies to the delicate stitches of flower girl dresses - I absolutely could NOT miss the wedding this morning of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

I had stayed up insanely late working on a dress for myself for once - which will be another post, naturally - and had decided I would just wake up whenever I happened to wake up and watch anything I missed on replay.

So my eyes popped open precisely at 4:57am.

I went straight to the sofa to watch the coverage, waiting - like most every other woman watching - to see Kate's dress.

I was so totally not disappointed.

I just love how classic the dress is, and how simple.  I'm a big fan of clean and classic and simple everything, so this dress is right up my ally.  I especially am in love with the neckline - she needs no jewelry except the earrings that were gifts from her parents and her wedding band.  I'd love to know the significance in the designs of the lace - And oh my heavens - how about that petite little bouquet!

There are already designers creating knock-off versions of the dress, so I doubt it will be very long before you can wear your very own modern princess dress at your wedding, but I did a quick search to see what patterns exist that are close and found only this one from Vogue

This dress is quite beautiful, but is much heavier than Kate's dress.  In fact, because of the opaqueness of the lace and the more collar-like neckline, this dress is actually far more reminiscent of another princess bride, Grace Kelly.

I just love this return to class.  Less is more.

I can't wait to see how Kate's dress inspires all of formal wear fashion, and I'm considering a couple of projects definitely inspired by the Princess' classic choice.

An Easy Sew

Well, today I am irritated because my sewing machine continues to give me trouble when I use the embroidery carriage on it. For some reason that I can't seem to determine, my topstitches aren't grabbing the bobbin thread and so the needle bounces up and down, poking holes but depositing no thread - except occasionally - and then usually ends up fraying and breaking if I don't stop it while cussing it out like I'm an old sailor.

So I thought that because I'm so troubled by my super expensive machine, I'd post about happier times and a pattern I found to be super easy to sew together in a hurry.

Let me tell you - for kid's clothes, I LOVE a New Look pattern.  For one thing, they are always cheap - usually $2.44 - $3.96.  Unless you happen on a McCall's or Simplicity for 99 cents day at either Hobby Lobby or Hancock Fabric (around here), then you are usually stuck paying between $5.50 - $8.00, and when you pay that much for a pattern, why not just go buy something cute already made, right?

I've only made this pattern once, but I really liked it.  I did the dress that is pictured on the model, but I left off the pockets.  I just didn't want to deal with them.

I used a navy plisse for the top and bottom trim and a fabric that I got on clearance for the main dress body.  Some people might think that floral looks like something you'd find on your memaw's couch, but I love it.  I even made a little swing top out of it using navy and white gingham accents and it is probably my favorite thing I've ever made.  Maybe I'll get a picture of that up at some point!

Frankly, my Dear...

The wife of my husband's good friend from college recently gave birth to their second child, a little girl they named Scarlett - after the famed heroine of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind.  Although they currently reside just outside of Washington, DC, since Miss Scarlett's dad is from South Carolina and both her parents attended the University of South Carolina, I decided that - along with her namesake - this makes her at least 3/4 southern and as such in need of a traditional southern baby gift:  The monogrammed outfit.

I do not know why or when this phenomenon burst onto the scene or why it happened to take such a strong hold, but one thing is certain:  Any child of any social standing is to have at least one monogrammed a-line dress or john-john in order to be considered part of proper southern society, period.  Perhaps it was because the affluent parents could boast that they were well-off enough to afford a new wardrobe for each child in the house by plastering each baby's initials and proper names all over the fronts of their little seersucker and gingham outfits, but I just happen to think it's powerful cute.  Judge for yourself!

so cute with the itty bitty bloomers!

Close-up view of the monogram on the bodice.

This was by far one of the most difficult patterns I've ever dealt with.  Not being a master seamstress (I definitely consider myself like, 1/2 a step above a novice!), I had no idea what some of the directions meant.  That is when I take things into my own hands and just make up stuff to make the fabric bend to my will.  While that can be fun sometimes, sometimes you just want to be able to read the directions and mindlessly follow them, you know?  And when you're making a gift, especially, you just want it to turn out &$*!-ing amazing, right?  So this project ended up frustrating me to the point that instead of having it finished and ready to send the moment that Miss Scarlett joined us here in the outside world, it took me a whole month after her birth to get from being stuck on that stupid collar piece to getting the dress tidied up and finished being sewn together.  And it frustrates me to know that there are ways I could have done it neater or better, but as it was, the child was going to be 18 before I got it finished if I got too picky on it, so I just had to let go and send it with all my good intentions as a substitute for master seamstress skills. 

To make sure that there was a little more of a nod to the baby's name, I also personalized this onesie to send along with the dress -

"I'll think about that tomorrow"

Hilarious, eh?  I couldn't resist.  The thought of a brand new, tiny, still pink baby bearing these carefree words sent me into a fit of giggles, and once that happened, nothing - not even a finicky font that wanted to pull through the delicate weave of a baby onesie - was going to stop me.

And so here was the gift as a whole that was finally mailed and received shortly after Scarlett turned a month old this past week.

Did you ever have a project that you just got a mental block on and couldn't push through?  How do you work through those times?  Does it help you to go to another project and then come back later, or do you prefer to stew over it until the solution is bullied out of your brain?  I'd love to know your tips and tricks, because this month I'm making a flower girl dress for my daughter, and though the pattern is simple enough, there is *gasp* a zipper involved, and I don't know if I'll be able to make it without much cursing and seam ripping of delicate silk fabric.

Heaven help us!