Bah!

For the record, Simplicity 3628 is not a fun pattern to make. Not only did I have a LOT of trouble with sewing the panels together (I don't know if I did something wrong while cutting, or if they're just really hard, but the fabric just didn't fit evenly together), but I could not for the life of me get the sleeve caps in flat. Not that I'm very good at easing the sleeves anyway, but usually I can manage it more or less. Not with this one. And to top it all off, when I tried it on (before lining and all that, but after most of it was together), it doesn't even look good! Argh! It's very cute on the models, but it looked rotten on me. So, I'm abandoning it, and I'll use a different pattern to make my intended jacket. It's a good thing the corduroy only cost $4 a yard! Now I have to get some more.

I also put together some shirts for the girls (no pictures, I'm afraid) which went awry. I'm not sure what I did, but M's shirt was absolutely enormous. I had to serge it smaller for it to even go on her body. But A's fits fine and it doesn't look like it's small enough to have mixed up the bodices, so I really am not clear what happened. Oh well, they like them, and after re-sewing, M's isn't too bad.

And I did finish these dresses, which I absolutely love:

(A's is the same except the flower applique is a different flower.) This was some super sale clearance fabric from Hobby Lobby, and I really hope the colors don't fade too much, because I love them! I do think I'm going to take a break from the twirly dresses, though - I'm a little weary of all that gathering!

And the next project that I have to complete is a frog costume for A, anyway. Halloween's coming soon - I gotta get going on that!

Fall Fun

Well, today, for the last day of fall break, we mostly have heavy rain and sick kiddos, unfortunately. But we did have lots of fun over the weekend!

Friday, the girls and I went to the Botanical Gardens to see the scarecrows, which is always neat - people make these very elaborate "scarecrow" sculptures, and they set them up all over the gardens.
The girls really liked all the lollipops in this one!

Saturday we managed to fit in our second annual fall fun day in the mountains. The weather forecast wasn't very good, but our current all soccer, all the time* schedule makes weekend planning kind of tricky, and Saturday was basically the only possible day. As it turned out, despite the threatening skies, the weather was fine for us all day.

We and some friends went up to North Georgia to:

visit a corn maze:
pan for gemstones:
(such an intent look... You have to make sure you get all the pretty rocks!)

and visit Burt's Pumpkin Farm. I love Burt's.
(note the Halloween dress)

We went on the hayride at Burt's this year, for the first time ever, and I gotta say that it was totally worth it! Plus we bought a bunch of pumpkins, of course, and a piece of pie. It was really a lovely day.

Now it's a rainy Monday, and that's way less fun! Although I think I'll get another dress finished for each girl today, and that's a good thing. I have many more projects planned, so I need to finish the ones that are already cut out!


*Not only is A playing on a team (which I'm coaching), I'm playing on a women's team. Old lady soccer, woot! :) But it does mean that there's a soccer game almost every Saturday and Sunday for a couple of months. And M wants to play in the spring - I don't know what we'll do then!

I really do have crafting ADD

It's a little ridiculous, really. :) A month ago, I was completely obsessed with quilting. Buying quilting magazines, reading quilting books, buying fabric for quilts, planning to make a quilt for my bed, etc. And then in the last couple of weeks, I haven't considered quilting once. Instead, I've been making clothes. I don't know what prompted the switch - change in the weather, maybe? - but it's been all clothes, all the time. Since my last post, I've made the girls each another dress (for Halloween) and each a cute little corduroy skort. I made myself two shirts (although I don't like the one I just finished at all) and a skirt that involved a great deal more swearing and seam ripping than it ought to have required. I also have another dress cut out for each girl, fabric for shirts waiting to be cut, and plans to make myself a jacket. Or maybe two, if you count the brown cord that I bought last year to replace my lost jacket.

Ah well, I suppose the thing about the ADD is that I'll eventually work my way around to the quilting again. Hopefully in time to make the new advent calendar I was planning on....