We're almost on fire!

 I haven't been posting much because I've been consumed by all of the fires.  We have had to leave our home twice because of AQI scale!  If you're not familiar with the scale, that's extremely hazardous.  I won't get into all the details of the fire except to say that it is VERY close to our town and touching it in at least 3 areas.  The fire is over 51,000 acres now and 20% contained.

On the clothing front, I've been wearing my dress every day.  You can follow my daily updates on instagram under Nancyonedress100days.  Here are some highlights of how I have styled the dress since my last post.  

Working in the garden with my little Emma.

Sunny days mean hats!

This is a shirt I made that has turned out to be one of my favorites!  it is the London shirt by The Sewing Workshop.  The fabric is double gauze from Blackbird Fabrics.

I'm loving this little silky scarf that I picked up at one of. my favorite boutiques over at the coast.

The hubs and me at church.  This is a silk blouse that I made years ago.  I think it was the Plain and Simple by Louise cutting

I love this picture!  My youngest Granddaughter Avery and me at her house.  I'm wearing a Tina Givens pattern in rayon challis over the dress.

This was on labor day.  The girls were getting ready to do the "Murph challenge."  My challenge was to run after Avery and keep her out of the garage! 

More next time!

100 Day Dress Challenge Day 8

 I have dutifully been wearing my dress for 8 days now.  To be honest, I'm perfectly happy just wearing it plain with no adornment and just as is.  But part of the challenge (at least to myself) is to try to change it up.  So this is what I have been doing the last week.

This is my Kitty Spice.  Her sister is Sugar.  Amazingly enough, their names totally fit their personalities, even though I named them when I first got them.  Neither one of them like to be held, so I'm surprised that Spice is letting me hold her!

This was my first attempt at canning mustard.  Unfortunately, it tastes terrible. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I'm definitely going to give it another shot.

Girls day out.  My friend Kathy and I went down the hill for hair cuts, lunch, pedicures, and some shopping.  It was a long day, but a good one.  

This is my sweet granddaughter Emma.  We have always been close.  She will be 10 next month.  She's a stubborn little thing - I can't imagine where she gets it 😁

Well, I'm finally washing the dress after 8 days of wear.  It actually wouldn't need it, but I got a haircut yesterday and the little hairs always get in my clothes and poke me.  Time for a quick wash.  I sure hope it's dry in time for church tomorrow!

Dress Challenge Day 2

 Today is the second day I have worn this dress.  The fabric is a wool french terry.  Couldn't I have made this dress?  Well, most certainly - IF I could find the fabric, IF I had the time - If I made a muslin first to make sure I liked it before spending the time and money to make it.  Wool knit fabric is EXPENSIVE, so I probably would not have saved much by making it myself.  Another thing, this dress has matching ribbing on the neck and arms.  I haven't seen this anywhere for sale.  In California it is hard to find anything made of wool because we just don't get that much cold weather.  There are some online sources, but of course, we all know the ups an downs of ordering fabric online (although I must admit that I buy almost all of my fabric online). There is a wonderful store in Beverly Hills called International Silks and Woolens.  They might have a good selection there, but that is at least 4 hours from where I live.  Anyway, I'm glad I bought the dress.

My dress is currently hanging outside to air out before I bring it in tonight.  It is inside out, so I thought I could go over some of the features of the  Sierra Tank Dress:

The dress is well made and has a "facing" in the back.  No tags!

The Pockets are inset in the sides and stitched down.  I really like this because they don't flap around or bunch up.

There is a nice binding on the armholes and neckline that lies flat and does not gather up the dress fabric.  

Today I wore my dress to church and got several complements.  I always take a wrap with me whenever I go somewhere where there is (or might be) air conditioning.  Our weather is still really hot here, but I still get chilled if there is air blowing on me.  

Today I styled me dress with black wedges, a black necklace, and black wrap.  I was super comfortable all day, even after I spent about 45 minutes watering my garden in the heat.

Challenge Accepted!

 Do you ever get in a style rut?  Or do you look in your closet, and to anyone else, it seems full, but to you there is nothing to wear?  I have had a love hate relationship with my clothes for the past year.  Since we have been in lockdown, had limited options for going out, and the consequent change of lifestyle, my sewing machine is getting dusty and I have resorted to shorts and Tee shirts everyday (that I am home, that is).  Something is going to change!

Several years ago I read about a woman who wore the same dress for a year.  She actually had two identical dresses so that she could wear one while the other was washing.  She blogged about her experience every day.  It was fascinating to me and I've never forgotten it.  I've tried to find her blog again, but have not been successful.  She wore a brown denim sleeveless (I think) dress that buttoned down the front.  I believe it had a collar.  Anyway, fast forward to today.

Wool & issued a challenge a couple of years ago and a few women were lucky enough to receive a dress for free if they promised to wear it every day for 100 days.  That particular challenge is over, but they have a new challenge that is almost as good.  Purchase a dress, wear it for 100 days, and get $100 off your next purchase.  $100 is a great incentive, but for me, it is more a question of "How many ways can I style this dress so that I don't get sick of it?"  There are a lot of other social, economical, and sustainability reasons to consider this challenge, and I've considered a lot of them.  I have some other wool tops that I love from another company called WoolX and I have worn them many times.  They can be worn multiple times without laundering, which is great for travel.  

The dress I chose is the Sierra Tank dress.  I would love to have gotten the redwood color, but they are not available at this time.  I love some of the longer sleeve dresses, but the reality is, we are still in 100+ degree weather here - so no long sleeves!  This color of green goes with almost every other thing in my wardrobe, so let's see how I do!