The Chosen One

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend.  Today was my shopping day for a new pattern and fabric for the Ideal Summer Dress Sewing Challenge.  After much deliberation and survival of Marley's excessive crying and whining in the pattern aisle at JoAnn's, I chose ... (drum roll please)...

McCall's 6073

I'm really excited about starting on this pattern.  I think it will be a great summer dress and will be simple enough to allow me to ease back into sewing after such a long hiatus. 

Although I like the pattern, I'm most excited about the amazing fabric I bought today.  I bought it from Fabrique in Richarson, Texas.  This shop is super cute and the staff is friendly and helpful.  Although their prices are higher than the chains, there are beautiful boutiquey-fabric finds to be discovered.  If you're ever in the area, I highly encourage you to check it out.

Here is a picture of the fabric I decided to go with.  I know you can see it in the first picture, but I love it so much I just had to give you a close-up.  It's a knit and exactly what I envisioned when i first signed up for the challenge.   I did splurge a little bit on this buy (I hope this is not the beginning of fabric snobbery).  However, I went with it anyway because I wanted something really nice to wear to an upcoming graduation and baby shower.  And plus, I wanted my first project to be something I adored, with good feeling fabric, to hopefully encourage me a little bit to stay with this sewing thing.  So with these thoughts and mind, and the generous 30% Memorial Day discount, it was a no-brainer.

I also bought thread while at Fabrique.  I've never heard of Mettler, but the salesperson said that it was a high-quality thread.  Whatever the case, I think it looks quite lovey and matches my fabric nicely.

Happy sewing,

Marley's Momma

Insane in the Membrane

Ok, this is my first time to blog, ever, and I'm so excited to make my first post!  Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to sharing my journey.

Now that's out the way, on to what this post is really about.  I think I've truly lost it.  I haven't sewn clothes in over 10 years and I've taken a sewing challenge.  Faye has issued a challenge to sew your ideal summer dress. 

THE IDEAL SUMMER DRESS 2011 CHALLENGE
(badge picture compliments of Leko-mail.net)

I'm really excited about this opportunity as I had previously decided the best way to get back into the swing of things is to start with a cute, simple summer dress.  So, I think this challenge is a great way to get me started on my first clothing project.

In preparation for picking my pattern and fabric for this challenge, I made a list of things that must be present in my ideal summer dress.

1. Must be comfortable. Nothing stiff.

2. It must be able to be dressed up and down.  I have to be able to wear it at home, with nothing to do, as well as outside while running errands.

3.  It must be bright and colorful, but no big flowery prints.

4.  No collars.  I hate clothes with collars that touch my neck.

5.  It has to have some type of sleeve. 

Now that I have my list of wants, I'm off to find the perfect pattern and fabric.  Please feel free to send suggestions, or maybe just a shout-out.

Wish me well and I'll keep you posted!

Marley's Momma