New Dresses - lost pix

Well, I took lots of pictures for the 2 dresses that I made, but my computer ate them as soon as I deleted them off the camera!  Talk about aggravating.  That was the night before our trip, so I did not go out and retake the pictures.  I did get one picture on the ship of the long dress I made using McCalls 6725 for the top and CJP Basewear 2 for the skirt.  I had lots of pictures taken in the other dress, but I looked like a crazy lady with crossed eyes in those for some reason!  I will have to retake a picture in that dress because it did turn out nicely.

We had a great time on our Alaskan cruise.  I was mostly fascinated with the ice floes and glaciers.  These chunks of ice ranged from the size of an ice cube to the size of a small island.  The one below was about 20 feet across.  That dot on top is a bird.

Just to give you an idea of the size of the glacier below, look at the black dot in the upper right hand picture.  That is actually the boat pictured below it.  We were fortunate enough to have a balcony room, so we were able to take these pictures of Sawer Glacier from the balcony!  It is amazing how blue the glacial ice is.  We were told that when it is sunny, the glaciers are so glaring that you cannot see the color.  It rained almost every day of our trip and was overcast, so we really did get the best views.

I loved the excursions we took, and I think what I loved about them was that they took us outside into nature.  I especially loved the Alaskan Rainforest Sanctuary in Ketchikan.

Making Dresses

Andy and I are going on a cruise soon, and I need some dresses!  I went shopping for a dress and tried on many.  That whole incident was somewhat of a fiasco, and I left the boutique thinking,  "I could have a dress already cut out and ready to go from the time I spent here."  So, I left there and went to the fabric store.  Of course, I can never get out of the fabric store quickly - but still...






I found a great rayon jersey and knew I had plenty of patterns.  I also bought a pretty poly satin/ silky, but since we're leaving in just a few days, I figured I better stick with the knit!

I have this pattern, McCalls 6752, and thought it would make a great maxi.  Well, I got out the pattern pieces and got to work on the bodice, knowing that I would need a FBA.  After I did all the alterations to the pattern and started to lay it  out, I realized that the sheet with the skirt front and back were missing!  Now what?  Well, I figured I could certainly find another skirt pattern to use.  I have made Christine Johnson's Basewear 2 skirt before, so I pulled that out.  I had exactly enough fabric (2 yards) to make the dress long!



The dress is super easy - just a front, back and the skirt (the CJ skirt is the same piece for front and back, and it's a full pattern (not "place on fold") so you only have to cut it once!  Everything went together pretty quickly, and then I tried it on.  Remember that FBA I told you about?  Well, THAT was a big mistake.  I think Dolly Parton could have fit the bodice of this dress!  I ended up taking the dress apart at the shoulder and removing an inch and a half all the way across, and then I angled down another half inch to the front edge.  The bodice fits much better now, but next time I will also need to adjust the back so that the shoulder seams are not so far forward.
I do not have pictures yet, but when I tried it on last night (before fixing the shoulders) I realized that I either need to lose some serious weight quickly, or I need to get some super powerful spanx!  This dress is CLINGY.  Thank goodness it is black!!

I am still waiting to hem the dress because I am going out on Monday to find some strappy sandals to wear with it and the other dress(es) I plan to take.

My original plan was to finish this vogue dress.  I started making it for an event last September.  When I realized I was not going to finish it in time for the event, I quit working on it.  Then I lost interest.  It has been adorning my dressform for the last 10 months!  Of course, when I went to work on it, I could not find the lining.  I knew I had cut one out, but did not know where it was.  When I got up today, I found it right away!  So, as soon as I finished the chain-link dress, I pulled out that lining to see what I had done.  I was so excited to see that I had already sewn together the front of it, which was the most difficult part.  Today I almost finished the dress.  I just have to figure out how I'm going to do the vent and vent lining.  Hope to post pictures tomorrow night.

OH!  And DH got a new suit (he's been needing one!) to wear on our anniversary on the cruise.  There is just something about a man in a black suit, isn't there?